Made this year, this documentary covers the work of George Martin as a music producer. His work with The Beatles is well know but this video also features his early working at EMI with other artists, many of which were in the musical comedy genre. George himself speaks a lot of the time, and there are also interviews with people who worked with him. Included are some extra interviews. This video gives a gives a good overview of the life and works of Sir George. In it he revels just how talented The Beatles were and how modest he is. Sadly, there is only short mention of his work beyond EMI (at his AIR studios).

I went to see The Hobbit last night. Very good it was, too. I was wondering how on middle earth a 300 page book could be translated into 3 films, each being 3 hours long. The answer is that Peter Jackson doesn't do things by halves, so some background information (the backstory, for those who like trendy-speak) is included. The Hobbit is one story in a vast mythology created by Tolkien. So, it is appropriate to dig deeper and tie it in to LOTR, rather than just do a kiddie version.
I had read some professional reviewers comments regarding the new 48 frame format, saying that it didn't work as such stunning clarity spoiled the illusion of the film. For this reason we booked seats 2 rows back from our favourite spot, as I thought that it might be too much visual information to process in the action shots (and there are plenty of those). I found there was nothing to worry about and the extra detail afforded by 48fps is great, both for close shots, and the great NZ vistas. Maybe some eyes see it differently, but to me it simply took away the usual layer of blur that 24fps has and drew me closer to the film.
My only regret is that I couldn't hear the sound in Dolby Atmos but in NZ that is only currently possible in one location  - the Embassy theatre in Wellington (where the world premiere was held).
A short video about the sound for the film is at Soundworks Collection

AVB stands for Audio Video Bridge. It is a new standard for transmitting uninterrupted, synchronised digital audio and video signals over Ethernet. There have been a few technologies to do this in the past, but AVB is different  in that it is a standard set by the IEEE, rather than being a proprietary solution. The intended user-base is expected to be widespread, and includes consumer and automotive products, as well as pro AV installations.
This video gives a good overview of its capabilities. 
More detailed information is available at http://www.avnu.org/

Ever wondered how many names you are seeing as the movie credits roll by? I was watching Baz Luhrmann's "Australia" recently and decided to count them.

Do you think there are more than:
a)  300
b)  450
c)  600
d)  1500

And the winner of the 2012 NZ series is...(drum roll)...Clara van Wel. The NZ voters got it right, she deserved to win. Only 14 years old (15 now), Clara lives on a farm in Blenheim. Here she is singing her original winning song, with a mesmerising performance: