One Powerful Complete Post Production System - SD-HD-2K-4K-Stereo-3D
Mistika is a complete, high-end finishing post production system featuring editing, compositing and colour grading.
Each of those areas are seamlessly integrated into a single timeline-based interface, allowing live interaction between all functions. Mistika accepts almost any image resolution from SD to 4K and beyond, in 2D and 3D.
Product highlights
Stereoscopic 3D Workflow
- Mistika has arguably the most advanced and developed 3D post production tools in the market. This has attracted world class companies such as BSkyB (Sky) and London facility The Framestore to make Mistika the cornerstone of their stereoscopic operations.
- Mistika's advanced features include optical recognition between left and right cameras to aid the rapid correction of inherent stereo problems, such as camera pairs that are not exactly aligned.
- Mistika also allows its very strong colour grading functions to be applied to both image streams at the same time, or to just the left or right as need be.
- Compositing can also be carried out in 3D.
- Mistika's real-time stereo tools including colour grading, convergence adjustments and camera error correction, as well as some very advanced features such as retrospective adjustment of the cameras interocular distance, have left the market stunned by its ability.
RED Camera-based projects and Advanced Grading Power
- Mistika can decompress and grade from RED camera files in real-time without any importing or cross conversion processes.
- By working directly from the RED files, Mistika retains access to RED specific meta-data such as exposure, white balance and gamma curve settings, whilst also benefiting from more efficient usage of image storage space.
- Many other products that claim to support RED files do so by first converting the RED files to their own convenient format. This requires time for cross conversion, more disk space to hold larger files and loses access to the RED meta-data.
- One of the strongest points of Mistika is its colour correction function that can compete with any stand-alone grading system. Combining this grading power with direct and real-time access to RED files creates an extremely capable and efficient RED based workflow.
- The Mistika GPU performance is outstanding. It can grade up to 4K DPX footage in realtime, including primaries, secondaries, Pan & Scan and 3D LUTs. And always working in the highest quality formats, with 16bit per channel and HDR support.
- With full support for high quality control surfaces, the Tangent Devices CP200. All the Mistika colour grading tools can be controlled with these surfaces. This provides a very productive environment, and easy to learn for any colourist coming from any other colour grading system.
System Speed and Real time capability
Mistika has been programmed to make maximum use of the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) for some years. The result of this is unrivalled speed with many effects not requiring any processing (rendering) whatsoever. Speed benchmarks include:
- Full colour grading on 4K DPX files without any rendering required.
- Motion estimated slow motion running in real time at up to 2K resolution.
- Real time, full resolution colour grading and convergence operations on stereoscopic material at up to 2K per channel.
- Many other real time functions including RED camera based workflows.
Open System
- Unlike many of its competitors, Mistika employs an open storage policy.
- Mistika can provide storage for any other product that allows connection to generic file systems. This allows Mistika to be easily integrated into an existing facility, because files of many different formats can be easily exchanged.
- With Mistika, it is also possible to develop custom scripts to aid integration and automate common functions.
- The system can work natively in a S.A.N. infrastructure while sharing standard format files, without any import or export process required in order to collaborate with other open systems.
SGO's developers have been carefully developing the highest quality algorithms for over 18 years: uncompressed I/O, advanced dithering, 3D LUTS, true 16 bits floating point per channel (64bit total), HDR support, 8K+ resolution support, motion estimation denoise, Dual Link RGB 10bit output, and advanced pan & scan at optical quality based on Fourier mathematics. The medium where images are sourced from, is always taken into account regarding whether they are video, film, or CG.
Mistika provides native support for multiple colour spaces such as YUV, RGB lineal and logarithmic, HDR, XYZ and highly specialised tools to convert between them.
ENJOY MISTIKA
For further information or a demonstration of Mistika in your area, please contact SGO or SGO UK.
SGO Mistika features include:
Ergonomic interface
- Intuitive design for easy learning.
- Fixed panel based interface. (No windows popping up)
- Contextual panel switching.
- Scalability: It can be used in a small On-Set laptop starting at 1280x1024, and grow up to two monitors at 2560x1600 to work with 2K images at 1:1, plus an HD-SDI reference monitor or 2K projector for client supervised work.
- Skin capabilities allows to personalize the interface. Design services are also available to customize the colour surfaces and other devices, making your postproduction suite unique.
- Ergonomically & spatially organized buttons.
- Icon based command representations will not require translation. It is demonstrated that avoiding menu reads permit to delay the fatigue point.
- Dual monitor layout support for simultaneous grading, editing & compositing.
- Contextual interactive on-screen manipulators.
- Dedicated telecine style interface for colour correction.
