The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences received separate $10 million gifts from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. In recognition of these gifts, the two main galleries on the lobby floor of the Academy Museum will be named for Katzenberg and Spielberg – The Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery and The Spielberg Family Gallery.

via The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces major gifts from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg.

When does 4K make sense in post? Not as often as you might think, according to some speakers at last week’s Production + Post Conference, held in conjunction with Content and Communications World at Javits Center in New York City. Post gurus said it’s not always easy to make a budgetary case for 4K, with its dramatically increased demands for post-production bandwidth and storage capacity. High-profile features are often graded at 2K or, in the case of Dallas Buyers Club (pictured, top), in HD.

via The Big Question: Why Post in 4K? | Studio Daily.

The new system, which Imax showcased at its home office in Santa Monica, features dual 4K laser digital projectors for both 2D and 3D systems, the first of its kind, along with an enhanced sound system that represents the largest research and development investment in the history of Imax.

via Imax Demos New Laser Technology to Mostly Bright Reception | Variety.

Sony’s new α7 and α7R digital cameras are full-frame, 24 x 36mm, interchangeable lens cameras. They use the familiar Sony E mount — the same as the FS700 and NEX, which are APS-C size — but now the E mount covers full frame. (A full frame Sony E-mount consumer video camcorder was shown last year at Photokina.)

The α7R has a 36.4 megapixel CMOS sensor and no optical low pass filter.  The α7 has a 24.3  megapixel CMOS sensor with a faster autofocus and an OLPF.

via Sony α7R and α7 full-frame cameras | Film and Digital Times.

“I witnessed the entire thing and I can tell you without a doubt this was not a prank,” says Al Parinello, a lifelong friend of the comedian who produces the awards. Parinello relayed to The Hollywood Reporter how Michael, whom he describes as “accountant-like” in demeanor and not prone to mounting hoaxes, followed instructions in the essay to meet his brother at a specific restaurant on Christmas Eve, 1999.

via Andy Kaufman’s Brother Says Comedian is Alive, in Love and Has a Daughter.

Netflix just announced a whole new browsing experience for users who access the service on more than half the devices that run it, from game consoles to smart TVs. On the surface it just looks like a sleek new interface upgrade – better images, more integrated program information – but underneath there’s a hint of things to come: the idea that soon, viewers will look at the video-streaming service no differently than they do the guide channel piped in through their living room’s cable box.

via Netflix’s New Look Is a Glimpse at the Future of TV | Underwire | Wired.com.

The Primo V lenses are designed to bring the look and feel of Panavision Primos to digital cinematography, using the lens elements from existing Primo lenses, long an industry standard for top cinematographers. Primo V lenses take advantage of specific design adaptations to work in harmony with digital cameras, maximizing image quality while delivering Primo quality and character.

via Panavision Primo V Series Lenses Announced:.

A quarter century after the international release of “The Last Emperor,” the film has finally realized its fate.

After serving as guest artistic director last year, Bertolucci returned to the AFI Fest today for the North American premiere of the new version of his nine-time Oscar-winning biopic (including best picture and best director). The film has received a complete facelift: a 3D conversion, 4K restoration and sound re-mastering.

“I think it’s a new life for this film,” he said. “The film is not the temptation that often filmmakers have with 3D to throw, I don’t know, noodles in the face of the viewers. … It’s a very innocent 3D, but I think it will make you feel very much inside the Forbidden City.”

via Bernardo Bertolucci: ‘The Last Emperor’ Destined to be Converted to 3D | Variety.

Just about every cinematographer will tell you the same thing: their work wouldn’t be half as good without the help of their most trusted gaffer. This can be attributed to the fact that lighting successfully for film and television is one of the most challenging aspects of production, and the larger the scale of a production becomes, the more intensive the lighting needs will be.

via Renowned Gaffer John Higgins Reveals Secrets Behind Lighting Some of Hollywood’s Biggest Films « No Film School.

But Blockbuster chiefs lacked the vision to see how the industry was shifting under the video rental chain’s feet

It will go down as one of the biggest missed opportunities in the boardroom: Blockbuster deciding not to buy Netflix.

But that’s what could have happened multiple times throughout the early 2000s when Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings courted a deal with Blockbuster-chief John Antioco to purchase the then DVD-by-mail rental company for $50 million (the company now has a market cap of $19.7 billion).

via Epic Fail: How Blockbuster Could Have Owned Netflix | Variety.

