MARVIN automates the creation of backups, LTO5 tape masters, QuickTime proxies for offline editing and DVD dailies, as well as shot logging. The new stereo 3D support in MARVIN 2.0 allows the system to ingest left and right eye images simultaneously, archiving to two LTO5 tapes – one for each eye. MARVIN 2.0 will render stereoscopic content to side-by-side, interleaved or checkerboard QuickTimes for Final Cut Pro, or MXF files for fast import into Avid systems.

MARVIN 2.0 is available in three models based on daily shooting requirements. MARVIN 400 can process 400GB of camera data per day, the MARVIN 800 can handle 800 GB, while the MARVIN 3D has sufficient processing power to ingest up to 1.5TB of regular or stereo 3D footage each day. MARVIN 2.0 is housed in a robust case with a padded exterior, and each model is available with either 6 or 12 TB of onboard RAID storage. Support for the RED, Panasonic P2, ARRI D21/Alexa, Silicon Imaging SI 2K, Vision Research Phantom and Weisscam HS-2 file formats is included with all versions.

MARVIN in Production Work
MARVIN was used by Dutch film director Maarten Treurniet on The Heineken Kidnapping (De Heineken Ontvoering) starring Rutger Hauer. “MARVIN was a huge help on the project,” explained Treurniet. “Our editors were able to start working during production, each day cutting shots from the day before. It was a breeze! We completed final editing in just over four weeks.”

“MARVIN is gaining traction in the marketplace with new projects recently started in Hungary and Rumania,” said Adam Welsh, general manager at MARVIN Technologies. “The system provides a reliable solution right out of the box for on-set digital capture, securing and storing, as well as creating production deliverables. MARVIN meets and exceeds the needs of major studios for production media security.”

MARVIN Technologies has also announced a rental program for MARVIN units. “This is the perfect solution for people who have a project coming up and want to take the headache out of on-set media processing,” said Welsh.

MARVIN at IBC
Visitors to IBC can see MARVIN 2.0 at booth# 7.K01e in hall 7 at the RAI Convention Center, Sept 9-13. To book an appointment for a demo, IBC visitors should contact Adam Welsh at +44 1279 758285 or by email: adam@marvintech.com.

About MARVIN Technologies
MARVIN Technologies was founded by Dutch filmmaker Maarten Treurniet in order to create a simplified and reliable data workflow for digital cinematography. The company’s flagship product, MARVIN, accomplishes this by establishing a clear set of protocols and automating the creation of backups, masters, offline proxies for editorial, and dailies. Based in Amsterdam, MARVIN Technologies is a privately held company with a growing network of international sales offices. www.marvintech.com

The new stereo 3D support in MARVIN 2.0 allows the system to ingest left and right eye images simultaneously, archiving to two LTO tapes – one for each eye. MARVIN 2.0 will render stereoscopic content to side-by-side, interleaved or checkerboard QuickTimes for Final Cut Pro or MXF files for fast import into Avid systems.”

MARVIN 2.0 is available in three models based on daily shooting requirements. MARVIN 400 can process 400GB of camera data per day, the MARVIN 800 can handle 800 GB per day, and the MARVIN 3D can ingest up to 1.5TB of regular or stereo 3D footage per day. MARVIN 2.0 is housed in a robust case with a padded exterior, and each model is available with either 6 or 12 TB of onboard RAID storage. Support for the RED, Panasonic P2, ARRI D21/Alexa, Silicon Imaging SI 2K, Vision Research Phantom and Weisscam HS-2 file formats is included with all versions.

“We’ll be using the new MARVIN on our next feature,” said director Maarten Treurniet, inventor of the MARVIN. “The film is a dramatic re-telling of the 1983 kidnapping of Freddy Heineken, owner of the Heineken brewing empire. We’ll be shooting for 45 days and MARVIN will be capturing every frame from two RED MX cameras and generating all of our on-set deliverables right on the spot. You can’t get more efficient than that.”

Visitors to NAB can see MARVIN 2.0 at booth# SL1716 (Cintel) at the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 11-14. To book an appointment for a demo, NAB visitors should contact Adam Welsh at +44 1279 758285 or by email: adam@marvintech.com.

Invented by Dutch film director Maarten Treurniet, MARVIN automates the creation of backups, LTO tape masters, QuickTime proxies for offline editing and DVD dailies in a single step. This simplified approach saves filmmakers significant time and expense in comparison with manually copying and wrangling data, as well as providing foolproof data safety for the captured assets. Originally developed to work with the RED camera, MARVIN now also supports Silicon Imaging SI-2K, ARRI D21/Alexa, Panasonic P2, as well as high-speed cameras such as the Vision Research Phantom and Weisscam HS-2.

