Autodesk Inc. announced that it has seen rapid demand for its Autodesk TV Suite from broadcasters and post-production houses around the globe. From Tokyo to Rome, the Autodesk TV Suite is being used to realize ideas for high-definition (HD) and standard-definition (SD) television content.
Introduced in April 2005, the Autodesk TV Suite enables facilities to deliver long-form editorial, online creative finishing, challenging visual effects and stunning broadcast graphics from a single integrated system. The Autodesk TV Suite is a turnkey, dual-license solution for uncompressed HD and SD television production. The TV Suite features the Discreet Flint visual effects system and Discreet Smoke editing/finishing system on an IBM IntelliStation A Pro 6224 running Linux. New TV Suite customers include:* Duckling Post: Denmark-based post-production house servicing high-end production companies and advertising agencies * Frames Per Second: Dallas, Texas-based creative editorial boutique* Imagica Corp.: One of Japan's largest post-production facilities * Mediaset: Italy's largest private broadcaster and one of the largest in Europe* World Advertising Movies (WAM): A production subsidiary of Publicis Groupe, the fourth largest communications group in the world* WTVT Fox 13: Tampa Bay, Florida's channel for news, sports, movies, comedies and dramas
"The Autodesk TV Suite is our first Autodesk solution," said Rasmus Linden, owner and technical manager at Duckling Post. "We switched to the Autodesk TV Suite because of a growing need for post-production in HD. Since we often do commercials for cinema and television, HD capability is a must. By 2006, we expect most of Europe's cable providers to go HD and we don't want to miss the train it's much more fun driving it! Another issue for us was speed. Our clients are used to jobs being done quickly and professionally. With the Discreet Smoke and Flint systems running Linux, our time efficiency has improved dramatically. A third reason for turning to the TV Suite was stability. It's extremely important that the system is stable, so we don't have any downtime."
Mediaset has invested in the Autodesk TV Suite for its Palatino Studios in Rome. The TV Suite was purchased via Autodesk's Italian reseller Video Progetti and is in use at one of Mediaset's largest facilities, the News Production Centre. The Centre's graphics department, headed by Gabriele Galletti, services many of Mediaset's productions, from national news for the group's three channels to entertainment programs produced at the famous Cinecittà and Helios studios in the Eternal City.
Mediaset's technical staff chose the Autodesk TV Suite because of its innovative features, productivity and ability to offer unparalleled workflow optimization. "We needed to modernize our technology and the Autodesk TV Suite was the answer," said Galletti. "Depending on the kind of project we're working on, we can focus the TV Suite on editing rather than compositing or vice versa. Its operational ease and power allows us to achieve the best possible results under extremely tight deadlines. When reporting breaking news, our graphical reconstructions are created faster and are more realistic, adding to the clarity and precision of the information delivered by our reporters."
Founded in 1982, Autodesk Inc. (www.autodesk.com) is headquartered in San Rafael, California. The company recently renamed Discreet to Autodesk Media and Ent. The division best known for 3ds max and other digital imaging software will continue to service the film, video, gaming and related media and entertainment markets. This renaming ensures that the creative toolset from Autodesk Media and Ent. will stay on the leading edge of product innovation.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
