OmniTek XR
OmniTek has unveiled the OmniTek XR, an “extreme resolution” waveform monitor and image analyzer for postproduction. Designed specifically for colorists and postproduction editors and digital-intermediate use while working with high-resolution HDTV and Dual-Link images, the XR builds on OmniTek’s previous native Dual-Link waveform monitor, produced in 2003.

The XR system is available in three “options,” Dual-Link, Motion/Capture, and Advanced. The Dual-Link option enables 4:4:4 RGB/ YCbCr inputs and “2K” format images to be monitored with the XR system in addition to providing real-time output of 4:2:2 data from the 4:4:4 dual-link input, or the generation of 4:4:4 dual-link SDI outputs from a 4:2:2 SDI input. The Motion/Capture option enables real-time capture, storage, and play-out of uncompressed images and sequences in any format supported by the system. Finally, the Advanced option (which includes the Motion/Capture option) provides the “time-shift” event-based data recording facility where a user-defined input error can be configured to trigger a capture of video data from the live input. Any of these options can be used on their own or in conjunction with the others.

Utilizing 256 times oversampling, the system ensures the most accurate monitoring, and new waveform generation algorithms give user-adjustable, high-quality, pin-sharp displays. Furthermore, full 1024-pixel-high waveforms show the true 10-bit resolution of input SDI signals, and arbitrary combinations of components may be displayed simultaneously, such as YRGB and vectorscope, or YCbCr and Composite.

A unique region-of-interest control enables the user to accurately identify different areas of the source image, and the horizontal zoom range works from a few pixels to 1 line, 2 line, 1 field, through to full-frame displays. The XR also features low-pass, differential and “bowtie” filters and can generate pseudo-composite SD waveform displays from HD or SD sources in real time. The fully scalable vectorscope may also operate on the selected region-of-interest.

Other features of the XR include real-time histogram displays in YCbCr, RGB, or Composite color spaces; a mini-pic proxy that is especially useful when working in 24p and 2K video formats which are not generally supported by video monitors; a customizable graphics display; two SDI outputs (which, with the Dual-Link option, may be configured as dual- or single-link independently of the source image format) and an analog component video output for monitoring purposes; continuously monitored video status, checking for errors and changes-of-state, as well as audio status monitoring; a flexible safe-title and safe-action cage overlay system, adjustable in size, position, and aspect ratio; and event logging and alarms.

OmniTek also supplies a range of dedicated control surfaces such as keypads and touch-screens for the XR system.

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V1 HD Video Disk Recorders
Doremi Labs has launched two V1 high-definition-video disk recorders, the V1-HD and the V1-UHD, offering the superior resolution of high-definition video in a compact stand-alone package. Both units can record and playback HD or SD video, compressed or uncompressed, on internal removable drives.

The V1-HD features JPEG2000 video compression up to 300 Mbits/sec, touting “visually lossless” recording. This HD video compression allows for more than 12 hours of high quality video recording on just one removable hot-swap drive.

For applications where the image quality cannot be compromised, the V1-UHD features uncompressed HD video recording. (As an option, the V1-UHD is available with JPEG2000 compression capability.)

Other highlights of these recorders include independent record and play operation; the capability to create video clips, loops and play lists from the front panel; smooth fast- and slow-motion playback; a front panel video monitoring LCD screen; frame accurate control via RS-422 or Ethernet using standard control protocols; file transfer (to and from the recorder) of video clips and still images via Ethernet; and 2K dual-link 4:4:4 recording 24p/24psf at 10- or 12-bit.

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Wafian HR-1 Recorder
Wafian recently introduced the HR-1 on-set, 10-bit, direct-to-disk HD-SDI recorder. Utilizing the award-winning CineForm Digital Intermediate format, the Wafian HR-1 records full resolution 1920x1080 and 1280x720 from the HDSDI feed. The recorder can store up to nine hours of 10-bit 1920x1080 24p footage in the “safety first” (mirrored) configuration, or up to 18 hours in the extended storage (striped) configuration.

