InCinematographer - Issue 1 - June 2017 - 52

52

www.incinematographer.com | Issue 1 | June 2017

Timecode Systems
Stitches VR Footage

For Timecode Systems, 2017 is all about bringing the increased efficiency
and cost savings to multicamera productions and 360-degree filmmakers...

A

t Cine Gear Expo, Timecode Systems will be
showcasing not only a new, cost-effective way
to streamline multicamera production workflows
using the UltraSync ONE, but also demonstrating how
its system can now be configured to offer efficiency
benefits to professional VR workflows.
Size and price are important factors when it comes
to timecode solutions, but not at the cost of the
quality of the sync and the confidence that battery
life will last an entire day of filming. Measuring 55
x 44 x 17mm, weighing only 39g, offering a battery

VR solution: 360RIZE
VR rig with GoPro HERO4
and SyncBac-PRO

life of more than 25 hours, UltraSync ONE is claimed
to be the smallest, most cost-effective generator
and transceiver on the market to provide timecode,
genlock for camera sync, and word clock for sound,
all synchronized wirelessly and with sub-line sync
accuracy over bi-directional BLINK RF. These
combine to provide synchronization to such a high
degree of accuracy that it's suitable for even genlocksynchronized 360-degree VR arrays.
One thing that has persistently frustrated 360
content producers is the lack of a professional
alternative to the time-consuming, manual process
of synchronizing multiple streams of non-timecoded
GoPro footage.
Timecode Systems and 360RIZE recently launched
a modular, multicamera VR rig designed to house
GoPro HERO4 cameras with SyncBac PROs attached.
This solution showed how the SyncBac PRO solution
can be applied to remove the guesswork from
360-degree filming by enabling cameras to be
timecode-synchronized at the point of shooting over
RF, and also how multiple cameras in a VR rig can
be controlled simultaneously from a tablet using the

UltraSync ONE

BLINK Hub app.
At Cine Gear Expo, Timecode Systems is expanding
the application of its SyncBac VR solution by
demonstrating how UltraSync ONE could integrate
into other custom VR rigs, creating an opportunity
to use professional genlock sync for 360-degree
filming.
Visually timecode-slating cameras is a disruptive
manual process, and using the clap of slate (or
another visual or audio cue) as a sync marker can be
unreliable when it comes to the edit process.
A new sync feature, included in the version 3.0
update to Autopano Video Pro, incorporates full
support for MP4 timecode generated by Timecode
Systems' products (for example, timecode from
SyncBac PROs attached to GoPro HERO4 cameras
in a custom 360-degree VR rig). This gives virtual
reality filmmakers the freedom to shoot creatively
and efficiently, safe in the knowledge that every
camera in the rig is shooting in frame-level
synchronization and can be easily aligned and
stitched.
www.timecodesystems.com

Firefly Cinema Integration
with axle Gear

Simple but powerful combination brings color decisions
made on-set directly into an axle managed postproduction workflow...

F

irefly Cinema, an innovative developer of onset dailies and color grading software, has
announced that it is providing direct integration with
axle Gear from axle Video, a leader in affordable
media management.
Demonstrated for the first time at NAB, the
integration enables on-set color graded images and
metadata from FireFly Cinema's FireDay dailies
management tool to flow seamlessly into the axle
media management system.
The workflow implemented by the two companies
allows high-quality dailies to be processed, tagged
and color graded on FireDay's system on set, then
brought back to the postproduction site where it
can be managed and further tagged in axle's Gear
solution. In addition to color information, all on-set
metadata from FireDay, such as circled takes, are
instantly searchable in axle, enabling editing teams
to start working faster.
As HDR and UHD workflows continue to grow,
having an affordable and simple on-set-to-finish
color-centered workflow saves productions from

extra copy steps and rendering
processes. "FireFly Cinema is
honored to be working with axle
to enable on-set dailies flow into FireDay
postproduction with the look integrates
metadata with
that the director of photography axel Gear
intended," said Philippe Reinaudo,
CEO of FireFly Cinema. "As budgets and schedules
continue to shrink, it's never been more important
for production and postproduction to have the most
efficient, bulletproof workflow possible."
Firefly's FireDay software can output XML in an axle
Gear-compatible format, as well as the concurrent
generation of color-graded H.264 proxy media that
can be used directly by axle. When media is copied
to a shared storage system cataloged by axle Gear,
a seamless workflow is created in which one or more
channels of ingest can be fed directly into an axle
Gear system, allowing immediate editing and further
processing at the postproduction facility.
"We're thrilled to offer this type of integrated
capture solution as part of our radically simple media

management system," said Sam Bogoch, axle CEO.
"Firefly's powerful yet affordable dailies and color
grading capabilities raise both production quality
and speed for an industry focused more than ever on
agile field capture for television, cinematic and web
release."
Both FireDay and axle Gear can be run on Mac Pros,
making this end to end system a powerful resource
for video capture, sharing and management.
Alternatively, for larger configurations the system
can be spread across multiple Mac Pros, with FireDay
including options for clustered transcoding and color
grading of 4K+ RAW media from RED, ARRI and other
cinema cameras.
www.fireflycinema.com www.axlevideo.com
http://www.incinematographer.com http://www.timecodesystems.com/products-home/ultrasync-one/ http://www.timecodesystems.com/in-action/syncbac-vr/ http://www.timecodesystems.com https://fireflycinema.com/color-grading-solutions/fireday-digital-dailies-management/ http://www.fireflycinema.com http://www.axlevideo.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of InCinematographer - Issue 1 - June 2017
