Content area
Full Text
IDS ON review
STAGETOOLS MOVINGPICTURE
In Brief- StageTools' MovingPicture allows still photographs meant to be used in a video program to be scanned in a high-resolution photo scanner, imported into the software, and manipulated in ways expensive motion-control rigs have been traditionally used, ie. tilt, pan, zoom in and out, rotate, etc. MovingPicture is available for Windows 98/NT/2000, and for the Apple Mac (see review for caveats).
The MovingPicture software is based upon OpenGL technology, and comes as either a standalone workstation package or as a plug-in for Adobe Premiere 5.0 and After Effects, Canopus RexEdit, Discreet edit, dpsVelocity, in:sync SpeedRazor, Media 100 iFinish, or any Avid AVX-- capable product (Xpress, Media Composer, Symphony, NewsCutter, etc.; MovingPicture also creates a log in Avid's ALE log format).
Prices: $395 stand-alone; $199 plug-in
Info: www.stagetools.com
One of the most underrated tools in the postproduction industry has been the motioncontrol rig. Other names for this product might be the "animation crane" or "motorized title camera stand." It doesn't matter what you call it: whenever a series of still photographs are to be used in a video program this tool can be invaluable. There's often a separate suite available at major postproduction facilities just for this service. The one problem with this type of system is that it can be expensive, especially for the small editing boutique or personal production studio. For those who find such a system out of their price range, I would like to offer a hot new alternative: StageTools MovingPicture.
With MovingPicture, you can use a high-resolution scanner to input still images into your computer and create animated/keyframed pan, tilt, rotate, and zoom movements. The software works with image resolutions up to 4,000 x 4,000 pixels. In general, a 1,500 to 2,000 pixel scan is the best size to use for most shows, unless you are really zooming in very tight.
The MovingPicture software is based upon OpenGL technology, and comes as either a standalone workstation package or as a plug-in for Adobe Premiere 5.0 and After Effects, Canopus RexEdit, Discreet edit, dpsVelocity, in:sync SpeedRazor, Media 100 iFinish, or any Avid AVX-capable product (Xpress, Media Composer, Symphony, NewsCutter, etc.; MovingPicture also creates a log in Avid's ALE log format).
All MovingPicture products are presently compatible...