The HR-1 is controlled by the front panel touch-screen LCD, and recording is a simple one-button operation. Recording directly to disk, footage can be reviewed immediately after shooting with the speed of nonlinear access. Afterwards, clips can be transferred to the editing station over Gigabit Ethernet at 2-3x real time.

A particularly useful application of the Wafian HR-1 is to record directly from the JVC ProHD GY-HD100U camera, which shoots 1280x720 4:2:2 frames and can stream a full 60 frames per second down its component outputs. While the HDV tape format to which the camera records can only support 30 fps 4:2:0, recording direct-to-disk takes full advantage of the camera’s capabilities.

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Cinemáge from Cine-tal
Cine-tal Systems has introduced the Cinemáge product family. Combining Cine-tal’s IDS (Intelligent Display Server) technology and a calibrated full resolution LCD display, Cinemáge provides quantitative video analysis, color previsualization, video signal quality assurance, real-time collaboration between acquisition and post production, and an integrated OmniTek Dual-Link Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope. Cinemáge allows both critical visual analysis and digital quantitative analysis of HD-SDI or HD-SDI dual-Link signals in either YCbCr or RGB, linear or logarithmic, at 8 or 10 bits.

The Cinemáge display features a full-resolution 1920x1080 calibrated display with superior black level performance. A pixel-to-pixel mapping of the input signal to the display — avoiding resizing, filtering, or other image-degrading pixel manipulations —provides an accurate display of input signal data. The display is calibrated to user defined white point, gamma and luminance level via an automated calibration system with a full spectrum photometer. A full manual calibration allows the user to set custom RGB levels while taking measurements with the photometer.

Full signal routing with the Cinemáge system allows the user to route any signal source to any output or process. The user can monitor Input 1 with color processing for previsualization while sending the same signal to Output 1 without any processing. Input signals can be routed independently to one of two HD-SDI outputs, one Dual Link, or the DVI output.

Cinemáge also features a cage generator (with standard and custom cages), a head-up display (providing real-time information on signal sources), a split screen function (allowing the simultaneous display of two signal sources), and a real-time pan and zoom feature (for pixel level analysis and display). Every system setting can also be saved as a preset for quick recall.

Intelligent Display Server technology, a joint technology development between Cine-tal and OmniTek, provides image processing, signal routing, frame stores, color manipulation (3-D LUTs) and test and measurement all in a network appliance configuration. Internal to IDS is a powerful image processor that generates real time data about the HD video stream. In turn, the data is used to generate waveforms, vector scopes, gamut information and status of the incoming video signal. IDS also provides for display calibration and profiling as well as input signal color grading for pre-visualization. All data and operations can be performed over a LAN, WAN or wireless network with any Web-enabled device.

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Pro Sandbags from Microdolly Hollywood

Microdolly Hollywood, the manufacturer of a Pro Line of precision built ultra-light camera dollies, jibs, mounts and remote pan/tilt heads designed for crews that need to travel light and set up quick, has introduced a Pro Line of sandbags. These double-pocket sandbags come three to a pack and can be filled with sand, shot, stones or even water. The bags are made of sturdy ballistic nylon with comfort-grip handles and loops for hanging on light stands or tripods. Ideal for jib counter weights, the Pro Line sandbags can travel flat and be filled on location.

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FilmLight Baselight v3
FilmLight Ltd. recently unveiled the newest version of its color grading system, Baselight v3. Features of v3 include stack manager, forthcoming GPU grading, Blackboard support, software optimizations, a new workstation platform, and the dual-core AMD Opteron processor, which increases processing speed across the whole Baselight range.

The new AMD Opteron processors, when coupled with FilmLight’s unique Baselight Four and Baselight Eight cluster architecture, also enable clients to grade two real-time streams of uncompressed 4K media. With v3, the Baselight Eight system will support up to 48TB of disk space, enabling users to keep multiple projects online simultaneously.

