Blackmagic Design today announced that the hugely popular television adaptation of Sally Rooney’s New York Times best selling novel, Normal People, was graded and finished in DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Produced by the Oscar and BAFTA award winning production company, Element Pictures, and generating almost 48 million requests on BBC iPlayer so far, the 12 part drama has gripped audiences across the UK and US, with critics racing to heap praise on the Irish love story.

InfoComm 2020 will look a lot different this year. Instead of navigating the halls of the LVCC, attendees will navigate a virtual trade show on their desktops with mouse clicks. FSR, a leading manufacturer of a wide variety of infrastructure solution products for the audio/video, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), education, corporate, hospitality, and government markets, is prepared to make the event an exciting and informative learning experience by e-introducing attendees to its latest innovations that include: an all-in-one Floor Box, a dual purpose feature to its Raceway system, Table Boxes that POP, new power solutions, and a new Matrix Switcher. Everything can be seen on FSR’s InfoComm Connected 2020 Exhibitor Showcase which will take place June 16-18. Click for free Registration.

Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA), part of the Ministry of Media in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is replacing the playout technology for its main channels with an integrated solution from Imagine Communications. SBA, one of the most prestigious broadcasters in the Gulf region, is seeking to boost daily operational efficiency and eliminate human error for reliable and professional broadcasting.

To meet the requirements of SBA, Imagine Communications was able to propose a coherent end-to-end system covering network infrastructure, routing, monitoring, ingest, asset management and playout under ADC™ automation control, to replace the current system based on hardware from multiple vendors. The Imagine Communications proposal is largely based on software solutions running on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, using industry-standard workstations from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). It includes a Platinum™ IP3 router to switch SD, HD and 3G signals, with the capability of adding real-time IP switching to support SBA’s development plans. Additionally, the IP3 router provides integrated multiviewer functionality to ensure all monitoring is handled in a space-saving frame.

Blackmagic Design today announced that Singapore based Echo Entertainment used URSA Mini Pro G2 cameras shooting in Blackmagic RAW to capture the first season of Mediacorp Singapore’s upcoming TV dramedy “Classmates.” Echo Entertainment also used DaVinci Resolve Studio for color correction and VFX work, with the DaVinci Resolve Fairlight page used for audio editing.

Echo Entertainment, established in 2010, is a Singapore based motion picture company that handles television dramas of all genres, corporate videos, commercials and other multi camera productions. They provide all aspects of production and post production, from storyboarding to shooting and post production.

Blackmagic Design today announced that RealmSmith.tv is using its products to live stream the hit tabletop gaming series “Into the Mist” on Twitch, and using DaVinci Resolve Studio’s cut page to quickly edit each show’s highlights for YouTube.

RealmSmith.tv is a Toronto, ON based live streaming and tabletop gaming company, and “Into the Mist” features improvised live play of Dungeons & Dragons’ “Curse of Strahd” campaign setting. Jason Azevedo, founder and president of RealmSmith.tv, acts as Dungeon Master alongside weekly players gathered around an immersive table setup, where players and viewers are made to feel they are part of the game experience. Joel Augé, co owner of RealmSmith.tv, manages all aspects of the stream’s production and workflow.

When RealmSmith.tv embarked on “Into the Mist,” they decided to produce the show as a multi camera live stream to keep viewers entertained throughout the episodes. They initially invested in an ATEM Television Studio HD live production switcher, two Blackmagic Micro Cinema Cameras and two Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks to achieve a more cinematic feel. They later incorporated two additional Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks so they could further enhance the experience by capturing more camera angles.

“While a lot of live streams are based on a single, frontal view where players call in from their own homes with webcams, we wanted ‘Into the Mist’ to show everyone in the same room with multiple camera angles and proper lighting,” said Azevedo. “We really separate ourselves by having such a professional, cinematic look to our live streams.”

Blackmagic Design today announced the new ProBalance PSA “Stay Home” was shot by Clio Award winning director Kiran Koshy using a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. Koshy shot the PSA in his own backyard using his family dog Nigel and young daughter as talent, and worked with nearby colorist Charles Gerstner using DaVinci Resolve to grade the final spot.

