Artificial intelligence promises to change the way media content is produced, distributed and consumed. It even alters the nature of media itself. None of us, inside or outside of the media industry, is fully ready for what AI is about to bring about. So, to chart the course of this AI-driven future, the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California is organizing its inaugural Synthetic Media Summit on June 8 on the USC campus. This high-level event will gather the world’s top AI experts and media executives to discuss the state, media use cases, and ethics of synthetic media for the news and entertainment industries. Continue reading Register Now: Two Weeks Until ETC Synthetic Media Summit

Artificial intelligence promises to change the way media content is produced, distributed and consumed. It even alters the nature of media itself. None of us, inside or outside of the media industry, is fully ready for what AI is about to bring about. So, to chart the course of this AI-driven future, the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California is organizing its inaugural Synthetic Media Summit on June 8 on the USC campus. This high-level event will gather the world’s top AI experts and media executives to discuss the state, media use cases, and ethics of synthetic media for the news and entertainment industries. Continue reading ETC’s Synthetic Media Summit Scheduled for June 8 at USC

On April 1, after students presented their ideas for AI-Assisted Experiences during ETC’s latest student challenge, a group of leading tech executive judges engaged the students in a spirited discussion of possibilities, opportunities and ethics related to artificial intelligence. Interactive Media and Game Design senior Toby Zhao and Universal Pictures’ Sherry Wong discussed the uses and limitations of AI in today’s creative process. Psychology graduate Erik Rollins asked whether the industry is thinking about how AI will influence society. Epic Games CTO Kim Libreri responded that society needs standards that will let us know when something is real versus synthetic or altered. It is already too easy to distribute manipulated or false information and rile people up, he said. Continue reading Executives Evaluate AI Proposals for ETC Student Challenge

The Entertainment Technology Center@USC will host its 7th vETC virtual conference at NAB Show 2023, April 16-18 in Las Vegas. Highlighting significant presentations of emerging technologies and their impact on the M&E industry, at the HP booth (N2826) with key partner FUSE Technical Group, vETC speakers will present concepts, workflows, business models, case studies and more. This year’s vETC looks to keep pace with the quickly emerging trends in virtual production. The presentations will be recorded and posted on our YouTube channel. The 3-day program with a full list of speakers is available on the ETC site. Continue reading vETC at NAB 2023: Democratizing Onset Virtual Productions

On March 2, an international gathering of media technology executives and startups spent an hour discussing “the multiverse” and related topics. It was part of a day-long SPROCKIT Sync and ETC@USC Multiverse Symposium co-sponsored by the ETC and SPROCKIT, with additional support from ETC member Ronin X Foundation. Moderated by ETC’s Phil Lelyveld and Ronin X’s Sandeep Casi, attendees debated how to define the metaverse; discussed how development would impact contracts, rights and payments; raised tech implications of free range experiences and dynamic storytelling on capture and distribution processes and infrastructure; and addressed mixed reality experiences being planned and tested for theme parks. Watch a 9-minute video highlight reel of the discussion. Continue reading Tech Leaders Map the Multiverse at ETC Digital Town Square

The Entertainment Technology Center@USC has released the second installment of its case study, “Fathead: Virtual Production & Beyond.” Section 2 of the four-part white paper is “Sound Mitigation: Performance Matters,” which features compelling interviews with “Fathead” co-producer Brandyn Johnson and former Sony Pictures executive Eric Rigney. The section also addresses “the challenges of recording clean dialogue on LED volumetric stages and in-camera visual effects (ICVFX) during production.” Click here to access Section 2 and the previously released Section 1, “Cloud Computing: Growth Without Bounds.” We’ll post announcements when the remaining two sections become available. Continue reading ETC Releases Next Section of Virtual Production White Paper

What a difference a year makes. CES 2023 attracted more than 115,000 attendees from 140 countries to Las Vegas where 3,000 companies filled 2 million square feet of exhibit space. Among the major themes relevant to M&E this year were artificial intelligence, the multiverse, AR and immersive experiences, displays, mobility, IoT, and numerous policy and regulation topics. ETC@USC attended the convention with onsite and remote teams, once again blending its in-person tradition with a virtual presence. Our post-show report features extensive coverage and perspectives related to these key creative, business, and technology areas. Continue reading CES 2023 Report: Connection, Collaboration and Cooperation

