News Stories

Movie’s 4k revolution

11.16.2011

[Philip Lelyveld comment: this article contains updated digital cinema screen statistics]

[AV Interactive]

Digital screen roll-out has been gathering momentum across Europe, and it’s no longer driven by a passion for 3D movies, reports Brian Davis.

Latest figures from Screen Digest reveal that digital screen capacity has reached over 40 per cent in Europe (14,000 of 35,000 screens). France now boasts 3,300 digitised screens and there are over 2,000 in the UK.

German take-up lags due to financing problems. Some of the larger German cinemas are eligible for VPF (Virtual Print Fee) financing scheme but others have to finance themselves or apply for regional help.

Russia is catching up. It has the fourth largest 3D screen base in Europe, with 60 per cent of screens digitised. Norway has become the first, fully-converted D-cinema territory with 450 digital screens. A third of Spain and Italy’s screens are digital, with 60 per cent in the Netherlands.

Since James Cameron’s film Avatar helped blast-off appetite for 3D, the medium’s penetration has tailed off. But it still accounts for over two-thirds of the European digital screen base.   …

 

 

There are few signs that the investment cost will fall dramatically, given the relatively small number of potential digital cinemas worldwide (100,000 in total) compared to consumer digital product sales.

Read the full story here: http://www.avinteractive.co.uk/features/36193/movie’s-4k-revolution

Nintendo 'holds back' finished games until after Christmas in wake of disastrous 3DS launch

11.2.2011

[Daily Mail]

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted that the company was ‘holding back’ some finished games for its 3DS console, which has been blighted by poor sales since launch. 

Putting off game launches until after Christmas – typically the big sales period for video games -is a highly unconventional move for a games company.

Iwata also admitted that the software for the launch period was an error – and that some players find the console’s glasses-free 3D indigestible.

‘Of course, not 100 players out of 100 will say that 3D is wonderful. But we have confidence in Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 3D and we believe that majority of people will realize how 3D viewing can be used in video games.  …

Nintendo chopped its forecast for sales of 3DS software by 30 per cent to 50 million units for the year to March, but left its 3DS hardware forecast at 16 million units for the year, a target fund managers said might be hard to achieve.

Read the full story here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2056488/Nintendo-holds-finished-games-Christmas-wake-disastrous-3DS-launch.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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