Ladies and gentlemen, it’s hammer time. Marvel Studios has unleashed the first trailer for Thor: The Dark World. After saving the world in Thor and The Avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) reprises his role as everybody’s favorite Viking superhero, the god of thunder.
This time around, an ancient evil threat has reemerged with a vengeance: the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim. No, they aren’t a Scandinavian death metal band, as their name might suggest. Led by the Malekith the Accursed (Christopher Eccleston), these menacing creatures are said to have existed before the dawn of the universe. Now they’re threatening the safety of the Nine Realms, including Earth and Asgard, Thor’s homeland.
While fighting to save the universe, Thor is also determined to protect his human love interest, astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). She’s in danger on Earth, so he whisks her away to the realm of the gods. Apparently there’s a bit of a love triangle between Thor, Jane, and Sif (Jaimie Alexander), an Asgardian warrior goddess.
Evil elves are not easily vanquished, so Thor seeks the guidance of his vengeful brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). His dangerously untrustworthy behavior has landed him a spot in a prison cell. Thor gives Loki one more chance to prove himself, but he warns him that the next betrayal will be his last.
This epic new saga is brought to you by director Alan Taylor, known for helming some awesome episodes of Game of Thrones. Get ready for intense visuals from the VFX team at Double Negative and DP Kramer Morgenthau, ASC. The stakes are high. Is Thor: The Dark World ready to bring the thunder? It hits theaters November 8th.
We sat down with Glenn Sanders to talk about new products, NeverClip and what drives his company to develop new products for the sound community. Some of the new gear we found out about was the TRX900CL, a dedicated stereo camera link transmitter for sending two channels of audio and timecode from a sound bag to camera. The TRX is a 100% digital transmission and consumes low power (2.16w). The TRX also features an internal timecode-referenced audio recorder that backs up all transmissions on a microSD card, and is compatible with current Zaxcom wireless receivers, IFB receivers and IFB / ZaxNet transmitters.
Zaxcom Maxx was another product that was showcased at NAB, and it expected to hit the streets in about sixty days according to Sanders. The Maxx is an audio mixer and recorder that has an optional built-in RF Transmitter. It touts 4 XLR inputs (48V Phantom). It can record all broadcast sample rates up to 192KHz, and carries AES inputs, balanced audio returns, full timecode reader and generator, NeverClip and a slew of other features.
Clear-Com is one of the premiere voice communications leaders in the industry. Designing many integrated systems like the HelixNet Partyline, which was used in the 2012 London Olympics, they use cutting edge technology to help route one of the most important pieces to a successful production – the dialogue between the working crew. The Tempest is just one of those systems that can help do such a thing.
At S&P, we’ve been quite impressed with the things Blackmagic Design has done over the years. Some may even remember back in 2011, they even offered a version of their DaVinci Resolve Lite software absolutely free. DaVinci Resolve 10 is now out and it’s simply awesome. It’s upgrades are worth checking out and since it supports a wide array of cameras and has feature sets that goes beyond traditional color correction, it’s probably a perfect solution for many color grading houses out there.
Besides their color control panels and DaVinci software, they offer some pretty fantastic cameras as well. One being the Pocket Cinema Camera and another being their 4K Production Camera. The Pocket Cinema records CinemaDNG RAW and Apple ProResProRes 422 (HQ) on SD cards. It has a Super 16 sensor size and captures 1080HD. This versatile camera can accept a wide range of adapters for film or you can use Micro Four Third lenses to even adapt to PL.
There’s also a 3.5″ display, audio inputs, headphone outputs and boasts 13 stops of dynamic range, where you can choose from film Log or video REC709. The price point is set at $995.
On the 4K front, Blackmagic Design’s 4K Production Camera is another remarkable piece to have in your toolkit. You get a machined aluminum chasis, EF lens mount for interchangeable optics, 4K Super 35 size sensor, global shutter, and CinemaDNG RAW and ProRess 422 (HQ) file formats as well as uncompressed audio recordings all for $3,995. Recordings can be captured straight to SSD and the unit has a 5″ touchscreen display for easy menu changes.
Anton/Bauer is expected to roll out their Power Charger 3000 line in both quad and dual options. This LED equipped fast charging system is full of ingenious features. From power levels, to telling you how many times your battery has been charged, their new system even integrates wifi that allows you to use their software for further monitoring of your batteries.
Other feature sets include: estimated time to charge and battery health. It’s said to be 4x faster than their current Quad 2702 charger, and will have functionality to charge all current and older Anton/Bauer batteries. Availability is expected late summer 2013 with about a $2,000 price tag.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s hammer time. Marvel Studios has unleashed the first trailer for Thor: The Dark World. After saving the world in Thor and The Avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) reprises his role as everybody’s favorite Viking superhero, the god of thunder.
