Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/915639
www.postmagazine.com 8 POST DECEMBER 2017 BITS & PIECES SANTA MONICA, CA — Eleven (www.elevensound.com) mixer/sound designer Jeff Payne recently helped Target kick off the holiday season by providing audio services for a new spot that's part of the retailer's "A Home For The Holidays" campaign. The new :60 spot celebrates the joy of togetherness as various toys come to life and join forces to build a dream house. Lead by the ambition of two imaginative children, the team includes the cast of The Lego Batman Movie, Barbie, Trolls, Spider-Man, Mario and numerous Minions, along with Target's Bullseye canine. The soundtrack is a com- bination of live action and animated character dialogue, musical underscore and glittering accent hits. Payne's studio is equipped with an Avid Pro Tools HDX system with Pro Tools 12 HD and an Avid S6 mixing console. His monitors include Genelec mains and Meyer surrounds and subs. "The challenges of the spot were making sure the character dialogue synced with the animation, which was changing slightly over the course of the project, as well as creating sound design that complemented the action without getting in the way of telling the story," he recalls. "Also, there were many cut-down versions of the spot in which I needed to make music edits that worked with the specific sync points in the picture, as well as musically." Payne was assisted on the project by mixer Jordan Meltzer. Melissa Elston served as executive producer and Maddee Bonniot was producer on the project. LONDON — Creative software developer Foundry (www.foundry.com) has launched Mari 4.0, the latest version of its digital 3D painting and texturing tool. With a host of advanced features, Foundry has made the tool easier to use and faster to learn. Mari 4.0 comes equipped with more flexible and configurable exporting, simpler navigaion, and a raft of improved workflows. "The launch of Mari 4.0 marks an exciting new era for the tool," says Jordan Thistlewood, senior product manager, Foundry. "We pride our- selves on listening to the needs of our customers, and creating with them in mind. We have taken on board the requirements of both our custom- ers and the wider industry, to create a new version of Mari that is more responsive, precise and inspirational from the get go." Key benefits of Mari 4.0 include: Quicker start-up and export — Mari 4.0 allows artists to get projects up-and-running faster than before, with a new startup mechanism that automatically performs the steps previously completed manually by the user. Shaders are automatically built, with channels connected to them as defined by the channel presets in the startup dialogue. The user also now gets the choice of initial lighting and shading setup. Better navigation — A number of changes have been made to make it much easier to navigate around the toolset. A new Palettes Toolbar, containing all Mari's palettes, offers easy access and visibility to every- thing Mari can do. It's now easier to expand a Palette to fullscreen — simply hit the spacebar while your mouse is hovered over it. Tools of a similar function have been grouped under a single button in the Tools toolbar, taking up less space and allowing the user to better focus on the Canvas. Improved UI — The Colors Palette is now scalable for better pre- cision, and the component sliders have been improved to show the resulting color at each point along the control. Users can now fine tune their procedural operations with precision keyboard stepping function- ality brought into Mari's numeric controls. Enhanced workflows — A number of key workflow improvements have been brought to Mari 4.0. A drag-and-drop fill mechanism allows users to fill paint across their selections in a far more intuitive manner, reducing time and increasing efficiency. The Brush Editor has been merged into the Tool Properties Palette, with the brush being used now clearly displayed. Mari 4.0 is currently available for purchase on Foundry's Website and via accredited resellers. LOS ANGELES — Bicoastal music shop Elias (www.eliasarts.com) has expand- ed, launching a fourth office, this one in Nashville, TN, which is led by executive creative director Vincenzo LoRusso. Relocating from Elias's headquarters in Santa Monica, LoRusso will continue to oversee the music company's entire slate of work out of its Santa Monica, New York and recently-opened Chicago and Nashville offices. The location serves as a central hub between all Elias studios, allowing LoRusso greater flexibility to collaborate with his entire national team and growing roster of diverse musical talent in the Nashville area. The expansion will also allow the company to offer a more personal ap- proach to servicing the area's thriving tech and advertising industries. ELEVEN MIXES NEW TARGET HOLIDAY SPOT FOUNDRY INTROS MARI 4.0 ELIAS LAUNCHES NEW STUDIO IN NASHVILLE Elias's Vincenzo LoRusso Improved navigation is one feature of Mari 4.0.