Cinnafilm Press Releases and Announcements

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April 9, 2008 | Press Release
Cinnafilm Unveils Breakthrough Graphics Parallel Processing Technology with Introduction of Cinnafilm HD1 Real-Time Film Simulator

Advanced Visual Effects Solution Transforms HD Digital Video to Pristine Cinematic Quality in Real-time; Creates Affordable, Workflow Paradigm for Film Professionals

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Albuquerque, New Mexico - April 9, 2008 - Cinnafilm Inc. (www.cinnafilm.com), an emerging force in the development of polished GPU parallel processing, today unveiled the Cinnafilm™ HD1 real-time film simulator system, a major breakthrough in film simulation effects for HD digital video. The new solution is the result of over four years of dedicated research to harness graphics card parallel processing. Cinnafilm HD1 is intended for creative professionals who wish to easily and cost-effectively apply the look of film to nearly any digital video source, while maintaining the highest levels of production quality and visual integrity. Cinnafilm HD1 streamlines transfer and rendering processes to provide a solution that is fast, efficient, and affordable. Filmmakers can now quickly achieve a studio celluloid look at a digital video price.

Cinnafilm HD1 is capable of quickly applying pristine film simulation effects to even uncompressed HD video handling any SD or HD video up to 10-bit uncompressed RGB/YUV 4:4:4. The first solution of its kind, Cinnafilm HD1 effectively leverages the unique power of modern 3D graphics hardware for the purpose of imbuing HD video with the rich look of film. Filmmakers, videographers, and editors can previsualize filmed productions, integrate uniform looks and frame rates from most film and digital video sources, and instantly achieve the classic look of film tailored to individual preference, while avoiding time-consuming and expensive offline rendering.

Cinnafilm HD1 is driven by a sophisticated, patent-pending parallel processing engine that minimizes the time it takes to process digital video by harnessing the power of modern 3D graphics hardware at a rate that delivers 30x to 100x performance improvement on computational video tasks as compared with a modern CPU. This tremendous leap forward in processing power is being leveraged to push the limitations of parallel processing to new heights; eliminating rendering issues and freeing up countless hours of labor while significantly reducing the cost of post production re-work processes.

"Until now, making video look like film has been a considerable challenge. Prohibitively high transfer costs and severely limited technology caused time lags and more importantly, substandard results," said Lance Maurer, Cinnafilm's president and CEO. "Cinnafilm HD1 all but eliminates these issues, providing instantaneous and believable film simulation for just about any digital video source. This is an exciting breakthrough and one we’re certain will enhance the filmmaking experience while opening up countless avenues for technological advancement moving forward."

For Brad Carvey, Cinnafilm's technical advisor and Emmy award-winning member of the Video Toaster team, the company's advancements can be summed up in one word, ‘incredible’. "Cinnafilm's engineers have spent years writing code that uses all of the graphics processors simultaneously and they’ve put all that computing power into Cinnafilm HD1. Effectively, the solution is an affordable desktop supercomputer with over one hundred floating point processors that can easily process HD streams in real time," said Carvey. "Cinnafilm HD1 will change the way professionals apply the look of film to video, but that is just the start of what Cinnafilm will be able to do with future applications and advancements. Can you imagine what can be done with 128 32-bit floating point processors all running in parallel?  It is going to be exciting to see what Cinnafilm does next."

Rick Clemente, president of Production Central ABQ (www.productioncentralabq.com), is an award-winning film professional, with extensive managerial, technical and creative experience in production, post-production, and visual effects for film, television, and advertising. He served as the 2nd Unit Director of Photography on the original Star Wars, and helped pioneer several film technology advancements, including motion control systems.

Clemente is excited about the new, Cinnafilm HD1 real-time film simulator workflow paradigm, noting, "Cinnafilm's HD1 film simulator for CG and video images gives colorists, cameramen, and directors greater control over the subjective look of the image, while allowing the physical properties of various film stocks to be mimicked. Cinnafilm HD1 also easily transforms everything up to uncompressed HD resolutions in real-time, and at a reasonable price. I've been involved with cutting edge film technology for over thirty years, and this is a pioneering move. I look forward to adopting this solution into our studio."

