Old News

Upgrade to location production
We now have the new Matrox MXO2 high definition interface to work with the MacBook Pro. This allows us to capture and edit full high definition on location and even play it out as a news feed or into a live broadcast. The MXO2 also works great on media shot with our Sony Ex1 and HDV camera's with such an easy interface using Final Cut Pro. We have also added a second user screen and a full hi def 22" viewing screen to the portable system so all we need now is it to be able to make coffee.

Shamwari:A Wild Life series two is away!
We are now well into the "Shamwari:A Wild Life" series two and it is keeping us all on our toes despite the global financial meltdown. We hope that with the unprecedented success of series one that we will keep running with this show. The only downside is that it is not shown here in Australia yet so we can't get any local feedback but for those who pass thru our doors, all they say when they see it is "wow!".

"Lyndal Davies, producer of "Shamwari: A Wild Life" on a flying visit to Australia"

Another summer has come ... and gone... and so has the Beach Cricket!
Again this year we were asked to help with the international mastering of the "2009 XXXX Gold Beach Cricket". This year we provided all the audio post production and duplicating services for 7 x 112 minute shows. Nobody knows how hard it is to be sitting in an airconditioned room full equipment listening and watching all those gals 'n guys running around on a sunny beach pretending to enjoy themselves.

Indie Film Makers enjoy our services
We have been doing plenty of mastering of short films made by independents for entry into international film festivals. The delivery requirements nowdays are high definition on HDCAM. Most are shot high definition on HDV or XDCAM and edited on their own Final Cut Pro systems. This is right down our alley especially when they ask for our involvement at the get go. And the creativity of these 'no names' really outshine the high end folk in the film and television industry that get all the publicity. Funny thing is that most of these indies seem to be film school dropouts!

"Indie film producer Victoria Waghorn in our edit suite celebrating 'its out to tape!'"

OK, OK so we have gone Avid
Well not really, we have purchased Avid Media Composer Software (v3.1.2) mainly for file conversions and media creation, as we are getting more and more Avid mastering jobs in and we can load it all up and create a master file to playout to HDCAM. So now we never have to say "no-can-do" anymore when clients ring and use the magic 'Avid' word. All thats left to master now is the software; why can't these editing programs all do things the same?!?

Not much is free today - except for "FREESURF"
Extreme film Producer Brook Silvester came to Leffler Post to author and encode a series of DVD's called "Freesurf". With fast and extreme surf action, interviews and plenty of funny stuff PLUS music to shake the dust from the ceilings and rattle the windows, this became a shelf feature at your local newsagent. Now with overseas interest, we are reversioning it all and going again. Brook is probably the longest client we have had here and since he relocated to the Gold Coast the only time we get to see him is when he comes down to shoot "Bondi Rescue". Incidently the "Freesurf" DVD wasn't free but was worth every cent that people paid for it.

"Brook Silvester at Leffler Post in a less extreme mood."

And on a personal note...
My son Ben Leffler has started university this year and he is going at it full tilt! He makes me a very proud ole video maker... and no, he is not studying media or the arts or anything related to my industry because I wised him up; he is going for a career that might make him money!

...Older News

Edit suites get HIGH DEFINITION UPGRADES

As mentioned on our home page we have spent the last 6 months doing some serious upgrading of the edit suites to cater for the new HD demand from both local and international markets.
Edit 1 - upgraded to HIGH DEFINITION PC based Adobe CS3 with a Blackmagic HD Pro video card and Blu-ray authoring including a 24" HD LCD viewing screen. (more info)
Edit 2 - upgraded to HIGH DEFINITION MAC based Final Cut Studio with a Blackmagic Multibridge Extreme including a 32" HD LCD viewing screen and 4 channel audio VU metering. (more info)
Edit 3 - upgraded to HIGH DEFINITION MAC based Final Cut Studio with a Blackmagic Multibridge Extreme including a 24" HD LCD viewing screen and 4 channel audio VU metering. (more info)
Edit 4 - upgraded to HIGH DEFINITION MAC based Final Cut Studio with a Blackmagic Multibridge Eclipse including a 42" HD PLASMA viewing screen and 4 channel audio VU metering. (more info)
All edit rooms are connected to the main equipment room via a Blackmagic Workgroup Hub allowing full HD-SDI connectivity and deck control to interface to the mastering machines. To assist in previewing we have also installed a 50" full HD plasma screen in our lounge/viewing area connected to the HD router via a Blackmagic HDLink HD to HDMI box. Along with this viewing area we have also installed a Blu-ray player for test previews of all created media.