The Entertainment Technology Center@USC has begun releasing its case study entitled “Fathead: Virtual Production & Beyond.” Section 1 of the four-part white paper is “Cloud Computing: Growth Without Bounds.” “Everything on this production was done in the cloud, minus the shoot on set,” explains ETC@USC head of virtual & adaptive production Erik Weaver, executive producer of the 20-minute “Fathead” film. “We did some very innovative work, ingesting ARRI Alexa RAW to Amazon S3 buckets on the AWS cloud in real time, which had never been done before and I don’t think has been done since.” Continue reading ETC Releases First Section of Virtual Production White Paper

The short film “Fathead,” produced by the Entertainment Technology Center@USC and shot at the new Amazon Stage in Culver City as an experiment in virtual production and collaborative, cloud-based workflows, has been nominated for a 54th NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Short Film (Live Action) category. The Image Awards celebrate outstanding achievements and performances in the arts from an African American point of view, and recognize those who promote social justice through their creative pursuits. This year’s awards will air live on February 25 at 8:00 p.m. on BET and various ViacomCBS networks. “Fathead” was directed by c. Craig Patterson and produced by Erik Weaver, ETC’s director of adaptive production. Continue reading ETC Short Film ‘Fathead’ Is Nominee for NAACP Image Award

Unless there is breaking news this weekend, ETCentric and The Daily News Brief will not publish on Monday to commemorate Martin Luther King Day. We wish you and your families a very happy and safe holiday. We’ll be back on Tuesday with the latest in entertainment technology news. Continue reading ETCentric Will Be Back Following Martin Luther King Holiday

Unless there is breaking news, ETCentric and The Daily News Brief will not publish during the upcoming holiday break. We wish you and your families a very happy holiday season. Our team is currently planning coverage for CES 2023 and will be back in January with the latest in entertainment technology news. Continue reading Happy Holidays: ETCentric to Return for CES in the New Year

On December 2, senior media executives gathered on Zoom to answer questions from USC students about industry trends, company strategies and career direction. The students had submitted winning pitches in the ETC@USC Future of Themed Experiences Challenge and their reward was time with the media executives. The questions ranged from “Do you need to learn to code to break into entertainment technology?” to “What are some visionary directions you see your company investing in over the next 4-5 years?” Video of the discussions, along with the lists of questions, students, and executives, is available online. Continue reading USC Students Have Opportunity to Speak with Media Execs

For four days in Las Vegas, CES 2023 becomes the nucleus of global innovation. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), owner of CES, predicts a show significantly larger than CES 2022, emerging from two pandemic restricted years on January 5. The annual confab will open more than two million square feet of exhibit space with more than 2,400 exhibitors and the expectation of as many as 100,000 attendees, more than double the last show. ETC@USC will have its team in place, on the ground and online, to explore the show floor and over 175 sessions and keynotes. We’ll be reporting on the latest in AI, Web3, multiverses, image displays and other emerging CE tech impacting M&E. Continue reading CES 2023: What to Expect When the Show Opens in January

Unless there is breaking news this week, ETCentric and The Daily News Brief will not publish during the upcoming 4-day holiday weekend. We wish you and your families a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. We’ll be back on Monday with the latest in media and entertainment technology news. Continue reading ETCentric to Return After the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend

On October 22, ETC@USC began a one-week student challenge on “The Future of Themed Experiences.” Leveraging the tools, techniques and resources of today and those that could emerge in the next few years, students were asked to come up with an original idea for an experience that: 1) has a specific location-based experience, and 2) extends the experience out into the real and virtual worlds before and after the person has the location-based experience. Eighteen 3-minute pitch videos were submitted and an esteemed panel of industry executives chose to reward five of them. All 18 videos with follow-up Q&A discussions are available online. Continue reading ETC@USC Student Challenge: Future of Themed Experiences