During the Band Pro open house, MARVIN will demo the system for cinematographers, DITs, directors and camera owners looking for a reliable and affordable system for managing and securing their footage.

“We’re really excited to be introducing MARVIN to L.A. filmmakers,” said Maarten Treurniet. “We want them to be able to get hands-on with the system and we look forward to hearing what they have to say once they’ve seen what MARVIN can do.”

The One World open house takes place on December 16 from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 3403 West Pacific Avenue in Burbank. Attendees can register to attend Band Pro Film & Digital’s One World Open House at www.bandpro.com/oneworld.

Check out: http://www.studiodaily.com/store/webinars/260.html

Ljud & Bildmedia, which has been in business for two decades, employs 27 and offers filmmakers the full range of digital formats from small HDV cameras, to HDCAM, HDCAM SR, to RED, ARRI ALEXA and Phantom Flex. The facility provides comprehensive rental services, including lighting, audio, grip, trucks, generators and a service department for both lenses and video equipment, and has a client list of over 4,000 filmmakers, broadcasters and production companies.

“Many of us here at LBM have a background working with film production in the field,” explained Thisell. “We know how stressful it can be, and we are very aware of our clients’ need for reliable tools. We want to make it easier and cheaper for our customers to safety copy and transfer for storing (LTO), not to mention creating a DVD of all the takes from the day to make the director happy!”

“We’re honoured to have a high-profile rental house like Ljud & Bildmedia choose MARVIN,” said Adam Welsh, general manager of MARVIN Technologies. “For rental houses a simple and reliable digital data workflow is win-win situation for them and their customers. Production companies can work much more efficiently and the rental house saves a lot of time and hassle helping their customers recover from data disasters.”

MARVIN is available from MARVIN Technologies, or through Band Pro Film and Digital in the United States and Germany. For more information call +44 1279 758285 or visit www.marvintech.com

“This year we have been taking a good, hard look at the direction our industry is going,” said Amnon Band, president of Band Pro. “With the growing use of data cameras, like RED and SI-2K, data management is becoming as important as the camera used to capture it. MARVIN is a natural result of this transition and is perhaps the simplest, most elegant solution available. Band Pro is positioned to lead this movement, and the MARVIN one of the products that will take us there.”

MARVIN supports the RED One, Silicon Imaging SI-2K, ARRI D21/Alexa, Panasonic P2, Phantom, and Weisscam HS-2 cameras. The system is housed in a 4U housing with a padded case and controlled through a simple browser GUI running on a laptop computer connected via ethernet.

After entering the settings for a new project, MARVIN automates the rest of the process, saving filmmakers countless hours of manual data wrangling and effectively eliminating the risk of human error. When removable media from the camera is attached to the system, MARVIN creates verified copies of every shot to its own internal RAID5 storage array. The system then generates multiple verified LTO copies of all of the shots from the day, along with DVD dailies and QuickTime files for offline editing.

Said Gerhard Baier, Managing Director of Band Pro Munich, “We are excited about adding MARVIN to our product line-up. New technology demands new tools, and the MARVIN is the data management solution that many RED owners and data camera-based productions have been waiting for.”

“We’re delighted to be working with the team at Band Pro to make MARVIN available to filmmakers, rental houses, production companies and camera owners in Europe and the US,” said Adam Welsh, general manager of MARVIN Technologies.

See MARVIN at IBC
Visitors to IBC in Amsterdam, Sept. 10-14, 2010, can see MARVIN at the Band Pro Munich stand (12.B20) and at MARVIN Technologies (13.A38). For more information, or to book a demo, visitors should contact Band Pro Munich GmbH at +49-89-9454849-0 or info@bandpro.de.

Cinematographer Jan Moeskops is shooting Lijn 32 on RED MX cameras. The shoot is generating between 150 and 200 GB of data each day, captured on 16 GB CF cards. Once full, the CF cards are attached to MARVIN, which copies the data to its internal 12 TB RAID5 array, as well as separate hard drives. MARVIN verifies the data as it copies, flagging any corrupt file it finds. When the data is verified, MARVIN automatically generates LTO tape masters, QuickTime proxies for offline editing and DVD dailies.

“The idea of the MARVIN is one thing, but when you put it to use on a real production, you experience the difference it makes in your work,” said director Maarten Treurniet, inventor of the MARVIN, (along with developer and business partner Guus Zijlstra). “We made some interesting discoveries on this project and what we have learned is flowing directly back into development on the MARVIN.”

