– Sim-ply expanding

Toronto-based Sim Video has increased its stable of available digital Betacam units from two to five and is gearing up for the arrival of hdtv as the technology participant in a number of new projects utilizing the up-to-the-minute format.

Sim is supplying equipment for cbc series Riverdale, which is currently shooting with DVW 700 digital Betacams. The project is running four cameras and the total equipment installation is valued at over $1 million. Sim is also supplying the J.D. Delmage/Children’s Television Workshop series for cbs, Ghostwriter, a single-camera, film-style shoot, as well as a number of commercials that are utilizing video.

Sim has also increased its Avid inventory to 10 systems and Rob Sim says the shop currently makes up about one-third of its business from post and two-thirds from camera. Gearing up for the inevitable, Sim has also ordered a pair of Sony HDW 700 high-definition cameras, expected to be delivered late this year or early next.

-New JVC product

Elmwood Park, New Jersey-based JVC Professional Products announced at this year’s infocomm in l.a. the launch of a high-end digital camcorder priced under $12,000. The Digital-S DY-700U provides full 4:2:2 sampling and is being touted as the only product capable of that resolution for its price – $11,999 including lens and viewfinder. The camera provides up to 104-minute recording time, and generates records and reads smpte standard time code.

-Sourcing music on the Web

Toronto company musicmusicmusic has developed a Website – www. musicmusicmusic.com – that will allow record companies, production houses, agencies and publishers to easily source music.

Marking the launch of the site, music makers are invited to post one or two original songs, which will stay on the site for six months free of charge. The site’s interface and search engine allow specific types of music and lyrics to be sourced according to the criteria of the user.

The site also contains information on copyright and publishing, royalties and recording contracts. Following the six-month launch period, subscribers pay us$9.95 per month, while artists are charged us$2.50 per month to post music on the site.

-AES Convention

The Audio Engineering Society is gearing up for its 103rd convention, marking its 50th year as the global forum for professional audio.

Over 350 exhibitors will attend this year’s convention, to be held Sept. 26-29 in New York, and there will be over 150 workshops and technical papers.

Workshops will be held on dvd techniques, audio on the Internet, 3D audio and tales from the truck. Technical paper subjects include desktop audio and sound reconstruction and archiving.

For information call (212) 661-8528 or see the Website at www.aes.org

-Performance Bytes

On June 21, Trinity Square Video, Bell Canada and Toronto multimedia and Internet service company Skyscape will present Performance Bytes, a performance art event based on new video conferencing and Webcasting technology.

With sponsorship from Bell, Trinity Square, a not-for-profit video center, has coordinated sites in Toronto, Halifax, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver to participate in an interactive video conferenced performance art production The event also involves a Webcast, with data transferred to Trinity Square and rebroadcast on the Web using Skyscape’s Internet video software.

The Webcast address is www.modworld.com/tsv.

-How Sweet it is

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Toronto’s The Edit Sweet recently held an open house showcasing a revamped shop and an additional cost-effective post option for commercial and tv producers.

Edit Sweet, which began its life as a one-camera operation, evolved with Avid nonlinear editing, moving from one to three Avid systems, including two Avid 8000s with AVR 77 resolution.

The shop also expanded the scope of its appeal to producers with a multiple-format vtr room with DVC Pro, Betacam sp and one-inch capabilities. The facility’s Avids are networked with two Digidesign Pro Tools audio workstations. Upcoming acquisitions include a compositing system, which will be added in the next month.

The facility has also expanded its business base, moving away from its corporate and industrial origins into more commercial and broadcast work.

Edit Sweet, together with Catchlight, the shop’s equipment rental sister operation, has evolved to offer an array of services to tv producers as well as an environment conducive to maximum comfort with the post process.

‘There is a lot of pressure on episodic producers now to have cost-effective production and post solutions,’ says Engman. ‘It’s important that they have access to a facility to get a turnkey deal, from cameras to post to air dubs, at a manageable rate.’

Engman says in terms of commercials, agencies are taking a more hands-on approach to post; when directors are cut loose after a shoot, it is agency people who are overseeing post.

The shop also offers in-house post-production coordination, which allows agency personnel to maintain a handle on the process.