News Stories

'Hugo' Sounds Best to Cinema Audio Society

2.19.2012

[Reuters]

Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” has been honored for its achievement in sound mixing by the Cinema Audio Society, which gave out its 48th CAS Awards on Saturday night.

In the three television categories, the winners were “Too Big to Fail” (movies and mini-series), “Boardwalk Empire” (television series) and “Deadliest Catch” (non-fiction, variety or music series or special).

In the past 18 years, the CAS winner has gone on to win the Oscar for sound mixing nine times. Six of those came in a six-year stretch from 1996 through 2001. The winners have only agreed three times in the last 10 years, though two of those came in the last three years.

Of this year’s five CAS nominees, only “Hugo” and “Moneyball” were also nominated by the Academy. “Hannah,” “Super 8” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” were nominated by the CAS, while Oscar voters opted for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “War Horse” instead.

The Motion Picture Sound Editors, who honor the art of sound editing rather than sound mixing, will give out their awards on Sunday night.

In non-competitive awards handed out at the show, Director Rob Marshall was awarded the Cinema Audio Society Filmmaker Award, while Scott Millan was given the CAS Career Achievement Award.

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The Cinema Audio Society is not a professional guild, but a philanthropic, non-profit organization founded in 1964 as a way for sound professionals to share information.

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See the original post here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/19/idUS29454437520120219

IOSONO BRINGS 3D SOUND TO MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK BERLIN

2.19.2012

[Press Release]

January 2012 marked the successful premiere of spatial sound in the world of fashion. At the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin IOSONO 3D sound created a stunning surrounding for the presentation of German designer Sissi Goetze’s Autumn/Winter 2012/13 collection. “The amazing sound certainly completed my presentation and made it even more special. I really enjoyed it and the result is beyond my expectations,” says Goetze, known for her minimal and youthful, yet sophisticated menswear collections.

“Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin is an important event, drawing numerous designers, fashion-experts and journalists from all over the world. Bringing 3D sound to a fashion show was exciting for everyone involved and we’re very excited about the positive reactions of the audience,” states Olaf Stepputat, CEO of IOSONO. Berlin based sound design studio TAUCHER Sound Environments created the show sound that combined hip hop classics with ambient sounds and special 3D effects.

For the show, IOSONO’s Spatial Audio Processor IPC 100 and 25 loudspeakers by Meyer Sound and K&F filled the studio inside the Fashion Tent with vivid soundscapes rounding off the presentation of Goetze’s new collection. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin is an event by IMG, a global sports, fashion and media business operating in 30 countries around the world.

See the original post here: http://www.iosono-sound.com/assets/files/press%20releases/2012.02.06_PM_IOSONO%20brings%203D%20sound%20to%20MBFW.pdf

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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