News Stories

AP Subcommittees Release White Papers

11.5.2019

Two of ETC’s Adaptive Production project’s working groups — Archiving and Blockchain — have released white papers on potentially disruptive innovations with support from ETC member and non-member M&E companies.  This quarter, the Archiving working group explored preservation in the cloud and the Blockchain working group examined identity and supply chain management in white papers. The papers may be found under the Publications tab of ETC’s website.

The Archiving sub-committee, co-chaired by Paramount Pictures’ Andrea Kalas, published a white paper that tackles the idea of fixity in the cloud, which is an archivist’s term for preventing data loss in digital preservation. Readers can keep their eyes out for presentation opportunities to learn more. Read it here.

Led jointly by ETC’s Seth Levenson and Cisco’s Randy Zhang, the Blockchain working group at the Entertainment Technology Center is tackling issues regarding identity and onboarding/offboarding workflow within the entertainment industry. The group’s technical white paper presents the solution of Consortium Shared Identity (CSI) over an enterprise blockchain and lays the groundwork for a potential proof of concept down the line. The goal here is to establish a private blockchain that allows industry members to leverage each other’s work efficiently without sacrificing privacy and security. Read it here.

Videos from vETC | The Grand Convergence 2019: Innovation & Integration Now Available

8.22.2019

The Entertainment Technology Center at USC released videos from its latest series, “vETC  | The Grand Convergence 2019: Innovation and Integration,” on its YouTube Channel.  This 5th annual virtual conference, recording significant presentations of emerging technologies and their impact on the M&E industry, was held at 2 Los Angeles locations:  Technicolor Experience Center, August 27th, and the Google Spruce Goose Airship, August 28th.  The program’s areas of concentration include AI, machine learning, adaptive production, blockchain, immersive media, virtual beings, and streaming.  Panels and speakers presented concepts, workflows, business models, case studies.

For a list of the lineup, please go here.

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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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