Focal Host 'Digital File–based Archive Production: From Library To Edit' Seminar

FOCAL International is running a one-day technology conference for Production Managers, Directors, Editors, Post Prod Facilities, Archive Producers/Researchers and Audiovisual Libraries to discuss the choices and technical challenges facing suppliers and users of footage in the truly digital domain.
FOCAL International will explore the ups and downs of the latest technical developments in the footage industry at its upcoming daylong seminar, Digital File–based Archive Production: From Library to Edit, to be held at BAFTA’s London office on 16th November 2012. While footage archives have increasingly made their assets available for search and download online, new workflow challenges have emerged as a result of this digital migration. These issues will be front and center at FOCAL’s seminar.
"We’ve become aware that, despite the advances in technology and availability to access and deliver footage from archives, life in the digital domain is not necessarily easier for the researchers, production managers, directors and editors,’"explains FOCAL International’s Chair Sue Malden. "One of FOCAL’s missions is to facilitate the use of library footage, images, stills and audio in all forms of media production. At this conference, we hope to highlight the main issues and choices facing suppliers and users of footage, identify the new skills, equipment, time and budgets required to keep the production going smoothly and consider if the industry is able to standardize any of these formats, systems and operations."
The conference organizers have designed the seminar with the needs of Production Managers, Directors, Editors, Post Prod Facilities, Archive Producers/Researchers and archive library managers uppermost in mind.
"There seems to be a gulf in the production skills-base opening up," said FOCAL General Manager Julie Lewis. "We have heard stories of some production companies underestimating the time, money and equipment required for Archive Researchers and Producers to provide digital preview material for the Directors; of Archive Producers preferring to deal with the Editor as the only person on the production team with the skills to know what codec is required and how to deliver files for both the pre-edit and the online edit; of Data Wrangler or Media Managers being the new ‘essential’ member of the production team. We also have examples where the right conversation between the Archive Producer and Post Production house has saved much heartache, time and money."
Editors have their own problems working out how to ingest and encode files from different sources, whilst adapting to software changes. Then there are issues for the footage archives: while many have already invested millions digitizing their collections, are they actually delivering what the customer wants? If not, how can they adapt to better serve their customer base?
All these issues will be highlighted and discussed by speakers on different panels. There will also be a presentation of a new system, which could provide a solution enabling Researchers and Directors to assemble and preview all archive footage selected in a cloud based browser.
For schedule, prices and registration:
Footage Technical Conference BAFTA, London, 16th November
BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly London W1J 9LN.
You may also be interested in the following:
Footage Training Week London 12-16 November 2012
Jane Mercer Footage Training Grant – Closing date for applications 31 January
www.focalint.org