Hollywood tech chiefs call for collaboration and innovation

“Inherent inefficiencies” in production workflows “threaten to limit our future ability to innovate,” according to the chief executive of industry association MovieLabs. 

Hollywood’s technology studios need to work on overcoming the “major challenges” and collaborate on the future of software, hardware and new production workflows, according to a new report released today by MovieLabs and its member studios. 

MovieLabs is a not-for-profit technology research lab jointly run by Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. They have published a whitepaper outlining the future of media creation in 2030 and the inherent issues that require immediate action.   

MovieLabs chief executive Richard Berger said: “The next ten years will bring significant opportunities, but there are still major challenges and inherent inefficiencies in our production and distribution workflows that threaten to limit our future ability to innovate.

”We have been working closely with studio technology leaders and strategising how to integrate new technologies that empower filmmakers to create ever more compelling content with more speed and efficiency.

”By laying out these principles publicly, we hope to catalyse an industry dialogue and fuel innovation, encouraging companies and organisations to help us deliver on these ideas.”

The report will be supported by a panel discussion at IBC2019 with senior technology leaders from five major Hollywood studios discussing the need for collaboration and innovation. 

The session, Hollywood’s Vision for the Future of Production in 2030, will take place on Sunday, September 15 at 2:15pm in the Forum at the RAI in Amsterdam. 

According to the whitepaper, the future of media creation technology will be driven by technology with cloud integration, enhanced security, data-driven interfaces and real-time workflows to form the foundation of media creation and partnerships.

Universal Pictures senior vice president and chief technology officer Michael Wise said: “With film production experiencing unprecedented growth and new innovative forms of storytelling capturing our audiences’ attention, we’re proud to be collaborating across the industry to envision new technological paradigms for our filmmakers so we can efficiently deliver worldwide audiences compelling entertainment.”

MovieLabs’ aim is to enable member studios to work together to evaluate new technologies and improve quality and security for production and efficiency. 

The whitepaper aims to help the growing industry deliver next-generation experiences for consumers, reduce costs and improve efficiency through industry automation, and derive and share the appropriate data necessary to protect and market the creative assets that are the core capital of our industry.

Sony Pictures Entertainment chief technology officer Don Eklund added: “Sony Pictures Entertainment has a deep appreciation for the role that current and future technologies play in content creation.

“As a subsidiary of a technology focused company, we benefit from the power of Sony R&D and Sony’s product groups. The MovieLabs 2030 document represents the contribution of multiple studios to forecast and embrace the impact that cloud, machine learning (ML) and a range of hardware and software will have on our industry.

“We consider this a living document that will evolve over time and provide appreciated insight.”

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