The streaming wars are spurring a content surge that is driving a demand for production space. The latest beneficiary of that is Television Center, a six-acre Art Deco complex on Romaine Street in Hollywood. The former home of the Technicolor Hollywood film lab is being remade as Echelon at Television Center in a $600-million makeover courtesy of Bardas Investment Group and Bain Capital Real Estate. Plans are underway for a complex of offices and a 620,000-square-foot studio with four soundstages and underground parking for more than 1,000 cars, spanning two city blocks. This is one of several production facilities in the planning stages. Continue reading Streaming Drives Massive Hollywood Soundstage Expansion

The Entertainment Technology Center@USC will host its 6th vETC virtual conference at SIGGRAPH 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, August 9-11. During this year’s vETC at the Amazon Web Services booth (1039), speakers will present concepts, workflows, business models and case studies as they apply to virtual production. Many of the companies that worked on ETC’s latest R&D film project, “Fathead” will discuss their discoveries in sessions that will be recorded and posted on ETC’s YouTube channel. The 3-day program with list of speakers and gear to be demonstrated is available on the ETC site. Continue reading vETC to Discuss Virtual Production During SIGGRAPH

Warner’s pay-TV network Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is unveiling a new logo, colorful on-air promos, new sets for Ben Mankiewicz and other hosts, new openings for shows including “The Essentials” and “Noir Alley,” and new branding that explores the interplay between past and present cinema. The aesthetics update will not change the vintage movie collection but intends to “help the cable channel stay relevant and reach a wider audience.” TCM executives are also weighing the future of a linear cable channel in a growing streaming media ecosystem. Continue reading Turner Classic Movies Promotes Logo and Content Makeover

NBCUniversal has merged its FandangoNOW on-demand movie and TV platform with Vudu, the video streaming service it purchased from Walmart last year. FandangoNOW customers will be able to transfer their accounts and collections to Vudu, which uses Roku Pay as its in-app payment system. In a revenue-sharing deal, the new Vudu-branded offering will serve as Roku’s official film and TV store. Fandango executives concluded that Vudu had a stronger brand and that the merger would help to “rapidly innovate and make bolder, faster enhancements to benefit consumers and partners.” Continue reading NBCU Merges FandangoNOW and Vudu as Single Streamer

The Entertainment Technology Center at USC has selected filmmakers Hannah Bang, Margo Sawaya and Sabina Vajrača to receive the 2020 Innovative Technology Award for their virtual production-based project, “The Ripple Effect.” The trio developed the futuristic live-action project with the aim of testing the limits of virtual production. “With Unreal Engine, we can minimize on set crew and provide better controls for talent and staff,” explained executive producer Erik Weaver. “We want to get people back to work while keeping cast and crews safe.” Continue reading ETC and Partners to Pilot Test Virtual Production Capabilities

The Entertainment Technology Center at USC today announces the release of its latest series, “vETC | The Grand Convergence 2019: Innovation and Integration,” recorded August 27-28 in Technicolor’s Experience Center and Google’s Spruce Goose airship. ETC’s 5th annual virtual conference of significant presentations around emerging technologies and their impact on the M&E industry, the program’s concentration included AI, machine learning, adaptive production, blockchain, immersive media, virtual beings and streaming. Speakers presented concepts, workflows, business models and case studies in showcasing these disruptive and enabling technologies. The videos are now available on our YouTube channel. Continue reading ETC@USC Shares Video Series From Grand Convergence

Twitter has purchased Lightwell, an app creation engine originally debuted two years ago by Hullabalu, an interactive storytelling startup. In its Twitter account, Lightwell said its work would focus on conversations and that its toolset, which has required a subscription, will be available for free this week as part of the purchase. Without the need to create an account, Lightwell users will be able to “layout, prototype, and export to iOS.” Lightwell also announced that it would no longer support or add new features to the toolset. Financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Continue reading Twitter Plans to Improve Conversations, Acquires Lightwell

The Entertainment Technology Center @ the University of Southern California (ETC) held its 8th annual Studio Technology Leaders Dinner this week, which coincided with the 26th anniversary of ETC’s founding. Executive director & CEO Ken Williams noted that the event, which was underwritten by supporting sponsor Equinix and contributing sponsor WekaIO, would honor industry leader Leon Silverman with the Bob Lambert Technology Leadership Award and feature a panel to examine some of the industry’s most pressing issues in “Media Fundamentals in Flex: Conflict, Chaos or Collaboration.” Continue reading Hollywood Technology Execs Gather at Annual ETC Dinner

