AmericanCinematographer201201

Sony Upgrades Vegas Pro
Sony Creative Software has introduced
Vegas Pro 11, the latest upgrade to
the company’s nonlinear editing software.
Vegas Pro 11 adds significant performance
improvements courtesy of OpenCL and
highly optimized GPU hardware acceleration
for video processing and rendering.
Other new features include Nvidia 3D Vision
support for single-display 3-D computers
such as the Vaio F Series 3-D laptops and L
Series 3-D desktops, an enhanced video
stabilizer tool, and new software tools for
creating animated titles.
“Sony continues to be a leader in
developing professional content-creation
applications that are extremely powerful,
yet easy to use,” says Dave Chaimson, vice
president of global marketing for Sony
Creative Software. “With the addition of
GPU acceleration, Vegas Pro 11 streamlines
the video-editing experience by providing
smoother previews and faster rendering
times, ideal for industry professionals who
work on tight deadlines where every second
counts.”
Vegas Pro 11 adds native format
support for stereoscopic 3-D MVC and
MPO files from Sony camcorders and
DSLRs. Other natively supported codecs and
formats include XDCam, XDCam EX,
HDCam-SR, NXCam, AVCHD, AVCCam,
Red .r3d, Red Epic, and AVC-based .mov
and raw files from popular DSLR cameras.
Native P2 support is also available with an
optional plug-in. Vegas Pro 11 also offers
users the option to render to the AVC/MP4
file format, which includes progressive file
download support for streaming purposes.
Vegas Pro 11 easily handles complex
projects with multiple formats and mixed
resolutions, from standard definition to 4K.
Vegas Pro 11 is available now for a
suggested price of $699. For additional
information, visit www.sonycreativesoft
ware.com.
Avid Releases 64-bit Media
Composer, NewsCutter,
Symphony versions
Avid has introduced Media
Composer version 6, NewsCutter version
10 and Symphony version 6. The updated
editing systems boasts new levels of openness,
performance, collaboration and
productivity, enabling users to complete
their work faster, work together more effectively
and reduce costs through greater
productivity.
With these new versions, Media
Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter
have all been rebuilt from the core on an
entirely new, open, 64-bit architecture. Avid
has also introduced a sleek new user interface
designed to speed workflows while
simultaneously preserving the same functionality
users have come to expect.
“Time and creativity [are] money for
our customers, and they are looking for
solutions that can help them continue to
advance the art of creative storytelling without
adding technological complexity,” says
Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of
products and solutions at Avid. “As we
debut the most open, accessible and highest-performance
versions of Media
Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter ever,
we are thrilled to take a significant leap
forward in providing our customers with
new industry standards in speed, ease and
access that can help them do their jobs
more effectively.”
Avid’s new Open I/O enables support
for popular video and audio cards from AJA
Video Systems, Blackmagic Design, Bluefish444,
Matrox and Motu, allowing users
to leverage existing hardware investments
and easily add the Avid systems into their
current workflow configurations. Users can
also maintain a familiar and trusted editorial
process with new 3-D stereoscopic workflows
as well as a deep toolset, with title and
conversion control. Editors can also easily
export metadata into Avid or other thirdparty
finishing systems for grading and
high-end effects.
The Avid DNxHD 444 high-quality
HD codec allows users to preserve full color
information from HD RGB 4:4:4 sources
without compromising system performance
or storage. Avid DNxHD 444 can help significantly
enhance real-time HD production
productivity with the highest color detail
possible.
The updated systems eliminate
timely transcode, re-wrap, and log and
transfer processes through expanded Avid
Media Access, which now offers native
support for AVCHD and Red Epic as well as
the ability to encode Apple ProRes (on Mac
OS-based systems only). The systems also
support the Avid Artist Color control
surface, offering greater power and flexibility
in high-performance color correction.
For additional information, visit
www.avid.com.
Tiffen Digital Filters Go 64 bit
The Tiffen Co. has announced that
its Tiffen Dfx v3 digital filter suite is now
compatible with Avid 64-bit systems. In
addition to 64-bit support, the updated Dfx
v3 plug-in features enhanced filter control
and adds support for 16 Sony camera
models.
“We are always looking for ways to
enrich the Tiffen Dfx capabilities, whether it
is qualifying new editing system releases
such as Avid’s 64 bit, or expanding our
already comprehensive list of cameras we
support,” says ASC associate Steve Tiffen,
president and CEO of The Tiffen Company.
“Our customers can count on Tiffen to
keep pace with the changing technology
and continue to take advantage of their Dfx
investment.”
Tiffen Dfx v3 is a powerful, robust
video and still-image editing-effects suite.
Compared to previous versions of the software,
v3 boasts enhanced multi-processor
acceleration for faster interaction and
rendering of images, more than 10 new
filters for optical effects, updated host
support, interface improvements and more.
Other features of the digital filter suite
include more than 120 filter effects, more
than 2,000 presets, digital versions of Tiffen
filters, specialized lens-correction tools, film
grain, film stocks and color correction.
For additional information, visit
www.tiffen.com.
94 January 2012 American Cinematographer