Blackmagic Design is releasing its Blackmagic Camera for Android 1.3 update, which adds support for recording timecode and adds anamorphic lens de-squeeze functionality and lens correction settings as well as support for off-speed and time lapse recording. Available at Google Play free of charge, it supports Google’s latest OS, Android 14, which means it should offer some interesting creative possibilities with Gemini, the new Pixel 9 series’ native AI. Some features are backward compatible. Customers with Pixel 6, 7, 8 and 9 phones can record at frames rates of 120fps and 240fps at 720p, and 120fps at 1080p. Continue reading Blackmagic Camera for Android Adds Array of New Features

Blackmagic Design announced that its new URSA Cine 17K 65 camera is available for orders from resellers worldwide, starting at $29,995. The cinema camera, which includes a massive 65mm RGBW 17,520 x 8,040 sensor with larger photo-sites for 16 stops of dynamic range, was previewed in April at NAB. Its features include interchangeable PL, LPL and Hasselblad lens mounts and industry standard Lemo and Fischer connections. The base model comes with 8TB of internal storage and also has high-speed networking built-in for media uploads and syncing to Blackmagic Cloud. Continue reading Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K Camera Priced Starting at $30K

Apple is previewing visionOS 2, the next-gen operating system coming this fall for its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset. The new system includes a Mac Virtual Display that creates the ultra-wide equivalent of two side-by-side 4K monitors. The new OS updates navigational hand gestures and adds a Photos app feature that turns existing 2D pictures into spatial images. At WWDC Apple also announced that Blackmagic Design will release the URSA Cine Immersive, the first commercial camera system designed to capture images for the Vision Pro, and Canon unveiled a dual-lens optical setup for APS-C cameras. Continue reading Vision Pro Adds Dual 4K Virtual Display, URSA Cine Immersive

Qualcomm is expanding beyond mobile and into the desktop market in a big way, bringing its AI-enabled Snapdragon X series chips to “all PC form factors,” CEO Cristiano Amon said onstage at Computex this week. Under the theme of “the PC reborn,” Amon said the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors powering Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC experiences are also upping their mobile game. In addition to improving AI experiences with “the world’s fastest and most efficient NPU for laptops,” the chips can deliver “up to multiple days of battery life,” unfettered those on the go from power outlets. Continue reading Qualcomm All-In on Copilot+ PCs Boosting Speed, Battery Life

Qualcomm has debuted a new flagship platform, the Snapdragon X Elite series. Built for artificial intelligence and capable of running generative models with over 13 billion parameters, Qualcomm claims it offers “4.5 times faster AI processing power than competitors.” Described as “the most powerful computing processor it has ever created for the PC,” Qualcomm says the chipset is also one of the most efficient, “with up to multiple days of battery life.” Leading OEMs are expected to begin shipping models with the new processors in mid-2024. Continue reading Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon X Elite Series, Created for AI

Apple has announced new 14- and 16-inch iterations of its MacBook Pro laptops, featuring Apple’s next-generation silicon. The M2 Pro and M2 Max chips turn the MacBook Pro into a portable workstation, able to tackle demanding tasks like effects rendering and color grading. Apple is promising up to 22 hours of battery life, the most ever in a Mac. The smaller model starts at $1,999, while entry level for the 16-inch is $2,499. Pre-orders began last week and delivery starts tomorrow. Apple is also releasing an updated Mac mini with M2 ($599) or M2 Pro ($1,299) chips. Continue reading Apple Debuts MacBook Pros with M2 Pro and M2 Max Chips

Production in the cloud, virtual workflows and remote work solutions were hot topics at the 2022 NAB Show in Las Vegas last month. Erik Weaver, director of adaptive production at the Entertainment Technology Center@USC, discussed new tools and techniques implemented during the production of ETC’s “Fathead,” a short film that experimented with in-camera real-time VFX and LED stages. Weaver joined “Fathead” virtual production producer Tom Thudiyanplackal, the short’s post-production supervisor James Blevins, and the global lead for Film/TV production partners at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Jack Wenzinger for a compelling NAB panel discussion, “ICVFX and the Cloud.” Continue reading ‘Fathead’ Team Explores Virtual Production During NAB Panel