Audio Suite gets a facelift

A long overdue revamp of the audio suite has given us a more user friendly approach to the current work load we are producing at the moment. As we move further away from TVC production and more into international documentary mixing and mastering, we took the opportunity to redesign the machine layout and patching requirements. And the big change was a move to Mac based computer control with Steinberg's Nuendo 4 software. This along with 48 channels of Motu digital interface connected to our Tascam DA98 digital mastering machines complete the main setup. We have also included with the Mac an AjA video interface to provide us with full realtime full definition video playback. A PC is also installed with a Blackmagic Decklink Extreme video/audio interface for simultaneous capturing and mastering without holding up the main audio production.

More mobility for in-field production

We recently purchased a MacBookPro with Final Cut Studio to increase our field production. As time goes on we are finding getting out of the edit suites to be more rewarding when it comes to having a life and adding this facility to our Sony XDCam further enhances our capabilities. Along with the MacBook Pro we have installed an eSata module to control two 1 terabyte drives for a massive high speed interface. And for a fully battery only operation we included a Lacie 500 Gig buss powered firewire 800 drive. Then to finish it all off we now have a Wireless internet USB connection to ensure we are always in touch and be able to send out field rushes.

Cycling continues throughout Australia - The McDonald's Grafton to Inverell Cycle Race

Riding a pushbike from Grafton on the mid north coast of New South Wales to inland Inverell is not my idea of a pleasure trip, let alone doing it to win a race against other competitors. So we did the next best thing and edited the highlights program aired by SBS television. This included all the video and audio post production and was produced by long time producer and friend John Rowley of JR Media Management

Yes its 'Shamwari: A Wild Life' - Series 2!!!

Following the unprecedented success of series 1, Leffler Post have commenced post production of series 2. The first series featured 15 x half hour full flavoured fever paced high definition episodes produced by Lyndal Davies of Rock Wallaby Productions. Lyndal is now permanently based ats the Shamwari Game Reserve on the Eastern Cape of South Africa and is surrounded by some young go-getter production people like Jenny, Karla and Morne. Series 1 has so far aired in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and hopefully soon in Asia, North and South America and maybe even in Lyndal's home country of Australia. All the video and audio post production was carried out here at Leffler Post and we continue to enjoy a close production relationship with Rock Wallaby Productions which dates back to the beginning of this century. Here's a little Shamwari teaser edited by Leffler Post's Pete Berthet.

Find us on Facebook

Seems everyone else is doing it so why not us. We have set up a presence there to allow others to get a closer community with LEFFLER POST and maybe to share a few friends. Also it is free and everyone loves stuff that is free. Once there go check out Themba, a South African baby elephant that stars in some of the Shamwari episodes. Find us HERE!

Its as Aussie as we can get - XXXX GOLD BEACH CRICKET

Earlier this year we edited and mastered the 2008 XXXX Gold Beach cricket as international program releases for SY Media. We made six 2 hour shows from the Perth, Sydney and Coolangatta matches and it was shown all around the world. So recently we were asked to make a 3 minute promotion for the 2009 series to be aired on Network 10's Sports Tonight, so they called in the guru director Magnus Vikinger to produce it along side Leffler Post's editor Baz Leffler and here is the end result as seen on Youtube.

Open up the closet for "Mao's Last Dancer"

Any unusual request never goes unanswered here and when we were approached for information about old television equipment to be used on a period film, not only did we use our intimate knowledge on the subject we were also able to provide the old equipment to be used as props. The film "Mao's Last Dancer" was directed by Australian Bruce Beresford and produced by Jane Scott whose films include Shine, Head On and Loves Brother.


Edit Suite Upgrades
We have recently increased our committment into HIGH DEFINITION by upgrading our Final Cut Pro Edit 2. Now with a OCTOCORE MacPro (8 processors) with 8 gig memory, 8 terrabye ultra high-speed media storage and a Blackmagic dual link HD card able to edit up to 2k resolution in 4:4:4 colourspace.
This is a super fast editing system making HiDef a breeze to edit and master. Additional to this system we have a 30" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor with 2560 × 1600 resolution. As well as this we still have the traditional grade 1 Sony 20" standard definition monitor fed via downconverted HD into an analog component converter. This is used to do accurate colourgrading and is complimented by a Hamlet waveform/vectorscope monitor. We have also installed a Tascam 4 channel audio VU meter for a more accurate reading of the audio content.
And we have now replaced our Edit 3 with a Final Cut Pro system capable of SDI uncompressed standard def and HDV high def editing with a dedicated high resolution display to compliment the Sony 20" standard definition monitor. There is also a Tascam 4 channel audio VU meter. More information is available on all our standard and high definition edit suites here on the facilities page.

