Krama i.news

Krama i.news blog spot has been moved to http://blog.krama.tv

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Tue, 3 Feb 2009 10:34:00 +0200

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN MOVED!

It has been re-designed and self hosted based on wordpress platfrorm.

You can reach it at http://blog.krama.tv

Please update your bookmarks!
(The blogger version won't get any updates from today but it won't deleted either)

Krama i.news is being re-designed

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Mon, 2 Feb 2009 03:46:00 +0200

THIS BLOG WILL BE MOVED SOON

Actually yes, and this is the main reason I don't update much in this particular blog spot.
The new, fresh design Krama i.news blog will be ready very soon (4-5 days left for testing). All posts from the current blog have been imported into the new one, less ads will be broadcast, it will be hosted on an exclusive domain, a clean but dark skin has been added, some widgets left in order to make the new one much more useful and easy to navigate.

I am quite anxious about your feedback when it is completed.
Stay informed guys!

Hurry up ADOBE! We're anxious (UPDATED Article)

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:15:00 +0200

OLD ARTICLE:
Since Adobe announced the new version of it's products...
here in Krama post we're kinda anxious of laying our hands on these sweats!

Pretty obvious you say! Well yeah cause Adobe implements several new features along with some major bug (?) fixes.

Lets talk about the new Premiere Pro CS4.

The major advantage in my opinion is the batch export or batch encoding as Adobe states (hope that we can batch export several timelines to avi not only mpg,wmv,etc). Although Premiere versions prior PRO had this feature, for a mysterious reason (only Adobe knows why) Premiere PRO versions didn't allow to export several timelines in batch. At last we can.

(Text Below is Updated)
Another advantage is the full support of x64 WinXP & Vista 64. At last the barrier of 3Gb RAM is surpassed since Microsoft launched the x64 WinXp & Vista, but Premiere CS3 sometimes work sometimes don't. Patience all you x64 enthusiasts...October 2008 is your lucky month!

Use Photoshop like a pro! Video tutorials

Now let's go deeper.

Premiere CS4 implements some great new features such as:

Speech Search, where you can turn spoken dialogue into text-based, timecode-accurate, searchable metadata. The User can search for keywords within the dialogue, and then use keywords to quickly locate and display what he's looking for — or even cut video based on the script.

Tapeless camera support, where you can edit video natively in the latest tapeless formats, including AVCHD, P2, XDCAM EX, and XDCAM HD, without transcoding or rewrapping. The user can browse the drives and removable media from inside Adobe Premiere Pro to find, log, and import footage.

BluRay authoring support with the new version of Encore, redesigned Adobe OnLocation CS4, and more.

Both Windows and MacOS version will be available.

Below are the system requirements:

Windows

2GHz or faster processor for DV; 3.4GHz for HDV; dual 2.8GHz for HD
Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista)
2GB of RAM
10GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on flash-based storage devices)
1,280x900 display with OpenGL 2.0–compatible graphics card
Dedicated 7200 RPM hard drive for DV and HDV editing; striped disk array storage (RAID 0) for HD; SCSI disk subsystem preferred
For SD/HD workflows, an Adobe-certified card for capture and export to tape
OHCI-compatible IEEE 1394 port for DV and HDV capture, export to tape, and transmit to DV device
DVD-ROM drive (DVD+-R burner required for DVD creation)
Blu-ray burner required for Blu-ray disc creation
Microsoft Windows Driver Model– or ASIO-compatible sound card
QuickTime 7.4.5 software required to use QuickTime features
Broadband Internet connection required for online services†

Mac OS

Multicore Intel® processor
Mac OS X v10.4.11–10.5.4
2GB of RAM
10GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional hard-disk space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on flash-based storage devices)
1,280x900 display with OpenGL 2.0–compatible graphics card
Dedicated 7200 RPM hard drive for DV and HDV editing; striped disk array storage (RAID 0) for HD; SCSI disk subsystem preferred
DVD-ROM drive (SuperDrive for DVD burning)
Blu-ray burner required for Blu-ray disc creation
Core Audio–compatible sound card
QuickTime 7.4.5 software required to use QuickTime features
Broadband Internet connection required for online services

The product will be available on late October 2008 but Adobe accepts preorders

---(End of Old Article)

UPDATE: ---BUGS and ERRORS in Premiere CS4

There are some serious bugs in the new CS4 suite.

WinXP x64 doesn't officially supported (as I wrote in previous article) although the software runs (but crashes unexpectedly sometimes) - and the GPU acceleration doesn't work because MicroSoft hasn't implemented OpenGL2.0 in WinXP x64 (why?)

Another thing I have noticed is that the trial version (as stated by Adobe) don't support mpg and avchd codecs but these are fully supported in the standard version.

Also there have been reports of bugs concerning the 4.01 patch. These say that if you install the patch you won't hear the audio track (if it is AC3 compressed) in MPG files. I was curious about that so I tried myself and ... yes it's true. I couldn't listen to the audio in my mpg compressed audio (AC3) footage. Some other bugs have been reported.

There are several errors and bugs in Media Encoder.

There is a major disadvantage of Premiere CS4 against previous versions...the lack of exporting to frame (where is it?)

You can read more about errors and bugs at the official Adobe CS4 forum, visit http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.59b6da6f/

CONCLUSION
The Production Suite CS4 is a marvellous software to work with (lots of new features that REALLY make your editing life easier) but most of the time it crashes and then it crashes again. Seems to me that Premiere is a nice amateur tool that works well for a 30 sec edit and not for a 1 hour feature video.

