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ETC@USC Collaborates for Next Generation Motion Picture and Media Production


March 19, 2013 – The Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California (ETC@USC) announces "Production in the Cloud," a new project bringing together core media and cloud-resource leaders to develop guidelines and accelerate innovation and adoption of next-gen cloud-based content creation, production, and distribution tools and processes. Senior executives from the six major studios in coordination with Rackspace, Dell Cloud, EMC, EVault and other cloud companies are organizing a governing body to collectively guide this process.

ETC@USC enjoys a longstanding history as a neutral think tank and research center within the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The establishment of "Production in the Cloud" is the result of a successful meeting organized by ETC@USC last December that brought together 16 content industry and cloud resource players.

Erik Weaver, project lead at ETC@USC said, “The major technology shift in the entertainment industry from traditional film to digital medium and the corresponding transition to digital asset creation and management is an opportunity to rethink processes and workflows, including exploring the adoption of various cloud-based tools and services.”

“When there is no effort to define guidelines for the underlying framework of an emerging technology," added Ken Williams, ETC@USC executive director and CEO, “multiple formats evolve and battle for supremacy – like Blu-ray vs. HDDVD, Beta vs. VHS – bringing uncertainty, inefficiency, and confusion to the marketplace, and slowing product adoption and business growth for all players. This effort will work to avoid those pitfalls in the evolution of production.”

A key goal of "Production in the Cloud" is to identify the fundamental elements of next-gen workflow that should be common to all solutions. A foundation of data and metadata interoperability within a workflow framework acceptable to all major constituents will avoid format wars and proprietary solutions.

The project is looking at the entire life cycle of film and media production, from pre-production collaboration all the way through archiving.

The next meeting, targeted for April 3, will establish a steering committee to define the goals and timeline of the project. 

About ETC@USC

The Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California (ETC@USC) is a think tank and research center that brings together senior executives, innovators, thought leaders, and catalysts from the entertainment, consumer electronics, technology, and services industries along with the academic resources of the University of Southern California to explore and to act upon topics and issues related to the creation, distribution, and consumption of entertainment content. As an organization within the USC School of Cinematic Arts, ETC@USC helps drive collaborative projects among its member companies and engages with next generation consumers to understand the impact of emerging technology on all aspects of the entertainment industry, especially technology development and implementation, the creative process, business models, and future trends.

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Source: ETC@USC

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