ANOTHER HDCAM MACHINE JOINS THE EQUIPMENT LINEUP
We have now installed another HDCAM deck, a Sony HDW1800 used for mastering programs out of our hi def edit suites. It is also used for audio restripes from our audio post suite and spends the rest of the time doing transfers. We have added a multi machine edit controller to it, as well as a DV converter for doing downconverted off line dubs. It also works directly with our HDV to HDCAM converter and our newly aquired Sony XDCAM EX camera for dubbing SxS memory cards direct to tape.

A NEW HIGH DEFINITION CAMERA FOR PRODUCTION AND POST PRODUCTION
We now have the new Sony XDCAM EX camera... no tapes required! It records a full 1920 x 1080 direct to memory stick and it has a great high definition Fujinon lens. We use it for shooting our own projects as well as an aid in post for shooting graphics, product shots etc. We have also got the Sony SxS media converter for transfering the memory stick data directly to hard drives without needing the camera. This comes in very handy when editing on Final Cut Pro.

PETER BERTHET JOINS THE TEAM
We now have a very active member of the team learning all the tricks of the trade to become a top of the line post production person. He is involved in all the current productions currently underway here and drinks far too much coke(for extra editing power). I suppose its better than being drugged out all the time. Pete is responsible for redesigning our web site too; a very talented man! (Thanks Baz! -Pete)

SHAMWARI: A WILD LIFE
A new series coming to Animal Planet. We hinted in the past about this exciting series and the shows presenter/producer Lyndal Davies of Rock Wallaby Productions has finally given me permission to mention it. We are very proud to be involved in this project which includes all the vision and sound post production, colourgrading, mastering and international sound creation. We are about to deliver the first 15 episodes and will advise the air dates when we get confirmation but please put August aside for some very enjoyable moments. Shamwari: A Wild Life is all about the 'behind the scenes' of a very large South African game reserve; action packed as well as some sad moments, it should liven up your hidef plasma when it airs. The series is shot and mastered in high definition (naturally!).



New Website online!

Our new website has just gone live, here you will find loads of information about what we've been up to, our facility, our work and of course US!
So check it all out and be sure to come back regularly to see what we've been doing. Enjoy your stay!


Workout Videos - Who said TV folk dont excercise!

Recently we shot and completed three DVD's of 'Tai Chi' and now we have just completed the seventh in a series of 'Yogalates' video's for release on DVD for Momentum Pictures in the UK. We worked closely with Louise Soloman in the edit suite over a few weeks and enjoyed every moment of it. We took some pictures of us hard at work and Louise promised me she would send the pictures thru so they can be put on the web but we await in anticipation! Yogalates is an ideal balance of body and mind, breathing and movement making it an intelligent exercise system Its unique design includes everything necessary for optimal fitness. It is also useful for an editor who likes to watch pretty girls working out! So go have a look here and see what Yogalates is all about.

Two new series for international release

Well that's all you get for the moment as we can't say too much until the official press releases. But what we can say is that they all are being produced in high definition and released internationally on HDCAM including DA88 split out digital audio tracks. Leffler Post are doing all the on line mastering including fine cut and colourgrading right thru to full audio post which includes surround sound production. Hopefully in the next month or so we can tell you more but for now ..... watch this space!


The Success of HDV

We have quite a few producers who shoot on HDV and we have developed special techniques to maintain the quality which include never revisiting the originating tape format. But for those who like to shoot and edit for themselves we have all the appropriate equipment to get the HDV out to a HDCAM master. Using a HVR-M15P HDV deck we play thru a Convergent Design HD-Connect SI HDV to HD-SDI converter directly into our HDW1800 HDCAM recorder; Now thats digital all the way!

Mastering of new documentary "LOCKOUT" for the History Channel

Recently we were asked to supply full post production mastering for this doco which was shot, produced and edited at a high standard by some very professional and dedicated people. Directed by Jason van Genderen and shot/edited by Gavin A. Banks it is an achievement they should be proud of. The Producers, Diane Michael and Greg Hall of Lockout Productions also should be equally as proud as it must have been a hard slog for them. I am sure there were many others deeply involved but I can only speak of the crew that I worked closely with. It also gave me a chance to catch up with Diane as we have worked with each other over many years on television shows and all the fun stuff that goes with them.

