Artist-led generative AI film and animation studio Asteria has joined with AI research startup Moonvalley to create Marey, “the entertainment industry’s first clean foundational AI model.” Trained exclusively on “ethically sourced data” owned by Asteria, Marey is named after the French physiologist who helped put the “motion” in motion pictures, Étienne-Jules Marey. Asteria says Marey is being trained for a 2025 debut targeting major Hollywood productions with a pitch that says it has not and will not rely on scraped data, something Big Tech competitors have taken heat on. Continue reading Asteria and Moonvalley Team Up on Ethical AI for Hollywood

“Being There – Virtual Reality News and Documentaries” was the title of a panel on VR journalism at the NAB Show in Las Vegas. Panelists included senior journalists from Sky, RYOT, Condition One, and USA Today Network, as well as one of Google’s lead VR evangelists. Lessons learned include the importance of proximity (e.g. close-ups), making sure that everyone on the team has experience with the key steps in the workflow so they understand the process and can fill in for others, and the need to experiment and fail. The panelists hope that post-production tools improve soon so a greater portion of their time can be spent planning and shooting stories. Continue reading NAB Panel Addresses Impact of VR on News, Documentaries

The student-run Business of Entertainment Association (BEA) at the USC Marshall School of Business is producing a day-long conference on virtual reality. The E2 Conference will focus on the business of VR entertainment, highlighting many of the tech innovations related to VR, while addressing the practical applications of VR in studio entertainment. This will be a great opportunity to network with business students exploring careers in media. Warner Bros. is a sponsor, and ETC@USC’s Phil Lelyveld is moderating a panel. Go to the E2 Conference site for more information and to register. E2 is scheduled for Friday, February 19. Continue reading USC: Evolution of Entertainment Conference to Focus on VR

The student-run Business of Entertainment Association (BEA) at the USC Marshall School of Business is producing a day-long conference on virtual reality. The E2 Conference will focus on the business of VR entertainment, highlighting many of the tech innovations related to VR, while addressing the practical applications of VR in studio entertainment. This will be a great opportunity to network with business students exploring careers in media. Warner Bros. is a sponsor, and ETC@USC’s Phil Lelyveld is moderating a panel. Go to the E2 Conference site for more information and to register. E2 is scheduled for Friday, February 19. Continue reading USC: Evolution of Entertainment Conference to Focus on VR