As a 18-year of editing professionalism, I came to the conclusion that this is not what I want for my work. I won't tolerate any deadline delays because of an expensive, full of bugs software like Premiere CS4.

Thank God, After Effects and Photoshop seems much more stabilized and lesser buggy than Premiere but what the heck, you pay a lot of money to throw them into the trash can, don't you agree?

(We are currently leave our Premiere Pro 2 in place and won't update until these major issues will be fixed or maybe we'll switch to FCP soon)

Post your comments about this article and/or about Premiere CS4 and other products

How to mass re-link media files in Adobe Premiere

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 21:20:00 +0200

A handy tip comes for all of you Premiere editors in case you want to mass re-link media files when you open a project.

There are many times when you are working with a Premiere project, you want to locate an link missing media files like video, stills, audio, etc. This happened because you copied the .pproj file elsewhere than the original path. Have you tried to re-link 100 or more offline files? Manually? In tight deadlines?
Awful!

What you should do to speed up the process a little bit?

At first locate your original .pproj file and make a backup.
Open the copy in Wordpad and search for a line containing the word Filepath.
Keep hitting find next until you find the original drive letter indicated after FilePath which looks like this: < filepath > C:.
Assuming that the original location of the file is in the hard drive C:\.

Lightning fast video converter

Now if you replace the drive letter with the one you want and save the .pproj file, when you open it in Premiere the re-link will be done automatically and without asking you to locate the offline file(s).

I think this tip will work also with subdirectories but I haven't checked it (post a message if you do).

THIS WON'T WORK IF YOUR MEDIA FILES IS SCATTERED OVER VARIOUS DRIVES.

Again be cautious and backup your original .pproj file. This process may destroy your valuable premiere project file and it will be your fault only! Backup, backup and work with the copy not the original file.

I really don't understand why Premiere haven't implemented the fantastic feature After Effects has for the missing files, when it asks for one file then automatic replace ALL the missing footage...why not Adobe?
Use Photoshop like a pro! Video tutorials

VICON Introduces Entry-Level Motion Capture Camera

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 15:12:00 +0200

Vicon, a developer of motion capture systems, has announced the Vicon T10 Camera.

With the release of this 1-megapixel camera, Vicon is extending the benefits of its latest T-Series camera range at a reduced price point. The newly designed T10 camera replaces the Vicon MX3+ as the company's entry-level camera, offering three times the resolution along with faster performance, 3D on-board tracking, backwards compatibility, and new high-powered strobes that increase camera range and detail. The T10 is a 1-megapixel camera that enables users to capture finer details in larger volumes; with GigE Ethernet, data streaming is 10 times faster than with the previous MX3 system.

Key new camera features include:

1 Megapixel at 250 FPS-use smaller markers to capture finer detail in larger volumes.
Smarter Networking-GigE Ethernet streams data 10 times faster at 1000Mb per second.
Super Sampling-reduces the effort required to fix misidentified markers when they're moving fast.
2D Onboard Tracking-Camera hardware processes 2D tracking from marker trajectories, ensuring better reconstruction data in real time. Backwards Compatibility-The T-Series has been designed to work withprevious model VICON MX cameras.
High Power Strobe-All T-Series strobes use a new design LED matrix available as either visible red or near infrared LEDs.
New Camera Design-Sleek new camera design can be fitted with a wide range of lenses including 8.5mm, 9mm, and 12.5 mm lenses.

"The new T10 Camera delivers a robust motion capture solution for body or facial performance that is very easy to set up and use," says Robin Pengelly, senior vice president, Entertainment Division, VICON. "It's ideal for customers who require the fidelity and power of a VICON T-Series system but are working in smaller studio spaces."

http://www.vicon.com/

AVCCAM - the Industry's Next Generation Affordable HD

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 20:49:00 +0200

The AG-HMC150 handheld is Panasonic's exciting new introduction to the AVCCAM series. Representing a major step forward in affordable HD video capture, the HMC150 utilizes highly efficient AVCHD recording, the industry's new long GOP standard based on MPEG-4, to provide stunning image quality and longer record time.

The new handheld incorporates three 1/3-inch progressive CCD imagers to produce stunning 1920 x 1080 resolution picture quality far exceeding older Long GOP formats like HDV. It's equipped with a high-performance wide-angle* Leica Dicomar™ 13x zoom lens and 24- and 30-frame progressive capture in a full range of HD formats, making it well suited for all types of projects. With an exciting range of professional video and audio features and a compact, well-balanced design, the HMC150 is a "must have" for video professionals and enthusiasts looking for the best in affordable HD.

Extra-Long Solid-State Recording

Forget minutes! With AVCHD technology and high-capacity SD memory cards, the HMC150 provides hours of beautiful high definition recordings at professional bitrates up to 21Mbps. And it's as easy to use as a digital still camera, with simple playback on many consumer devices and players, from computers and video game consoles to Blu-ray players and flat panel displays with SD card slots.

AVCHD is currently supported by variety of editing solutions including: Apple iMovie, Apple Final Cut Pro 6.0.1, Adobe Premier Pro CS3, Grass Valley Edius PRO v4.5, Pinnacle Studio Plus 11, Nero7 Premium Reloaded, Ulead Video Studio 11 plus and DVD Movie Factory 6 Plus.

