A very memorable show, not least because of the volcanic interruption that has kept many of us from returning home! I only managed a few after hours demos, so was pleased to read Lornes blog. The show was big. Not at its biggest but 88,044 up from 82,650 last year. And we all found it really busy!
Biggest news was probably the BMD Resolve announcement, although I can’t help feel that it is a bit of a marketing spin. True if you are a disillusioned Apple Color user, and I met quite a few of them, it is an easy alternative since the hardware is mostly the same. But when you add up the system hardware for a high-end solution it gets pretty expensive again, though still nowhere near what it was a month ago.
I did get to see a little of Mistika which is causing quite a stir. It does have amazing stereoscopic tools, and unlike the Resolve it is designed to work on a single PC with a single Graphics card.
The Digital Vision Film Master I was demonstrating is a similar setup, although it uses both CPU and GPU processing and has proprietary panels. Digital Vision are deservedly famous for their grain and restoration tools, but they have a new noise reducer, called DVO Clarity that is truly amazing. It can handle grain on fast motion at high levels of correction without artifacts and works equally well on digital camera noise.
On the subject of new tools Adobe CS5 has a new Photoshop tool called Content Aware fill. Nothing short of miraculous. I skipped CS4, but this one looks like a must have.
In the continuing list of company take overs, Avid have bought Euphonix who make a very nice panel. Might be bad news for colorists who use the panels on Apple Color systems, since Avid are more interested in the audio and editing applications.
I also saw a really nice stereoscopic grading soltion on a Samsung display with active shutter glasses and software from Green Intl. Co.
A few years ago we all thought that the industry could not support so many color grading systems, and that some would fade away. Instead we are seeing corporate acquisitions, with very mixed results.
Software grading is now here in strength, but is it being used to its full potential? Read my latest white paper Adopting New Technology.
There are only a few seats left in the London class – Book Now!
And Happy Coloring!