Other capabilities of Baselight v3 include: a 3-D additive and subtractive keyer which, based on a new algorithm, isolates areas in different parts of the color space and manages them within the same matte strip; support for scratch audio as well as field rendering and 3:2 pulldown for video grading and deliverables; a scene detector that is able to break long-form content into separate shots for easier shot-based grading; support for OpenFX plug-in architecture; stack manager, which greatly simplifies the management of complex grade stacks; and real-time grain reduction of a vertical slice of a 2K image, providing the colorist with a way to tune the grain reduction for each part of the image in real time.

Baselight, Baselight Four and Baselight Eight system pricing starts at $145,000 U.S. MSRP. Baselight v3 is free to customers under maintenance contracts. The Baselight Blackboard control surface is supported from v3 and pricing starts at $48,000.

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New From Digital Vision
Digital Vision, a leading developer of advanced digital media applications specializing in film and video solutions, has recently unleashed an array of new products and services centered on its DVNR1000 and Nucoda DVO image enhancement workstations.

Prior to the release of the Nucoda DVO (Digital Vision Optics) Station, Digital Vision’s image enhancement algorithms had only been available in hardware and utilized standard video I/O formats. The Nucoda DVO Station, though, includes software versions of the popular AGR4 ME grain management and electronic noise reducer and ASC3 ME film dirt and random scratch concealment tools, and these tools work at any resolution from SD video to 4K data. Furthermore, both tools utilize Digital Vision’s latest PHAME motion estimation algorithms, allowing colorists and restoration artists to automatically eliminate film dirt, random scratches, video dropouts, electronic noise, as well as control the look of film grain, without generating unwanted artifacts. The DVO Image Enhancement software is also available as an add-on option for users of the Nucoda Film Cutter and Nucoda Film Master systems.

Another available upgrade for Nucoda users is the new 8-core, 4-processor workstation that provides a ten-fold increase in speed for data-centric color correction. The 8-core platform, incorporating the latest 64-bit AMD Dual Core Opteron processors and nVIDIA graphics processing units, supports real-time 4K color correction, as well as work in 2K, HD and SD resolutions. In fact, the platform supports all standard data-centric I/O and 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 SD and HD video I/O. Additionally, the Nucoda system allows the platform to process files stored on a SAN, meaning that project data does not have to be moved into a local environment.

Nucoda version 3.0 has also become available for Film Master (Digital Vision’s comprehensive primary and secondary color grading system) and Film Cutter (a resolution independent, data-centric editing, conforming, effect and previsualization system that runs on standard PC hardware). 3.0 incorporates key aspects of Digital Vision’s technology in Nucoda products, with available support for DVO, Valhall (the control surface designed specifically for colorists), and comprehensive video I/O tools for video ingest and playback. In addition to improvements to the user interface, 3.0 also features enhanced editorial capability not usually found in data and DI environments.

For operators looking to use and upgrade their telecine for 2K workflow, Digital Vision has announced the 2K option for its DVNR1000 image enhancement workstation, providing what the company calls “the fastest motion compensated grain management and scratch concealment tools available today.” Also available thanks to a joint effort from Cintel and Digital Vision is the new dataMill, a calibrated 2K and 4K data transfer engine that operates at speeds of up to 15 fps and offers high-speed data scanning at the touch of a button. DataMill can also be configured to provide real-time SD or HD 10-bit log outputs that are ideal for high-speed DI processing.

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Lightworks Alacrity MR
Lightworks has unveiled the heir to its Touch, Turbo, and Heavyworks editing systems with the new Lightworks Alacrity MR. The Alacrity console lies at the heart of the system, providing an ergonomically designed playing and splicing tool which connects the editor directly to the material. Next, the Lightworks graphical inerface allows users to design their own workflow from digitizing, organizing and keeping track of material, to editing and playing out to tape.