Stunning, full pixel HD resolution with these professional bitrate recording modes

PH - 21 Mpbs (1920x1080) -- Highest Quality Setting

HA - 17 Mpbs (1920x1080)

HG - 13 Mpbs (1920x1080)

HE - 6 Mpbs (1440x1280) - Perfect for Long-form Recording

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Extra-long record times - one 32GB SDHC card can hold up to 3 hours in the PH mode mode, 4 hours HA, 5.3 hours at HG mode and 12 hours in the HE mode.
• Records in a full range of HD formats including 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p; 720/60p, 720/30p, 720/24p
• 1/3" 3-CCD progressive image system with excellent sensitivity, superb color reproduction and resolution
• Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) that ensures stable images, critical to high definition video display
• 13X 28mm to 368mm (35mm equivalent) Leica Dicomar™ wide-angle zoom lens
• Superb Manual & Auto focus
• In-camera Waveform Monitor, Vectorscope and two Focus assist displays
• A host of advanced video functions like Cinelike Gamma and Dynamic Range Stretch (DRS)
• Professional-level connections including HDMI out, Component Out (D Terminal), Composite Out and RCA Audio out jacks, XLR audio inputs, USB 2.0 for file transfer, remote control for Zoom, Iris, Focus, Start/Stop
• Features three neutral density filters and three user sets
• Two locking XLR inputs with switches for mic/line, +48V Phantom Power, Auto/Manual level, and internal/external assignment
• Useful time/date stamp feature for applications like legal depositions or surveillance
• Includes professional-level assist functions like waveform monitor, vectorscope and two focus displays
• Variety of editing solutions (Render files to almost any format or media)
• Free downloadable AVCHD Transcoder for conversion to DVCPRO HD available at www.panasonic.com/avccam
• Built with a durable, die-cast magnesium chassis frame for reliable performance in tough environments
• Lightweight (under 6lbs.), handheld design similar to the popular AG-DVX100
• Three-year warranty program (One year + two year extension upon registration)*

Panasonic connects to Adobe CS4

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 20:22:00 +0200

Article by: StudioMonthly

Panasonic Broadcast is announcing that the new production applications from Adobe Systems Inc. will offer native support of the company's AVCCAM camcorder line-up.

The latest series of Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium (CS4) will support all Panasonic AVCHD format products, with no transcodind or rewrapping required. AVCHD the industry's new H.264/AVC High Profile compression format, provides a near doubling of bandwidth efficiency with improved video performance over the older MPEG-2 compressionused in HDV formats.

As a result, AVCHD recordings made by Panasonic AVCCAM camcordersare crisp and clear, even during fast motion, reducing image degradation associated with HDV and other tape or disc-based systems, as well as eliminating tape drop-outs.

The company's flagship AVCHDmodel, the new AG-HMC150 professional 3-CCD handheld camcorder, provides professional and enthusiasts alike the flexibility of high quality 1080/720 AVCHD recordings at bit rates up to 24 Mbps and a simple, solid state SD memory card workflow.

A better way to work

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 14:12:00 +0200

with Adobe CS4 and Nvidia Quadro CX.

A strong collaboration has been born between Adobe and Nvidia Graphics.

Adobe CS4 products such as Photoshop, Premiere and After Effects are now optimized to work with the Nvidia Quadro CX graphic card.

CS4 users can now achieve fast rendering times, accelerated GPU effects, OpenGL full support, and much more.

You can have lightning fast H.264 encoding in Premiere using the NVIDIA® CUDA™-enabled plug-in for Premiere Pro CS4.

Also in Photoshop brushes, canvas rotation, real time image pan can now achieved without preview lags.

In After Effects you can preview GPU accelerated Depth Of Field with true interactivity (no more waiting), animate complex effects, like the new Turbulent Noise, Cartoon and Bilateral Blur, in a fraction of the time and render the hierarchy of nested compositions through GPU acceleration.

You can watch relevant videos in
http://www.nvidia.com/object/builtforadobepros.html

Autodesk Signs Agreement With Avid Technology to Acquire Softimage

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:42:00 +0300

Source: Autodesk

Acquisition to Accelerate Autodesk's Games Strategy; Complements Digital
Entertainment and Visual Communications Offering; Lets Artists Choose their
Passion

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) and Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID), announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Autodesk to acquire substantially all of the assets of Avid's Softimage business unit for approximately $35 million.

Softimage was founded in 1986 by Daniel Langlois and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Softimage develops 3D technology for the film, television and games markets. Its flagship product is SOFTIMAGE|XSI, an extensible 3D animation software solution used by leading media and entertainment companies, including Digital Domain, Ubisoft, SEGA Corporation, CAPCOM, Animal Logic and The Mill. Autodesk Media & Entertainment provides animation, visual effects, editing/finishing and color grading solutions for the 3D market, including entertainment and design industries.

"Softimage has been developing state-of-the-art 3D technology for more than 20 years, and its products are recognized as best-of-breed in the entertainment industry," said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "Upon the completion of this acquisition we will be adding Softimage technology and products to our portfolio, and welcoming one of the most talented teams in the industry to Autodesk Media & Entertainment. Both will help us accelerate the work of our Games Technology Group, as we build the next-generation of real-time, interactive 3D authoring tools for games, film and television."