An international group of more than 100 television and movie production professionals has petitioned Apple CEO Tim Cook with an open letter requesting improvements to make the company’s Final Cut Pro video editing software more commercially viable. Although generally capable of professional execution and apparently fun to use — qualities that have made it popular among individual creators, amateur and pro alike — Final Cut lacks collaborative features and general awareness among industry decision-makers, signatories say. Posted Tuesday on the eve of the NAB Show using GoPetition, Apple has not yet responded to the communique. Continue reading Film and TV Professionals Request an Improved Final Cut Pro

Adobe is purchasing cloud-based video collaboration platform Frame.io for $1.275 billion in a deal expected to close in Q4 2021, which ends in late November. Frame.io co-founder and chief executive Emery Wells and co-founder John Traver will join Adobe, with Wells leading the Frame.io team and reporting to Adobe chief product officer Scott Belsky, who is also executive vice president of Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe will integrate the company’s review-and-approval functionality with Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and “other Adobe Creative Cloud applications.” Continue reading Adobe Is Buying Collaborative Video Software Firm Frame.io

Blackmagic Design’s release of DaVinci Resolve 15 adds Fusion, a visual effects tool often used in Hollywood films, to its professional-level color correction and audio editor. The full studio release of Resolve 15 is $300, but another, stripped down version that still includes the most important features is free. This compares to Adobe Creative Cloud, which costs more than $50 per month. DaVinci Resolve 15 is platform agnostic, running on macOS, Windows 10 and Linux, and offers four modules in one app. Continue reading Blackmagic Design Debuts DaVinci Resolve 15 with VFX Tools

Thousands of film and TV titles from every decade require restoration, but the money isn’t there to fund much of it, and current restoration jobs are more likely to take place in China or Poland than Los Angeles. That was revealed at an event co-produced by SMPTE and the Visual Effects Society (VES) at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater. Restoration executives and practitioners from the major studios gathered to discuss the technological, artistic and business challenges of bringing classic film and TV titles back to life. Continue reading Film/TV Restoration Costs Lead to Outsourcing, Say Experts

At AMIA’s The Reel Thing conference in Hollywood, film director/producer Marcus Dillistone, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences managing director Andy Maltz and Academy Film Archive director Michael Pogorzelski presented a case study of an ACES reformatting and archiving project, with Dillistone’s 1999 short film “The Troop.” The topic is the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, and the film had a royal premiere at BAFTA, with film industry and military guests as well as a British princess in attendance. Continue reading The Troop Redux: ACES Reformatting and Archiving Project

At Cine Gear Expo on the Paramount Pictures lot, Canon unveiled the much-anticipated Canon EOS C200 and Canon EOS C200B Digital Cinema Cameras, the latest in its EOS digital cinema line. Key new features are two 4K video formats, Canon’s  Cinema RAW Light and MP4, targeting HDR productions. The cameras also have a dual DIGIC DV6 image processing system, which was developed for these cameras as well as Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF system. Both cameras are slated to deliver in August 2017. Continue reading Canon Announces New Cameras in EOS Digital Cinema Line

YouTube is rolling out HDR support for videos that offer improved picture quality, higher contrast and more vibrant colors. The launch is limited, since HDR is still entering the mainstream, but the video-sharing site is preparing for its future. TechCrunch reports, “if you happen to own an HDR-enabled TV today, you can view HDR content on select YouTube channels going live with the enhanced content, like MysteryGuitarMan, Jacob + Katie Schwarz, and Abandon Visuals.” HDR videos can also be streamed “through Google’s newer Chromecast Ultra device, which debuted earlier this fall with 4K and HDR support.” Continue reading YouTube Introduces High Dynamic Range Support for Videos

A Power Session at this week’s HPA Tech Retreat, organized by Disney post production executive Annie Chang, focused on every nook and cranny of high dynamic range and its application in production, post and even displays. The topic is of such interest to Hollywood engineers and technologists that it drew many of the industry’s top experts to speak on their experiences. The Power Session got a start with a short but important HDR primer presented by OneRiver Media owner Marco Solorio, who defined what HDR is and is not. Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat: Production Experts Talk High Dynamic Range