NAB Coverage/Editing

Autodesk subsidiary Discreet and development partner Colorfront introduced a beta version of a new 16-bit processing, component color correction system that combines Colorfront’s core color correction technology with certain Discreet components designed to enable interoperability with Discreet editing and compositing systems. Colorfront’s core color correction technology is the basis of the former Colossus color correction system, as well as a few proprietary color correction systems, including the one used for The Lord of the Rings.
Discreet also demonstrated inferno 5, flame 8 and flint 8, which are the new versions of Discreet’s popular compositing technology. These new versions, released in January, involve a major renovation of the underlying software architecture, providing new capabilities and workflow enhancements. That includes mixed resolution support, extended editing capabilities, advanced workflow in Batch, and FBX file format support.
Quantel demonstrated its generationQ for Post range led by its high-end iQ, capable of real-time 2k performance. New digital film tools for iQ include QColor, a new, low cost, in-context color grading option.
The first iQ in Los Angeles went to Modern VideoFilm nearly a year ago; the company currently owns three. Moshe Barkat, founder and president of Modern VideoFilm, explained that the company uses the system in two ways. The first is as purely an editing system for episodic work and special projects such as James Cameron’s Ghosts of the Abyss. IQ is also used in Modern VideoFilm’s mastering environment for HD mastering, digital intermediate and digital cinema work. In this instance, the iQ functions as a server in a virtual telecine environment.
So far, three or four editors and two or three colorists at Modern VideoFilm have received training on iQ, (the colorists operate the iQ via the da Vinci system), Barkat reported, noting that there has been great interest from the team. He said the artists have found it to be the “ultimate creative tool,” while offering tremendous speed. “It’s like driving the fastest sports car on the block,” he commented.
At NAB, Quantel also exhibited its mid-range eQ resolution co-existent editing system for HD and mixed resolution work; and QEdit Pro, a PC-based editing platform.
Pinnacle Systems unveiled Liquid chrome, a real-time postproduction system that combines the Liquid editing application, with its TARGA 3000 compositing engine and K2 single-chip 3D DVE.
Liquid chrome features codecs for I-frame MPEG-2 4:2:2 up to 50 Mbps, uncompressed and DV25 video formats, as well as real-time 2D and 3D DVE capability, four real-time video streams, unlimited layering, and Liquid’s effects processing that renders complex, many-layered effects without interrupting workflow. Liquid chrome includes the TitleDeko character generator, Commotion image editing and compositing system, Impression DVD authoring, and Liquid CX color correction.
Leitch introduced an update to its multistream nonlinear editing system dpsVelocityQ, which offers real-time full-quality playback of four video streams in any combination of uncompressed or compressed video, six graphics streams, and four channels of real-time 3D DVE.
dpsVelocityQ 8.2 includes a new interface style, over 100 editing refinements, enhanced integration with Leitch VR servers, and support of new options for professional audio tools and OMF/AAF interoperability.