Articles tagged #SALES
Articles tagged
#SALES
Videocraft Helps Red Shield Defence Service Kokoda Track Documentary
Recently the Video Production Department at The Salvation Army in Sydney was approached to film a documentary on the Red Shield Defence Service’s (affectionately known as Sallymen) involvement on the Kokoda Track during WWII. A group of Sallymen from throughout Australia took part in an historic hike on which a memorial was laid paying tribute to the Red Shield Defence Service men who bravely served during the war. Richard Cause, Technical Producer of CPR Productions for the Salvation Army Australia East THQ explained, “Given the significance of this event and the historical importance of the Sallyman during the Kokoda campaign, we saw this as an opportunity not to be missed. Having used Videocraft over the years, we thought we'd ring them to enquire about what the team consisting of Peter March (Journalist), David Scarborough (Editor) and myself (Cinematographer) might need to film a documentary such as this. So we were obviously after something that was lightweight, compact but also high quality. It also needed to be able to withstand the very rough conditions of this infamous trail.” Videocraft NSW State Manager Andy Liell recommended the Panasonic HPX172 camera. Cause continued, “We took Andy’s advice and used two Panasonic HPX172 cameras, one we already had and one Andy helped us get through Panasonic Australia. The team first looked at using an alternative, but after researching it decided that the HPX172 was the better option. The first reason for us deciding to take the P2 was quality. The project needed to be shot on the highest quality, yet most compact format. The second reason for us choosing the Panasonic was weight. Being that we were going to be carrying this gear along one of the world’s most grueling hikes, we found the P2 to be the most suitable camera size-wise without compromising quality.” Cause and his team found the cameras to be very light and user friendly. He continued, “Also, having a solid-state format, it was easy to review clips that were shot over the course of each day and not have the hassle of cueing the tapes back up.” The documentary was shot in very high humidity areas, something that brought its own challenges and surprises. Cause explained, “Not recording onto tape, which can be affected by the moisture, was a bonus and another reason we chose the P2. We were also shooting in very muddy, slippery and steep mountainous areas and we found the P2 rugged enough to cope with the occasional bang or drop.” The shoot went particularly well and Richard Cause and his team were very grateful to all those who helped make it happen. He concluded, “We want to thank Panasonic for their support with the second camera and we’d like to particularly thank Andy at Videocraft was really helpful when it came to answering questions in relation to what we would require to take on this shoot. The other thing that really impressed us was Videocraft’s willingness to go the extra mile and help us obtain additional loan P2 cards from ABC TV facilities, which we were otherwise not going to be able to afford to purchase.” The Red Shield Defense Service’s Kokoda Track documentary will be aired in 2010.
Videocraft Helps Build New And Improved Post Box
Boutique Sydney based post house Post Box has been growing, upgrading and adding new editing capabilities with the help of Videocraft. Post Box Managing Director Aaron Petersen said, “We started with fairly humble beginnings but that didn’t stop Videocraft helping us get set up with our first Mac based edit suite running Avid’s Media Composer. Videocraft’s MD James Taylor really set the benchmark in terms of service and support. He was super helpful right from day one.” Post Box traditionally handle long form projects but also have a string of successful TVCs and corporate videos on their ever growing reel. Petersen continued, “We are currently working on two big Australian series, The Great Australian Doorstep and On the Edge. We’ve also just completed an Astra Award winning Max Masters special on Coldplay, The Telstra Road to Tamworth special and the latest TVC for Aussie Home Loans. In order to properly manage all these projects and ones we have lined up we again turned to Videocraft to supply us with the right solutions to keep up with our growth Petersen consulted on his every growing requirements with Videocraft’s NSW Sales Manager for Post Production Rob Floro who said, “Post Box have experienced year on year growth for quite a while now. We initially supplied them an Avid Adrenaline system with Media Composer which was a major piece of kit at the time. Aaron and his team quickly needed an upgrade so we installed the first Avid Symphony system in Australia. Most recently we supplied and installed the latest Avid Unity shared storage