ASC Technology Committee Progress Report 2016

Report Authors 

Curtis Clark, ASC; David Reisner; Don Eklund; Bill Mandel; Michael Karagosian; Eric Rodli; Steve Schklair; Gary Demos; Gary Mandle; Greg Ciaccio; Lou Levinson; David Stump, ASC; Bill Bennett, ASC; David Morin; Michael Friend; W. Thomas Wall


ASC Technology Committee Officers 

Chair: Curtis Clark, ASC
Vice-Chair: Richard Edlund, ASC
Vice-Chair: Steven Poster, ASC
Secretary: David Reisner, D-Cinema Consulting



Following on from our 2015 American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Technology Committee progress report, we have been proactively engaged with several key technology developments shaping our motion imaging future. Prominent among these are high dynamic range (HDR), digital cinema laser projection, and wide color gamut (WCG) beyond both BT.709 and DCI P3. The rapid advance of HDR being deployed for ultra-highdefinition (UHD) television (TV) consumer displays, including the proposed BT.2020 WCG, has raised urgent questions regarding standards-based implementation, which filmmakers need to support their creative intent and ensure consistent display quality across multiple content distribution platforms. 


The release of the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) 1.0 has encouraged wider industry adoption of this crucial standards-based color management system that supports filmmakers’ creative use of WCG with HDR and defines an important new expanded creative canvas. The following reports from our subcommittees cover in detail the crucial work being done to address the array of motion imaging technology developments that are impacting the art of filmmaking. 


The ASC Technology Committee is guided by its primary mission to engage and influence motion imaging technology developments in ways that better serve and protect the filmmaker’s creative intent and the role of the cinematographer in realizing a creative vision that best serves that creative intent.


I would like to thank all those who devote their time and expertise to support the mission of the ASC Technology Committee.


Curtis Clark, ASC
ASC Technology Committee Chair