Sony announced that it is developing a new type of E-mount interchangeable lens camcorder for professional use that is equipped with a Super-35mm equivalent large format CMOS sensor. This new addition to Sony’s professional “NXCAM” line will be available in the middle of 2011.

Already a key player in the 35mm digital cinematography market with its highly acclaimed “CineAlta” F35 and SRW-9000PL cameras for high-end digital cinema production, Sony also recently strengthened its line-up in this category with the new PMW-F3, its first professional handheld digital production camera with a Super 35mm imager. With this new “NXCAM” HD camcorder now (still under development), Sony looks to further strengthen its position in the entry-level segment by providing an affordable yet highly capable professional solution for many applications — including independent film, music video and corporate communications – all looking for a cinematic look.

This “NXCAM” HD camcorder under development will be equipped with a Super-35mm equivalent sensor, a widely used film stock size in the film industry that is perfectly designed for capturing motion picture. This new sensor will have extraordinary performance in terms of picture quality and sensitivity, and is able to create rich “Bokeh” effect (beautifully defocused image) that is perfect for artistic story-telling in motion picture.

Thanks to the adoption of the E-mount interchangeable lens system that is identical to Sony’s “α” series NEX-5, 3 and “Handycam” NEX-VG10, the E-mount lenses will be compatible with this new professional camcorder. In addition, a very short flange back distance (the distance between the lens mount surface and sensor surface) allows various “α” A-mount lenses to be mounted via a mount adaptor (LA-EA1). It is also possible to attach many other lenses using third-party mount adaptors. With such flexibility, users will be able to experiment with various creative expressions by exploiting the characteristics of different optics.

If you’ve ever tried to model realistic 3D objects before, then you probably know just how agonizingly hard the process can be. Just trying to get simple things like lights to fall correctly on objects can be enough to make your hair go gray. If that’s not enough punishment, trying to animate those objects with a good degree of realism can suck every last bit of fun from any 3D project you have. For those of us with little experience in 3D applications it can seem as if scaling Mt. Everest would be less daunting a task than modeling and animating realistic plants, animals, and objects in 3D. As a result, I’m sure many of us who have some experience modeling and animating have at one point asked the age old question: “Isn’t there an easier way?”

The good news is that there are options that can help us gain back whatever part of our lives (and minds) that we lost to modeling and animating in 3D. The simplest option is to stitch together a series of photographs to make a 3D model out of a real life texture. This is by far the preferred way to model since pictures allow for more ideal shooting conditions, higher resolutions, and larger dynamic range than most video cameras are capable of. This leads to a crisper and more scalable texture for the model that you end up with. Plus, using photographs means that lighting will be taken care of, freeing up a tremendous amount of time. Check out the kinds of software available after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

The distribution company behind such great breakthrough films as Pulp Fiction, The Crying Game, Clerks, Sex, lies and videotape,  The English Patient and No Country for Old Men has officially been laid to rest. Miramax Films, the pioneer’s of the indy film movement who were the brainchild of Harvey and Bob Weinstein have finally laid off the reminder of their workforce. According to Disney, who acquired the company in 1993 for $70 million, “Miramax will consolidiate its operations within Walt Disney Studios, and will be releasing a smaller number of films than in previous years. But it will continue to operate within the Walt Disney Studios.” However, in October Disney already announced that Miramax would cut down its production by 70%, down from 6 or 8 movies a year to just 3. Some the of more recent offerings ended up as flops such as Cold Mountain and The Four Feathers. One thing is for sure, with so many remakes and carbon copies out there Miramax was the one company that seemed to make major motion pictures that mattered and carried some sort meaning. This will be a very sad day for true film lovers out there.