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You could taste the level of excitement Monday at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center as Apple’s founder and uber CEO Steve Jobs kicked off the computer giant’s 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference. It was here that he unveiled the company’s latest “must-have” consumer electronics device, iPhone version 4 and the updated/renamed operating software it runs on, iOS 4. With this announcement Apple is once again poised to revolutionize the cellular market, not to mention how all of us communicate, work and live.

The redesigned and re-engineered device, notoriously leaked on tech website Gizmodo back in April, has been highly anticipated for months, and although news of it’s release didn’t include some much hoped for features – i.e. additional service providers (Verizon) and 4G capabilities — Jobs and Co. managed to load it with enough improvements and refinements that when all was said and done, the crowd of Apple faithful was left doing Snoopy’s “happy dance”.

iPhone 4, which ships on June 24th, sports a sleek new design that’s less rounded and, if you can imagine, more minimalistic feeling than previous iterations of the product. iOS4, is compatible with older iPhone 3G and 3GS models (however only the latter and iPhone 4 support all features) and packs over 100 new features including multitasking, the ability to group apps into folders, better mail, wireless keyboard support, 5x digital zoom and much more.

However, what’s likely to cause the biggest stir among video enthusiasts and a new generation of content creators is the addition of HD video recording (720p @ 30 fps or frames per second), and a new version of iMovie, Apple’s flagship, entry level desktop editing application. iMovie for iPhone is a $4.99 download from the iTunes App Store that enables users to edit and refine their newly captured video clips, directly on their iPhone.

Monitoring reactions online and in the “twittersphere”, I found it ironic that many who would have never had the chance to edit, were it not for the release of Final Cut Pro more than 10 years ago, were jadedly poo-pooing the new shooting/editing combo and it’s possibilities. Posts like; “it’s not something anyone would use for professional work”, or “Ugh, I dread the thought of the first iPhone movie”, were running rampant. Not for professional work? OK, I’ll give them that, but lets put things in perspective.

Although you might not see those occupying “professional” editing suites, honing their sequences on the new iPhone, you can rest assured that a new generation of filmmakers most certainly will be. Frankly, if I was Apple the NEXT generation is all I would care about. These are the kids who will get a taste of what it’s like to shoot a narrative, cut it, try to make sense of it, and then broadcast it to the world for all to experience.

Many of us remember getting together with friends and sneaking our parents Super-8 (or VHS) cameras to make our little films. Today, young creative’s with a desire to tell a story have the ability to do it cheaper, faster and with stunning quality. Then they can then disseminate their vision, (no matter how crude or raw it may be) with the click of a button to the rest of the planet.

iMovie for iPhone 4 is like a pair of water-wings for a new generation of media creators. For writers, directors, editors; anyone with some genuine talent and drive, it provides the fundamental tools to teach, tell stories and entertain and is a stepping-stone to the next level of the filmmaking crafts. And don’t be surprised to see iPhone generated clips being cut into “professional” productions. It’s happened so many times before.

Love them or hate them, it’s an exciting time once again for media creators courtesy of everyone’s favorite computer company. Hold on to your hats!

Debra Kaufman has an incredibly frightening, and simultaneously exciting, article about editing on the iPhone HERE. Read it, and see where we are going…

Cinematographer and Film and Digital Times publisher Jon Fauer recently sent me an email regarding the latest issue of his excellent newsletter which has a report from this years IBC.

IBC Wrap-Up Report

The 66 page report on new products, ideas and trends from IBC is ready both as a low-rez PDF directly from our home page or as a high-rez PDF in the MEMBERS section (subscription required).

Cinematographer Style Volume 2

The long-awaited completion of the Cinematographer Style trilogy is now ready. Along with the full transcript of Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC are the remaining 54 interviews conducted from 2003 and 2005 for the feature-length documentary Cinematographer Style. As with Volume One, the pages are packed with advice, anecdotes, lessons and history from some of the world’s top cinematographers. Available from the ASC Bookstore.

American Cinema Editors (ACE) Board Honors Avid Media Composer
With It’s First Ever “ACE Technical Excellence Award” – Distinguishing It As The Preferred Choice Of Acclaimed Editors

Universal City, Calif., July 7, 2009 –– American Cinema Editors (ACE) today announced that the ACE Board of Directors has recognized Avid® Media Composer® software with the Board’s first-ever “ACE Technical Excellence Award” – recognizing it as the preferred choice of the industry’s most acclaimed editors. This distinguished honor hails Avid’s unparalleled innovation, the company’s commitment to working hand-in-hand with editors, and its role in evolving the art of cinematic storytelling. The honorary award will be presented to Avid at the 60th Annual ACE Eddie Awards in February 2010.