The multi-resolution (MR) platform offers more options when dealing with today’s multitude of frame rate and resolution standards. On the Lightworks Alacrity MR and MR+, users can online or offline HD or SD projects, 1080i/p or 720p transparently, and the system can handle any frame rate (24, 25 or 30), any TV standard (PAL, NTSC) and any telecine mode (pulldown or telecined fast).

A number of real-time effects come with the Lightworks Alacrity MR, such as color correction, chroma and luminance keying, and 2-D and 3-D DVE for both SD and HD material. For more complex effects, Alacrity MR supports Adobe Premier and After Effects compatible plug-ins, such as Inscriber TitleMotion and Boris FX straight from its own timeline, in addition to supporting any application that can exchange AVI files.

Further enhancing workflow for the Lightworks Alacrity MR are the Geevs MR Broadcast Video Server and Sharknet, providing high bandwidth networking for simultaneous shared storage across many channels. Sharknet’s completely open infrastructure is designed for scalable production needs, ranging from simple two system networks to advanced multiple seat, truly-shared environments, and it can be configured using either Fibre Channel or Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) technologies.

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Geevs MR Broadcast Video Server
Gee Broadcast Systems Ltd has begun shipping its Geevs MR family of flexible servers for post-production, production, and transmission. The Geevs MR servers tightly integrate with Lightworks Alacrity and Touch, providing smart metadata exchange and other integrated features. Designed for the broadcast industry, Geevs acts as a platform for a variety of software clients that fulfill specific customer requirements. The standard Geevs client, provided with each Geevs MR, is able to provide control over capture, media management, editing and playout. These functions are all built into a single user interface that can be run locally on the server or remotely over a network.

Servers in the Geevs family include Geevs SD, Geevs MR, and Geevs MR+. Geevs MR is a High Definition, multi-channel ingest and playout server designed to handle whatever content the user can work with. Geevs MR+ can handle all of the media formats of the MR as well as Mpeg2 encoded HD material, in addition to supporting I-frame and IBP encoding.

Geevs servers and Lightworks Alacrity and Touch combine to create a fast flowing, complete video network. Shots can be ingested from camera or VTR and reviewed and edited on Lightworks within seconds when used within the Sharknet editing environment.

Geevs servers further boast open architecture designed to allow the easy addition of new features as hardware technology continues to evolve at its rapid pace.

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New from Pandora
Image processing specialist Pandora International has a range of product innovations, including the PiXi Revolution (a suite of products consisting of a combination of software modules running on ultra-fast proprietary accelerators), the PCI Express Interface (a multi-channel optical transceiver card), the Resize Engine and the DVI-D interface.

Pandora’s Resize Engine allows full resolution 2K or 4K — and in the future 8K — images to be processed and viewed in real time on an HDTV monitor. The Resize Engine also features high quality pan-scan and zoom controls.

The new Dual Channel DVI-D interface allows PiXi Revolution users to directly drive a 2K projector, enabling images to be viewed as they would appear in the cinema. Additionally, DVI and HDTV outputs on the interface can operate in different color space, both RGB and YUV modes.

Both the Resize Engine and the DVI-D interface work with the Kodak Display Manager System, accurately displaying a simulation of projected print film as well as calibrating, characterizing and leveraging 3-D LUT technology to enable everyone in the postproduction workflow to have a consistent visual reference. The system also includes a gamut alert function to display colors that are outside the display device gamut but reproducible on film.

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Assessing Panasonic’s AG-DVX100B
Panasonic recently released the AG-DVX100B, a revision of the DVX100A, with 22 updates and changes both major and minor.

Panasonic recently released the AG-DVX100B, a revision of the DVX100A, with 22 updates and changes both major and minor.

The camera’s onscreen menu system has been given a slight overhaul, and I didn’t notice the differences until I looked at the DVX100A and 100B side by side. The 100B has a new, smaller font that makes the overall menu layout per “screen” cleaner and easier to read. The new camera also boasts a new paint job with a suave name: Black Sapphire. Amazingly, the new color scheme improves the readability of buttons and labels inside the flip-out viewing screen, even in relatively low-light conditions. This is a nice improvement over the 100A.