- Multiple button functionality based on click or directional drag, avoiding buttons overhead and improving Wacom tablet usage.
- Comprehensive visual workflow, ideal for client supervised work.
- SCRIBE gestural & stroke based commands.
- Split compare tool with snap shot buffer.
- Vectorscope & waveform monitors for YUV, RGB, LUMA, & Histograms.
- Script execution after capture or render tasks.
- Unlimited undo’s
- Graffity tool: Document your ideas by drawing directly on the timeline.
- Compositing Tree with iconic representation on each Tree node.
- Multiple version capable timeline, with integrated compositing visualization and stereo groups.
- Background rendering. Accessed with a simple hotkey and autonaming to create previews for complex situations on the fly
- Optional HD SDI Dual Link output and 2K DVI for interactive reference monitoring. 3D Stereo output is a also available.
- Optional "Dynamic" mode to acomplish complex situations: It will automatically reduce resolution during playbacks and switch to HighRes when in pause mode. For example you can work with 4K or bigger footage and use the complete resolution for final renders and fine adjustments, while playbacks to 2K/HD reference displays will be reduced on the fly acordingly.
High End 16 Bit realtime Colour Grading
- Log Conversion Tools. (Log to Linear and viceversa)
- "Soft clip" parameter to protect highlights when converting from log to linear
- Color correct in context with the composition and effects
Real Time 16bit Digital Intermediate style colour correction system:
- Primary with Hue, Sat, Contrast controls, with separate Highlight, Midtone, and Shadow Corrections.
- 6 x Fixed vectors for each applied corrector.
- Possibility to add more corrector instances if more than 6 vectors are required. In this way, more than 16 vectors can be processed in realtime at HD formats.
- Each free vector has the following:
- Highlight, mid-tone, & shadow correction.
- With animated windows with softness.
- Separate hue, saturation, and luma.
- Saturation discrimination.
- Luma discrimination.
- "Solo" colour vector visualization. The image is shown in grey scale, while the selected ranges are shown in colour.
- Highlight, mid-tone, & shadow correction for each vector.
- With animated geometric windows with softness.
- The pixel selection can be exported as alpha channel, with clip & gain and soft controls.
- Integrated filter to defocus the selection mask, to avoid problems with noise or grain.
- Two entry mode: A second image clip can be used to create the the selection, while the original entry is used to provide the colours. For example, you can apply a white balance or use motion estimation techniques to produce a clean version for easy qualifying, while still using an untouched image for the pixel colours
- Two desaturation modes: "Complete" or "Spill suppression"
- The selection mask can be combined with free shapes or with a incoming alpha channel
- Each free shape mask can be assigned independently to each vector
- Plenty of visual cues; An light frame around each color correction control will show if it has been modified or not, and a reset button for each control is provided.
- Each vector can be grade In and Out of its free shapes or geometric shapes, without the need of a second vector.
- FilmStripe style representation, with one icon per clip (independently of its duration). For easy navigation, and to bring corrections from other clips or presets that can be compared or applied with just one button
- Easy "Dynamic" animation mode, to start and stop a colour animation with just two buttons of the control surfaces, without the need of going to the curve editor.
- Icon based notes library to save, compare, or apply colour correction presets.
- Automatic "Side by Side" comparison for easy matching
- Undo's & temporal buffers to go back to previous grades
- Bring(Next/Prev) fast function to apply the colour grading of the next or previous clips (each touch will advance one clip and bring its grading to a split compare view, then you can confirm with another button)
- Timeline precise control with a JOG style control available in the control surfaces.
- HDR format support ( both .exr and .hdr files)
- Support for 3 x Tangent Devices CP200 control surfaces (Trackballs, Knobs, and Transport controls). With full documented functions trought its LCD displays. (requires the SGO Mistika DI option). Customization services are also available to create control surfaces. that are unique.
- Pan & Scan at optical quality integrated in the colour corrector. With manual adjustments and presets for standard formats: 4/3, 16/9, 1.85 and 2.35
- Support both Kodak KDM and Cinespace cineCube 3DLUTS for colour calibration (Optional third party products required)
All the explained functions are processed in realtime simultaneously up to 2K formats. Regarding 4K systems: all the primaries, plus one secondary vector, plus one geometric mask, plus Pan & Scan, plus one 3DLUT are evaluated in realtime.
SGO Mistika can perform colour grading in context, and simultaneously with other Digital Intermediate tasks: Conform, Online Editing, Image Restoration, Finishing, and Multi-mastering to 4K / 2K / HD / SD and Dailies.
Editing
- All classic NLE functionality & terminology. (3-point, 4-point, etc…)
- Bi-dimensional timeline functionality
- Unconstrained editing & compositing
- Non-dedicated unlimited video, audio, effects tracks.