Western Digital global director of M&E marketing Erik Weaver introduced production in the cloud by relaying his experiences producing “Wonder Buffalo” at USC’s Entertainment Technology Center. The production included volumetric capture and photogrammetry in a VR pipeline in a cloud-based workflow, including the C4 identification system to track assets. During a panel this week at NAB 2019, Equinix, Google and Wasabi execs described their cloud-based solutions, and a client from Technicolor described the pitfalls of a cloud service. Continue reading Production in the Cloud Growing, But Still Poses Challenges

Adaptive production and artificial intelligence will be front and center for The Entertainment Technology Center@USC during the NAB Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday, April 10th in North Hall 257. As part of the NXT Tech Symposium, three sessions programmed by ETC’s adaptive production director, Seth Levenson will discuss current state, findings and perspectives. Panel discussions will examine preservation in the cloud, production in the cloud, and quantum computing as they relate to Media & Entertainment. Continue reading ETC at NAB: Archiving, The Cloud and Quantum Computing

Madefire, which makes digital versions of comic books, has collaborated with Magic Leap to debut its first Motion Book experiences in augmented reality on Magic Leap One Creator Edition, the developer version headset that costs $2,300. The comics are available in the Magic Leap World! Explore stories. In the past, Madefire has also collaborated with DC Comics and Marvel to create digital comics. Its platform, which is available on iOS, Android as well as Oculus Rift, offers 40,000 comics including Blizzard’s Overwatch comics. Continue reading Madefire and Magic Leap Collaborate on Comic Books in AR

The Entertainment Technology Center @ USC hosted its fourth annual virtual conference, “vETC 2018 | The Grand Convergence” June 27-28 at the Technicolor Experience Center in Los Angeles. This year’s program highlighted talks in the artificial intelligence, immersive experience and adaptive production sectors. Thought leaders from the entertainment and service industries presented an insider’s look into the emerging technologies disrupting everything from the creative process to business models and consumer behavior. Videos from the conference are going live for viewing on the ETCenterVideos YouTube channel and include presentations from Microsoft Azure, Technicolor, Equinix, Deluxe, Amazon Web Services, USC School of Cinematic Arts and Viterbi School of Engineering. Watch your daily eblast over the next few weeks for updates highlighting the vETC 2018 videos. Continue reading ETC@USC Posts vETC 2018 Videos on its YouTube Channel

The Entertainment Technology Center @ USC hosted its fourth annual virtual conference, “vETC 2018 | The Grand Convergence” June 27-28 at the Technicolor Experience Center in Los Angeles. This year’s program highlighted talks in the artificial intelligence, immersive experience and adaptive production sectors. Thought leaders from the entertainment and service industries presented an insider’s look into the emerging technologies disrupting everything from the creative process to business models and consumer behavior. Videos from the conference are going live for viewing on the ETCenterVideos YouTube channel and include presentations from Microsoft Azure, Technicolor, Equinix, Deluxe, Amazon Web Services, USC School of Cinematic Arts and Viterbi School of Engineering. Continue reading ETC@USC Posts vETC 2018 Videos on its YouTube Channel

ETC is participating in a restructured/streamlined NAB Show schedule (April 7-12, Las Vegas Convention Center). ETC directors Yves Bergquist (data & analytics), Phil Lelyveld (immersive media) and Seth Levenson (adaptive production) have programmed sessions for the Next-Generation Media Technologies education track, focusing on AI and machine learning, immersive media and cloud technology. The sessions are scheduled for Monday-Wednesday in North Hall 257. In addition, ETC will present Future of Cinema sessions in South Hall 222/223 on Sunday, April 8, prior to Monday’s official NAB Show floor opening. Continue reading ETC@USC to Present Sessions at the NAB Show in Las Vegas

As part of the Next-Generation Media Technologies education track at the upcoming NAB Show in Las Vegas, a half-day conference produced by Rochelle Winters will examine the latest trends in Machine Intelligence and Content Creation (Tuesday, April 10, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm). The program will examine how studios, creative service companies and filmmakers are using machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence to help produce content. Leading technologists, production execs and content creators will share the latest research and case studies involving machine intelligence. Continue reading NAB Program to Look at Machine Intelligence, Content Creation