Gary Greenfield, CEO and chairman of Avid Technology, added: "We are excited about what this transaction means for customers of Softimage. The Softimage 3D product line has performed well in the video games market, a sector where Autodesk has a rack record of success. Autodesk will provide a great home for the business."

Softimage Product Integration

Upon completion of the acquisition, Autodesk intends to continue developing and selling Softimage's core product line, while integrating certain Softimage technology into future versions of Autodesk solutions and products. Autodesk plans to acquire and continue developing the following Softimage products:

-- SOFTIMAGE|XSI: Including XSI Essentials, XSI Advanced, XSI Academic, XSI Mod Tool and the XSI software development kit. XSI is production-proven 3D animation software for games, film and television. It offers a complete 3D modeling, animation, rendering and development environment for visual effects and custom tools.
-- SOFTIMAGE|Face Robot: A complete software solution for easily rigging and animating 3D faces. Face Robot enables studios to create life-like facial animation at incredible speeds.
-- SOFTIMAGE|Cat: This advanced character animation system is a plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max software. It is intended to be integrated into the 3ds Max product line.
-- SOFTIMAGE|Crosswalk: This interoperability solution is intended to be integrated with Autodesk's own interoperability technology.

Petit commented: "As we have demonstrated since the acquisition of Alias in 2006, we're committed to giving our customers choice when it comes to their 3D tools. We plan to maintain and grow the Softimage product line, and through Autodesk FBX provide better interoperability between Softimage products, 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya. FBX also provides interoperability between Softimage products and our specialized applications such as Autodesk Mudbox, Autodesk MotionBuilder, Autodesk ImageModeler and Autodesk Stitcher, as well as numerous third-party applications."

Petit concluded: "At Autodesk, we care deeply about 3D technology; we know users invest a lot of time and energy into mastering their favorite 3D product. To all 3D artists out there, I want to tell you that we understand your passion for the creative tools you use daily, and that with Autodesk, you can choose your passion."

For further information please visit http://www.autodesk.com/softimage.

Hurry up ADOBE! We're anxious

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:21:00 +0300

Since Adobe announced the new version of it's products...

here in Krama post we're kinda anxious of laying our hands on these sweats!

Pretty obvious you say! Well yeah cause Adobe implements several new features along with some major bug (?) fixes.

Lets talk about the new Premiere Pro CS4.

The major advantage in my opinion is the batch export or batch encoding as Adobe states (hope that we can batch export several timelines to avi not only mpg,wmv,etc). Although Premiere versions prior PRO had this feature, for a mysterious reason (only Adobe knows why) Premiere PRO versions didn't allow to export several timelines in batch. At last we can.

Another advantage is the full support of x64 WinXP & Vista 64. At last the barrier of 3Gb RAM is surpassed since Microsoft launched the x64 WinXp & Vista, but Premiere CS3 sometimes work sometimes don't. Patience all you x64 enthusiasts...October 2008 is your lucky month!

Use Photoshop like a pro! Video tutorials

Now let's go deeper.

Premiere CS4 implements some great new features such as:

Speech Search, where you can turn spoken dialogue into text-based, timecode-accurate, searchable metadata. The User can search for keywords within the dialogue, and then use keywords to quickly locate and display what he's looking for — or even cut video based on the script.

Tapeless camera support, where you can edit video natively in the latest tapeless formats, including AVCHD, P2, XDCAM EX, and XDCAM HD, without transcoding or rewrapping. The user can browse the drives and removable media from inside Adobe Premiere Pro to find, log, and import footage.

BluRay authoring support with the new version of Encore, redesigned Adobe OnLocation CS4, and more.

Both Windows and MacOS version will be available.

Below are the system requirements:

Windows

2GHz or faster processor for DV; 3.4GHz for HDV; dual 2.8GHz for HD
Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista)
2GB of RAM
10GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on flash-based storage devices)
1,280x900 display with OpenGL 2.0–compatible graphics card
Dedicated 7200 RPM hard drive for DV and HDV editing; striped disk array storage (RAID 0) for HD; SCSI disk subsystem preferred
For SD/HD workflows, an Adobe-certified card for capture and export to tape
OHCI-compatible IEEE 1394 port for DV and HDV capture, export to tape, and transmit to DV device
DVD-ROM drive (DVD+-R burner required for DVD creation)
Blu-ray burner required for Blu-ray disc creation
Microsoft Windows Driver Model– or ASIO-compatible sound card
QuickTime 7.4.5 software required to use QuickTime features
Broadband Internet connection required for online services†

Mac OS

Multicore Intel® processor
Mac OS X v10.4.11–10.5.4
2GB of RAM
10GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional hard-disk space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on flash-based storage devices)
1,280x900 display with OpenGL 2.0–compatible graphics card
Dedicated 7200 RPM hard drive for DV and HDV editing; striped disk array storage (RAID 0) for HD; SCSI disk subsystem preferred
DVD-ROM drive (SuperDrive for DVD burning)
Blu-ray burner required for Blu-ray disc creation
Core Audio–compatible sound card
QuickTime 7.4.5 software required to use QuickTime features
Broadband Internet connection required for online services

The product will be available on late October 2008 but Adobe accepts preorders

Comment this article.