The standard camera package now comes with a larger, longer-lasting CGR-D54 5400mA battery that extends the 45-minute capacity of the previous CGR-D16 1600mA battery to more than five hours. Panasonic has also adjusted the zoom speed at the “medium” setting to fall more naturally in line between slow and fast.

The improvement in the Electronic View Finder’s (EVF) resolution is impressive, even though it has only grown from 180,000 dots to 230,000 dots. The physical screen size — .44" — hasn’t changed, but detail is easier to see. Unfortunately, that doesn’t improve the ability to judge critical focus. (Panasonic offers an enhanced detail feature for both the EVF and flip-out viewfinder, which makes critical focus much easier to attain). An interesting addition to the EVF is the ability to switch between black-and-white and color for contrast viewing.

The tripod mount on the base of the camera has been reinforced. Although I had no quarrel with the previous mount, if a user adds matteboxes, a follow focus and other accessories, the beefier mount should be welcome.

The manufacturing process for the 100B has been altered so that the camera is now RoHS (Restrictions

on Hazardous Substances)-compliant, ensuring it is environmentally safe. (Primarily, this means the new manufacturing process eliminates lead.) Also, the End Search function has been modified to work in Camera mode so the user doesn’t have to switch to VCR mode to find the end of the previously recorded material.

With the 100B, Panasonic has found a way to eliminate the sound echo everyone encounters when recording in 24p mode with the DVX100 and 100A. When shooting in 24p and monitoring the sound from the headphone jack, a user will experience a two-frame delay that created an echo effect on the natural location sound. This slight problem makes audio monitoring from the camera nearly impossible in 24p mode. The 100B has a menu feature, identified as “HP” (for Head Phones), that enables users to switch from “live” (which monitors audio straight from the mike) to “tape” (which monitors from the record head). “Live” eliminates the echo, but because it has much more room tone, hiss and high end, there is a considerable quality difference between it and the “tape” setting. So what is the recording really going to sound like? Thorough testing prior to recording is required.

One of the next features is the ability to connect two DVX100s together to transfer Scene file settings or time-code information from one camera to the other. At first, the idea of syncing two cameras was very exciting. I didn’t have two 100Bs, so I hooked a 100B to a 100A and followed the rather convoluted steps outlined in the manual to transfer the time code from the B (master) to the A (slave). I accomplished that, and the time codes matched, but that was it. Although the cameras were still connected, hitting Record on the master didn’t start the slave. In the end, the transfer was no different than merely presetting the time code manually on the slave camera to match the master camera. Additionally, transferring the time code from one camera to the other was more difficult than manually adjusting the presets.

The 100B’s tape-drive mechanism has been upgraded to be more rugged. Although this is nice change, it also creates an annoyance: when you load the tape and close the drive, you have to wait for the drive to lower and the heads to engage before you can shut the outer door. When you’re running and gunning, waiting for the drive to drop before you can close the outer door is bothersome. Also, this update apparently has eliminated the “interval rec” feature that the 100 and 100A had. It’s still possible to do one-frame recording, but there is no longer a built-in intervalometer for time-lapse photography.

A slight breakaway has been added to the flip-out LCD screen that allows it to bend out 30° further than the previous 90° point. This allows more flexibility to operate from the flip-out screen and also reduces the risk of breaking the LCD off in the event it gets bumped. The screen has received a slight increase in resolution — from 200,000 pixels to 210,000 — but that pales in comparison to two other changes. First, it is now possible to view “squeezed” material in letterbox format. When shooting in 16x9 digital anamorphic mode with the 100A, you viewed a squeezed image on the LCD and in the EVF. In the 100B’s “squeeze” mode, you view a letterboxed image. There is also a mode that allows you to manually control the aspect ratio; when using an optical anamorphic adapter, you can manually dial in the proper image to see an unsqueezed picture. Additionally, Panasonic has increased the viewing area to the full recorded frame, not just the “overscan” area.