- Totally non-destructive workflow.
- Media Management.
- Naming assistant to help with long capture lists.
- Multiple EDL support for import & export.
- Media management bins shortable by Timecodes, lengths, comments, ...
- Clip preview & pre-editing capabilities.
- Full VTR control.
- Free capture mode. Controlled with a simple hotkey (Space Bar) to capture and create new clips on the fly.
- Subclips
- Import files from any machine across network.
- Clips can be linked to remote files across the network.
- Selective monitor playback allows multiple versions to coexist
- All video, audio, & effect clips can be edited on the same timeline.
- Color coded video, audio & effect clips, with superimposed icons, names, timecodes, or frame numbers.
- "Show stripe" capability: To see a stripe with all frames on the clip, or its audio wave.
- Editing marks, play marks, & on the fly global markers, both absolute or clip relative.
- Time code calculator & time code ruler.
- EDL can be imported onto the TIMELINE and edited before digitization.
- Support for MPEG (I-frame) renders.
- Format customization to any resolution, frame rate, colour space,etc.
- Any resolution and format & be mixed in the same timeline.
- Real-time multiple track for 2K, HD & SD editing.
- Real-time 10bit primary & secondary colour correction.
- Real-time multiple track 2K HD & SD wipes & cross fades.
- Real-time HD & SD interpolated or motion estimation time-warps.
- Timeline VTR tool allows selective timeline playback to tape.
- Capability to anchor a tape to a timeline point, to easily re-edit small areas.
- VTR Insert mode & Assemble mode, which saves « Formatting » tapes.
- Sony based Direct Cable VTR control.
- Film format support (10bit Kodak Cineon or Philips DPX. (2K, 4K, etc..)
- RT 2K RGB Play out to maximum monitor resolution (1920x1080) or to 2K DVI optional output.
- Multi-Mastering tools available. (De-interlace Mix, Rescale, Pulldown,...)
- Automatic scene detection wth threshold controls.
- Cut a long format clip by using an EDL or an edition based on other clips.
- Support for VTR "Crash Record" Mode, forcing the VTR to record original TC's while providing headroom for head & tails.
- Linearize clips on the Timeline (short them by TC)
- Lock tracks and / or clips. Also Hide/Unhide clips.
- Organize clips and multiple versions by using recursive groups.
- User definable HotKeys for every single function
- Burn TC & Keycode both for monitor playback and when rendering dailies to any format
- Advanced EDL Conform against video tapes , enumerated sequences, and movie files (R3D...). Including support for DPX hearder TC's, discrimination based on filenames embedded in EDL comments, TC prediction, etc.
File Formats
Native Support (no conversions required):
Movie files:
- Realtime read support for MXF and AAF files from Avid systems. With native support for DNxHD, DV25, DV50 and Uncompressed codecs. (all of them in realtime)
- Realtime read RED CAMERA R3D 4K files, including 4K to HD/2K displays in realtime (no proxies required, nor any conversion process)
- Realtime read Panasonic P2 DVCPRO-HD MXF files
- Realtime read Panasonic p2 AVC-I HD MXF files (Optional)
- Realtime MPEG i-frame (read & write).
- Realtime HD/2K/4K 8bit & 10 bit RGB & YUV (Read & Write)
- Realtime .AVI and Quicktime .mov files with embebed audio (Read & Write. For DV25, DV50, MPEG4 / H264, MPEG2, Uncompressed RGB & YUV...)
- Realtime support for Weinberger camera format (Read)
- Realtime support for Canon Eos Mark V HD format (Read)
- Realtime read support for most FFMPEG formats (.ogv..)
- Phantom camera (.cine) native support (Read)
Enumerated files and others:
- Cineon 10bit, DPX 8bit, & DPX 10bit film formats (Read & Write, realtime up to 4K+). Also support for DPX 12bit (Read only).
- Read & Write: TIFF, TIFF16, VST, TGA with alpha, JPG, PNG, GIF, AIFF, ....
- Read HDR files ( .EXR and .HDR )
- Audio: Wav, Aiff, mp3
- Read RTF text.
- EPS (rasterized in Mistika)
- Boujou 3D animated camera (For 3D Compositing in Comp3D effect)
- 3DLUTS: Cinespace cineCube and Kodak KDM
- EDL Import and EDL export
File formats imported through conversion process:
We also offer the possibility to develop native support for custom formats required by clients, providong a fast response and reasonably costs.
Realtime compositing
- Integrated Garbage Matte tool with: Asymmetric softness control, Animate shape points or the whole shape. Boolean operation to combine various shapes.
- Unlimited layers non-destructive compositing capabilities.
