Burbank, CA and New York, NY, August 31, 2009 —Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL) in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today. more

New Versions of Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color and Compressor

CUPERTINO, California—July 23, 2009—Apple® today announced a significant update to Final Cut Studio® with more than 100 new features and new versions of Final Cut Pro®, Motion, Soundtrack® Pro, Color and Compressor. Final Cut Studio features Final Cut Pro 7 which expands Apple’s ProRes codec family to support virtually any workflow and includes Easy Export for one step output to a variety of formats and iChat® Theater support for real-time collaboration. Motion 4 includes enhanced tools such as 3D shadows, reflections and depth of field for stunning motion graphics and visual effects, and Soundtrack Pro 3 features new multitrack audio tools to streamline audio post production. Color 1.5 includes better Final Cut Pro integration and support for full color resolution, and Compressor 3.5 adds new features that make it easy to set up and customize your export options. At $999, the new Final Cut Studio is $300 less than the previous release and is also available as an upgrade for just $299. more

Echolab’s SuperSource: pre-combined crosspoint ideal for multi-box compositions.

Echolab President Nigel Spratling demonstrates Echolab’s new Atem production switcher

When a museum like the Shedd Aquarium undertakes a $50 million renovation to one of its most popular exhibits – the Oceanarium – there is no such thing as a small detail. And no one knows that better than one of the many partners that helped renovate the space, Chicago’s Mightybytes media design firm.

Mightybytes was selected by the Shedd to develop an animated video of a South African penguin habitat that would serve as the background to a new children’s playscape area featuring faux glacier ice slides, tunnels and more. more

Narrated, high-definition 3D documentary, will give viewers a new perspective of the park.

3D Film Factory (3DFF), an innovative company specializing in 3D digital technologies, recently begun production on an original documentary showcasing one of America’s greatest natural treasures in 3D — Yosemite National Park.

This breathtaking film will chronicle the history, seasonal cycles and visual grandeur of the park all in high-definition 3D. Like never before, it’ll showcase the park’s best known activities and natural phenomenon; Yosemite Falls, rafting on the Merced river, climbing Half Dome and El Capitan, tracking bears, the giant sequoia trees and the back country. more

Cavers, local environmentalists, media specialists, US government officials and academia are teaming together for a special documentary presentation on cave and bat preservation entitled “BATS: THE LAST FLIGHT”.

A group of cavers from the Tri-State Speleological Society, Inc, a non-profit caving club participated as well in the film scheduled for release later this year into 2010. GALILEO PRODUCTIONS, a multi media firm will produce a one hour special for cable television on the concert and the caver’s efforts to stop the spread of WHITE NOSE SYNDROME, a killer fungus destroying close to 90% of many bat populations in caves and mines throughout New York State and the Tri-State area. more

After 18 months of production “UFM2” is now complete.

“UFM2” is the short title for “Ultralight Flying Millennium 2”. It is FitzGerald’s sixth documentary on aviation matters and first project in High Definition. It was made to chronicle the current state of Ultralight Flying in America. more

Henninger Media Services (HMS) of Arlington, VA and Washington, D.C. has been awarded one of seven Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contracts from the National Park Service for complete audiovisual productions and services. The contract is a one-year contract with four one-year option periods.

The National Park Service award focuses on servicing the audiovisual production needs of the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, by providing products and services necessary to produce and deliver high-quality audiovisual programs. HMS will provide production and post-production services—which include scriptwriting, cinematography, editing, audio mixing, graphics, color correction and duplication services. more

The Visual Effects Society announced the recipients of the 7th Annual VES Awards on February 21, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The annual event recognizes outstanding visual effects in over a dozen categories of film, animation, television, commercials and video games. Filmmakers, producers and guests joined more 1100 professionals from the visual effects industry for the gala. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took home four awards—Including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture. The Dark Knight and Wall-E took home three awards each. more