Finally, and probably most significantly, Panasonic claims the 100B’s LCD screen is a matter of “what you see is what you get.” Being well acquainted with the limitations of LCD technology, I was keen to test this claim. The first problem is that, as with nearly all LCD screens, the angle at which you view the screen considerably alters the reproduction of the image. By experimenting a bit, I found a position that seemed to represent the best contrast on the LCD monitor, with the richest blacks. This position seemed to be about 20° tilted away from perpendicular to my vision. Any variance greater than 5° in any direction seemed to degrade the quality of the blacks and contrast. Right away, this puts a kink in the “what you see is what you get” theory, as you are only getting what you see as long as you’re seeing it from the precise position.

I hooked the 100B via an S-video cable to a JCV TM-H1750CGU high-resolution 17" NTSC monitor. Using the SMPTE bars generated from the DVX, I balanced the monitor’s color, brightness and contrast. Then I turned to the LCD. Of course, the DVX doesn’t have a blue-gun-only feature to calibrate the color, so I turned to the custom blue filter provided in Joe Kane’s excellent DVD Video Essentials: Optimizing Your Audio/Video System, and balanced the color looking through that filter at the LCD. Surprisingly, it fell in line pretty nicely, better than most old NTSC monitors I’ve had to balance in the field. I also placed the 100A next to the 100B and set it accordingly. The 100A’s LCD screen clearly exhibited much weaker blacks, and the color didn’t quite fall in as well.

Then I put up my Gamma & Density Gamma 2U color chart, lit it and framed it up with both DVXs. The JVC monitor was positioned right in my line of sight so that I could stand at the 100B with the LCD at the optimum position and also see the NTSC monitor. I was very quickly impressed at how accurately the LCD represented what I was seeing on the monitor. The 100A’s LCD was nowhere near the quality and accuracy I was seeing with the 100B. The latter was not perfect, but it was quite close. Overall, the NTSC monitor had a little more color saturation (especially comparing SMPTE bars), particularly in the blue and green, but hue and contrast representation seemed dead on. The LCD was nowhere near as sharp as the NTSC monitor, however, so fine lines in the chart weren’t as clear on the camera as they were on the monitor, especially around the red portions of the chart, where the color seemed to bleed ever so slightly on the LCD.

I concentrated on the two areas of the Gamma 2U chart designated to represent video 100IRE and 90IRE. These are very close together, and it is hard to distinguish their different brightness values on an NTSC monitor when exposing for 18 percent gray to 55 IRE. Starting with the chart slightly overexposed, I began stopping down the iris on the camera until I visually could distinguish a difference between the 100 IRE and 90 IRE areas on the LCD monitor. I then did the same thing while watching the NTSC monitor and discovered that I could discern a difference between the two areas on the NTSC monitor about 2⁄3 of a stop earlier than I could while looking at the LCD screen — not a significant difference.

I brought in a strand of Christmas lights to see how well the camera represented high contrast. Putting the lights on the black back of my color chart and zooming in on a single bulb, I exposed the image on the LCD monitor to taste and then began comparing that image to the NTSC monitor. The LCD screen reproduced the plume from the filament of the bulb just slightly larger than the NTSC monitor did — 5 to 10 percent at most. Looking at the LCD on the 100A, the plume from the filament completely filled the bulb; there were no discernible details in the bulb at all. On the 100B, there were definitely details that were almost exactly what I was seeing on the NTSC monitor.

I was extremely impressed that the LCD monitor performed as well as it did. Of course, the moment I introduced any ambient flare on the LCD or moved it out of the prime position, the “what you see is what you get” effect was obliterated. When operating the camera on a daytime exterior, you won’t see what you’re getting unless you shield the LCD from all ambient light. But if you’re shooting onstage and can position the LCD just right, you’ll be amazed by the image’s accuracy. In the real world, however, you would do well to have a reference NTSC monitor that has been properly set and shaded.

The upgrades to the 100B clearly show that Panasonic is listening and responding to its user base.

