Pittsburgh Steelers' Antonio Brown "breaks in" Warhola Studios!

Here are some quick shots of AB and dancers on our new 42' x 12' high cyc...

More cyc wall studio photos...

Finishing the cyc wall including 3 coats of mud/sanding, 2 coats of primer and two coats of Rosco Chroma Green.  Thanks to Ed Labuda, John Sanderson, and my wife, Denise!

More cyc wall studio photos...

Finishing the cyc wall including 3 coats of mud/sanding, 2 coats of primer and two coats of Rosco Chroma Green.  Thanks to Ed Labuda, John Sanderson, and my wife, Denise!

Lighting additions to Warhola Studios

We worked with Sam at Brightline to get us started with 6 new studio fluorescent fixtures for back/floor lighting and fill/key. Equipped with intensifiers, egg crates, and DMX control to dim.

Studio Construction

I wanted to share some recent photos on the blog of our new studio build.  The cyc wall has been delivered and the new wall is up and ready for primer.  Also the 16' x 26' grid is finished.

Warhola Productions and Studios moved to the Strip!

We've officially finished our move to the Strip District in Pittsburgh.  2310 Penn Avenue.  Parking is available on Penn and the kitchen remodel is complete.  We are working diligently on Studio B to sound control and new cyc wall is ordered.  More info to come soon!!!

New Solid-Core Doors installed leading to Studio B

Studio B in Progress, under construction.  Waiting on 42' x 12' cyc wall (ordered)

Wood ready for drop ceiling in Studio B to build a grid and drop in Owens Corning Select Sound Panels

New Full Kitchen - Complete

Lounge

Penn Brewery New Website with Photography by Warhola Productions

Pittsburgh's favorite microbrewery, Penn Brewery, launched their new website yesterday.  Most of the photos on the site were taken by Warhola Productions during a few sessions this summer.  Also, all of the product beer photos on the beer pages were taken in our studio with some Adobe Photoshop help from Warhola's Jessica Mastrean.  Take a look at www.pennbrew.com

Editor, Doug Dienst awarded for 10 Years of Service at WarholaProductions

We were proud to present Doug Dienst with the 10 Year Service Award for Excellence on August, 5th, 2014.  Doug has seen a lot of things change during his tenure in the industry and one of his strengths is staying on the cutting edge of technology so everyone can benefit from the workflow efficiency.  A philosophy that we embrace here at Warhola.  His creativity and knowledge will always be welcome.

Here's to another 10 years, Doug!!!

The New Mac Pros Improve Workflow at Warhola Productions

We are always looking for ways to speed up our workflow to be able to turn around projects quickly and provide the highest quality of work.  The new Mac Pros enable 4k editing capabilities, but also offer unparalleled speed through dual graphics cards and the latest processors.  Combined with Promise Pegasus Thunderbolt 2 RAID storage on each machine, we are ready for the future!  Adding Apple's ProRes intermediate codec to our workflow helps reduce file size, while maintaining a superb image for renders and mastering.  

One of our two new Mac Pros (with the cover off)... Looks a bit like a droid from Star Wars, no?

On the way...

In keeping up with the high demands of our post-production needs, Warhola is adding two of the brand new Apple Mac Pro's to our editing workflow.  These hot items are on backorder and due in soon, but in the meantime we are outfitting them with new Geekdesk adjustable desks to hold the sleek new towers, and the Promise Pegasus R2 hard drive RAID systems loaded with 22TB each!  

Each new system will also sport 2 new Thunderbolt displays.  Stay Tuned!!!

New Sony F5 Camera!

To compliment our 2 new PMW-200 cameras, we just received one of the most exiting cameras on the market, the Sony PMW-F5.  This camera also gives us the look of our Canon 5D that we love, but with all of the efficiencies afforded by a true production digital cinema camera.  We are using a new Canon EF 2.8 16-35mm zoom lens on it along with the Canon EF 4.0 24-105.  In addition to the Sony initial offerings below, they are constantly adding options via firmware including high-speed recording and now 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 HDCamSR file formats!

From Sony: "Sony 4K sensor for gorgeous, super-sampled HD and 2K The PMW-F5 CineAlta camera shoots spectacular images with its 8.9 megapixels (effective) Sony 4K image sensor. You get superior, super-sampled pictures with noticeably higher contrast, rich color reproduction and greater clarity. The camera offers robust built-in recording modes, all with vibrant 4:2:2 color. Irresistible options include the amazing precision of 16-bit linear RAW 2K/4K recording and high speed shooting at up to 120 fps without cropping."

More from Sony here:  http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/show-highend/resource.solutions.bbsccms-assets-show-highend-F5.shtml?PID=I:35mm_PMWF5:PMWF5

Warhola Adds New Cameras to Lineup

To help out with our many, many, multi-camera shoots, Warhola has invested in the latest camera technology from Sony.  Two new PMW-200 cameras are on their way to Warhola Productions and Studios to help with the task of high-quality, high-definition, multi-camera shooting.  The Sony PMW-200's have larger sensors than their competition, resulting in shallower depth of field, light sensitivity, and low noise.  They are true broadcast cameras and meet or exceed the stringent EBU broadcast standards for long format production.  Using a 4:2:2 compression at 50 Megabits/second, these new cameras offer stunning quality at full 1080p resolution!  The high-quality recording capability combined with all of the professional features such as genlock and time-code I/O will prove to make us even more efficient than ever in the field or studio (it's hard to believe we could be even more efficient... I know!).