Autodesk Announces Lustre 2009 Digital Color Grading System

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Tue, 9 Sep 2008 02:22:00 +0300

News Release
Source: Autodesk

Autodesk Announces Lustre 2009 Digital Color Grading System: Provides Unprecedented Creative Freedom, Performance and Workflow Efficiency

Autodesk, Inc. today announced the Autodesk Lustre 2009 digital color grading system and Autodesk Incinerator 2009, the real-time system accelerator for Lustre. The Lustre system has helped shape the look of hundreds of films and TV series, including: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Casualty, Planet Earth and Galapagos. Lustre 2009 will be showcased at Autodesk booth #7-D21 during the International Broadcasters Convention 2008 in Amsterdam's RAI Convention Center, September 12-16.

"We are very excited about the powerful functionality Lustre 2009 has to offer," said Stig Gruman, Digital Entertainment Group vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "Lustre 2009 makes the grading process much more efficient. And for the first time ever, we are simultaneously releasing new versions of Lustre and Incinerator. Now all Lustre customers can take advantage of the latest developments."

Running on a new high-performance platform, Lustre 2009 offers numerous features that improve the color grading workflow, including: stereoscopic grading; intuitive project management; integrated audio input, output and playback; multi-layer timeline shot prioritization; timeline A/C mode sorting; customizable sensitivity settings for the Autodesk Control Surface; and enhanced interoperability with the Autodesk Flame, Autodesk Inferno, Autodesk Flint and Autodesk Smoke visual effects and finishing systems.

"Our colorists can now easily define multiple projects, manage configuration options, and establish user-preferences through the Project Management tool. By streamlining data management and allowing us to focus on grading, Autodesk Lustre has become indispensable," said Ivar Beer, who beta tested Lustre 2009 and is head of digital post-production at CinePostproduction GmbH.

Highlights of Autodesk Lustre 2009

Automated Stereoscopic Tools

-- Lustre 2009 offers advanced tools for color grading stereoscopic content from live-action or computer-generated productions. It is a key component in Autodesk's holistic stereoscopic film pipeline, which spans 3D modeling and animation, compositing and color grading.

-- Lustre 2009 gives colorists automated stereoscopic tools that accelerate the process of grading, previewing and rendering left- and right- eye media. The entire creative toolset in Lustre can now be used to grade stereoscopic material.

Workflow Enhancements

-- Project and User Management: Lustre 2009 includes an intuitive interface for managing projects. It enables colorists to quickly define projects, set render paths, manage configuration options and establish user preferences. Colorists can also create templates to instantly apply common project and user parameters to new projects; this is highly beneficial for short-form projects.

-- Timeline Sort Mode: This new feature helps colorists rearrange the shots of an assembled edit decision list (EDL), grade the sorted shots in Source order and then return them to their edited EDL order.

-- Audio Input / Output (I/O) and Playback: Lustre 2009 provides integrated audio I/O with eight channels of synchronized playback, making it easy for colorists to capture audio directly from a video source and use sound as an element of look design.

-- Timeline Shot Prioritization: These new capabilities in Lustre 2009 facilitate rapid brainstorming and testing of ideas in a client-attended session. Colorists can define exactly which shots in a multi-layer stack are displayed during playback, laid out to tape or rendered to disk. They can stack multiple versions in a timeline and then quickly select which version gets used.

Cheap but reliable web hosting. Ultra fast servers, 24/7 support!

-- Customizable Control Panel Sensitivity: Lustre 2009 offers the ability to adjust the response sensitivity of the control panel to suit each colorist's individual preferences.

Common Platform with Autodesk Visual Effects and Finishing Systems

-- The Lustre 2009 system runs on the same platform as the current releases of the Autodesk Smoke finishing system, as well as the Autodesk Flame, Autodesk Inferno and Autodesk Flint visual effects systems. This common platform will allow finishing and visual effects artists to increase their creative potential by more easily adding Lustre to post-production workflows.

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Acceleration

-- Lustre 2009 offers extensive GPU capabilities for high-performance grading. Hue, lightness and saturation (HLS) curves in secondary grading and noise reduction are GPU-accelerated, as well as several of the Lustre effects plug-ins.

Highlights of Autodesk Incinerator 2009

Autodesk Incinerator 2009 offers the same creative toolset as Lustre, with enhanced performance that is made possible through state-of-the-art parallel processing technology. Based on the latest server and networking technology, Incinerator 2009 enables real-time color grading for the most demanding digital-intermediate feature film projects.

Availability

Autodesk anticipates that Lustre 2009 will be available in October 2008 for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Microsoft Windows XP operating systems and that Incinerator 2009 will be available simultaneously for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For further information, please visit http://www.autodesk.com/lustre

Buy and sell stock photos and vectors.

Turn a BW photo to retro color

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:27:00 +0300

It's obvious what a graphic designer or a hobbyist can do today using photoshop.
Turning a BW photo into color can be fun and really interesting but also a tedious task.

There are several techniques you can use. If you want my opinion go buy a graphic tablet (the bigger the better) such as Wacom Bamboo (if you can afford Cintiq go get one NOW!), it will be a valuable helper (you won't get tendonitys).

Let's see the examples below:

Use Photoshop like a pro! Video tutorials

Before:

After:

Tutorial it's on the way (i'll be out for a couple of days for relaxation and sunbathing!)...be patient

Cheers

Photoshop, the elixir of youth

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:06:00 +0300

Ha ha, it's funny how much attention we give nowdays to our image!

No matter if we're old or ugly, Adobe found the elixir of youth...

It is called Photoshop! How come? But it is obvious!
Google search the word retouch and you will find an enormous amount of tutorials how to retouch photos!
I gave it a shot myself. I found a photo of a lovely old woman probably 80-90 years old and transformed her into a mature lady of 50 years old (~aprox.)