— by Jay Holben

Magic Bullet Editors v2.0
Designed for integration into nonlinear-editing programs, Magic Bullet Editors version 2.0 features Magic Bullet’s Look Suite with a few extra tools, but without the well-known 24p conversion capability. Look Suite is a custom color-correction and filter set that allows the user to create a variety of interesting looks, including bleach bypass, color grads, and cross processing.

In Magic Bullet Editors v2.0, the Look Suite includes adjustments to pre-filtration gamma, contrast and saturation. You can add “camera filters” such as white diffusion, black diffusion and color gradients, and you can simulate a three-strip Technicolor look. Finally, Look Suite adds post-filtration applications of overall warm/cool color tone and post-filtration gamma, contrast and saturation. It is just a bit more than the color correction and filters that come with Apple’s Final Cut Pro.

Magic Bullet boasts DeepColor technology, a proprietary rendering algorithm that processes pixels at four times the precision of similar applications and applies floating-point imaging processing to ensure the highest possible output quality. I tested this against one of my favorite filter sets, Digital Film Tree’s 55MM v5.0. Both were applied in Final Cut Pro 5.0 on the same 24p-originated footage from a Canon XL2 on a dual 2GHz PowerMac G5 with 1.5GB RAM.

With the 55MM suite, I had much more precise control over the built-in matting power and more than twice as many preset filters than with Magic Bullet. For some odd reason, the preset Magic Bullet looks for Final Cut Pro aren’t available from the pulldown effects menu; instead, they are enclosed on the software disc as a project file from which you have to open and then copy the filters. This seems like a tedious step.

Working with one minute of footage, I took the Bleach-Bypass filter from 55MM and Magic Bullet and applied each to the same footage (see images above). The first major difference was the render times. For Magic Bullet to apply the default Bleach Bypass preset look on one minute of DV footage, rendering took 31 minutes 13 seconds. The default 55MM Bleach-Bypass filter on the same footage took 7 minutes 20 seconds, significantly less. With a bit of tweaking on both filters, I was able to quickly achieve nearly identical results in appearance and rendered each out. I then compared them side by side, enlarged to 400 percent, to see what happened to the picture. Looking just at the eyeball of the subject in the DV footage, I examined both images an Apple 23" Cinema Display screen and on a JVC TM-H1750 high-resolution NTSC monitor. The two effects weren’t identical, but they were very close. The 55MM retained more detail in the iris of the eye, but Magic Bullet seemed to have a slightly less blockier contrast with slightly more details in the fold of the subject’s eye. The blacks on the Magic Bullet were somewhat stronger than the 55MM filter. Aside from that, there were no differences in terms of resolution or artifacting resulting from rendering.

Aside from color-correction filtration, Magic Bullet Editors offers the MisFire suite of filters to emulate various kinds of damage associated with film-originated material. This set of filters is valuable to the common user, although it would most likely be applied with a very light touch. You can create film-like scratches, flicker, gate weave, blotches, dust, grain and more. Again, render times are a little high; one minute of DV footage took 16 minutes 43 seconds to render for the default settings on the Gate Weave filter.

Editor Eric Tozzi has become a big fan of the Magic Bullet Editors tool. While cutting the documentary Armand, about the painter Armand Merizon, Tozzi worked with a large amount of material that had been shot by members of the painter’s family. “Most of what they had shot was natural-light, run-and-gun footage,” recalls Tozzi. “Magic Bullet was a lifesaver, because I could quickly run through a number of different looks to see which would work for a given sequence and really sweeten up the footage. I like the flexibility Magic Bullet gives you; with open presets, you have the ability to tweak almost infinitely. It isn’t just ‘one template fits all.’” Tozzi is currently cutting the TV series Travel the Road, whose post team is using the full version of Magic Bullet to set the final look of the show.

Magic Bullet Editors is available from Red Giant Software for $395 and works with Final Cut Pro, Avid Xpress Pro, Motion, Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere Pro.

— by Jay Holben