SMOKE AND MIRRORS LAUNCH ONLINE SERVICE

SMOKE AND MIRRORS have launched a new range of instant, interactive web-based post production service for commercials.
The new services aim to transform the way advertising agencies and production companies view, approve and archive the commercials. Using the latest Internet technology, Smoke and Mirror’s clients will now be able to instantly view new commercials, along with the archived materials and work-in-progress from any PC or Mac. The service will also enable online compilation, viewing and ordering of showreels, copies and dubs.
Users of Smoke and Mirrors new system will not require a special viewing terminal, and they will not have to wait for materials to be digitised. Images and materials are available instantly and automatically, and are piped to desktops over the Internet from a central server at Smoke and Mirrors.
Grey Worldwide were the first advertising agency to subscribe to Smoke and Mirror’s’s new service. Using the Internet from their own offices, the agency can find and view current commercials; compile, preview and order showreels or dubs; and order play-outs and satellite feeds.
Amanda Lowitt, Head of Television at Grey Worldwide, said: “This is a remarkable step forward in the way we interact with our media online. It is straightforward and convenient, with good image quality for the online approval of most work. The online dub ordering system is particularly helpful as you can easily edit together the items you require, and check the result, and check the result is accurate by viewing it online before you actually place the order.”
Smoke and Mirrors picture based service utilises a media asset-tracking system, called CakeS.
Accessed via a regular web browser or Netscape Navigator, the CakeS system streams high-quality images of the requested footage onto the remote desktop.
(CMcL)