Kevin O'Leary interviewing David Armstrong for the National Railroad and Construction Maintenance Contractors Association (NRC)

Warhola Studios used to demo PHYX software keyer

Pittsburgh-based Phyx Incorporated used Warhola Studios to demonstrate their PHYX Keyer software.  PHYX Keyer contains nine highly optimized award-winning plugins to create seamless and realistic composites. Repair uneven green or blue screens, create and control mattes, neutralize green or blue spill, and accurately match background color and edge lighting.  Justin from Phyx Incorporated hired Josh Birt and his Red One camera along with the beautiful Lyndi Delisio as the model to demonstrate how seemlessly someone shot on greenscreen can be inserted into a different background. 

The videos can be seen on the Phyx YouTube Channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/PhyxInc?feature=watch

You can download the Hi-Res files to test key here:  http://www.phyxware.com/Footage.html


Find out more about PHYX Keyer at: http://www.phyxware.com/Keyer.html

New High-Quality Converter Added to Our List of Services

Warhola now has the new, Teranex high-quality converter added to our extensive list of capabilites.  With this new technology, we can offer upconversion from standard definition sources that look like they were hi-def!  We can also create high-quality foreign conversion (PAL to NTSC) HD or SD!  Basically, we can capture and/or convert most formats into a Pro-Res HQ file, ready to edit.  The new Blackmagic-Design Teranex has an advanced SIMD technology developed and patented by Teranex which allows instant calculations on thousands of pixels simultaneously in X, Y positions and between video frames, so you get true super computer imaging power. Processing is applied within the frame and between frames all at the same time, so you get better de-interlacing, inter-frame interpolation and noise reduction. This is why Teranex conversions are indistinguishable from the original master!  Call us to find out more about this technology and to get pricing.



Software Demo Videos still the best way to market!

We recently finished a new software demo video for AssetWorks.  A company that delivers industry-leading business solutions that help asset- and infrastructure-intensive organizations control capital and operating expenditures, reduce operational complexity, and manage regulatory and policy-driven risk.  The video is for their AMP (Asset Management Platform) software.  Check out Warhola Productions own Jessica Morrows' fine work on this piece.  You can find out more about Assetworks at:  http://www.assetworks.com/

Warhola Hosts IABC Pittsburgh Event

We were privileged to host the latest IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) event in our studio.  The response to our topic "Video for Non-Videographers" was amazing and over 30 attendees participated.  Here were the details of the event:

Be Heard ... with effective video Video is bigger than ever on blogs, social media, intranets, websites and business presentations. How can you produce quality video without spending a fortune? What are the basics of a good script, proper clothing and effective audio, lighting and background? How can you best do it yourself … and when should you hire a professional? Learn this and more at “Video for Non-videographers,” IABC/Pittsburgh’s next professional development program. Presenter Kevin O’Leary is the business development director, in-house voice-over talent and on-camera personality for Warhola Video Productions. He is also a former director, producer and senior manager for a Pittsburgh television station. Kevin will share his knowledge of what works, and doesn’t work, on both sides of the camera. Kevin O’Leary Warhola Video Productions Thursday, June 7, 2012 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Warhola Video Productions, Inc. Deutschtown Center (across from Penn Brewery) 801 Vinial Street, Suite 201 Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Free Parking!

 

In the studio

Alison Conte, Assistant Director of Web Communication
 and Marketing at Duquesne University

 

Mary Cvetan from Cvetan Communications
 and Kevin O'Leary from Warhola Productions

Attendees

Alison Conte

Main Speaker, Kevin O'Leary from Warhola Productions

For more information about IABC, visit the Pittsburgh Chapter website at:  http://pittsburgh.iabc.com/

Videos for Software Company Bring Products to Life!

Sherpa Software came to us with the challenge of producing marketing videos for their different software products.  Not an easy task, since, well... it is downloadable software and not a physical product.  So by using screen captures that Sherpa provided, we were able to highlight areas, pan, zoom, and add graphics, music and voice-over to create dynamic, easy to understand, product demonstration videos.  They are performing extremely well for Sherpa as they have posted them to YouTube and are getting lots of hits!

Check out their site at www.sherpasoftware.com

Warhola Produces "Case Study" Videos for Staples Advantange

We are excited about our recent work with Staples Advantage who initially requested that we shoot and edit an interview case study in the Pittsburgh area.  They were so pleased with the result that they have been sending us around the east coast to produce several others for them.  Check it out under the "case studies" tab on their site:  http://www.staplesadvantage.com/solutions/k-12.html

So far, Warhola has gone to Baltimore, MD, Chaleroi, PA, Philadelphia, PA and of course, our home town of Pittsburgh to shoot for Staples Advantage.

Warhola Productions shoots timelapse for the NRC

Here's a look at some pics we took while on-location in Washington D.C. for the NRC (The National Railroad and Construction Maintenance Organization) and Delta Railroad.  We setup a Canon 5D Mark II to create a still timelapse sequence, as well as our HPX500 for a 720HD timelapse.  Delta Railroad had limited track time to get this project done and we covered it from a bridge high above the site over an 8 hour time span. 

Our Panasonic HPX500 and Canon 5D Mark II

Our Truck with Power lift assist setup on overpass

A look from above

Kevin O'Leary

The jobsite/timelapse view

To find out more about Warhola Productions, visit www.warholaproductions.com