With a multitude of locations and characters, the shooting schedule for Lijn 32 is extremely challenging. During the first few weeks, the team found that the standard Core i7 920 CPU could not process data fast enough to keep up with the volume of material being captured every day. They decided to upgrade to the MARVIN Pro configuration, which features the Intel Core 980x processor. “That changed everything,” recalled Treurniet. “MARVIN was able to copy 16 GB cards in under 10 minutes, as well as verifying all the data. We had wondered if we would need to upgrade to an LTO4 drive, but we have found that LTO3 is fast enough to keep up. While we continue shooting, MARVIN processes the data, creating the masters, offlines and dailies.”

“We’re using a total of five CF cards on Lijn 32,” said Marcel Vendrig, digital imaging technician on Lijn 32. “When we’ve copied the data, we erase the card and send it back to the cameras. We typically use each of those cards several times each day.”

MARVIN saves high-resolution stills for each take. “The full resolution stills are excellent,” explained Vendrig. “I use them to check image quality, for example to make sure all the camera sensors are registering correctly.”

Throughout the shoot, maintenance and updates to the system have been provided remotely by MARVIN support. “It was incredible,” enthused Treurniet. “Wherever you are in the world, when you connect your MARVIN, support can get right into the machine if you need help with anything. It’s the same with software updates. There is practically zero maintenance for the user. It’s all done remotely through MARVIN support.”

MARVIN from the DIT’s Perspective
“Before MARVIN, I did my data wrangling with a laptop, Data Manager and external hard drives,” explained Vendrig. “When I had copied the files, I sent the drives to the post house where they created the dailies and offlines. It was more complicated and much more time-consuming, and there was always the nagging fear that something might go wrong.

“I was excited about the opportunity to work with a new technology on this project,” continued Vendrig. “I no longer need to spend time just copying data. Instead I can focus on my real work – checking image quality and fixing problems when they come up.”

MARVIN from the Cinematographer’s Perspective
“This is my second project on the RED camera,” said Jan Moeskops, director of photography. “I still like shooting on film, but for this project, I’m glad we’re using the RED. We have such a complex script with so many locations and characters. It’s a relief to have MARVIN with us. MARVIN creates the rushes, and I don’t have to think about any of it. I can check lighting and sharpness as we go. At the end of the day, I know that every shot is good. It takes a big load off your shoulders.”

MARVIN from the Editor’s Perspective
“These days in post, it often feels like we are one step behind the camera technologies,” said Jasper Quispel, who, along with Bas Icke, is editing Lijn 32. “A cameraman is already shooting with a new camera, but Final Cut Pro and Avid are not yet compatible with the new system, and the RED camera is no exception.”

“We’ve had many issues converting the R3D files in the past few years, and for an editor, this is really annoying,” added Icke. “With MARVIN these issues are solved, and we can focus on the creative side of editing, which is what we’re supposed to be doing!”

On Lijn 32, file conversions are done on the MARVIN. The editors receive offlines as DNxHD 36 MXF files with a mixdown of the audio included. “We can load that right into the AVID,” said Quispel. “Having access to the DVD dailies as MPEG-2 files and stills of every shot is a big help too.”

MARVIN from the Director’s Perspective
“Now that we’ve seen what it can do in the real world, I can recommend a MARVIN to anyone,” said Treurniet. “Transcoding on MARVIN is faster and more reliable than anything else. Other systems crash if there is a corrupt file. MARVIN just flags the problem and continues transcoding. We know right away when there was an issue with a file. We can check right away to see if there is enough material to salvage the shot, or if we need to re-shoot. You can’t do that if you only find the problem later.”

“Out of 385 reels, which we have shot so far, we’ve only had four corrupt takes,” he added. “MARVIN flagged all of them and we had no problem dealing with the issues right there on the spot.”

MARVIN at IBC
MARVIN Technologies will be exhibiting at booth A.38 in Hall 13 in the RAI in Amsterdam, Sept. 10-14, 2010. To book an appointment for a demo, IBC visitors should contact Adam Welsh or Russell Branch (russell@marvintech.com, tel +44 (0)7900 692 000).

Lijn 32 is a Dutch mini-series being produced by ID TV for NCRV Channel 2 and KRO. The series includes eight episodes and will air this fall. Visitors to IBC will be able to see preview footage from the series at the MARVIN booth.

“MARVIN helps filmmakers become vastly more efficient in the pressure of a real-world production environment,” said Adam Welsh, general manager of MARVIN Technologies. “But more importantly, it removes the nagging concern that data will be lost or corrupted. With MARVIN you can stop worrying and get on with the shoot.”