See it for yourself...

Use Photoshop like a pro! Video tutorials

Before

After:

Tutorial is on its way, but if you have questions about how I've done this retouch feel free to leave a comment. Cheers

Toon Boom Studio 4.5 Announced

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:23:00 +0300

Press Release

Emmy Award-winning Toon Boom Animation Inc. today announced the upcoming release of Toon Boom Studio 4.5. This latest version brings photo animation and live-action cartooning to the next level. In addition, Studio 4.5 offers better integration with Photoshop files, extended ease of use, more export options to iTunes and YouTube as well as being the perfect upgrade for Flip Boom and Animation-ish. With each release, Studio is injected with new features that make this all-in-one animation software the ideal companion to create eye-catching animation.

What’s new in Studio 4.5?

* Add animation over your videos
* Print drawings to create flipbooks or use as a reference
* Import multi-layer Photoshop files and create more impressive multiplane effects
* Enjoy enhanced drag and drop capability for greater ease of use
* Import Flip Boom and Animation-ish projects to animate them further
* Export animation directly to iTunes and YouTube

Buy Toon Boom Studio 4.5 now at the special pre-launch price of $329.99 US, valid until July 31, 2008. As of July 25, 2008, all new clients will receive a Toon Boom Studio 4.0 key. Their Studio 4.5 license key will be automatically registered and emailed to them upon product release in August 2008 for them to download the software All new clients will see their version 4.5 purchase listed on the "my products" page once the transaction is completed. All orders requiring shipping will be processed upon product release.

www.toonboom.com/products/toonBoomStudio

Scientists discovered water on Mars, photo by NASA

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:23:00 +0300

It's true, scientists discovered large quantity of water on Mars.
Nasa has released photo of water on Mars.
See the proof...

Boycott Circuses; don't let them abuse animals anymore!

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:49:00 +0300

Think again your participation in this crime!
Don't let circuses get money by abusing animals anymore!

BOYCOTT CIRCUSES!
Watch the movie and think... Protest... ACT NOW!

How to make polar stripes in Adobe Illustrator

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Wed, 9 Jul 2008 19:48:00 +0300

Well i started this tutorial because of a project I had to create for a client.

I wanted to do a polar stripe set like the WWII Japanese flag to enhance a little bit the background. For this design I've chosen Adobe's Illustrator (for totally freedom in resolution). In this point I must admit that I didn't search for a plugin or a stock vector (probably there's something out there that it can do this kind of FX) but I tried it manually.

Other techniques might be on the internet but the method I will show you (I think) is the fastest one. No more talking, let's start...

Use Photoshop like a pro! Video tutorials

Launch Adobe Illustrator and make a new document. Size doesn't matter but as always try to be specific with the final output.

Make a box (extend it outside of the canvas) as thick as you want. Color it with a favorite color. Be specific what colors you will use because when you finalize this you can't change the colors (you'll have to start all over).

We are going to make a second box either by drawing it again or by drag and copy the first one. I prefer drag and copy but the choise is yours. Place the second box near the first and color it.

Now pick the two boxes simultaneously and drag and copy them, placing them near their initial position. If you done this right you must have 4 boxes. Good!

Repeat these steps until you cover all the canvas in width. (TIP: You can do this by using Object->Transform->Transform Again or Ctrl+D).

Ok, we have a pattern of enough stripes with various colors. But how can we achieve the famous polar effect in Illustrator? We have to cheat a little bit!

Pick all the boxes and make them an ART BRUSH (Tip: Drag them in the brushes palette and choose New Art Brush in the following menu).

In the Art Brush options choose the direction to be right or left. (you can always experiment with these options).

Now create a small circle. Apply the art brush you just made on the circle. Voila! You have a great polar stripe set ready for your design!

Note: If the polar looks like the photo below, delete some boxes or draw some more. I think the number of the boxes must be even.

And here is my final design...

The photo elements I bought them from Stockxpert.com - a great and very affordable photo databank.

Hope you find this tutorial useful, if you did please share and bookmark it.

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Art is a virtue; it needs patience

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Wed, 9 Jul 2008 17:25:00 +0300

Why am i saying this?

While i was surfing around blogosphere I run accidentally into this blog and found a real masterpiece! In my personal opinion the idea is EXCELLENT and I must congratulate the creator for his patience to finish it.

Visit the blog called "Today is the Day" to see what I am talking about.

Ads for Adobe PDF Beta Update

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Wed, 9 Jul 2008 16:38:00 +0300

Beta 2 of the Ads for Adobe PDF was released and announced by Adobe Labs in conjunction with the immediate availability of Adobe Reader 9.

This opt-in service (powered by Yahoo) aims to monetize PDF documents through advertising. The method is simple and very easy.

The publisher has to upload the pdf document to a specific url to register it for ads. The PDF content is then automatically analyzed to enable relevant ads to be matched to your content. When the keyword validation is finished, the PDF document returns to its sender and it is ready to get published. Then the publisher is eligible to get paid for valid ad clicks.

Read the original article from Adobe Labs and how you can apply to the Ads for Adobe PDF beta program

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Note: The Ads for Adobe PDF beta is currently available only to qualified publishers who apply for the program.

