LaserPacific develops high definition supercomputer assembly technology for post producation

LaserPacific is widely acknowledged and credited with creating much of the underlying technology and systems engineering that created a complete 24P High Definition post production environment.

Whether acquired digitally or on film, the system is designed to input four simultaneous streams of 24P High Definition content in its native data state. Based on the creative choices made in an edit decision list, the system then assembles all the cuts as a data file onto a large-scale disc array.

Once all the data for a program has been input into the system and onto the disc array, the system then outputs the cut program as a data stream in faster than real time. The process takes considerably less time than other methods and has qualitative advantages because the images and sound stay in data form throughout the assembly process.

Now available at LaserPacific's Hollywood-based High Definition Electronic Laboratory, the service has already been used to help producers save time and meet the tight deliveries of pilots for the 2001-2002 television pilot season. It is envisioned that the system will also play a significant role for motion pictures.

LaserPacific has established itself as a premier provider of high definition services for theatrical motion pictures in an area known as Digital Preview. By transferring film to High Definition, many producers are finding that when time comes to test market the film in what the industry refers to as a "preview," that assembling the film in High Definition has significant benefits.

Not only is the quality better by projecting pristine digital images than the traditional, often-scratched and dirty film workpicure, but when the inevitable changes come, this new technology allows for unprecedented speed in turning around the changed film.

In addition, as Hollywood continues its experiment with the digital acquisition of images utilizing the new 24P High Definition digital cameras, the High Definition SuperComputer Assembly process will prove invaluable in creating the digital data that will be output to both film and the emerging Digital Cinema.

"It's what we do best," explained Cohen. "For nearly two decades our team has consistently been able to advance our customers' needs with technology that just plain works, is better than anything else out there, and clearly makes their product better and their jobs easier. We make the technology transparent so that they can use it to tell stories without it getting in the way. After all, at the end of the day, it's all about stories - and the 'magic of Hollywood,' that we proudly help to create, so that those stories can be told."