SMPTE Hollywood and the IMF User Group (UG) will co-host a virtual meeting on IMF and its impact on content owners, service providers and technology developers, Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at noon PDT. IMF (Interoperable Master Format) is fast becoming the standard deliverable for studios and streamers. A panel of experts will review the format’s potential for standardizing digital content delivery and offer advice on best practices for implementing IMFs across a range of processes and applications.

Speakers will include Walt Disney Studios Senior Mastering Systems Engineer Mike Krause who will review the genesis and development of IMF. Blackmagic Design’s Shawn Carlson and Colorfront’s Bruno Munger will describe the implementation of IMF from the perspectives of vendors, while Sony Pictures’ Greg Geier and David Deelo will discuss IMF’s impact on workflows at studios and other end-users. ColorTime’s Barry Goch will moderate.

Free and open to all, the event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 30 at noon PDT on Zoom. Register here.  

Panelists:

  • Mike Krause, Senior Mastering Systems Engineer, Walt Disney Studios, is responsible for setting mastering specifications for features and streaming content (including Disney+). He also leads planning and implementation of IMF mastering workflows, systems testing and compliance. He served as chair of SMPTE’s 10E-RGB drafting group and has been a key contributor to other groups and committees involved in standards development. He founded and chaired the Studio Technology HDR Task Force, which supported the sharing of HDR knowledge across the studio family. His background includes engineering roles with Deluxe and Technicolor Creative Services.
  • Shawn Carlson, Product Specialist, Blackmagic Design, has worked in creative editorial and conform for more than 22 years, producing and delivering content for indie and studio clients. As a product specialist with Blackmagic Design, he’s helped customers develop new production and post workflows for DaVinci Resolve. Carlson has a background in editorial (creative/conform) and motion graphics, across a variety of NLE and FX platforms, delivering short films, show opens, producing spots, promos, trailers, sizzles and BTS featurettes for theatrical, broadcast, cable and home video release for indie and studio clients including Disney, Warner, Sony, NBC and Apple.
  • Bruno Munger, Director of Business Development, Colorfront, oversees sales, support and development for the company’s award-winning on-set dailies and transcoding systems. A 30-year industry veteran, he has expertise in workflow design for file-based 2D/3D image capture, file-based delivery, VFX and digital intermediate color grading. He previously served as CTO and vice president at ALT Systems. His background also includes posts in product management, product design, business development and customer training at Digital Vision, Autodesk, MTI Films and Snell & Wilcox.
  • Greg Geier, Senior Vice President, Digital Media Supply Chain, Sony Pictures Entertainment, is responsible for developing the systems and workflows for the end to end Media Lifecyle. He played a critical role in transitioning Sony Pictures to a file-based Interoperable Master Format ecosystem, while strengthening the handoffs between productions and distribution.
  • David Deelo, Executive Director of Media Technology & Workflow, Technology Development, Sony Pictures Entertainment, is applying his more than 30 years of industry experience in helping Sony develop next generation workflows with IMF as the foundation for its asset management strategy. He previously served as chief technology officer at 2G Digital and as vice president, editing/compression technology, IT at Crest Digital. A graduate of Robert Morris University, he began his career as an editor working in advertising and sports media at Ryno Production.

Moderator

  • Barry Goch, Senior Editor, ColorTime, is a finishing editor and VFX artist with credits including Spiderman: Homecoming, Passengers, Money Monster, Eye in the Sky and Game of Thrones. He is currently working on A Million Little Things (ABC) and an independent feature. Goch is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board and is West Coast Contributor for Post Perspective. He also teaches post-production at UCLA Extension.

The panel is produced by Barry Goch and Linda Rosner.

The event will also be live-streamed on the SMPTE Hollywood Facebook and YouTube pages.

About the SMPTE® Hollywood Section
The Hollywood Section of SMPTE® was initially organized as the West Coast Section in 1928. Today, as its own SMPTE Region, it encompasses more than 1,200 SMPTE Members with a common interest in motion-imaging technology in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Hollywood Section offers free meetings monthly that are open to SMPTE Members and non-members alike. Information about meetings is posted on the Section website at https://www.smpte.org/sections/hollywood.

About the IMF User Group
The Interoperable Master Format (IMF) User Group (UG) is a forum for the worldwide community of end-users and implementers of the IMF family of standards. The IMF UG brings together content owners, service providers, retailers and equipment/software vendors to enhance and promote the use of IMF globally, across domains of applications. The IMF UG discusses technical operational issues that arise in practical implementation, conducts and cooperates with other industry bodies and standards organizations on interoperability testing, develops best practices, and seeks to broaden the awareness of IMF.

The IMF UG is organized under the umbrella of the HPA.

https://www.imfug.com/

About SMPTE®
SMPTE is the global society of media professionals, technologists, and engineers working in the digital entertainment industry. The Society fosters a diverse and engaged membership from both the technology and creative communities, delivering vast educational offerings, technical conferences and exhibitions, the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal, and access to a rich network of colleagues essential to their career success. As an internationally recognized standards organization, SMPTE also provides a vital technical framework of engineering standards and guidelines that allow the seamless creation, management, and delivery of media for art, entertainment, and education worldwide.

Information on joining SMPTE is available at smpte.org/join.