News Stories

This Week in… Artificial Intelligence: 5/21/26

Elon Musk lost a landmark lawsuit against OpenAI when a federal jury and judge found that he waited too long with claims against Sam Altman. The decision clears the way for an OpenAI IPO as major players in the AI sector – including Anthropic and SpaceX – are preparing to go public. Google unveiled a new AI-powered design and image app for Google Workspace called Pics. And AI is making its way to smart TVs. Samsung’s 2026 lineup, for example, expands enhanced AI features across numerous models. Read More

This Week in… Virtual Production: 5/20/26

At the Cannes Film Market, Mandela Pictures and Oceanus Media Global debuted stills from the mystery horror film “Bisikan Desa Gringsing: Whispers of Fatimah” — a three-way co-production between Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia that uses virtual production technology. Creative software developer Foundry unveiled new developments on its Nuke Stage application for end-to-end virtual production, in-camera visual effects, and high-resolution playback. And Beeble’s node-based AI compositing environment Canvas is designed for complex visual effects, post production, and virtual production workflows. These stories and more in this week’s top virtual production news. Read More

This Week in… Media Production and AI: 5/20/26

Filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival are making the argument that AI tech should serve filmmakers, rather than replace them, stressing the creative benefits of artificial intelligence. “Hell Grind,” screening at Cannes, is billed as “the world’s first 90-minute sci-fi heist feature film produced entirely using Higgsfield AI.” Cannes also includes a collection of AI-generated shorts created from magazine photos published years ago. And startup TrueShort — which produces AI vertical videos intended for smartphones — has raised $12 million from Khosla Ventures, WndrCo, General Catalyst, and others. Read More

ETC’s Synthetic Media Summit Charts AI Playbook

ETC@USC hosted its second Synthetic Media Summit on March 6, convening media and technology leaders to identify AI applications and chart a detailed playbook for an AI-augmented future for human creativity. ETC partnered with Carnegie Mellon University, United Talent Agency, and Machine Cinema to deliver this timely, compelling event. While the Summit was closed to the press and presented off the record, we had an opportunity to speak with Yves Bergquist, director of AI in Media at ETC and the event’s organizer, about what’s next for artificial intelligence. Read More

This Week in… The 2026 NAB Show: 4/26/26

NAB returned to Las Vegas with a focus on broadcasting, content creation, and monetization. While registration numbers were down overall – at 58,000+, according to NAB – it’s worth noting that 48 percent were first-time attendees. Broadcast tech entrepreneur Thomas Riedel’s acquisition of ARRI created buzz on the show floor, while product highlights included the Canon CN30 lens for wildlife, sports, and documentary production; new 100G versions of Blackmagic URSA Cine cameras; and DJI’s highly-anticipated Osmo Pocket 4 camera. We have video highlights from B&H and others. Read More

This Week in… Media Production and AI: 4/20/26

Doug Liman’s $70 million “Bitcoin: Killing Satoshi” – starring Gal Gadot, Casey Affleck, Isla Fisher and Pete Davidson – is described as the first studio-quality feature film to feature wall-to-wall AI-generated imagery. The film was shot over 20 days in a simple customized soundstage, while sets and lighting are being generated with AI. And during the recent Semafor World Economy conference, Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela suggested Hollywood studios should plan to produce 50 films with $100 million using AI. These stories and more in this week’s list. Read More

Highlights

Industry Events

MCM London Comic Con
(May 22-24, ReedPop, London, $$)


AI on the Lot: AI & Media Conference
(May 22-24, Amazon MGM Studios, Culver City CA)


Robotics Summit & Expo
(May 27-28, WTWH Media, Boston MA, $$)


Out of Home Insider Summit
(May 27-30, MediaPost, Nashville TN, $$)


Celebration of Life: Honoring Jerry Pierce
(May 28, IAB, Los Angeles)


IAB Tech Lab Summit 2026
(May 28, IAB, New York, $$)


AES Europe 2026: Intelligent Audio
(May 28-30, AES, Copenhagen, $$)


Brooklyn Film Festival
(May 29 – June 7, BFF, Brooklyn NY, $$)


31st New Jersey International Film Festival
(May 29 – June 7, Rutgers, New Brunswick NJ, $$)


SXSW London
(June 1-6, SXSW, London UK, $$)


Microsoft Build
(June 2-3, Microsoft, Hybrid Event – San Francisco CA, $$)


Computex Taipei 2026
(May June 2-5, TAIT, TCA, Taiwan, $$)


Tribeca Film Festival 2026
(June 3-14, Tribeca, New York, $$)


2026 Sports Media Awards
(June 4, Cynopsis, New York)


Summer Game Fest 2026
(June 5, Geoff Keighley, Hybrid Event – Los Angeles CA)

ETC Events

AI Roundtable // Building “Safe” Agents Using Claude Code: A Quick Tutorial
(April 24, Members Only)


Quarterly Board Meeting
(June 4, Closed Meeting)


All Members Meeting
(June 18, Members Only)

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