Purdue News

September 30, 2002 Purdue entertainment conference draws big names from industry WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue International Center for Entertainment Technology (PICET) is bringing several digital media leaders to campus for the center's second annual conference, Digital Cinema and Cinematography. "The conference is the only one of its kind in the Midwest, and it's a rare opportunity to have access to leading digital technology collaborators on films such as 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture,' 'TRON' or 'Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones,'" said Dennis Short, director of the center. The conference will be Oct. 13-16 on Purdue's West Lafayette campus. The Digital Cinema and Cinematography conference is part of the center's mission to integrate art and science, Short said. The center also offers an advisory board where industry representatives can learn how to extend Purdue engineering and technology expertise into their work. Digital practitioners presenting at the conference will range from hardware/software developers, to practitioners making film in digital format, to gaming designers. Presenters will include experts from Sony and Avid – an award-winning digital effects director – and a keynote address from John Bailey, vice president of the American Society of Cinematographers. Bailey's film credits include "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," "Groundhog Day," "Silverado," "American Gigolo," "As Good As It Gets" and "In the Line of Fire." The list of scheduled conference speakers includes: • Richard Taylor, director/VFX supervisor, and winner of several CLEO awards, who has worked on films such as "TRON," the upcoming "TRON 2.0," and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." • Paul Bloch, president and CEO at dataDirect Networks, an e-business development firm. • Dave Duncan, business development manager for Texas Instrument's Digital Light Processing Cinema group, digital projector manufacturers. • Kevin Wines, product manager at Avica Technologies Corp., whose products were used in the making of "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones." • Terrence Masson from Digital Fauxtography. • Michael Phillips, principal product design manager at Avid. • Joshua Pines, director of imaging research and development at Technique, a creative digital technologies firm. • Bob Nicoll, director of worldwide training at Electronic Arts, developer of gaming software for personal computers and advanced entertainment systems. On Oct. 15 there also will be a special screening at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Lafayette of clips from recent films on a digital projector. The digital projector, courtesy of Texas Instruments, is 3 feet by 5 feet by 6 feet. There is no permanent digital projector in Indiana. "This will be a great showcase for digital technology at a beautiful art-deco theater," said Short, professor of computer graphics technology. "There is a growing trend toward digital film from analog film because of its greater longevity. Unlike analog film, digital media does not deteriorate with time." The cost of digital cinema also is substantially less than using film. "People are not aware how many Purdue science graduates are in the entertainment industry making a difference," Short said. "We've seen alumni win an Academy Award, an Emmy and a MTV award for their professional talents. The International Center for Entertainment Technology will make Purdue's contributions to the entertainment industry more visible." The center's areas of focus include gaming, motion capture, digital cinema and digital post-production. Registration will be limited to 200, and participants will have the opportunity to meet and interact with speakers. Purdue International Center for Entertainment Technology supporting members will not be charged to attend the conference, although registration is required. The cost for faculty, students and members of not-for-profit organizations is $100 for the four-day event. For all others, the conference registration fee is $250. The conference registration form is available at the Purdue International Center for Entertainment Technology Web site, by calling (765) 496-6205, or e-mailing ctsharp@purdue.edu. Lodging is available at University Inn, under the PICET block. For more information, call (800) 777-9808. Writer: Amy Patterson-Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu Sources: Dennis Short, (765) 494-6457, drshort@tech.purdue.edu Christine Sharp, Sales and Marketing Coordinator at Purdue Conferences, (765) 496-6205, ctsharp@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page