S3479 - GPU-accelerated Image Processing and Motion Analysis Tools for Modern Moving Images Lance Maurer ( Founder and CEO, Cinnafilm Inc. )

Lance Maurer is the founder, president, and CEO of Cinnafilm, Inc. Prior to launching Cinnafilm in 2007, Maurer spent ten years in the American space industry as a lead mechanical design engineer. His passion for film and his belief in technical excellence drove him to create a technology dedicated to properly solving many of the most difficult problems faced by moving images, with the aim of maximizing the video experience for the end user in all settings. Powered by NVIDIA GPU computing, Cinnafilm technology has been used to restore some of the world's most important film and television archives, and is also used to optimize modern digital cinema and broadcast media, delivering the highest quality result in every format. Cinnafilm is based out of Albuquerque, NM, USA.

CEO and founder Lance Maurer will discuss Pixel Strings®, the scalable, real -time, GPU -accelerated motion vector engine that drives Cinnafilm's two flagship products: Dark Energy® and Tachyon™. Dark Energy is used to create high quality theatrical and HD content by removing noise and film grain without harming image detail and by simulating new film grain structure. Tachyon, a faster-than-real-time plugin for many third-party transcoding systems, is used to automatically correct broken cadence and deliver optimum format and framerate conversions, ensuring higher quality output than with standard transcode solutions alone. Tachyon received the HPA Engineering Excellence Award for 2012. Lance will also discuss some of his industry-trend predictions for the ever-changing market of multi-media delivery in the years to come. Session Level: All Session Type: Talk Tags: Media & Entertainment

Portions of this presentation may removed from the PDF or online version as certain images not be replicated without expressed written content of the content’s owners. GPU-Accelerated Image Processing and Motion Analysis Tools for Modern Moving Images

Lance Maurer, CEO and founder of Cinnafilm, Inc. •Welcome •Video Clip •Company introduction •A Brief history of time •Cinnafilm technology •Pixel Strings GPU powered Engine •Dark Energy •Tachyon •Forward looking thoughts •Closing Video Clip A Brief History of (Cinnafilm’s) Time

2010 2011 - Present 2007 2009 Plugins & Tachyon 2004 Cinnafilm Inc. ARRI SDK Design Standards GPU Research Founded Relativity Dark Energy Transcode

2003 “Digital Alchemy” Founded We work with the best in the biz…

Twentieth Century FOX Sony Network Entertainment Warner Brothers Digital Film Central NBC Universal Zoetrope Aubrey Productions FotoKem MTVN Deluxe ING Turner Music Choice ESPN Fixafilm BBC ARRI TV WETA Pixion Park Road Post JCA Cineric Eclaire Goldcrest NAC Image Tech AMC Prasad DI Factory The Mill Chimney Pot Bandito Brothers • Cinnafilm Technology – The “Special Forces” of Image Optimization – Used to restore and repurpose priceless, classic films and television – Used to match textures of various types, from various camera sources, for digital cinema – Used to create optimized imagery and compression for modern digital content - any format, any platform – Provides the very best video experience on any device Cinnafilm – High Quality Image Processing: • Dark Energy – denoise, texture and film simulation, and automatic dustbusting; used to restore and optimize for HD distribution, and used to optimize and texturize digital cinema for theatrical release • Tachyon – high -quality, standards and frame -rate converter, cadence and intermixed format correction, high end scaling, and format conversions; all automated and flexible. • Pixel Strings – real time motion vector engine calculated on the GPU – the backbone of Cinnafilm’s high end image processing solutions .

8 In a nutshell…

POST CONVERTED / OPTIMIZED 10 Top shelf Noise/ Grain removal

No loss of image detail “Absolutely the best grain reduction process I have ever seen. With this process I even think you could shoot cinemascope on super16mm” --DennyDenny Clairmont

Combined with realistic film grain simulation = TEXTURE Repurpose Material

Automated Process Anomaly Detection & Removal Texture for Digital Cinema Case Study: Act of Valor • Shot ~80% on Canon 5D, in 30 fps • Partially shot with 35mm film and Sony Camera • Dark Energy was used to: • Upres Canon material to 2K • Remove compression blocking • Remove image noise • Remove film grain from 35mm • Simulate new 35mm film grain for whole film end to end - straight to DCP without any film out • First major motion picture shot “Act of Valor”, with permission from Relativity Media primarily on a handheld camera, #1 at box office on Oscar Weekend 2012

Tachyon is: • A 100% file-based image processing pipeline, combined with a powerful transcoding toolset. • The result of over 9 years of dedicated engineering research and applied science in the fields of moving image motion research and frame synthesis. • A tool that accept any source format in and create any target format out necessary, mobile to 4K, automatically and faster than real time. • A tool that can remove pulldown and intermixed (progressive and interlaced content) automatically. • Used for editorial prep (mezzanine normalization) and final delivery (multi-device) 16 Why It Matters to Post… • Typical methods for high quality standards conversion (+transcode) involves clunky and lossy workflows requiring time consuming trips to/from SDI devices – not always with the good imaging results. Transcoders themselves do not provide high quality images for complex conversions (stuttering, ghosting, blending, etc). • Visual Media has become an anytime/anywhere delivery system (in/out); post-production must grow to meet this paradigm without losing the image high quality that matters. • Tachyon provides a 100% digital workflow. What Does Tachyon Do? • Automated cadence correction • Composited image error correction • Mixed mode normalization • Dark Energy • Dark Energy dustbusting • Motion based conversions (any to any) • Hardware quality upres/downres • Complex corrections for animation All in one toolset, and all in a SINGLE pass. CASE STUDIES… Case Study A Tachyon provided ESPN the first, 100% file-based, faster than real time solution that combined high quality format conversion, image scaling, AND transcoding (Multi 8-GPU server systems) – European Cup 2012 1080i25  720p 59.94 (live) Case Study B 3:2 pulldown with Progressive CGI Overlay

Tachyon is able to move 3:2 pulldown without harming or “tearing” progressive overlays.

29.97 ii––>> 23.976p Conversion

Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Case Study C Broken 3:2 Cadence Errors (3:2 Pattern Not Carried Through Scene Cuts) Tachyon can detect and remove all 3:2 (and other ) patterns, even when the pattern is inconsistent, broken, or random 29.97i ––>> 23.976p Conversion Interlaced Frame 1 Interlaced Frame 2 Progressive Frame 1 Progressive Frame 2 Progressive Frame 3 Interlaced Frame 1 Progressive Frame 1 IMPROPER CADENCE! Interlaced Frame 1 CADENCE RESTARTED Interlaced Frame 2 Progressive Frame 1 Progressive Frame 2 Progressive Frame 3 Interlaced Frame 1 Interlaced Frame 2 Progressive Frame 1 Progressive Frame 2 Progressive Frame 3 Results Results Results Results Results One Frame Before Cut Results One Frame After Cut Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Forward Looking Predictions*

1. Movies will be released in all formats simultaneously on the same day 2. Product placement and banners will replace commercial spots on television (soon to be just “streaming”) 3. 3D will fail theatrically and at home, because 2D *TED who? monitors will get magnitudes better (market driven) 4. HFR will succeed – but in various ways, and not as we think. Capture method will harmonize on 4Kx120fps and content will go straight to cloud for storage and processing. 5. Dead people will star in movies again.

85 The best experience, on every device, always. THANK YOU

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