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Sachtler releases
Axe XL fluid head
Camera support systems provider Sachtler
has unveiled the Ace XL 75mm fluid head.
An upgrade of the Ace L, the Ace XL offers
an increase of 2kg of maximum payload
capacity over its predecessor. This, said
Sachtler, makes the Ace XL ideal for use
with the latest cine-style cameras, including
Blackmagic Design’s URSA Mini Pro. In
comparison to the Ace L, the Ace XL has a
maximum payload of 8kg, which allows the
new fluid head to support a broader range
of configurations. The Ace XL is available in
three different configurations supporting
different tripod systems.
Bexel adds Litepanels
lights to support
sports broadcasting
Bexel has upgraded its lighting inventory
with the addition of 300 Litepanels Astra
6X LED panels. According to Bexel, the
new lights will be key components in the
company’s ongoing support of customers
who require turnkey lighting solutions in
any location at outdoor sporting venues.
The Litepanels Astra 6X LED panel is 50%
brighter than the first-generation Astra
light and six times brighter than Litepanels’
original 1x1 panel. Even with its greater
intensity, the Astra 6X draws less power
than its predecessor, which allows for
longer battery runtime. In addition to
delivering higher-quality colour rendering,
the panels can be powered by professional
camera batteries, making them ideal for
productions looking to save power and
reduce costs, said Litepanels.
Next Month @ Creation
Graphic Systems & Virtual Sets
PANELLISTS
Dr Ahmad Zaki
Mohd Salleh
Group GM, Engineering
Media Prima
Phan Tien Dung
CTO
Vietnam Digital Television
Bernard Anthony
CEO
Cambodian Broadcasting
Services
April 2012
August
2017
Advanced editing
post-production
Even the most skilled editors
will readily acknowledge the
importance of having the
best tools at their disposal.
Where post production is
concerned, there is no lack
of options for editors to
choose from, as Shawn Liew
discovers.
be penalties for late delivery and with master that everyone signed off on and
the deadline just hours away, there just we’d copied the final master to the cli-
isn’t time to re-export the show.”
ent’s drive, which took several hours,”
With Pixelfantastic now operating he recalls. “The client wanted to change
in file-based workflows, Williams goes one of the names of the cameramen and
on to comment on the fundamental correct a colour shift — literally two tiny
difference between tape and file deliv- changes in this mammoth file.”
erables. “When there was an issue with
With cineXtools, Williams and his
a programme, the broadcaster would team were able to make the changes by
send the same tape back, and I would directly accessing the client’s master on
simply insert the change,” he details. their external drive, and then followed
“When we send the same tape back with suit on their own master. “If we’d had
an inserted fix, the broadcaster would to re-export, then copy over a new
recognise the tape and
file, it would have taken
only re-QC the segment
an entire day, but it took
flagged on the changelog.”
literally minutes to make
Wit h f i l e s , e ve r y
these corrections. cineX-
ased in London, Pixelfantastic is a change equates to a new
tools is an essential tool
boutique facility specialising in colour, export — a brand-new
for modern mastering. I
conform and file delivery for concerts, file that Pixelfantastic was
am so glad that someone
documentaries and episodic TV, and required to QC again and
decided insert-editing
has delivered hundreds of show using re-certify that it passed
was important enough
a variety of mastering formats includ- a long list of technical
to resurrect,” Williams
ing tape, AS-11/DPP and 4K/Ultra HD checks. “We never had
concludes.
(UHD) files.
that problem with SR
For London-based
Despite this wealth of experience, tape. If I only changed the
TVT, a managed me-
Barrie Williams, owner of Pixelfantastic, credits on tape, we would TVT’s Peter Elvidge: Cloud
dia services provider, the
acknowledges the constant challenges only need to re-QC that as a resource for video
recent launch of a full
involved in delivering files. He notes, for segment, not the entire editing and workflow, is
Access Services busi-
instance, the frequent and regular back programme,” Williams less understood but offers
ness unit is designed to
“significant benefits”.
and forth exercise between offline and says.
strengthen its position as
conform/online because information is
Enter cineXtools, which has not only a leading provider of compliance and
often not available to validate whether eliminated these issues, but has also video editing solutions that address
a title, start time or credit is correct to created for Pixelfantastic a “better and the complexities of the dynamic inter-
begin with.
simpler” workflow as compared to tape, national market for linear, on-demand
Williams explains: “Typically, edi- according to him. “With cineXtools, and online entertainment, says the
tors will send me the ‘finished’ edit for whether it’s a picture fix, audio insert, company, which is also seeing a trend
grading, we would finish the grade and metadata change or timecode re-stripe, where editing for compliance is heading
send it back for viewing. This is often the it’s a fast, almost instantaneous process,” to the cloud.
point when the decision makers watch he adds. “Moreover, and possibly more
Peter Elvidge, VP technology at
the programme with full concentration, importantly, the file that I am making TVT, tells APB: “The TV industry has
and 10 minutes after that, a request would the changes to is still the same file.”
been going through a major technical
come through to change the credits and
Being able to make changes to the transition over the past decade with
opening titles. We also need to take out file that has already been delivered is much of it focuse