“Editors know that the art of filmmaking is as much about storytelling as it is sharing a mutually-beneficial dialogue with other members in the industry. Avid shares our passion and vision for nurturing the motion picture community and the integral role that editors play in bringing entertainment to life,” said ACE President Randy Roberts, A.C.E. “One of Avid’s unique characteristics is the fact that many of its employees are also experienced artists themselves, and so like us, they are obsessive about solving real challenges that actually make a difference in the editing room.  We appreciate the company’s ongoing commitment to talk with us and to understand how we want to improve the way we tell stories.  The Board is pleased to distinguish Avid – and Media Composer – with this first-ever mark of distinction.”

ACE Board member and Technology Committee Chair, Harry B. Miller III, A.C.E., added, “Avid has improved and adapted its editing software and hardware beyond any competitor to meet the creative and practical needs of busy television and motion picture editors. This includes creating a complete picture workflow with Media Composer to Symphony™ and Avid DS; a post production sound workflow from Media Composer to Pro Tools to the mix stage; FilmScribe™, which translates an edited movie into its finished product;  ScriptSync® which is a unique tool linking a script with film dailies; Avid FX;  AudioSuite™; the best collaborative tools that link multiple editors on a single project; and the continually improving, most user friendly, and adaptable interface in the industry.”

“We’re honored to receive this recognition from ACE, whose members are among the best storytellers in the business, and never cease to amaze audiences with some of the most watched and most loved media in the world,” said Kirk Arnold, EVP Customer Operations at Avid. “One of our long-standing principles is to deliver products and solutions that help our customers achieve their creative vision, however they define it. We are proud of our close relationship with ACE and will continue striving to earn the ongoing trust and support of this important community.”

For more information about ACE, please visit:  WWW.AMERICANCINEMAEDITORS.COM.  For more information about the award-winning Avid Media Composer, please visit:  WWW.AVID.COM/MEDIACOMPOSER.

ABOUT AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS
AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS (ACE) is an honorary society of motion picture editors founded in 1950.  Film editors are voted into membership on the basis of their professional achievements, their dedication to the education of others and their commitment to the craft of editing.

The objectives and purposes of the AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS are to advance the art and science of the editing profession; to increase the entertainment value of motion pictures by attaining artistic pre-eminence and scientific achievement in the creative art of editing; to bring into close alliance those editors who desire to advance the prestige and dignity of the editing profession.

ACE produces several annual events including EditFest (a weekend editing festival in the summer), Invisible Art/Visible Artists (annual panel of Oscar® nominated editors), and the ACE Eddie Awards, now in its 60th year, recognizing outstanding editing in nine categories of film, television and documentaries. The organization publishes a quarterly magazine, CinemaEditor, highlighting the art, craft and business of editing and editors.

ABOUT AVID
Avid creates the digital audio and video technology used to make the most listened to, most watched and most loved media in the world – from the most prestigious and award-winning feature films, music recordings, television shows, live concert tours and news broadcasts, to music and movies made at home.  Some of Avid’s most influential and pioneering solutions include Media Composer®, Pro Tools®, Avid Unity™, Interplay®, Oxygen 8, Sibelius® and Pinnacle Studio™. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com, del.icio.us, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube; connect with Avid on Facebook; or subscribe to Avid Industry Buzz.

From Appleinsider

Apple in recent weeks has reached out to members of its professional video editing communities to help test a couple of updates to its Final Cut suite of video production tools: one major and one incremental.

The first is Final Cut Studio 3.0, the Cupertino-based firm’s second major overhaul to its professional video and audio production suite for Mac OS X bundling component applications Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack, DVD Studio Pro, Color, and Compressor…

Read the rest of the story at Appleinsider.com

From CNN — A budding British director is enjoying success on a shoestring at Cannes with “Colin,” a new zombie feature that cost a scarcely believable $70 to make.

Japanese distributors are currently in negotiations for the rights to the film and buzz around the no-budget zombie chiller has attracted interest from some major American distributors — all of which is a very nice surprise for the team behind “Colin.”

Read the full story here.

Jim Jannard, founder of the RED Digital Cinema Camera Company and community appointed leader of the RED revolution has announced a new product which, once again, looks like it has the potential to shake the very foundations of both the production and post production industries.

