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36 WEDNESDAY
@ ConnecTechAsia2018
27 June 2018
What ’ s going on in Hollywood ?
BY STAN MOOTE
2017 yielded the largest number of scripted TV series productions ever in the US — a whopping 487 TV series . This has been great news for the Hollywood post business . The alleviation of fears over new media and delivery formats that were pre viously quoted as concerns that caused a downturn is now the reason for growth .
Looking at the segments in detail , the number of TV series made for broadcast and pay-cable have pretty much stayed the same over the past few years . Programmes for basic cable have dropped about 5 %. The good news story is the number of scripted programmes made for online services keeps increasing , almost doubling in 2016 and up by 20 % last year .
Tons of versions
Hollywood also has a clear focus on the hundred-plus movie versions needed for distribution . Thinking about versions , people believe this often means only audio dubs , sub titling and some scene cuts . Regional versions have typically been done well after initial releases , and often are completed within the
local market directly . This relates back to having a lack of editorial control and programmes not being as good as possible , both on the content and technical sides .
SMPTE IMF to the rescue The cinema industry has been grappling with multiple masters for years and now uses Interoperable Master Format ( IMF ). This is a master file containing all the high-resolution imaging , audio , captioning and metadata to put together all the different versions required .
As a simple example in an animation movie , wall posters in the background of a scene are in English . It could be no issue to leave them in English for Japanese audiences , but what happens when a zoom-in on a poster is required and the words become part of the script ?
In the old days , a Japanese subtitle would be added in . Those days are gone now because filmmakers make versions of the scene with the wall posters in Japanese ( and in several other languages ). During the film assembly process , the Japan scene is swapped in . All fine , finished and
completed ? Not really . What happens if another scene needs a change for technical or editorial reasons ? Each purpose-made version of the film for distribution needs to be manually changed . This could result in dozens or even hundreds of manually changed regional masters .
With IMF , all versions are put on the timeline , including all the various languages and music tracks . When a master is put together , the correct tracks are selected and assembled as an output profile list ( OPL ). If a single element needs to be changed , the same OPL is used for that master and the changed element is automatically combined , creating a new regional master .
Broadcast and over-the-top ( OTT ) have not only similar basic needs , but also a myriad of extra unique elements for distribution . For example , with the linear broadcast version , ad breaks need to be incorporated . Online versions need metadata to describe audio layouts , identifiers and genres that are not required in the cinema .
IMF for broadcast chimes in SMPTE teamed up with Digital Production Partnership ( DPP ) to
From the distribution side , knowing what IMF can do will save you time and money .
create an IMF specification for broadcast and online .
Everyone wants to continually monetise assets over time , with distribution options and regional marketplaces . Each requires a new distribution master and over time , elements such as ad breaks need changing again . This is exactly why having a single high-quality IMF master file — including the audio , images , subtitling / captioning and metadata — is key . From the distribution side , knowing what IMF can do will save you time and money too . At Connectech- Asia 2018 , be sure to learn about this and understand how it can improve your operations .
Stan Moote has worked worldwide in the industry for more than three decades and is the CTO for IABM , International Association for Broadcast and Media Technology Suppliers . Also an APB panellist , Stan has a clear understanding of technology combined with a solid business twist . You can see many of Stan ’ s articles at theIABM . org .
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