San Francisco, March 25, 2024 – MovieLabs, the technology joint venture of the major Hollywood studios today announced the formation of a Leadership Council and the inaugural member companies joining its MovieLabs Industry Forum. First announced in August 2024, the MovieLabs Industry Forum was created to convene the growing global community of media and technology companies who are actively supporting and implementing the MovieLabs 2030 Vision and the many other MovieLabs initiatives that will drive next generation media production and creativity.
MovieLabs and its studio members (Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Universal City Studios, LLC., The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.) will be joined by Adobe, Amazon Web Services, Avid, Dolby, DreamWorks Animation, and Skywalker Sound in the Forum’s Leadership Council. The Leadership Council will guide the prioritization of the key focus areas that will drive the MovieLabs Industry Forum agenda and the collaborative industry work that will help enable a more secure, interoperable, and effective media creation ecosystem.
In addition to the Leadership Council, the inaugural members of the MovieLabs Industry Forum include the following industry-leading organizations:
CREE8
EMAM
Evercast
Final Draft
Gunpowder
Holli
MASV
LucidLink
NexSpec
Palo Alto Networks
Perfect Memory
Perception Grid
Perpetual Intelligence
Postudio
Prime Focus Technologies
REDSpace
The Rebel Fleet
Saturation.io
Scripto
Scriptation
Signiant
Sohonet
Sony Group Corporation
Tedial
TrackIt
United Talent Agency
Yamdu
Zixi
The broad industry alignment and impact of the MovieLabs 2030 Vision has created a deeper need for companies worldwide to connect and collaborate. MovieLabs created the Industry Forum as a common ground for those industry companies that are actively re-inventing and re-tooling their supply chains in alignment with the 2030 Vision. In addition, the Forum will address how AI tools and approaches can be beneficially created in the context of the secure, interoperable, and creator empowering tools and workflows that the 2030 Vision enables.
Richard Berger, CEO at Movielabs has announced that Leon Silverman, a respected creative technology executive with senior roles at Walt Disney Studios, Netflix, LaserPacific, Eastman Kodak Company, and an advisor to MovieLabs since 2020, has been appointed as the Chair of the MovieLabs Industry Forum. In addition, Silverman was the founder and serves as an advisor to the board of the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) and is actively involved in executive committee roles at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Television Academy.
With membership now open, the MovieLabs Industry Forum invites companies from a variety of sectors worldwide, including technology service providers, creative service providers, application development organizations, production companies, and cloud organizations/infrastructure providers to join. The Forum, which officially launched in January 2025, will provide its members with a unique platform to engage deeply with MovieLabs and its member studios, collaborate on common industry solutions to improve interoperability, enable the principled application of AI in workflows and tools, and realize the benefits of the 2030 Vision. Interested companies can apply for membership at www.movielabs.com/IndustryForum.
Richard Berger, CEO of MovieLabs said: “It is essential for our industry to continue to embrace emerging technologies in ways that empower storytellers and the entire creative community. While much work lies ahead, we are gathering the right companies and voices to realize the 2030 Vision future that has inspired so many. Together with our member studios, the Leadership Council, and new members of the Forum, and with Leon Silverman as Chair, we are well positioned for success.”
Leon Silverman, Chair of the MovieLabs Industry Forum, added: “We’re at a crucial point in our industry’s evolution, where collaboration is essential to building a future that honors our past while embracing innovation. I’m encouraged by the enthusiasm of our Leadership Council and growing global community of Forum members who are committed to working together to realize our shared vision for our creative industry’s future.”
Quotes from members of the Leadership Council:
Bill Hensler, Vice President, Adobe Digital Video and Audio, Creative Product Group at Adobe: “The MovieLabs 2030 Vision is extremely complimentary to many of the strategies we have been prioritizing at Adobe: one where technology empowers storytellers to be their most creative selves. Frictionless workflows – powered by speed, collaboration, and accessibility – will redefine how our industry produces and distributes content. We’re proud to join the MovieLabs Industry Forum to lend our voice and work alongside other leaders to align the industry toward this reality.”
Chris Blandy, Strategy & BD for Media & Entertainment, Games & Sports at Amazon Web Services: “The MovieLabs 2030 Vision has inspired innovators across the media and entertainment industry to come together to drive media production into the future, and the MovieLabs Industry Forum represents the next chapter in this journey. AWS looks forward to working more closely with the MovieLabs team and other industry leaders on the Forum to help propel the next generation of storytelling.”
Welford Dillard, CEO at Avid: “Avid’s mission to power greater creators perfectly aligns with MovieLabs’ Forum goals. As we are an essential part of post-production workflows, the guidelines provided by the MovieLabs 2030 Vision help us and other technology providers remain focused on what matters most: enabling creators to do more of what they love, faster and more efficiently.”
Doug Sherman, VP of Technology at DreamWorks: “DreamWorks is proud to support MovieLabs in its continued mission to efficiently drive and support much needed standards in production technology. As an active participant, we look forward to realizing the vision at our Studio, as well as seamlessly integrating with other studio partners and vendors.”
Ron Geller, Vice President, Worldwide Content Relations at Dolby: “Dolby is delighted to join the MovieLabs Industry Forum, supporting MovieLabs’ longstanding goal of uniting the industry around forward-thinking, innovative initiatives. This collaboration aligns with our mission to enhance storytelling and the overall media supply chain through cutting-edge technologies that add value on an industry-wide basis.”
Steve Morris, Director of Engineering at Skywalker Sound: “Skywalker Sound is thrilled and deeply honored to be a member of the MovieLabs Industry Forum. This collaboration represents an incredible opportunity to shape the future of innovation in media production, and we are excited to contribute our technical expertise and creative spirit to drive the industry forward and realize our shared vision for the future of filmmaking.”
About MovieLabs
Motion Picture Laboratories, Inc. (MovieLabs) is a non-profit technology research lab jointly run by Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Universal City Studios, LLC., The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. MovieLabs enables member studios to work together to understand new technologies and enhance interoperability and efficiency. We help set the bar for future technology advancement and then define voluntary specifications, standards, and workflows that deliver the industry’s vision. Our goal is always to empower storytellers with new technologies that help deliver the best of future media for consumers.
For more information, please visit: movielabs.com
For more information, please contact:
Clare Plaisted
PRComs
Tel: +1 703 300 3054
clare@prcoms.com
