Miguel Angel DoncelQ. What broad technology trends do you think will be front-and-centre at IBC 2009?
Stereoscopic 3D, RED and other file-based workflows.
Stereoscopic 3D is the new revolution in content creation and is redefining the production process, making a significant impact likened to the transition that black and white evolving to colour television made. Post-production software must enable users to control the complete stereoscopic 3D workflow.
Closed solutions are becoming less acceptable in a dynamic marketplace and system openness is vital. Being able to support native formats and connect with different standards is essential, resulting in flexibility as well as saving time and storage.
Q. Any thoughts on how the current economic climate will affect the show?
Key decision-makers at the show will be looking for cost-effective solutions, not just in terms of price, but cost of ownership. Branding alone will not be enough to persuade people — the technology has to convince people they are getting their money's worth for the long-term investment.
Solutions based on truly open hardware systems combined with reasonable maintenance packages will be attractive.
Delegates will want to invest in products offering reasonable and feasible means of upgrading within budgetary contraints.
IBC attendance might be lower this year due to cost-cutting with less attendees from outside of Europe possibly.
Q. What's new that you will show at IBC2009 and that broadcasters should look for there?
Broadcasters will discover that Mistika is flexible, integrated and very powerful. SGO's latest development for using the Mistika lap-top application on-set is unique.
Requirements for stereoscopic 3D post production are ground-breaking and rapidly changing the rules. Mistika has adapted to changes quickly and provides an impressively reliable tool to overcome arising challenges. Traditional separate post tools for offline, conforming, online, grading to effects work no longer support stereoscopic 3D production alone. Each tool within the entire post process needs to be applied in a coordinated manner, and not separately to achieve optimum results. Mistika offers one complete solution.
Q. How is your new product offering different from what's available on the market?
Mistika is a powerful high-end finishing system for post and DI, supporting SD, HD, 2K, 4K, stereoscopic 3D and real-time RED and other data workflows.
Mistika stands out with seamless integration between timeline-based editing, conforming, VFX, grading, restoration, infinite layer compositing and advanced stereoscopic 3D toolset all in one unique post-production system.
Its truly open architecture enables easy file-sharing with other systems, and with HP-Z800s, Mistika is fully parallel and GPU-optimised, resulting in real-time performance including colour-grading 4K DPX and RED R3D formats.
Mistika enables editing, grading and compositing direct from RED format files, natively in real-time, without importing, processing or conversion.
Q. Where are you based, and how many employees do you have? Anything else we should know about your company?
SGO has just launched SGO UK headed by industry veteran Geoff Mills in London. Madrid-based with globally established Reseller Partners in India, Dubai, Australia, Korea, Germany, Mexico, South America and the United States, SGO is a leading European developer of high-end solutions for the post-production and broadcast industries and has been distributing and providing system integration and developing solutions since 1993. The company prides itself with establishing close and long term relationships with its customers providing an effective and unique personal service. The technology is important and so are the creative people who make the industry an exceptional place.
Q. How many years have you been going to the IBC show and what's your fondest memory? What's your favorite restaurant or pub?
Five years. The Beach at the RAI. IBC and Amsterdam are great venues to meet and entertain customers.