As promised, at 12:01 AM, Jannard posted information about RED Rocket, a PCI-Express card for Mac, PC and Linux workstations. RED Rocket will enable those working with native RED R3D files to decode, debayer and playback high quality, 4K (at 30fps) and 5K (at 25fps) files in realtime. RED Rocket will also accelerate Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Assimilate Scratch, RED Alert! REDCINE, RED Rushes and any application using the REDCODE SDK. The card will sport Quad-DVI and Quad-HD-SDI and will sell for under $5,000.

Jannard and RED decided to skip the NAB conference in Las Vegas this year, opting to deliver this news about the company’s latest product directly to the faithful via the RED user community boards at REDUSER.net.

AJA Video Systems puts on a full court press by introducing several breakthrough products for Mac and Windows based digital content creators.

Io Express - Cross Platform, Portable Audio and Video Input/Output Device Ideal for File-Based Workflows.

Ki Pro Portable Disk DDR – Bridges Gap Between Camera Acquisition and Post, Recording Directly to the Apple ProRes 422 Codec and is supported by major camera manufacturers ARRI, Canon and RED.

Kona LHi - Mac Video Capture and Playback Card Adds Support for HDMI and 3G SDI,and 10-bit Up, Down, and Cross-Convert.

XENA LHi - Windows Desktop Video Capture and Playback Card Adds Support for HDMI, 3G SDI and Adobe CS4 Production Premium, Bridging the Gap Between Analog and the latest HD Formats.

Read the full press releases at the AJA Video Systems website.

Filling a void for a true professional video card on the Mac platform, NVIDIA on Monday announced plans to begin shipping its Quadro FX 4800 ultra-high-end solution for the Mac Pro next month.

From Appleinsider

The $1800 card boasts 192 parallel processor cores and a massive 1.5GB frame buffer with memory bandwidth of up to 76.8 GB/sec. NVIDIA says this architecture delivers high throughput for interactive visualization of large models, high-performance for real time processing of large textures and frames, and the highest quality and resolution with full-scene antialiasing.

Each Quadro FX 4800 also features a standard 3-pin stereo connector for true 3D stereoscopic imaging in modeling applications requiring 3D glasses, as well two dual-link DVI digital connectors capable of driving a pair of 30-inch Apple Cinema Displays.

“With its sophisticated GPU architecture and industry leading features, the Quadro FX 4800 delivers a substantial boost in graphics performance and capabilities, allowing users to continue to push the boundaries of realism and performance in markets such as: architecture, content creation, science and medicine,” NVIDIA said.

Read the rest of the article at Appleinsider.com

Cine-tal announces the Cinemage B Series products and the full NAB product lineup

From Flameop via Twitter

New Cinemage B Series is offered in 42 inch, 23 inch and 19 inch configurations with
10 bit wide gamut display systems.

Cine-tal Systems, a developer of image monitoring and color management solutions, announces an expansion of its award winning Cinemage product line. The Cinemage B series expands the Cinemage product line with a 42 inch, 23 inch and 19 inch offering. The B series also provides true 10 bit display with wide color gamuts to support both HD and DCI standards.

Integrated into the Cinemage B series product line is the company’s cineSpace color management and calibration software. “By integrating our cineSpace technology into Cinemage we provide precision control of the wide gamut color
primaries creating a perfect reference for DCI, HD and SD monitoring. Cinemage is the only monitoring system utilizing an optimized combination of 3D LUTs 1D LUTs and 21 bit color matrices to provide….

Read more at the Cine-tal website.

3D Mesh Warping Plugin for After Effects

From Oddernod via Twitter

Motion Graphics artists now have access to bicubic distortion in After Effects that lets you manipulate a flat object into almost any shape using a mesh in 3D space. Digieffects FreeForm AE is an intuitive and robust plugin that takes After Effects 3D compositing to the next level.

Features and Benefits include:

3D Functionality: The same power and control of 3D applications right inside After Effects.

Control: All controls for manipulation are right inside the After Effects comp window.

Speed: Powered by a proprietary, full 3D rendering engine to provide beautiful, high-quality renders fast.

Never leave After Effects: Makes it easy to create 3D effects which previously required a dedicated 3D program or high-end workstation.

Depth, Dimensions, and Displacement: True 3D displacement mapping.

Picks up where After Effects ends: Bend, twist, distort, shape your layer any way you please right in the After Effects comp window.

Presets: Ships with dozens of presets to save you time.

For more info, visit the Digieffects website