News Stories

CES 2013: LIVE COVERAGE FROM THE SHOW

10.26.2012

The ETC brings together senior executives from the entertainment, consumer electronics, technology, and services industries to discuss and importantly, to act upon, topics related to the creation, distribution, and consumption of entertainment content. The ETC, an organization within the USC School of Cinematic Arts, helps drive collaborative projects among our member companies, and also brings next generation consumers to the table to understand the impact of new technology on all aspects of the entertainment industry – technology development and implementation, the creative process, and existing business models. Fundamentally, ETC acts as an accelerator for entertainment technology and commerce through: Collaborative Projects, Shared Facilities, Research, Events

 

The ETC@USC was founded with the help of George Lucas in 1993, with the goal of bringing technology and entertainment visionaries together to collaborate on the future of entertainment technology. Our Sponsoring participants comprise the major studios: Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, and Warner Bros.; along with several other leading technology and services companies. The ETC is perhaps most famous for the Digital Cinema Lab, which created an accelerator and a home for the discussions which led to the creation of the Digital Cinema specification (by DCI) and the world-wide roll-out of Digital Cinema. The Digital Cinema Lab’s success has provided a template for the creation of ETC’s next industry-shaping laboratories: the Anytime/Anywhere Content Lab and the Consumer 3D Experience Lab.

Bros.; along with several other leading technology and services companies. The ETC is perhaps most famous for the Digital Cinema Lab, which created an accelerator and a home for the discussions which led to the creation of the Digital Cinema specification (by DCI) and Content Lab and the Consumer 3D Experience Lab

ETC appoints Kenneth S. Williams

10.24.2012

USC’s School of Cinematic Arts’ Entertainment Technology Center, a technology think tank that brings entertainment studios, technology providers and other key industry stake-
holders together in order to improve digital entertainment initiatives, is pleased to announce the appointment of Kenneth S. Williams to CEO and executive director of the organization.

“It is a pleasure and an honor to be charged with leading such an important player in the digital space,” said Williams. “This organization helps bridge entertainment and technology
through dialogue as well as the sharing and dissemination of information which allows a consensus to be reached, driving the process for standards and practices in digital entertainment. The ETC@USC seeks to support industry stakeholders in the evolution of new business models.  The impact and value of the ETC@USC cannot be understated.” Williams is a longtime entertainment and media professional including an almost 20-year career at Columbia Pictures and Sony

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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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