- No need for intermediate rendering processes.
- Advanced non-destructive grouping functions.
- Advanced effect & composite templating.
- Multiple YUV & RGB based refined keying tools.
- Live parameter feedback.
- Colour chooser (HSV, RGB, and Colour Wheel)
- Clip, gain, & histogram interface for refining masks.
- Integrated crops.
- True 3D compositing environment with 3D camera, 3D axis (X,Y,Z) for each layer, lights, and poligon deformations.
- User defined pivot with visual manipulator over the image to transform each layer .
- Perspective and ortogonal views
- Telecine style interface for the colour correction filter.
- Integrated and high precision motion tracking:
- Without limits in the number of tracking points
- With tools to continue tracking when a tracking points is temporally hidden
- Change offset positioning for motion tracking curves.
- Track Silent mode allows faster than RT tracking
- Tracking path or shape can be exported to VectorPaint.
- Search zone can be varied in size and position.
- Stabilize, corner pin, smooth, 2D move, & rotation.
- New corner pin integrated on each compositing layer, without requiring any external effect.
- Interactive manipulators are available directly on the image.
- Tree based layer composite navigation system.
- Result level or layer level visualization available, even when navigating inside of groups.
- Dynamic and on the fly proxy generation to maintain interactivity.
- Smart cache system saves from re-rendering layers at every change.
- Parameters can be animated using auto-key or the time editor.
- Editable animation curves with interpolation and extrapolation modes.
- Extensive non-destructive effects, transitions & filter available.
- Boolean and Channels operations (RGBAL).
- Procedural noise & texture generators.
- Fully customizable template effects using dummy clips.
- Propagate animation curves of one effect to all selected effects.
- Up to 15 levels antialiasing, hardware rendered
- Hardware render motion blur
Non Destructive Realtime Effects
- YUV & RGB Native colour corrector tools.
- Boolean and channels (RGBAL) operations.
- Noises & Fractals.
- Inbuilt difference keyer inside of blue & green screen.
- Multi-Mastering tools & effects.
- Motion Estimation tools for image restoration
- Degrain/Denoise to remove film grain or video noise, including digital noise coming from mPEG2/MPEG4 compressed formats.
- FrameRepair
- Motion estimation realtime brush to manually fix areas of the image.
- More than 20 distortions and filters.
- Advanced 16bit Blur & Defocus effects: realtime Gaussian, median, radial, circular, chroma blur (UV), ...
- Advanced Sharpening & Focus effect, with threshold control to focus edges without focusing noise or grain.
- Editing Transitions library, processed at 16bit.
- Image and noise generators.
- Boolean & Channels operations.
- 3D compositing tools.
- RescaleHQ (Fourier based 16bit Image Zoom)
- Title
- Paint
- Morph/Warp
- Integrated garbage mattes in all effects with alpha support.
- Combine effects to create new ones, and save them to the effects library for instant application.
Plugins
- Complete OFX 3rd Party plugin support, including support for their "private" interfaces:
- Photron - Primatte
- Genarts - Sapphire
- Boujou 3D Camera Tracking export to Mistika 3D camera
- Rising Sun Research Cinespace cineCube for 3DLUTS
Vector Paint
- Full 16 bit support
- Paint in context with the full compositing, and with interactive display in the SDI reference monitor.
- Animatable strokes & shapes at point level.
- Different paint modes. (Darken, reveal, clone, etc..)
- Garbage mattes with user defined soft edges.
- Vector text.
- Motion Estimation realtime brush for image restoration
- Automatic cache system for realtime performance, emulating the performance of a "raster paint".
- Interactive and in context visualization as you draw while seeing the results on the global composition
- Use brush for Manual compositing
- Paint at 1:1 zoom level even for 2K full frame images.
- Motion tracking can be applied both to shapes and strokes.
- With the capability to render painted clip segments while overwriting a previous render, to avoid a complete render just to fix smaller areas. (avilable trought the matchOrigStruct DPX render function).
- Send manual restoration jobs to cheap stations, don't lock the expensive hardware for tasks that do not require it.
Morph & Warp
- Customizable MESH style image warping tool.
- Separate source & target mesh for Morph transition setup.
- Paint mode point dragging.
- Customizable mesh sizes.
- Spline tangent manipulators.
SGO's developers have been carefully developing the highest quality algorithms for over 18 years: uncompressed I/O, advanced dithering, 3D LUTS, true 16 bits floating point per channel (64bit total), HDR support, 8K+ resolution support, motion estimation denoise, Dual Link RGB 10bit output, and advanced pan & scan at optical quality based on Fourier mathematics. The medium where images are sourced from, is always taken into account regarding whether they are video, film, or CG.