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Autodesk and Bentley to Advance AEC Software Interoperability

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Wed, 9 Jul 2008 15:06:00 +0300

Source: Autodesk

At a joint press conference, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) and Bentley Systems, Incorporated, two of the leading providers of design and infrastructure software, today announced an agreement to expand interoperability between their portfolios of architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) software.

Autodesk and Bentley will exchange software libraries, including Autodesk RealDWG, to improve the ability to read and write the companies' respective DWG and DGN formats in mixed environments with greater fidelity. In addition, the two companies will facilitate work process interoperability between their AEC applications through supporting the reciprocal use of available Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). With this agreement, the companies aim to improve AEC workflows by enabling broader reuse of information generated during the design, construction, and operation of buildings and infrastructure, and by enhancing the ability of project teams to choose among multiple software sources.

Interoperability has emerged as a critical issue for users of design and engineering software. A 2004 study by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology found that users bear direct costs of almost $16 billion annually from time wasted due to inadequate AEC software interoperability. By virtue of this agreement, and the interoperable offerings that it will enable, AEC firms will be free to employ software tools of choice from either Autodesk or Bentley to accept or submit either DWG or DGN files. By improving fidelity of work shared between the two file formats, users will be able to focus on being creative and getting work done, rather than being constrained by file-compatibility considerations.

Through supporting the reciprocal use of their available APIs, Autodesk and Bentley will enable AEC project teams to combine products from both providers within integrated workflows. For instance, a design team could use a mixture of Autodesk and Bentley software, such as Autodesk's Revit platform and Bentley's STAAD and RAM structural products, and simulate and analyze their designs or manage project information using Autodesk NavisWorks software or Bentley's ProjectWise.

Norbert Young, FAIA, president of McGraw-Hill Construction and former chairman of the International Alliance for Interoperability in North America, said, "This groundbreaking agreement directly addresses many of the critical issues detailed in the October 2007 McGraw-Hill Construction study on interoperability in the construction industry (http://construction.ecnext.com/mcgraw_hill/includes/SMRI.pdf). I applaud both companies for their foresight and leadership."

Added Patrick MacLeamy, FAIA, CEO of global architectural firm HOK and a founder and current chairman of the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI), "As a longtime advocate of interoperability, I welcome this agreement as an important step toward enabling AEC information to be more broadly shared, increasing the value of BIM to our clients."

"Autodesk recognizes that many customers use our products in mixed environments, and this agreement will help to better support these firms,"said Jay Bhatt, senior vice president, Autodesk AEC Solutions. "As part of our commitment to provide technology that improves productivity and efficiency across the AEC industry, we're pleased to enter into this agreement with Bentley Systems -- Autodesk's largest development partner -- and together help customers design, build, operate, and maintain the world's infrastructure."

"Bentley and Autodesk share a goal of enabling the creation and operations of better-performing infrastructure," said Greg Bentley, CEO of Bentley Systems. "Realizing that our mutual users bear unnecessary costs resulting from lack of interoperability, we came together to finally make information reuse the norm. By raising its sights beyond file format issues, the resource-constrained AEC community can better serve us all."

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Autodesk, AutoCAD, DWG, Revit, and NavisWorks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. Bentley, the "B" Bentley logo, STAAD, RAM, and ProjectWise are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. All other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

Panasonic as the Official Partner of Eurosport HD

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 18:12:00 +0300

Panasonic Electronics and the Eurosport Group have announced a new Europe-wide partnership - with Panasonic as the Official Partner to Eurosport's cutting-edge high-definition television (HDTV) simulcast service, Eurosport HD.

The deal between the world's largest manufacturer of consumer electronics and Europe's leading sports multimedia platform was timed to coincide with the recent Eurosport HD channel launch. As part of the deal, Eurosport will use Panasonic HPX2100 and HVX201 high-definition (HD) cameras for coverage of the Olympic Games.

The main aim of Panasonic is to connect with consumers and promote HDTV in homes across Europe. "We are proud to be the Official HD Partner of Eurosport. The sports channel is setting trends in broadcasting, just as Panasonic's Viera® flat-panel HDTVs are setting standards in the consumer electronics industry," says David Nicholls, General Manager of TV Group, Panasonic Marketing Europe.

Eurosport now fully integrates Panasonic across its multimedia platform, which supports Eurosport's HD programming of major sporting events including the French Open Tennis Championship, UEFA EURO 2008", the Tour de France, the Beijing Olympic Games, and the US Open. On-air activity is backed by central and local market operations with joint promotions, special events, plus business-to-business and business-to-consumer public relations activities.

The combined objective for both companies is to associate the powerful attributes of the highest quality HDTVs from Panasonic with the unique sports offerings of Eurosport HD during major sporting occasions. Jacques Raynaud, Vice Chairman of Eurosport Group says, "We share a common vision. We aim to deliver a new dimension in sports to viewers in as many HDTV-equipped homes as possible and in as many countries where Eurosport is broadcast, to 112 million homes and 59 territories across Europe."

Eurosport will broadcast the Beijing Games on a 24/7 basis. Thanks to HDTV, sports fans will experience the Olympics like never before with extraordinary picture quality.

"We are very pleased that Eurosport HD's images will be shot with Panasonic HPX2100 and HVX201 cameras," says Jaume Rey, Director of Panasonic Professional & Broadcast IT Systems Business Unit (PBITS). "The outstanding quality and performance of our cameras will ensure that Eurosport's coverage of this Olympic Games will be the best yet."

Meanwhile, Panasonic is setting an Olympic record of its own. Since 1988 Panasonic has been the official supplier of broadcast technology in all venues and at the Olympic Broadcast Centre to bring brilliant pictures to homes all over the world. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be the first to be produced entirely in HD.

Panasonic has supported the Olympic Games since becoming a member of The Olympic Partner Programme (TOP) for the Calgary Winter Games in 1988. As a TOP member, Panasonic fully subscribes to the ideals of the Olympic Movement, which strives to promote world peace through its various activities.
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Magic Bullet Instant HD Advanced by Red Giant Software

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 14:35:00 +0300

Red Giant Software, has introduced Magic Bullet Instant HD Advanced (formerly named Instant HD Pro).

This new plug-in for Adobe After Effects CS3 delivers the highest possible quality conversion for SD to HD and is well-suited to prepare analog source footage and DV video clips for inclusion in HD projects.

Instant HD Advanced combines de-interlacing and de-noising; advanced pan and scan; and a super-resolution algorithm for providing actual resolution enhancement. The easy-to-use preset menu helps users choose the right HD and 2K output formats.

Powerful Motion Analysis
Instant HD Advanced uses sophisticated multi-vector motion analysis to derive accurate and sharp output frames from interlaced material. In addition, motion vectors drive the super-resolution and de-noising tools to maximize quality.

Resolution Squared
Super-resolution is a technique for deriving and improving resolution from multiple frames of video. This method compares each pixel over successive frames, determining true edges in order to deliver sharper details and super-crisp results. Other scalers, including Instant HD and After Effects' built-in scaler, only process one frame at a time.

Multi-Core Support
Instant HD Advanced's elaborate image processing would have meant minutes-per-frame render times just a short while ago, but thanks to multi-core optimizations on Intel-based platforms, this tool can render in just over a second per frame on the fastest machines. Now the highest quality conversion is possible on normal desktop machines — no expensive conversion hardware required.

Instant HD Advanced offers much higher quality than Instant HD or the scaler in After Effects thanks to the super resolution features in Advanced. The built-in deinterlacing and denoising controls greatly improve the quality of any interlaced material. Users that need faster scaling get the Instant HD plug-in for After Effects and other hosts as part of Instant HD Advanced package.

Instant HD Advanced is available now for $399 USD and support After Effects CS3 on Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X on Intel processors. Current Instant HD, Magic Bullet Suite 2007, and Magic Bullet Suite 2008 users may purchase a cross-grade to Instant HD Advanced for $299.

More info at
http://redgiantsoftware.com

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Funny secrets in Adobe's applications!

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Sun, 6 Jul 2008 15:53:00 +0300

Do you know that many of Adobe's applications have some short of bonus features that can be activated with key combinations or other secret methods?

In the video below you can see how to reveal DOGS inside Adobe's Photoshop. Cool?
Watch the video and try it yourself. I think it is awesome...

DOG Inside Your Photoshop CS2 - Hidden Secrets Series -

You can watch similar videos in my metacafe's channel!
Please rate the videos and fav/comment them!
Thanks

Apple announced Mac OS X 10.5.4 update

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 15:03:00 +0300

In a previous post I wrote about a file corruption problem in Adobe's CS3 occured with Maco OS X 10.5.3.
Fortunately Apple came up with a new update (10.5.4).

This update resolves a critical bug concerning the Adobe's Creative Suite 3 and some others as well.

General

* Includes recent Apple security updates.
* Resolves an issue with saving and reopening Adobe Creative Suite 3 ﬁles on a remote server
* Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras.
* Addresses an issue that may result in a partially installed X11 application.
* Improves L2TP VPN client reliability.

AirPort

* Addresses AirPort reliability issues with 5GHz networks.
* Addresses AirPort issues that may result in slower performance in Logic Studio or MainStage.

iCal

* Improves overall iCal reliability for meeting requests, cancellation notices, delegation, and syncing with iPhone.
* Resolves an issue that prevents deleting an iCal event without notifying the creator.
* Addresses an issue in which events in all calendars affect availability. A checkbox now enables information-only calendars to be transparent from free/busy lookups.
* Resolves a UI issue preventing delegated calendars from showing up as a separate window.
* Addresses an issue with copying and pasting attendees from one event to another.
* Resolves an issue in which iCal may not delete events after a speciﬁed time interval, even when set to do so in iCal preferences.
* Addresses an issue in which To Dos cannot be marked private.

Convert any video format to iPod - Great for PSP movies too!

Safari

* Addresses a potential performance issue when loading secure web pages.
* Resolves issues that may be encountered when accessing secure web pages with client certificates that reside on a smart card.

Spaces and Exposé

* Addresses an issue in which switching from a space with a Finder window keeps the Finder as the active application instead of the application residing in the destination space.
* Fixes an issue in which dragging an application from the list of application assignments in Spaces System Preferences does not assign the application to the desired space.
* Resolves an Exposé issue that may result in only a subset of windows being shown.

You can read more at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1994

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Photoshop and Indesign corrupted files in Leopard

kramatv@gmail.com (Christos Lelidis) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:17:00 +0300

Users of Adobe's Photoshop and inDesign are reporting that the Leopard 10.5.3 update causes their files to be corrupted when loaded from and then saved back to network volumes. Downgrading to 10.5.2 seems to solve this problem. Adobe advises against saving directly to servers, and recommends saving locally and then transferring to the server.

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