CCW 2011: Lights, Cameras, Quality

NEW YORK -The Javits Convention Center played host to CCW this year. Upon descending to the lower level you can see the distant booths and the feeling of where do I start sets in. I had made my list of things I wanted to see and planned to explore some of the unknown ones out there.

With everyone getting immersed in stereoscopic these days, there was no shortage of 3D hardware and software to be seen. Panasonic had a very nice new camera, the AG-3DP1, P2 camera. Having two lenses and sets of electronics made for a great 3D picture. The only downside I could tell was the camera must be very front heavy and therefore would be difficult to balance in a non-studio environment. I played with the controls and it seemed to have a great range of adjustments, putting it on par with some of the other very expensive cameras.

Shooting 3D has become commonplace these days, however viewing it on set is often cumbersome. Marshall Electronics has a great on-set monitor, the Orchid OR-70-3D. This little 7-inch screen allows for stereoscopic viewing without the use of glasses. This technology will be showing up all over as the market develops. Nothing could be better than being able to see a full stereo 3D shot live to make important decisions. The monitor also allows a viewer to see the waveform and vector information for each eye. This is crucial as it ensure the colors are balanced between both eyes, something that if done wrong, can take a lot of time in post to correct.

Autodesk was showing the newest Smoke on a Mac (smac as we call it). This program has come a long way. Originally on Unix, ported to Linux, now ported to Mac as a scaled back version of Smoke, it still boasts a deep toolset. A first-time user wouldn't know what was missing and therefore it would be a fully-featured system for them. As a long time Flame artist, all my favorite tools are the ones that are left out in the scale back. I am sure that I could make it work and learn new ways to skin the cat. Keep an eye out for this to get bigger and maybe one day become Flame on Mac - now that would be awesome. read more...