YoYo Helps Smoke & Mirrors Make Magic

Award-winning commercial visual-effects facility, Smoke & Mirrors NY recently implemented YoYotta's YoYo workflow management system to accommodate the wide variety of camera formats in use today.
In mid-2010, the facility opened a new colour grading suite built around a da Vinci Resolve system, and found that they needed an efficient system for creating DPX files for grading.
With YoYo, Smoke & Mirrors can now ingest, transcode, conform and also output any standard video or data-based file format without tying up the resources of the grading suite or the colourists.
Simon Hester, Head Engineer at Smoke & Mirrors NY, explained: "Clients were coming in with footage shot on Canon 5D, 7D or ProRes and we couldn't easily get them into the Resolve. It was a growing problem, and we realised we needed a comprehensive solution fast because we didn't really have anything to handle multiple formats. YoYo really fit the bill."
YoYo offers a software-based solution for managing postproduction workflows for a fraction of the cost of other systems. Orignally created to be the conform i/o interface for Pandora colour correctors. YoYo has grown into a suite of three modules - YoProject, YoCapture and YoSource. YoProject manages file-based data, YoCapture allows users to ingest video sources and YoSource is designed for conforming and outputting video masters.
Hester explained: "The main advantage is that you can open pretty much any type of file and convert it immediately, it's so much easier to use in just one package. Without it, we would have to download different software packages from different cameras manufacturers to transcode individual files and we would be running around between different machines. YoYo is just far simpler and faster."
Hester explained that the company's London facility has also installed a Resolve colour corrector and YoYo, in conjunction with Pandora's Psi to run Spirit telecines. He said: "We try to keep our facilities technology compatible. It's easier for us engineers to fix a problem and we can also share knowledge across the Atlantic."
Founded by Creative Director/VFX Artist Sean Broughton (NY) and CTO Mark Widig (UK), Smoke & Mirrors is a New York and London-based design, animation and VFX studio that handles commercial visual effects and finishing for a wide variety of clients, including recent spots for Verizon Wireless, LG, Google and Electrolux, as well as films like Michael Jackson's This is It and Spike Lee's recent documentary If God if Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise.
YoYo runs on Mac OS X and is available from YoYotta at: www.yoyotta.com, or as part of the Pandora Revolution Express colour grading system.
(KMcA)