| Disney, DreamWorks, and ILM experts reveal Linux secrets this month in LA |
by DesktopLinux.com staff
Linux now dominates the film industry -- Linux desktops, rendering farms and servers have been adopted by leading movie studios and used in award winning films.
Just how is Linux used? What are the benefits of Linux in one of most demanding computing environments?
DesktopLinux.com talks to Robin Rowe about an upcoming LA conference that takes you behind-the-scenes with industry experts from the top movie studios: Disney, DreamWorks SKG, Flash Film Works, Hammerhead Productions, Industrial Light & Magic, Rhythm & Hues Studios, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Tippett Studio will all be on hand. Presentations are followed by a panel discussion of open source Film Gimp and a meeting of the Linux Movies Group.
DL: Can you tell us about the Linux Movies conference track?
RR: Linux has won Hollywood -- both server renderfarms and artist desktops. The Linux Movies track is a full day of presentations from feature film studio experts describing how they have converted to Linux for animation and special effects. The track is being held February 18th in Los Angeles. Experts from most all of the top motion picture studios are coming. More info here.
DL: Desktop Linux has stormed the movie industry. So, how did the Linux Movies conference track come about?
RR: As a journalist I’ve been covering the advance of Linux in the motion picture industry for almost two years. Although I’ve reported it studio by studio, Linux has really won Hollywood. People think Linux does ok on servers, but to dominate end-to-end in the most demanding graphics environment in the world is astounding. To highlight what Linux has accomplished, I had the idea of bringing together the top studio experts for an all-day panel. Ron Lindeboom, who is launching a new conference called Creative Cow, liked the idea and provided our venue at the Westin LAX.
DL: So the movies studios agreed to offer some insight into the adoption of Linux. Was it hard to get speakers? What topics will be covered?
RR: Getting speakers from the studios is really tough -- these are top technologists and artists with Academy Awards and experience with many hit films, leaders in systems development in the feature film industry. Disney, DreamWorks, and ILM are the big studios presenting that everyone is familiar with, but we also have the specialty studios such as Tippett (The Matrix 2) and Hammerhead (Fast & Furious 2). The only two we could not get were Digital Domain and Pixar. Neither could make it due to scheduling conflicts.The film industry is being well represented.
I asked the speakers is to begin with an overview of their pipeline so we understand how their studio operations work. Then, to delve into a passion they have in more detail. Speakers will be describing their pet projects and pet peeves. In additon to the discussion of Linux, they will give a glimpse into their studio production, from both a technical and artistic perspective.
DL: What kinds of topics are covered?
RR: DreamWorks has led efforts to use Linux as a complete solution from the artist's desktop to the final output onto film. They will discuss problems they encountered and present solutions. Disney will talk about the issues they faced in the transition to Linux. Tippett Studios compares open source Linux to commercial packages such as Shake and Maya. Flash Film Works talks about the integration of new technologies into the pipeline ... technologies like channel-bonded Ethernet to increase throughput, as well as keeping involved with developers in the creation of new products and technologies. Hammerhead will talk about their indirect software colormap, integrated into all of its tools, color correction in film images that does not effect the color of the rest of the windows. They will also cover CPU performance, memory, graphics cards, and an optimized display library that supports real time color for even film-resolution images. I'll also be giving an overview of the industry in the morning and talk about the trends.
DL: What is the connection to Film Gimp?
RR: There’s a Film Gimp panel at 4pm. I was really lucky with who agreed to come. Ray Feeny not only founded the Film Gimp project originally, he has won four Academy Awards for Scientific and Engineering Achievement and is an industry icon. Caro Dahllöf is one of the original developers and helped keep Film Gimp alive in movie production at Rhythm & Hues Studios. Sam Richards of Sony Pictures Imageworks is the release manager for Film Gimp, and has done a tremendous job. We also were able to present a user perspective from Thad Beier of Hammerhead.
DL: The evening also has a meeting of the Linux Movies Group. What is that group's focus?
RR: It is a users group open to anyone interested in Linux motion picture technology. We have a worldwide mailing list and have met monthly in the San Francisco ay area for over a year. It will be our first meeting in the LA area. It is set to be a very exciting day.
About the event: The day long event will be held at the Westin at LAX. The Linux Movies track will be in the 250-seat theater. Cost: $100.
Register at Creative Cow West. Click on "Special One Day Linux Movie Track".
The program kicks off at 8:30am with an overview of the state of Linux in movies and then we have scheduled each studio expert speaking from 9am to 4pm. At 4pm we have the Film Gimp panel.
At 5pm we’re having an open meeting of the Linux Movies Group-- he first in LA. (It is free to all show attendees.)
You can get an exhibits-only badge from Creative Cow for free, while they are still available. Other stuff going on Creative Cow include an exhibits hall with Windows television gear, along with some that runs on Linux and Macintosh. Creative Cow has other conference tracks for Combustion, After Effects, Maya, and so more.
DL: Will you be doing the Linux Movies track again, maybe take it to another city?
RR: We’ve been asked about bringing it to the east coast and London -- I'm not sure it is even feasible to do somthing outside of Hollywood. It helps that most of the speakers for this event are local and we only need to fly a few speakers down from San Francisco. Future plans depend on how it goes on February 18th.
Anyone who is interested in technology in the motion picture industry should definitely try to make it. This is a rare opportunity.
The full speaker agenda and bios of each speaker is available here.
 Robin Rowe is a partner in motion picture technology company MovieEditor.com, the release manager of Film Gimp and the leader of LinuxMovies.org and OpenSourceProgrammers.org.
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