"LOCKOUT" revolves around the events in 1929 when 10,000 miners were illegally locked out of their mines for fifteen months. The lockout sparked the Rothbury Riot in December of that year, in which police shot a man dead and injured 45 others.‘Lockout’ premiered on FOXTEL’s and AUSTAR’s ‘The History Channel’ on August 23rd at 8:30pm.

Upgrades to HDCAM Edit suite

We have now upgraded our HDCAM edit suite to Adobe Creative Suite 3 which include enhancements to our Adobe Premiere editing software AND our Adobe Encore DVD authoring software which includes full Blu-Ray authoring and encoding. So what are you waiting for? Bring in your HDCAM or HDV program material and let us get it onto a fully menu driven Blu-Ray authored high definition disc!
Goodbye 720x576 HELLO 1920x1080 !

Leffler Post provided pre-production transfer services, final colourgrading, specialised treatments and mastering to digital betacam.

For more info on the movie visit www.braboys.com.au/


"Kristen's Hero" On Network 10

The latest doco edited and mastered here at Leffler Post; "Kristens Hero"; Directed, produced and written by Michelle Stone for Kopasetikinc films.This one hour documentary continues the plight of Kristen Earney, born with a severe haemangioma, now 8 years old. Her original story was told in the documentary "Baby Kristen", also edited at Leffler Post. She met Dr Milton Waner who continues to treat her and many other children with this birth defect from his New York base. Click here to see some pictures.


Final Cut Pro additions

Due to popular demand we have just converted our EDIT 2 suite to FINAL CUT PRO v5!!!

This uses an Apple PowerMac G5 Dual 2.0Ghz Processor connected to an 'Aja IO' interface box allowing interfacing via serial digital (SDI), analog component etc. The edit suite still has the 20" grade 1 monitor and dedicated DV/SVHS deck plus the ability to use our HDCAM, HDV, Digibeta, DVCam etc machines. We also use this room for FCP injesting onto removable media drives for those who want to edit on their own systems. This edit suite is also available as dry hire. Please contact us for more details.


New High Definition edit suite now on-line

Our recently installed Edit 4 now has full 2k high definition editing capabilities. It can be used to edit all standard and high definition short and long form projects. The edit suite has the full Adobe Production Suite software and associated tools including 3D graphics and audio tools. There is a grade 1 SD monitor for accurate colourgrading and a 42" HD plasma for high definition viewing. The room is also setup with discrete 5 channel plus subwoofer audio monitoring Also included is a HDV deck, a HDCAM deck (read on for further details), a DVD recorder, VHS deck and Tektronix waveform monitor.

Portable High Definition editing

We now have a fully portable and battery operated editing system capable of DV and HDV realtime editing and mastering! Complete with secondary HD widescreen monitoring and unlimited storage capacity thanks to the use of multiple mobile 320 gig hard drives. Add to that the use of Adobe Premiere Pro/AspectHD for ultra realtime high definition performance then what else would you need.... ah... glad you asked...!


HDCAM

As briefly mentioned earlier we now have HDCAM... The required format for international HD program mastering and distribution. Now anything shot with the top of the line HDCAM camera's can be post produced in any and ALL the HDCAM formats including Cinealta; the new format for shooting feature films for conversion to cinema release.
Added to this functionality is the ability to provide High Definition to PAL Standard Definition conversions from any HD format (PAL and NTSC).
And then there is the ability to ingest HDCAM directly into an editing system in SD DV format for 'off line' editing; a technique pioneered by us and is now the accepted High Definition off line format!

A recent HDCAM project was 'off line' edited on our portable edit system using the SD DV out facility of the HDCAM deck and then 'on line' edited in Leffler Posts' High Definition edit suite and mastered to DPX format for laser conversion to 35mm film. And it didn't stop there!... the sound went into our audio post suite for 5.1 surround sound treatment and mastered to digital 8 track for cinema sound... This project also was mastered out to HDCAM for future use.


Did you see?

... recently the TEN NETWORK ran two documentaries post produced here at Leffler Post for Rock Wallaby Productions; "Moving Africa's Ark" and "Big Cat Doctor". These have also been re-versioned and mastered for Discovery Channel so if you missed them on TEN you will see them again on Animal Planet. We also did the post production on "Goulburn to Sydney Cycle Classic" for JR Video Management and aired on SBS television.