SIM/Bling (www.simdigital.com/bling/blinghome.html) helped Psych go fully digital in 2010, after having successfully established file-based workflows for two other Universal Cable Productions programs, Suits and Covert Affairs. Three years down the line, the elements of that workflow remain largely unchanged. SIM provides the show with Arri Alexa camera packages (as well as Sony and GoPro cameras for specialized use), on-set graphics and playback services. Bling handles near-set dailies processing and data services.

Camera media is processed in the near-set lab, which includes the production of media for review, editorial, post and back-up. Editorial files and Final Cut Pro ProRes proxy format files are delivered via high speed Internet connection to the show’s editorial team, located 1,300 miles away in Manhattan Beach, CA. Editors can begin cutting new material in as little as a few hours after its shot.

via Post Magazine – ‘Psych’ setting the standard for digital workflow.

As technology grows more advanced, the video game industry is expected to crush Hollywood movies — in popularity and profit. Globally, the gaming industry is expected to bring in nearly $100 billion in sales, while the Hollywood box office is only anticipating $10.8 billion in revenue.

via Video Games to Make $82 Billion More Than Hollywood Films.

Color is one of the most important and powerful visual tools through which filmmakers can convey ideas and emotion. Choices in the color palette begin with the production designer and the art department, continue through the work of the cinematographer, and end with the colorist.

via Everything You Need to Know About Color in the Digital Age « No Film School.

Filmtools Inc., a prominent Hollywood source of production equipment and motion picture making supplies, announced today that it has entered into a long-term strategic relationship with Paladin Capital Partners, LLC. Filmtools CEO Stan McClain said the move is designed to accelerate the company’s domestic and international growth plans.

via Filmtools Talks Expansion and Taking on America and Abroad:.

Argo won a pair of trophies, while Pacific Rim and Life of Pi collected one apiece, in the feature categories at the 8th annual Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA) Awards.

via 'Pacific Rim,' 'Argo,' 'Life of Pi' Win HPA Awards.

There are high hopes for Comet ISON, which will pass the sun this month and could put on a spectacular show in the sky in the process. The comet, making its virgin journey around our star from the Oort Cloud right now, could be one of the brightest comets to be observed from Earth in many decades, if not longer, or perhaps ever.

via ‘Comet of the Century’ ISON coming into view this week | Crave – CNET.

Nikon has followed the lead of companies like Fuji and has brought back physical dials to control major functions of the camera. Practically everything can be controlled just from the top dials

via Nikon Df: New Full-Frame DSLR Brings Back Manual Dials & Axes Video. Where's Our Cinema Version? « No Film School.

The Canon 70D announced earlier in the year included a new technology for the company called Dual Pixel AF that was designed to be excellent in both photo and video modes. Now Canon is working out a hardware upgrade for the C100 that will include this Dual Pixel AF technology and should give the camera similar performance as the 70D in video mode. Click through for more on this upgrade and how much it’s going to cost if you want to get in on the action.

via Canon C100 Getting Significant AutoFocus Improvement with New Hardware Upgrade « No Film School.

Time and again, Hollywood has met technological change with suspicion and attempted to suppress it. Yet in virtually all cases, once entertainment companies adapted to new technologies, the advances ended up expanding the markets for movies and television programs rather than destroying them.

via How Hollywood Can Stop Suing Downloaders and Capitalize on Piracy | MIT Technology Review.

The THR article covered a symposium of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (you probably know it as SMPTE). The professionals in attendence overwhelmingly declared that 4K, in itself, is not enough to lure consumers, but that a combination of more pixels, faster frame and refresh rates, and brighter, more colorful pixels would be the ticket.

via RedShark News – Why 4K is more important than you think.

Putting an exact date on when all Star Wars fans must now focus their attention, Lucasfilm announced today that Episode VII will hit theaters Dec. 18, 2015.

via Star Wars: Episode VII Finally Gets a Release Date | Underwire | Wired.com.

More great stuff from the ever excellent filmschoolthrucommentaries: “a rare commentary track from Ridley Scott in which the man gives his usual in depth and informative discussion on the craft of filmmaking. He covers such topics as casting, directing, camera operating, editing. I’m never disappointed in his tracks as they’re filled with quite a bit of information you’d always like to hear about if you’re making films yourself or are involved in any aspect of the craft.”

“Just fuckin’ do it.”

via More great stuff from the ever excellent….