Studio’s Top Stories of 2012: Part One

Studiodaily by Bryant Frazer

One of my favorite tasks at the end of every year is digging into StudioDaily's analytics and tallying the pageviews for the most popular stories we published in the last 12-month period. The traffic stats always yield an interesting mix of content, from product reviews and case studies to NAB news and business stories. They reveal what we've been spending a lot of time thinking about in the last year and, sometimes, they reveal what we'll still be considering in the next one. Here's a look at the year that was — at least as we saw it.

#10 VFX Supervisor Richard Stammers on Prometheus

Director Ridley Scott's Alien, released back in 1979, had a profound impact on the look and design of science-fiction movies for decades to come and launched a long-running franchise. It''s no wonder that Scott's return to the nightmare world he created was one of the year's biggest movie events, earning widespread plaudits for its visual sense even from those who found the story lacking. Barbara Robertson's detailed interview with the film's VFX supervisor, Richard Stammers, was a big hit among our readers.

#9 Blackmagic Design's NAB Surprise? It's a Camera

You always expect to find a treasure trove of new technology at NAB, but there's an unusual charge in the air when a vendor unexpectedly pulls a rabbit out of its hat on day one. That was the case in 2012, when Blackmagic Design — after confirming its status as a disrupter with recent purchases of Da Vinci Resolve and Teranex — announced a $3,000 cinema camera with an intriguing form factor and the promise of very high-quality pictures. The camera was later plagued by manufacturing delays, but finally seems to be shipping. Check our complete coverage, tagged blackmagic cinema camera. read more...