BRIEFINGS INDUS TRY.
Industry briefings The latest news, views and hot tips from the world of video production
HEDGE SIMPLIFIES Hedge has added three products to its suite of filmmaking tools. The updates are designed to address common problems, such as disorganised media, Raw transcoding and archiving spanning multiple LTO tapes. Hedge Elements allows for customisable metadata that users can now associate and store with a file, to clarify its role to other users. People who receive files can specify what elements of information they need to organise and process, by creating a preset that they send to Hedge operators during data transfer. As Hedge moves data from camera cards and other storage sources, a ‘review’ panel will pop up to prompt the operator to insert the required data. The EditReady transcoding application now supports Raw video, including Arri Raw, Codex HDE, ProRes Raw, Red R3D and Blackmagic Raw.
As it isn’t possible to edit Raw directly, EditReady reliably converts Raw camera footage into the Log format native to the camera manufacturer. For NLEs that don’t support a particular type of Raw, Hedge users can accurately convert, for example, Blackmagic Raw to ProRes. LTO is an advanced storage technology that’s scalable to hold vast amounts of data. Before Hedge released Canister – a drag-and-drop interface and cataloguer – users found the software overly technical. Canister prompts users to insert a new LTO tape when needed and keeps a catalogue of the files. This means that when the material has to be retrieved, the user can insert the LTO tapes required to restore the archive. This removes some of the complexity, with the company believing it could be a major step towards making LTO a universal archival medium for filmmakers and studios.
Virtual New York To meet the growing demand for a fully-equipped virtual production venue on the US East Coast, mixed-reality experts Silver Spoon and production house Schrom have partnered to launch a new XR studio in New York. Featuring a 100x50in stage, with a polished and level floor, soundproofing and drive-in accessibility, the space offers both Unreal Engine and Disguise as part of its pipeline. The LED wall is 35x14in – and includes back, side and ceiling panels, so that it can be moved as necessary for easy placement. Silver Spoon and Schrom’s heritage as leaders in the production industry brings expertise to the studio space – and those new to the world of virtual production will have advice on- hand as they explore its facilities. Sitting in the heart of the city’s entertainment hub, XR New York has been pitched as a space not just for big-budget productions, but as a studio available for all content creators. “We’re always looking for new ways to expand the boundaries of content production,” says Laura Herzing, executive producer at Silver Spoon. “It’s wonderful to be collaborating with Schrom, to offer a much-needed resource to the creative industries in New York and to share our experience in virtual production with the wider community.”
CLEVER THINKING One benefit of Hedge’s Canister is that it doesn’t use a proprietary database to track files on LTO tapes. Instead, it creates a catalogue of files, which becomes part of the host computer’s file system – and is universally available
07. MARCH 2022
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