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BITS & PIECES www.postmagazine.com 12 POST MARCH 2016 BE4POST BUILDS DIT STATION SOLUTIONS AROUND SONNET XMAC PRO SERVER IRVINE, CA — Be4Post (www.be4post.com), a French provider of high-performance mobile stations for film and television production, has chosen Sonnet Technologies' (www.sonnettech.com) xMac Pro Server to drive its all-new digital imaging techni- cian (DIT) stations. The xMac Pro Server provides a secure, 4U rackmount enclosure for a Mac Pro computer and Thunderbolt 2-to-PCI Express (PCIe) card expansion for both Be4Post DIT station models — the X4-Wheel and the D4-Wheel. "We are committed users of Sonnet solutions; in fact, the Sonnet Echo Express III Thunderbolt expansion chassis has performed reliably and well for us on com- plex shoots and in harsh weather conditions. Therefore, we knew very early in the design of our new DIT stations that we wanted to build them around the xMac Pro Server," says Matthieu Straub, head of technology at Be4Post. "The xMac Pro Server provides an essential connectivity link between the Mac Pro and the peripheral solutions in the DIT stations, enabling us to deploy light and powerful tools that can evolve without compromise." Be4Post specializes in high-performance mobile stations for dailies prep, live color grading, data management, and DIT servicing on productions ranging from low-budget, single-camera shoots to high-end blockbusters in all digital formats. The company's new mobile DIT stations offer on-set color grading from live camera feeds, secure back-up, transcoding, and realtime raw playback to support dailies prep, quality control, and other production requirements. Both the X4-Wheels and the D4-Wheels are built around the Sonnet xMac Pro Server, which securely mounts a 12-core Mac Pro cylinder and connects built-in PCIe 2.0 slots via Thunderbolt 2 to support a Red Rocket-X video playback and transcoding card, a Sonnet Tempo 4-port eSATA host controller card, and a SAS 4 RAID controller card. For more on storage, see our Storage Supplement in this issue. SONY INTRODUCES COMPACT 4K CAMCORDER PARK RIDGE, NJ — Sony has introduced the PXW-Z150 (www.sony. com/pxwz150), a new 4K camcorder that combines enhanced low- light performance and multiple file transfer options in a compact design. With its stacked 1.0-type Exmor sensor, the PXW-Z150 is Sony's third professional 1-inch camcorder, joining the HXR-NX100 and PXW-X70. "The Z150's low-light performance, networking capabilities and 4K resolution give pro shooters an unbeatable triple play of fea- tures," says Jeanne Lewis, marketing manager, professional digital imaging, Sony Electronics. "It's perfect for professionals who need to quickly deliver high-quality content, and are ready to either step up from an entry-level pro camera or need a companion to larg- er-format cameras." The PXW-Z150's flexible operations make it well suited for corpo- rate and event production, as well as broadcast, documentary, online content creation or any application requiring fast turnaround times. The PXW-Z150 features a 1.0 type stacked Exmor RS CMOS image sensor, giving shooters the high-sensitivity needed to deliver clear, sharp pictures in extreme low-light conditions. A high-speed read- out ensures high-speed motion shooting with minimum distortion. The camcorder supports full HD 120fps continuous high-speed shooting, which enables 5x slow motion expression. The PXW-Z150 supports 4K XAVC Long maximum 100Mbps high quality shooting. Full HD XAVC Long 4:2:2 10-bit 50Mbps and the broadcasting for- mat MPEG2HD (50Mbps/35Mbps) are also supported. Videographers can deliver high resolution and contrast from the center to the edge of the camera's G lens, with the high performance 4K-compatible 29-348mm wide-angle lens with 12x optical zoom. The Clear Image Zoom technology operates at 24x zoom and 18x zoom in HD and 4K modes respectively, in addition to the standard optical 12x zoom. High visibility is delivered with the wide view-angle and high contrast 0.39-type 1440K OLED viewfinder, alongside the 3.5-type 1550K LCD panel. A built-in four-step ND filter offers the flexibility of exposure and depth-of-field control. Compatibility with Sony's Multi-Interface (MI) Shoe avoids cabling with easy integration between the PXW-Z150 and Sony peripherals, such as the UWP-D series wireless microphones. The camcorder's interface options also include: 3G-SDI, HDMI, XLR, Cold Shoe, USB and Remote and Composite. The PXW-Z150 has a battery life of up to 400 minutes of continu- ous recording time. The camcorder has two memory card slots and supports SDXC and SDHC media. The dual media slots also enable back-up, simultaneous and relay recording. The PXW-Z150 is planned to be available in April at a suggested list price of $3,595. NEW YORK — Nutmeg (www.nutmegcreative. com), which offers marketing, interactive, produc- tion and post services, has hired advertising and production veteran Jane Carter, who will serve as director of new business. Carter brings more than two decades of busi- ness development experience from Napoleon, a post production and previs shop in New York City. There, as VP/sales, she worked with agen- cies that include BBDO, DDB, FCB Health, Grey, McCann Erickson, and Mcgarrybowen, among others. Her brand work includes projects for Aflac, Altria, Burger King, Chase, Lego, Merck, Nestlé, Pfizer, Time Warner Cable, Viagra and Wendy's. In her newly-created position at Nutmeg, Carter will work toward building creative partnerships with agencies, networks and brands that will benefit from Nutmeg's expanded offerings. "Joining Nutmeg at this time in my career is exhilarating," she says. "It's a fabu- lous opportunity to join a company that anticipates the ever-evolving needs of the marketplace and meets the demands with new products and services. I'm excited to represent all that Nutmeg has to offer and I'm equally excited for the chance to continue to learn and grow. I'm looking forward to a bright new future." JANE CARTER HEADING UP NEW BUSINESS AT NUTMEG Jane Carter