Beyond 4K Buzz & Trends
The world's fastest consumer drone can record 4K video at 85 miles per hour
George Matus was 11 years old when he flew his first drone. "I was immediately hooked," the young man tells me with a grin. By age 16 he was competing as a professional drone racer and acting as a test pilot for new aircraft. Now 18, he recently finished high school but decided to defer college, opting instead to pursue a fellowship offer from tech billionaire Peter Thiel. He used that money to start his own company,Tealwhich today is launching its first product, a consumer facing drone that a beginner can easily fly with an iPhone to capture 4K video. The difference between Teal's first drone and the competition is that this unit can also perform like a racecar, reaching speeds of 85 miles per hour while flipping, diving, and performing barrel rolls.
Through the Eyes of a Composer
Composer, musician, and producer Megan Cavallari has a knack for creating music that industry legend Richard Kraft recently called “amazing and earworm candy.” From film and television soundtracks to stage musicals to being the official composer of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, the award-winning Philadelphia native has managed to land at the top of a her profession (despite the fact that less than 1% of all professional composers are females). Megan writes about her experience in the biz.
Introducing July's VFX Artist of the Month: Kim Fogelberg
VFX Legion's remote artist, Kim Fogelberg, was interviewed to be featured as our VFX Artist of the Month.
Drone Cowboys Battle Complex Shooting Conditions and Capture San Francisco with Blackmagic Design Cameras and DaVinci Resolve
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a… Drone Cowboy. Nick Swartzendruber,cinematographer and founder of Drone Cowboys, and his team have taken to theskies to capture aerial cinematography using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV.) Withthe goal of “telling a story rather than shooting scenery,” Drone Cowboys shoots forthe likes of Red Bull, Apple, Bloomberg, Outdoor Channel and more.
Adam Shell Pursues Happiness with Crowdfunding & Social Media
We as a society spend millions of dollars a year in search of happiness, whether it's from the clothes we wear, the places we travel, or the technology we use. But how much power and influence does a positive mind have over happiness? Documentarian Adam Shell (“Put the Camera on Me” and “Finding Kraftland”) wanted to know the answer - so he asked.
UFC 200 To Break Ground With 4K Broadcasts Via DirecTV, OTT Platform
UFC fans who are early adopters of 4K TV technology will have the opportunity to watch Saturday's UFC 200 in the fledgling high-resolution format. The UFC will produce a completely separate 4K telecast of the event that will be made available to PPV buyers via both DirecTV and the NeuLion-powered UFC.tv app. It will be DirecTV’s first live PPV offering in 4K, and the UFC.tv digital ticket will boast the first-ever live OTT stream in 4K.
It's Time to Start Adapting Your Content to 4K
We've all heard it. This new technology is the best thing to happen to video since the Kinetoscope. It will truly change the way we view programs. Jump on the bandwagon now or be left behind. While that holds for most over-hyped “revolutionary Technology”, that is not the case for 4K. 4K is different because it is an evolutionary technology. It is just a logical extension of what is already out there. What's more, most people who see it actually want it.
AJA Releases FS4 Frame Synchronizer and Converter
AJA Video Systems announced that its FS4 frame sync and converter supporting 4K, UltraHD, 2K, HD and SD workflows is now shipping. Encased in a sleek 1RU chassis, FS4 provides incredible flexibility for broadcast and ProAV professionals with a single-channel mode for 4K/UltraHD video processing and up, down and cross-conversion to/from 2K/HD/SD, as well as a four-channel mode for multi-channel density that enables four 2K/HD/SD channels of simultaneous conversion and processing.
Director Paul Kowalski Shoots 'Breathe' with the ARRI Alexa
“Breathe” recently won Best Short at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, Sunscreen FilmFestival, and Derby Film Festival in the UK. The film is a Cine Gear Film Expo finalist,where it will screen in competition at the Paramount Lot in Hollywood on June 2nd.Writer/Director Paul Kowalski and Cinematographer Simu Feng took the time to chat about shooting in 4K for 'Breathe,' what it was like using the ARRI Alexa and more.
MLB Pushes Ahead With 4K Broadcasts
In late April, DirecTV began broadcasting MLB Network Showcase baseball games in 4K, available to DirecTV Premier and Ultimate subscribers equipped with 4K set-top boxes. Simultaneously, Toronto’s Dome Productions has been shooting Blue Jays’ home games in 4K since April 8. Dome’s 4K feed is being distributed nationwide on Rogers Cable’s two Sportsnet 4K channels, plus Bell Media’s two TSN (The Sports Network) 4K channels via satellite and telephone lines.To the casual viewer, these two MLB 4K broadcast streams would seem to indicate that seamless 4K live production has arrived. However, the truth is a bit more complicated and—from a real-life engineering perspective—more impressive.
Watch Mercury Pass in Front of the Sun in 4K Resolution
Last month, attentive sky watchers could see Mercurypass in frontof the Sun (and hopefully did so without looking directlyatthe Sun). Thanks to a few high-definition videos courtesy of NASA, youcan now re-livethe rare moment.
2016 Rio Olympics will come in 4K after all: NBC to air the Games in UHD with HDR and Atmos sound
NBC has announced that the 2016 Rio Olympics will definitely be getting a 4K UHD showcasing to at least some audiences with the ability to watch them in the resolution. The broadcaster will make content from the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro available to carriers in not just4K resolution but also with high dynamic rangeand Dolby Atmos sound, at least for those who have 4K TVs and sound systems which support 4K itself and these new 4K-related technologies. We don’t however yet know what HDR format NBC plans on using with their Olympic sportscasts.