Based in Long Beach, CA. and former agency creative director, now commercial director, Koshy had worked with a number of Asian brands in the past. Malaysian pet food brand ProBalance approached Koshy through his production company in Kuala Lumpur, Directors Think Tank, in mid-March to shoot the PSA even though they knew he would be unable to shoot outside of his home.

Working with creative agency Imaginary Friends and Directors Think Tank, “Stay Home” focuses on a patient dog teaching the importance of staying at home and practicing social distancing. The spot shows the dog in a Western style standoff with his human companion, who he teaches to sit and stay safe.

Blackmagic Design today announced India based digital cinema designer and colorist G. Balaji used DaVinci Resolve Studio to grade the recent Indian hit film “AADAI” and the upcoming “Andhaghaaram.”

Working on dozens of Indian feature films and TV shows, Balaji started his career as a film editor before moving to DIT and colorist work. Since 2015 he has used DaVinci Resolve Studio on more than 30 films for both color correction in post production and on set dailies work.

“AADAI” is a hit thriller film that was released for theatrical distribution in India and across global streaming networks in 2019. The film follows a free spirited girl, Kamini, who had become famous creating Internet prank videos. One night, she gets the shock of her life when she finds herself alone and naked in an abandoned building after a late night party and is forced to face her past.

The leader in intelligent storage solutions, GB Labs, has announced a development partnership with ATTO Technology, Inc., a global leader of network, storage connectivity and infrastructure solutions, and has qualified ATTO 360™ Tuning, Monitoring, and Analytics Software with GB Labs CORE.4 operating system.

A network built with ATTO FastFrame™ Ethernet adapters and ThunderLink® Thunderbolt™ adapters can be optimised to perform far better than what’s commonly expected of Ethernet networks. ATTO 360 Tuning, Monitoring, and Analytics Software helps users easily and quickly tune networks to achieve maximum performance.

GB Labs CEO-CTO Dominic Harland said, “Any storage system can only be as good as the quality of the connection it has to creative workstations or processing platforms. This is especially true of our high-end Space and FastNAS platforms, which are so powerful and intuitive that they can actually be let down by a substandard link to the workstations they are there to drive.”

Blackmagic Design today announced that the stunning new 8K 3D documentary “Everest VR: Journey to the Top of the World,” produced by Facebook’s Oculus, was edited, graded and stitched with DaVinci Resolve Studio and Fusion Studio.

In April of 2017, world famous climber Ueli Steck died while preparing for climbing both Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse without the use of bottled oxygen. Ueli’s close friends Jonathan Griffith and Sherpa Tenji attempted to finish off this project while award winning VR director and alpine photographer Griffith captured the entire story.

Over the course of three years, Griffith shot footage following Tenji and some of the world’s most accomplished climbers on some of the world’s most extreme locations. The series also includes footage that lets viewers witness what it is like to be engulfed in a Himalayan avalanche, cross a crevasse and staring deep in its depths, take a huge rock climbing fall, camp under the stars and soak in the view from the top of the world.

ChyronHego today announced that the company has been collaborating with Nexstar, Sinclair, and Quincy Media to source and aggregate current U.S. statistics on the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) down to the county level. Working with ChyronHego, the competing broadcast groups have united to ensure that local broadcasters nationwide can provide their viewers with the information they need to navigate the crisis.

With reporters on the ground at call-letter stations, the broadcasters are uniquely positioned to gather and contribute data that reflects the current impact of the virus across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. ChyronHego is aggregating and organizing this data, along with information from leading health organizations, to support more accurate and timely updates at the national, state, and local levels.

Like many countries, South Africa's response to the COVID-19 pandemic saw a national lockdown and the suspension of large social gatherings - including any places of worship.

LINC Church, based in Salt Rock, would generally see an average weekly congregation of around 1,000 people. However, with that now not being possible, the Church made a swift decision to take everything online.

Video has become an invaluable part of LINC's worship on campus, and the Church wanted to continue offering good quality content in a style and format that felt familiar. The aim was also to ensure attendees could access live messages and sermons from pastors.

"Total lockdown came at midnight on the 26th March, but we did get a couple of days notice," begins Simon Wilkes, media director. "We gathered a group of people at the church and used the time to record as much content as we could - both preaching and worship."

