Cypress, CA – As the Platinum Sponsor of SIGGRAPH 2012, Christie is proud to host the SIGGRAPH HFR Panel, “High Frame Rate Cinema, Impacts on Art and Technology,” to be held Wednesday, August, 8 at 10:45 a.m., at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Hall K. The panel will feature 10 cinema industry leaders, led by Gordon E. Sawyer Academy Award winner Douglas Trumbull and Dennis Muren, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic. It will be moderated by Paul Salvini, chief technology officer (CTO) of Christie. SIGGRAPH 2012 will be staged August 5 – 9.

Filmmaker and Visual Effects legend Douglas Trumbull’s photographic effects credits include groundbreaking films such as “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” "Blade Runner," and “The Tree of Life.” Douglas Trumbull pioneered work on High Frame Rate cinematography and projection with his Showscan process of 70mm film photographed and projected at 60 fps, and is now exploring 3D at 120 fps. Dennis Muren is the recipient of eight Academy Awards for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, with credits that include “Star Wars” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”

“The SIGGRAPH HFR panel will explore the technology behind high-frame-rate cinema, and look at what it will mean to producers of content and to the audience experience,” noted Paul Salvini.  “The panelists are pioneers in their fields, addressing the challenges of HFR across the entire workflow, to provide the post-production and visual effects communities with important guidance regarding the challenges and rewards of developing HFR content for the exhibition community.”

Additional panelists include:

• Jim Beshears, Head of Post-production at DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., oversees all aspects of the studio's self-contained editorial and post-production facilities.  Jim has been instrumental in creating a solid support system capable of simultaneously managing multiple feature-length animated projects and multiple short projects.
  Matthew Cowan, co-founder of Entertainment Technology Consultants and currently Chief Scientific Officer at RealD, of California, developed RealD’s successful 3D cinema system and is respected in the post-production community for his knowledge and application of human perception to 3D systems, color, and transfer functions in digital cinema.
• Darin Grant, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Domain Media Group, is responsible for the overall technology strategy for the company and its many subsidiaries. He is the former head of production technology at DreamWorks Animation.
• John Helliker is Founder/Director of Sheridan College’s SIRT Centre, a research and training facility focused on digital workflow innovations including HFR and virtual production.  Based at Pinewood Toronto Studios, SIRT’s leading edge work is based on a unique set of partnerships with major industry guilds and associations, individual companies, as well as government and academia.
• Luke Moore, Director of Special Projects at Canada’s Side Effects Software, in Toronto, is responsible for identifying and addressing the unique technical challenges faced by studios using the popular Houdini VFX and Animation software. Luke brings first-hand knowledge and anecdotes regarding challenges of managing large datasets necessary to enable higher temporal and physical resolution to meet the needs of new challenges in modern production environments.
• Phil Oatley is Head of Technology at New Zealand-based Park Road Post Production, where his visionary talents have guided the company through incredible growth, including establishing key partnerships to promote HFR research and development.
• Dr. Lincoln Wallen, Head of Research and Development at Dreamworks Animation, in California, and formerly CTO at Electronic Arts Mobile, where he was instrumental in shaping EA's approach to the mobile business, creating a strong portfolio of mass market mobile games, as well as games delivering a next-generation consumer experience.