Camera Support
MARVIN supports the RED One camera, the Silicon Imaging SI-2K, ARRI D21/Alexa, Panasonic P2, as well as high-speed cameras such as the Vision Research Phantom and Weisscam HS-2.

The MARVIN Workflow
Settings for a new project are entered at the start of production. MARVIN executes everything from that point on, thus establishing a simple and transparent protocol for each day of shooting. When removable media from the camera is attached to the system, MARVIN automatically creates verified copies of every shot to its own internal RAID5 storage array. MARVIN then generates multiple verified LTO copies of all of the shots from the day, along with DVD dailies and QuickTime files for offline editing.

The director, cinematographer, DIT, or others on the production team can browse through a project and view thumbnails or video. This is useful for continuity, for example.

After offline editorial, a companion application, MARVIN InPost assembles the shots specified in the Edit Decision List for postproduction work and finishing. MARVIN can also be used in the post facility for the same purpose, and for archival asset management.

The MARVIN Hardware
MARVIN features a robust 4U housing with a padded case for transport and added protection. The system includes 6 or 12TB of RAID5 storage and a core i7 processor. Two built-in LTO tape drives and a DVD burner are included. Connection is via multiple CF card slots, e-Sata, Firewire 400/800 or UB, with custom ports (SxS, Fibrechannel) available on request.

MARVIN is controlled via a simple browser GUI running on a laptop computer connected to the system via Ethernet.

Availability
MARVIN Technologies has already shipped the first few commercial units to customers, and is currently ramping up the manufacturing to meet the growing demand.

“The transition from film to digital acquisition has been a wild ride for many filmmakers,” said Welsh. “With MARVIN we now have the production process under control. This is the way filmmaking should be.”

MARVIN at IBC
MARVIN Technologies will be exhibiting at booth A.38 in Hall 13 in the RAI in Amsterdam, Sept. 10-14, 2010. To book an appointment for a demo, IBC visitors should contact Adam Welsh or Russell Branch (russell@marvintech.com, tel +44 (0)7900 692 000)

About MARVIN Technologies
MARVIN Technologies was founded by Dutch filmmaker Maarten Treurniet in order to develop a simplified and reliable data workflow for the digital cinematography. The company’s flagship product, MARVIN, accomplishes this by establishing a clear set of protocols and automating the creation of backups, masters, offline proxies for editorial, and dailies. Based in Amsterdam, MARVIN Technologies is a privately held company with a growing network of international sales offices.

“There’s a tremendous demand for M-X support in the market,” said company founder, Maarten Treurniet.

MARVIN is a new on-set workflow management system for digital cinematography that automates the creation of backups, LTO tape masters, QuickTime proxies for offline editing, and DVD dailies in a single process.

“We’re here to change the way people make films,” said MARVIN Technologies founder Maarten Treurniet. “MARVIN is going to have a big impact and we wanted someone with Adam’s expertise and reputation to help make that happen. We’re delighted to have him join the team.”

Adam Welsh holds a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and began his career in the 1980s testing the new film scanning systems from Cintel. From there he worked his way up the ranks, progressing to postproduction engineering, a role which took him to facilities all over the world. In the mid-90s Welsh moved into business development, becoming Sales Director of the newly formed Cintel International in 1998, and ultimately Managing Director of the company’s global operations in 2001.

In 2005 Welsh formed Big Pic Media to help startups bring emerging film production technologies to market. This is how MARVIN caught his eye.

“There are a lot of terrific ideas and tools being offered for digital acquisition, but what we’ve been missing is a simple, streamlined workflow,” said Welsh. “Now we have MARVIN. The message to filmmakers is ‘ok, you can stop worrying now. Your data is safe.’”

Adam Welsh and his colleagues will be demonstrating MARVIN at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel (suite 839) during NAB from April 12 through 15. The Renaissance is at 3400 Paradise Road, across from the Las Vegas Convention Center. To book an appointment for a demo, NAB visitors should contact Adam Welsh or Russell Branch at +1 661 310 5868.

About MARVIN Technologies

MARVIN Technologies was founded by Dutch filmmaker Maarten Treurniet in order to develop a simplified and reliable data workflow for the digital cinematography. The company’s flagship product, MARVIN, accomplishes this by establishing a clear set of protocols and automating the creation of backups, masters, offline proxies for editorial, and dailies. Based in Amsterdam, MARVIN Technologies is a privately held company with a growing network of international sales offices. For more information, please visit: www.marvintech.com