Advancing the digital technology capabilities of the entertainment industry, HP announced a three-year extension of its multi-million dollar agreement with DreamWorks.
The agreement with DreamWorks designates HP as its sole preferred technology provider for its core technology purchases, including the computing infrastructure for DreamWorks digital studios. In addition, the companies plan to collaborate on technology innovations in areas such as digital editing, digital cinema and digital asset management.
There is a digital revolution happening across the entertainment industry, but there are still legitimate reasons for much of the industry to be caught halfway between digital and analog worlds, said Shane Robison, HPs chief strategy and technology officer. HP believes that by partnering, engaging in joint research and co-innovating with leaders in this industry we can help drive this revolution forward.
The DreamWorks agreement also calls for HP to receive certain rights for co-branding and joint consumer marketing initiatives tied to the premier of DreamWorks 2005 release of MADAGASCAR and other animated films.
Our partnership with HP is enabling us to leverage technology in new and interesting ways to enhance our business and empower the creative vision of our filmmakers, said DreamWorks cto Ed Leonard. Technology is pivotal to our continued success and our partnership with HP is helping to ensure that we continue to shape the future of the convergence of technology and content.
HP and DreamWorks first partnered in 2001 on the original SHREK. In April 2004, the companies announced their collaboration on two digital filmmaking technologies, the Utility Rendering Service and Virtual Studio Collaboration (VSC), which were critical to the development of the record-breaking blockbuster sequel SHREK 2. HP and DreamWorks are collaborating on the next generation of the VSC solution, which HP plans to make widely available in the near future.
HP also announced it has donated its latest high-performing workstations to the University of Southern Californias School of Cinema-Television.
The contribution is part of HPs effort to bring studio-level editing, visual effects and animation capabilities to the educational arena. The 50 HP xw8200 Workstations will be used in the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, a USC facility that represents the countrys most advanced digital content training center, focusing on every aspect of filmmaking, from performance to production and delivery.
Like HP, the USC School of Cinema-Television is firmly committed to employing cutting-edge research and development techniques to advance content creation for the entertainment industry, said Elizabeth Daley, dean, USC School of Cinema-Television.
In addition to the donated workstations, engineers from HP Labs, the companys central research facility, will collaborate with USC researchers in areas such as Internet 2 high-speed networking and innovative technologies that may enable collaboration from across the desk, campus or around the globe.
NVIDIA will supply high-performance graphic cards and Avid Technology Inc. will provide Xpress pro digital video editing software. HP will work with these partners to integrate the hardware and software and add applications to the HP workstations.
Tomorrows digital filmmakers require experience with professional-level tools during their education, said Richard Weinberg, research professor, USC School of Cinema-Television. The workstations provided by HP, coupled with the educational environment at USC, will enable our students and faculty to fully realize their creative visions and bring their stories quickly to the screen.
HP (www.hp.com) is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The companys offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