system. Post Box now have a very efficient set up that easily handles all formats.” Designed specifically for storing, accessing, and sharing media in collaborative workgroup environments, Videocraft have integrated the Avid Unity solution seamlessly into Post Box’s production processes delivering them real-time, high-resolution media to their creative workstations. Aaron Petersen added, “We now have 3 full-time editing suites and a graphics suite all linked via the Avid Unity. Media Composer is the backbone of our editing solution and the Unity was needed to allow all our suites to talk to each other. Quite frankly we are flogging it, cutting the On the Edge series in all 3 suites and tripling our productivity. In addition the Avid Unity is giving us very stable performance in a demanding environment. It’s easy to administer and is flexible and scalable. Our Avids are great ‘core cutters’, they edit really well and playout with very little rendering and fuss.” Petersen has recently expanded the company opening a second studio in Central NSW, Post Box Central. Again he turned to Videocraft for the initial studio set up. He explained, “We’ve adopted the same approach as we have at Post Box in Sydney, small, boutique and well equipped. Thus we spoke to Rob and the Videocraft team and bought a Mac Tower with Media Composer, Sony EX3 camera, Dedo lighting system and a range of mics and production equipment. In typical Videocraft fashion they helped us choose the right solution, were particularly helpful and dealt with any technical issues almost immediately. In challenging financial times I can’t speak highly enough of the Videocraft team and their approach. We are fortunate enough to be expanding our company and it has been made very much easier by our ongoing relationship with Videocraft.”
Videocraft Becomes Official Panasonic Australia Dealer
Furthering their expansion in the Australian broadcast market Videocraft has announced that it has become an official Panasonic Australia dealer. Videocraft Sales Director James Taylor said, “We have been in discussions with Panasonic for some time as it is an excellent forward thinking company with innovative products and undoubtedly a good fit for Videocraft. I presented Rob (Myers) with a business plan of how we could help take the brand forward and I am delighted to say we shared a very similar vision and thus our appointment was agreed.” Rob Myers, Panasonic National Sales Manager - Broadcast Business Systems Group added, “"I am very pleased that Videocraft is the newest member of our Panasonic Broadcast Dealer Network. We welcome Videocraft's commitment, experience and high level of customer service that have become so well regarded within the broadcast and production video industry. Their appointment brings additional depth to an already strong Panasonic Broadcast dealer network. The Videocraft offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra will strengthen our presence in these markets and will help us improve on the high level of service that our customers have come to expect from Panasonic." James Taylor concluded, “Our number one goal is to provide our customers with the best choice of products and the very best solutions. Along with our range of editing systems, adding Panasonic to our offering means our clients can enjoy exactly that. We already have several significant projects underway involving Panasonic products and more announcements will be made shortly.”
Ambience Entertainment embraces new HD workflow with Videocraft
Videocraft, the leading broadcast equipment sales and rental company, supplied a Sony XDCAM HD solution to Ambience Entertainment for its new children’s TV series Larry the Lawnmower, opening the door to a groundbreaking new workflow. Glenn Fraser, one of the three directors on the Larry the Lawnmower series explained Ambience’s decision to use the new equipment and workflow. “We knew there was going to be a developing requirement for HD content for children's series like LARRY, and the existing HD acquisition strategies were either too expensive or weren't fully developing the rounded look we thought could be achieved. This XDCAM HD solution came along at just the right time. It might feel like there's a new flavour of HD turning out every six months, but when it comes to practicalities, there are really only a few things to consider. Number one being, ‘is your acquired picture considered real HD by the partners to whom you’re looking to deliver your deliverables?’ The pinnacle of HD delivery is still pretty much the BBC standard - most of the other broadcasters take their lead from them, so if you can tick the acceptable acquisition criteria that they demand, you're pretty much safe. Secondly, you've got to ensure that the uplift to HD isn't going to outweigh the programme's delivery opportunities. It's not much good feeling sexy about having HD at the front end if you don't have the processing power or storage to run the extent of your series without burning drive space. It's a false economy. The PDW-700's clever compression algorithm means that it's possible to get your pictures travelling back and forth in a good stream at 50Mbs. And all that in full raster 1920x1080.” Videocraft’s involvement began even before the project had been green lit with NSW State Manager Andy Liell consulting to the Ambience team and suggesting a package that included the PDWHD1500 Sony Professional Disc Recorder, PDW700 Sony Professional XDCAM® HD Camcorders and PDWU1 Professional Disc Drive Units. Once the package was agreed Liell and colleague Rob Floro conducted extensive testing on the kit with Fraser, cameramen Brad Smith and Richard Rowley, Series Producer Monica O’Brien and Senior Production Manager Kate Cooper. Smith added, “The progressive pictures the PDW700 delivers are without doubt, the knockout clincher. These cameras and this workflow bring HD back to levels that, although slightly more than Digibeta, are very affordable and give all the advantages of tape and non-linear. It’s the top of the line in XD evolution.” With Ambience’s budget having to cover 65 half-hour programmes for Channel Seven, editing and storage also became key deciding factors. “We investigated a variety of platforms for editing.” Explained O’Brien. “Omnilab Media’s CornerPost facility provided the ultimate post production workflow by embracing the Final Cut Pro-ProRes offline path utilising the elegant file-based workflow directly off the XDCAM Professional Disc media. This allowed us to work in ProRes reducing our storage requirements but without compromising the image quality. As the schedule is tight the only way for us to get through 65 half hours was for us to further utilise the XDCAM workflow in a way that we haven’t been able to do previously due to cost and time constraints. We did this by using a media manager on set who, with a running knowledge of the scripts and the series' goals, would be the first pair of eyes across the footage being delivered by two camera units every day. Her job, to collate the good, the bad and the very useful, into a bank of reusable locations, and character expressions. Then employing Sony's XDCAM transfer application, transfer the files 1.5 times faster than real time into Final Cut Pro to deliver a fast-turnaround offline cut. Instead of re-ingesting all tapes at conform, we do a picture lock-off in FCP and playout to the AVID DS HD Nitris suite for grading and titles.” Adam Spendlove, CornerPost’s technical engineer said, “After extensive testing this was by far the most efficient workflow taking into account the time issues we were challenged with”. Larry the Lawnmower is shot in a visualised studio space created by veteran designer Michael Bridges and imaginatively light-sculpted by Peter Borosh, ACS, and gaffer Graham Dickson. The Directors and the LARRY crew deal with a child's eye view of LARRY THE LAWNMOWER that is a hyper-realised world and exists within the backyard of a large suburban garden. Similar to Doctor Who’s Tardis, it is a place of seemingly infinite size and opportunity for the characters. Due to the fast turnaround schedule for episodes, the team were having to workably effect choice on a textural scale, and decided most efficiency was gained by doing 95% of their work in camera. Everything is bright, and richly detailed - grand, green lawns and azure skies - it is something like leafy, suburban Australia in miniature with puppets. “With such a huge amount of work to be undertaken, the Videocraft team, led by Andy Liell, have truly been pivotal to the success of the project thus far.” Fraser continued, “Videocraft's services and assistance have been nothing short of exceptional. In testing workflows via their Final Cut Pro setups they were always quick to initiate solutions, not sales. As a reasonably confident technician at this level myself, it would have been easy to see through a sales patter, but the experiential wealth they were able to honestly share meant that they were genuinely interested in the truth of the tests. The level of Rob and Andy’s technical and hands-on expertise meant that I never felt compromised and always felt supported.” Monica O’Brien concluded, “We are absolutely delighted with the XDCAM HD solution and the service and support from Videocraft. This is a real benchmark. As a result, HD productions are now truly affordable due to the efficiency of the XDCAM workflow. The argument that HD is too expensive just doesn’t hold up any more. We just couldn’t do this amount of episodes in the time we have without this workflow - it’s that simple. Andy, Rob and the whole team at Videocraft have been phenomenal. I have never experienced such amazing service and you can quote me on that!”