Big Pic Media Brings State-of-the-Art Digital Workflow to BVE 2011

In addition, the company will introduce the new MARVIN system for managing and distributing camera data on set. For visitors to BVE, this represents a unique opportunity to meet and explore the state of the art in film and broadcast production tools.

"After decades of transitioning in the industry, we're starting to get a clear view of the future of production," said Adam Welsh, founder and principal of Big Pic Media. "Facilities know two things: they need to be able to ingest and output multiple formats on the fly, and they know they need to do it within a single, integrated pipeline. At BVE, we're going to show them how they can do that, simply and cost effectively."

YoYotta - NonLinear Data Management

"YoYotta is the dark horse that will surprise everyone in 2011," explained Welsh. "At a fraction of the cost of other systems, Yoyotta's YoYo software allows facilities to ingest, transcode, conform and output virtually any known video or digital formats. The system is simple to use and offers rock-solid performance," he added. YoYo is a stand-alone software suite that runs on Mac OS X and includes three components. By automating all transcoding and conform functions from a single workstation, YoYo users are able to realize significant savings in terms of time and resources, freeing up artists and grading suites for creative work. It's little wonder that sales of YoYo have been growing by the month, especially in facilities with many different projects and fast turnaround requirements, such as in commercials work.

Pandora - Colour at the Speed of Thought

"Those who may have thought Pandora was on the wane, will be surprised and impressed by what they see at BVE," said Welsh. "The new Revolution Express is the fastest colour corrector on the market, and it doesn't need a room full of boxes to provide real-time performance, regardless of the resolution or the complexity of the grade." "What's different about the Revolution is that Pandora designs the hardware themselves, so you can grade content from any source with any number of layers," explained Welsh. "You hear a lot of impressive claims about grading technologies and the price points are all over the map, but in the real world, facilities need an efficient, reliable colour workflow, and Pandora delivers." The Revolution Express, which includes the YoYo software suite described above, is Pandora's non-linear, resolution-independent system. Colourists can now work with the familiar Pandora toolset, creating beautifully graded images within a new, cutting-edge system. Big Pic will also present Pandora's Pluto at BVE. Mounting Pluto upstream from any high quality monitor or projection system provides facilities with an accurate real-time host for 1D and 3D Look up Tables and Colour Cubes. Used in conjunction with colour correction systems (from any manufacturer), Pluto allows facilities to display images exactly as the will appear on film print, or in digital projection systems, eliminating the need for test film-outs for review.

Cintel imageMill2

The workflow demo will also highlight the role of Cintel's ImageMill2 in the pipeline - a multistandard hardware platform that runs a variety of image manipulation and enhancement tools, including GRACE, STEADY and ORIGIN. GRACE is the company's automated grain and noise reduction system. STEADY provides high-speed image stabilisation, and ORIGIN is Cintel's new dust and scratch removal system. "ImageMill2 is file-based and delivers all of these processes faster-than-real-time at 2K," said Welsh, "and the tools are so flexible. You can use GRACE, for example, with any type of media, at any resolution, independent of film type, film gauge or image format."

Practice Safe Capture with MARVIN

"MARVIN is an ambitious new product, which will transform cinematography workflow," said Welsh. "MARVIN eliminates the need to manually copy and transcode camera data during production. It means securing your data and producing all of you camera deliverables, such as offlines, dailies and stills in one simple step." MARVIN is housed in a single 4U box with a padded case for use in production environments. Camera media is connected to the MARVIN, which then automatically creates backups to its own internal RAID and then generates LTO tape masters, QuickTime proxies for offline editing and DVD dailies. MARVIN flags corrupt files, allowing cinematographers and directors to decide on the spot if a shot needs to be redone.

Getting the Picture Right with Cine-tal

All of the products Big Pic Media is bringing to BVE will be paired with grade 1, 10-bit LCD monitors from Cine-tal. "Of all the options out there, the Cine-tal monitors provide the most comprehensive set of colour management tools with their calibrated LCD panels," said Welsh. "Whether you are out on a shoot, or doing postproduction, the Cine-tal displays offer a picture perfect representation of your work." The company will be demonstrating both the 23" and 42" models at the show.

About Big Pic Media

Founded by industry veteran Adam Welsh in 2005, Big Pic Media is a resource for industry-leading postproduction products and services. The company provides postproduction solutions from individual items to fully integrated suites. Big Pic Media represents manufacturers such as Cintel, Pandora, Yoyotta, MARVIN, and many others. Big Pic also assists facilities in buying or selling used equipment, as well as financing new investments. With offices in London, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, Big Pic Media offers worldwide service to the industry.