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Germaine started his presentation saying: " Nearly 20 per
cent of BBC's production is being done in HD. More than 50
per cent of Avid's revenue comes from HD. The good thing about
it is that it gets back film tools for the filmmaker. One
of the challenges I face is trying to demystify the technical
aspects of the concept. I often find that many clients are
not fully aware of what it involves."
Germaine illustrated his viewpoint by showing a picture where
the aspect ratio was 16:9. "The pixels are square and
so it was possible to drag and drop them. While HD can work
with less brightness, you cannot get away with just lights
in the background and then hope that the foreground will be
illuminated as well, " pointed out Germaine. "HD brings
out the best in the worlds of film and television. It gives
you the sleek look of film with the speed of processing of
television," he added.
Germaine also mentioned that with HD camcorders are becoming
more accessible to many people and emerging as the new trend.
In fact at next month's NAB exhibition, there will be a huge
variety of HD products on display which can be used both for
recreational and business purposes. He said that the Thomson
Viper Camera was an excellent example of a top end HD product.
He also elaborated on the advantages of HD saying: " It is
no longer restricted to seven mm rolls, It also allows instant
playback of final media. It also allows facilitates a complete
digital post-production process.
"Do you want be a part of the audience or would you prefer
writing the script?" was the pitch made by an executive from
Cohezia. The company works in the areas of entertainment,
business and technology.
The UK based company helps its clients in the different areas
increase profits through the use of the latest technology.
It combines the technical skills of a software house, the
design skills of a creative agency, the business skills of
a management consultancy and the cost effectiveness of an
offshore outsourcing unit to create a new form of 'hybrid'
company designed ground up for the new digital age.
"Previously technology was seen as expensive and cumbersome.
The industry had a hands-off approach and it was mainly driven
by technologists. It was also not easy to define the ROI (Return
On Investment). Today, technology has entered a new world
where you have smart phones. There are game consoles, which
can be networked. So if one is stick in a traffic jam one
can play a game on the mobile phone with a friend sitting
in the next vehicle.. The infrastructure is growing at an
incredibly rapid pace. Now you have PC tablets that recognise
handwriting," the executive said.
The executive also pointed out that in the UK, several homes
have ethernet cable installed beforehand which allows for
telephony, gaming through a single gateway. He went on to
elaborate on why technologists have to embrace change.
"Change is not a villain, You can run from it but you cannot
hide. Rest assured you will be affected. Customers minds are
being influenced all the time and the direction in towards
which their inclinations go will determine you future. Therefore
for profit to be rescued, the customer has to be monitored."
He spoke about the roles of technology in an ever changing
world. " In this new world technology has a dual role. The
content area has experienced a major boom. There are more
television channels, films but at the same time the time span
has reduced. Therefore the first goal is to constantly create
richer environment experiences. The second is to lower the
cost base as this will keep profit in good shape. Products
must be able to harness the unique technologies being developed
through research. The trick lies in knowing how to balance
quality and risk. While the risk of a project shouldn't go
up it is imperative that quality not be compromised upon."
He mentioned wireless and broadband technology as areas where
he saw significant potential for revenue growth. India has
12 million mobile phone users with a growth rate of 95 per
cent. China is the leader with 150 million users. In fact,
in China online gaming is driving more than half PC penetration.
"My advice to clients is that they should start with
an integrated multi-platform strategy. It is extremely important
to have a broad view keeping in mind different environments.
For instance, it is not enough to just throw video onto the
mobile phone. Service providers need to realise that viewing
patterns, for someone on the go, are quite different from
the person relaxing at home."
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