News Stories

3net Announces Strategic Marketing Alliances with Xpand 3D and Sony Electronics

5.5.2011

 

[Press Release]

 

3net, the joint venture 24/7 3D network from Sony, Discovery and IMAX today announced strategic launch partnerships with two industry leaders in the emerging U.S. 3D market – XPAND 3D and Sony Electronics Inc. The multi-year agreement will align 3net with each of the partner’s respective marketing, sales and product teams to develop mutually beneficial multimedia promotions, program sponsorships, short form programming and integrated marketing initiatives. The joint announcement was made today by Tom Cosgrove, President and CEO of 3net, Maria Costeira, CEO of XPAND and Phil Molyneux, President and COO, Sony Electronics Inc.

We’re extremely pleased to have two industry leaders in the dynamic 3D market onboard as our network launch partners,” said Cosgrove. “Our three companies are breaking new ground with content, products and technology solutions for the emerging 3D space, and each of these individual partnerships will allow us to leverage our joint capabilities to further the development of both the industry as well as our respective business interests.” 

“3D is providing content creators and their audiences alike with a new medium for expression, engagement and enjoyment of media,” Costeira noted. “Whether it’s drama, sport, informational or interactive, 3D is changing the way businesses and consumers look at content. 3net is the optimal venue for XPAND to showcase our market-leading 3D technologies that have been shown to enhance the 3D viewing experience. With our glasses and 3net content, that viewing experience can be equally compelling on the laptop, the cinema and in the living room. We are very pleased to join with innovation and imagination leaders Sony and IMAX and Discovery to enable and promote this exciting new forum and we look forward to it becoming a new stage for great content.” 

“3D adoption by consumers is clearly growing, and the demand for high-quality, immersive 3D programming lies as a catalyst,” said Molyneux. “As Sony is involved in all phases of the 3D ecosystem, from production cameras to the viewers’ living rooms, it’s natural that we leverage our activities on the 3net network to expand our reach. This year, while the network expands its library of quality 3D entertainment for the home, Sony will make 3D personal, bringing to consumers the tools they will need to create, share and enjoy their own, personal 3D content, along with maintaining our leadership position in 3D home products, movies, games, and television programming.”

See the original press release here:  http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/prc/3net-Announces-Strategic-Marketing-Alliances-with-Xpand-3D-and-Sony-Electronics_13157.html

‘Coraline’ Team Back for Animated Film ‘ParaNorman’

5.4.2011

[by Gregg Kilday, The Hollywood Reporter]

Focus Features and animation company LAIKA, which last joined forces for 2009’s Coraline, are reteaming for ParaNorman, another animated film.

Like Coraline, ParaNorman will be a 3D, stop-motion movie. It is slated for nationwide release on Aug. 17, 2012.

A comedy/thriller about a small town being attacked by zombies, the movie, which is currently in production, has a voice cast that includes Casey Affleck, Tempestt Bledsoe, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, Bernard Hill, Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Elaine Stritch.

It is being directed by Sam Fell, who directed The Tale of Despereaux and Flushed Away, andChris Butler, who was the storyboard supervisor on Coraline. Butler also wrote the original screenplay.

Arianne Sutner, animation producer on The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, and Travis Knight are producing.

ParaNorman will be the first project under a new, two-picture deal between the two companies that Focus CEO James Schamus and LAIKA president and CEO Knight announced Wednesday.

Focus will hold all worldwide distribution rights to the movies, and Universal Pictures International will release them overseas.

See the original post here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/coraline-team-back-animated-film-185398

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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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