Discovery Production Group Creates Dynamic Programs with Sapphire Plug-ins

DISCOVERY PRODUCTION GROUP CREATES DYNAMIC PROGRAMS WITH SAPPHIRE PLUG-INS

Discovery Production Group, which handles television production and postproduction for all media brands under Discovery Communications, Inc. (DCI), is using GenArts, Inc. Sapphire Plug-ins to master programs developed in its Production Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. The post-production team switched their production pipeline to integrate Sapphire Plug-ins early last summer. As Jim Gould, DCI's Manager, Post Production Facilities, Television Technology Group, explains:
"We researched the market to find the best plug-ins package to help support our initiative to build the best post production facility. After initial testing in our promo suites, we chose GenArts' Sapphire Plug-ins. We found that they had an impressive number of effects at a reasonable cost, and consistently provided outstanding client service."
"We are running Sapphire on all forty three of our Avid editing systems. Within the Production Center we have 8 Symphonys, 7 Media Composer XLs, 27 Media Composer Adrenalines and 2 Avid|DS HDs, all running on Windows 2000 platform. It is important that we provide DCI producers and editors with powerful tools essential to creating the dynamic programs and promos for which Discovery is known throughout the world. Having tools like Sapphire Plug-ins on every system allows our clients the flexibility to work in any suite in the Production Center with the confidence that they have access to everything they need."

About Discovery Communications, Inc.
Discovery Communications, Inc. is the leading global real-world media and entertainment company. DCI has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in more than 155 countries and territories with over 950 million cumulative subscribers. DCI's 33 networks of distinctive programming represent 14 entertainment brands including TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Wings Channel, Discovery Home & Leisure Channel, Discovery en Espanol, HD Theater and The Health Network. DCI's other properties consist of Discovery.com and 138 Discovery Channel retail stores. DCI also distributes BBC America in the United States. DCI's ownership consists of four shareholders: Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE: L), Cox Communications, Inc. (NYSE: COX), Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company's Founder, Chairman and CEO.
About Sapphire Plug-ins
Sapphire Plug-ins provide digital artists with a collection of over 200 state-of-the-art image processing and synthesis effects. They fully and seamlessly integrate into a number of editing and compositing systems including: Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere; Apple Final Cut Pro and Shake; Avid's DNA family of products, Media Composer, Xpress, Xpress DV, Symphony and Avid DS; Discreet combustion, flint, flame, inferno, fire, smoke, and burn. Sapphire Plug-ins offer a comprehensive suite of tools and effects that can transform any film or video clip. They are resolution-independent, include multi-processor support for faster rendering, and run on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Irix. Effects in the package range from everyday tools such as Glows, EdgeRays, LensFlare, Glint, Blurs and RackDefocus, to more exotic effects like Lightning Zaps, FlysEye, JpegDamage, HalfTone and Textures.
About GenArts, Inc.
Based in Cambridge, Mass., GenArts, Inc. is a premier provider of digital visual effects plug-ins for the film and video industry. Introduced in 1996, Sapphire Plug-ins have become an industry standard for high-end visual effects creation at leading studios, broadcast and post production facilities around the world. They are widely recognized for their unrivaled quality and ease-of-use, and have been used extensively to create an array of feature films such as Terminator 3, The Matrix Reloaded, The Lord of the Rings, X-Men II, Daredevil, Star Wars-Episode I and II, Spider-Man, Ice Age, Pearl Harbor, Final Fantasy, Dinosaur, Titanic, Armageddon, Planet of the Apes, Contact, Star Trek and Godzilla. Additional GenArts product information can be found at http://www.genarts.com.
Contact:
Nicole Panas
GenArts, Inc.
1-617-492-2888
info@genarts.com

Š2003 GenArts, Inc. All rights reserved.
GenArts and Sapphire Plug-ins are trademarks of GenArts, Inc.
All other trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.