Tech Reviews
available. Local media would still have to be sent to the client, but the links are already prepped and waiting for when the shots arrive on the client side.
Other bonuses for the pro version are Linux availability, color adjustment controls and 3D support. And numerous clients can be involved in one Cinesync session under the same session key.
The standard version of Cinesync gives you the foundation functionality of client interaction, with saved annotations and such. But to really bring things to the next level — and if you have Shotgun — there are substantial benefits to going pro. And not to worry, FTrack isn’t left out. With the FTrack API, Cinesync received similar benefits. And Apsera works for automatic transfer of shots to the client. And Joust also can use Cinesync technology through its own interface.
In short, Cinesync is versatile to numerous pipelines and methodologies.
It’s definitely an investment though. Pricing ranges from $50 to $100 per month for the standard version and $130 to $320 per month for pro for two users, depending on how many months you pay in advance. But if you frame it in the right context, that cost could cost less than an artist fixing a missed client note.
—Todd Sheridan Perry
is good. I did some fairly intensive sculpting in Zbrush for about three and a half hours before I had to plug in.
The stylus remains the best thing about anything Wacom. With 2,048 levels of pressure, it is perfect at handling every stroke, no matter how subtle or intense.
The included aluminum-rubber-plastic stand feels horribly cheap but is actually perfectly designed and incredibly helpful. It took me forever to commit to using the stand, but, once I did, I found it invaluable for optimally positioning the C2 on my lap while sitting crosslegged on the couch or in a big comfy chair.
The touch features work great and are a joy to use. There’s a slew of buttons all over the C2 and they all work as made but design wise there’s some things to be desired here. Having three USB 3 ports is nice but excessive; I’d rather trade in one port for an HDMI-Mini port. The Mini-Display port seemed rather useless; I did hook my C2 up to a 30inch HP monitor and it only would display at 1,280 x 800 resolution. I did use the included USB-HDMI cable to connect the C2 to another portable machine. This works to turn the C2 into a miniature Cintiq Touch for the portable. The back-facing camera on the C2 is nice and useful for iterative paint-overs. It’s easy to snap a picture of a design, then tune it quickly in Photoshop to communicate a critique.
The C2 is small and that pays off in portability. Working with it while traveling is a great, unobtrusive and comfortable experience. The biggest problem with the design of the C2 is the placement of the Windows Key in the center of the rocker ring. Since it cannot be reassigned, its placement becomes frustrating because it’s very easy to accidentally touch the Windows Key, which will launch the start menu and yank you out of your chosen application. The grip surface of the C2 is quite well made. A portion of the backing and the trim is made from a hard rubber-like plastic that’s very tactile and makes the C2 easy to hold.
Wacom Preferences, the ability to map the buttons in the rocker ring and express keys per your chosen application is great. The sleep and wake function makes it freakishly easy to accidentally re-awake the C2 right after it’s been put to sleep as well as accidentally toggle on the camera. On a few occasions, it has re-awakened — sometimes in camera mode — with the fans running, cooking itself inside the padded soft case.
Adding a stick-on pen loop is helpful as it allows you to securely store the stylus on the C2’s body. The soft gray carrying case included with the C2 looks refreshingly not like your normal computer bag. The soft case is tight on space and I found I had to be particularly choosy about how many accessories I attempted to stuff in it.
Wacom is stepping in the right direction with the Companion 2. It’s an interesting and fun device that blends the functionality of a full-size Cintiq Touch with the portability of a small notebook. Fully spec’d out, the Companion 2 is a fun, powerful and a very portable creative device. Todd Sheridan Perry is a visual-effects supervisor and digital artist who has worked on features including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Speed Racer, 2012, Final Destination 5 and Avengers: Age of Ultron. You can reach him at todd@teaspoonvfx.com. John Chalfant creates artwork, designs and CG visualizations for movies, games and special-venue projects. He blogs at www.jchalfant.com.
Davis, John C. Reilly and Vanessa Williams. The DVD release includes a behind-the-scenes with the voice cast, international trailers and TV spots. The two-disc Blu-ray combo ($24.99) also comes with “The Making of When Marnie Was There,” “Yohei Taneda Creates the Art of When Marnie Was There” and feature-length storyboards. [Release date: Oct. 6] Aladdin (Glen Keane), Linda Larkin and singer Lea Salonga as Princess Jasmine (Mark Henn) and Jonathan Freeman as the villain Jafar (Andreas Deja). In addition to deleted songs and scenes, the Diamond BD includes “The Genie Outtakes,” “Aladdin: Creating Broadway Magic,” “Unboxing Aladdin,” “Genie 101” and “Ron & John: You Ain’t Never Had a Friend Like Me.” [Release date: Oct. 13]