Turkuvaz Media Group (TMG), Turkey’s largest private media group operating in television, radio broadcasting, as well as newspaper and magazine publication and printing, has chosen Sony solutions and services to build an ambitious new media centre in Istanbul, spanning 7 studios and control rooms, as part of a multi-million Euro deal with systems integrator Teratek. This project consolidates TMG’s distributed studios into one location to improve efficiency, future-proof its capabilities for 4K broadcasting, and create a scalable system ready for the group’s future growth.

Fincons Group, an international system integration consultancy with offices in Italy, Switzerland, the UK, France, Germany and the U.S., announces the acquisition of Mondadori Group’s IT Factory unit. Mondadori is a long-term client and partner of Fincons Group.

“For over 36 years, we have been investing regularly to develop an offering that is always cutting-edge and that delivers digital innovation to the different sectors we serve, in Italy and abroad,- states Michele Moretti, Fincons Group CEO.“This latest acquisition further reinforces our productive and active partnership with Mondadori Group, a long-term client and partner, that we have been delighted to support in various phases of business and technological transformation in a sector that has undergone significant change over the years.”

The acquisition will further bolster the delivery services offered by Fincons Group in the publishing sector. These are provided through the work of the highly skilled Delivery Centre in Bari where over 700 professionals deliver Smart Shore IT services. They are also supported by the consulting and delivery services provided by the other Group units.

The move further enhances the Fincons Group’s business activities in France, where a new office has recently been opened in Paris. In particular, Fincons will manage the subscription platform for Reworld Media Magazines SAS (previously Mondadori France), a highly strategic activity for the French digital company, owner of an international media network.

“I am proud that our Group has reached another important achievement This acquisition clearly confirms the positioning we have gained over the years through our work for important media and publishing clients. It is also an opportunity to further make our mark in a competitive market such as France, where we have already started to partner with key media companies,” concludes Francesco Moretti, Fincons Group Deputy CEO and Fincons France CEO.

ACCESS:VFX, an industry-led non-profit coalition of leading VFX, animation and games studios, is proud to announce that the prestigious Visionary Honours has recognised Simon Devereux for Community Person of the Year. This follows news of the initiative reaching over 50 members, featuring the likes of Aardman Academy, Epic Games and The Farm Group.

The awards that celebrate popular culture, media and entertainment inspiring social change or debate, include influential public figures Lewis Hamilton and Stormzy on the shortlists. Simon Devereux’s nomination honours his dedication in leading ACCESS:VFX for almost 3 years, connecting competitor brands across the industry and pushing towards the same goal – encouraging inclusion and diversity.

“I’m delighted to be nominated for the Community Person of the Year award. ACCESS:VFX would be nothing without the hardworking and passionate people who really care about improving diversity in VFX, animation and games. It’s a pleasure to be a part of a group that actively creates more opportunities for aspiring creatives and strives to make the industry a better place to work in,” says Simon, founder and director of ACCESS:VFX.

Riedel's Artist digital matrix intercom and Bolero wireless intercom are at the core of a comprehensive event communications solution for the all-new International Swimming League (ISL). The integrated Artist/Bolero system enabled clear and highly reliable crew communications for the ISL's inaugural season in 2019, culminating in December's Grand Final at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

The ISL has brought swimming to the world of professional sports, with male and female swimmers competing in teams rather than individually. Throughout 2019, the league conducted seven short-course swimming matches in cities around the world, with Energy Standard of France winning the first-ever ISL Championship at the Grand Final.

Dodd Technologies Inc. (DTI), a full-service event and entertainment production company, produced the four U.S.-based meets for broadcast and streaming outlets. These included events in Indianapolis; Washington, D.C.; Dallas; and the Grand Final in Las Vegas, for which DTI worked with Myrtha Pools and Klance Unlimited to install a custom-built, acrylic-sided pool, holding nearly one million gallons of water, in the Mandalay Bay Casino Arena.

For each of these events, the DTI production team relied on an Artist-32 mainframe interfaced with desktop and rack-mounted Riedel 2300-Series SmartPanels, which routed intercom signals seamlessly to 10 Bolero intercom beltpacks. At Mandalay Bay, only two Bolero antennas were needed to provide flawless and crystal-clear communications to the entire arena and surrounding rooms.