Since the Academy Producers-Technicians Committee of the late 1920s until the Technology Council of the Motion Picture and Television Industries (TCMPT) in the 1990s, there has always been a need for neutral ground where the industry could work out its broadest technical issues. With today's motion picture production, post-production and exhibition “going digital” at an increasing pace, this need is perhaps greater than ever.  While in recent years several respected organizations came to fulfill certain industry-wide roles, none were adequately performing the critical collaborative problem-solving function that once belonged to the Research Council and Research Center.

The Council’s Advanced Technology Programs Subcommittee was organized to identify and execute appropriate technical projects of industry-wide importance.  It has several projects currently underway that bring to bear the knowledge and experience of leading technology and process experts within the industry as well as of selected outside experts in color science, imaging science, large-scale data storage systems and other core areas.

The Advanced Technology Programs Subcommittee's study areas include:

• Colorimetry of digital cinema projectors and motion picture stage lighting
• Characteristics of digital motion picture cameras
• Image encoding and interchange for the digital motion picture mastering process. NEW: Color Transform Language now available here.
• Long term archival of digital motion pictures discussed in “The Digital Dilemma"

The Council plans to publish reports and host presentations to make the results of its studies available to the public, and where appropriate, to relevant standards bodies.

The Council is making use of the Esmeralda EaselTM, originally designed and built to characterize motion picture film stocks. Esmeralda has been enhanced to enable objective characterization of the new generation of digital motion picture cameras.