News Stories

HPA Tech Tackles Ambitious Agenda

2.7.2012

[TV Technology]

If all engineers were chocoholics, the final agenda for the 2012 Hollywood Post Alliance Tech Retreat this month could seem like an eye-popping visit to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

Across several days of panel discussions, roundtables, seminars, demos and more than 50 exhibitors, the Feb. 13–17 HPA confab at the Hyatt Grand Champion in Indian Wells, (near Palm Springs), Calif., on topics ranging from spectrum rededication to next-gen colorization, it seems virtually every major player in broadcasting and related industries will be in attendance.  …

ATTENTION TO AUDIO

…  Also Thursday morning amid the Breakfast Roundtables, Barco Digital Cinema will detail its new Auro3D audio system, which features a configuration boasting 11.1 channels logistically situated throughout specially equipped theaters in the United States, China and Russia. The new system’s first motion picture application, “Red Tails,” premiered in the United States in late January at Auro3D-enhanced facilities in Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami.

Barco Product Marketing Manager Tom Bert said while the introduction of digital projection has spurred a revival in 3D movies, cinema audio has been evolving very slowly. “As George Lucas put it, ‘sound is 50 percent of the movie experience,”” said Bert. “Still, the industry remains uncertain on how to properly implement a new 3D sound experience.” Auro-3D was designed to provide an immersive audio experience, while being backwards-compatible. “There’s no ‘chicken and egg’ problem here, which has blocked the introduction of similar new technologies,” Bert said.  …

For more information on the HPA Tech Retreat, visit hpaonline.com.

Read the full story here: http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/hpa-tech-tackles-ambitious-agenda/211588

Technicolor Buys French Post Facility Duboi

2.5.2012

 

[StudioDaily]

Expanding its digital filmmaking operations in Europe, Technicolor has purchased Paris digital post house Duboi. Today’s news followed an announcement last month in which Technicolor said it had taken over the post and digital-conversion operations of operations of French audio facilities Auditoriums de Joinville and Société Industrielle de Sonorisation as well as digital conversion and DCP mastering house ScanLab. Like those companies, Duboi was owned by Paris-based Quinta Industries, which went bankrupt in December.

A total of 54 employees will be transferred in the purchase, Technicolor said. “We are proud to enter the French market for digital post-production and distribution and to put our skills and expertise at the service of the French cinema industry,” Technicolor CEO Frédéric Rose said in a prepared statement last month. Technicolor also says it has created a six-studio film and television language versioning facility in France that went online earlier in 2012. 

Late in 2011, Technicolor said performance of its entertainment services division were slightly below expectations, with weakness in the European economy reducing capital expenditures in the region. As a result, the company said, it planned to cut about 600 jobs worldwide in 2012. 

L.A.-based FilmFunds, which purchased the 3D-conversion focused Duran Duboi US in December, was apparently a failed bidder for Duboi. The company has been asking visitors to its website to vote on which movies they’d like to see converted to 3D, with apparent plans to offer conversion services to the appropriate studios.

See the full story here; http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/headlines/Technicolor-Buys-French-Post-Facility-Duboi_13658.html

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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