Cinnafilm HD1 Highlights
Cinnafilm HD1 is a rack-mounted hardware device that operates with an intuitive user interface. Unlike other film simulation solutions that rely on synthetic overlays, Cinnafilm HD1 literally reconstructs digital video data streams into new frame solutions to appear as if the source were originally shot on organic film. The patent-pending process handles any SD or HD video up to 10-bit uncompressed RGB/YUV 4:4:4, enabling filmmakers, videographers, and editors to fine-tune the look of film to their own exacting standards:

• Real-time effects engine - Splits large tasks into simultaneous independent processes using a proprietary algorithm. This patent-pending process enables the instantaneous application of sophisticated film simulation effects to uncompressed video, all while avoiding artifacts and data loss.  At the same time, parallel organic effects are performed together with high-end frame-rate and/or scan-rate conversions (changing 60i to 24p or 30p, etc.).


• Near real-time true motion vector computation for video - Visualize and predict object locations in scenes with motion; once integrated, these edge detecting solutions are integrated into the full-resolution video in real time and without rendering. The sub-pixel accurate motion vectors enable precise and automatic deinterlacing and frame-rate conversion.


• Color correction - Perform RGB linear and non-linear adjustments for accurate simulation of film stock, in addition to brightness, saturation, hue and contrast adjust.


• Film effects - Replicate advanced film grain using adjustable pigmentation correlation, color and weight levels, and actual ISO granularity scales. Strategically add and adjust chaotic dust, fibers, and scratches according to frequency, size, and color.


• Scene by scene control - Fluidly work through your whole project. Apply any look of film to any scene with instant visual feedback, as opposed to time-consuming offline rendering.


• InfiniFrame TME (True Motion Estimation) - Create high quality frames from deinterlaced video and add appropriate, synthetic motion blur—a great option for exporting high-end solutions for film prints. This module also provides infinite frame creation, allowing the export of any high quality progressive frame-rate desired.

Cinnafilm: Looking Ahead
The company's forthcoming InfiniPlane module leverages Cinnafilm HD1's patent-pending parallel processing engine and True Motion Estimation (TME) technology, and will combine all of Cinnafilm's modules and speed together with a comprehensive, synthetic depth-of-field effect. Additionally, the planned InfiniFrame Advanced module, will allow users the power to add any number of frames to the final project.

The company is coordinating the advancement of technology used to transform 2D films into 3D, and is currently in discussion with Los Alamos National Laboratories regarding associated research partnerships.

Availability
Cinnafilm presently offers the Cinnafilm HD1 process as an in-house service that supports HD and any standard definition digital video format at its in-house production facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Remote transfers can also be accommodated. Rack-mounted and portable Cinnafilm HD1 units will be available for lease in July 2008. For additional details about the Cinnafilm HD1 leasing process, or to request a demo reel, please contact info@cinnafilm.com.

About Cinnafilm Inc.
Cinnafilm Inc. is an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based developer of powerful, reliable and intuitive visual effects tools for creative professionals in the film, broadcast, post production, industrial video and education markets. The company's patent-pending Cinnafilm HD1 visual effects system is the result of over four years of dedicated research to harness parallel processing to enable the application of outstanding film simulation effects to any resolution digital video, in real-time.

Privately held Cinnafilm, Inc. was founded by current President and CEO Lance Maurer in 2003, and is operated by a board of directors that includes Brad Carvey, an Emmy award winner in technical achievement and special effects. Cinnafilm currently offers the Cinnafilm HD1 process as an in-house service at its Albuquerque production facility. Rack-mounted and portable versions of Cinnafilm HD1 are scheduled for release in July 2008.

For additional information on Cinnafilm, please visit www.cinnafilm.com.

Cinnafilm is a licensed trademark of Cinnafilm, Inc. All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

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