The DGA's Digital Day

From the monthly magazine of the Director's Guild of America, here's a recap of what happened at the third annual Digital Day, held in late July.

Some tidbits:

• "Directors Randal Kleiser and Pitof showed filmmakers how they integrated virtual sets into their films Red Riding Hood and Vidocq, followed by USC Assistant Professor Paul Debevec’s overview of his new digital process for relighting scenes in post production."
  
• "...Morgan Freeman’s production company Revelations Entertainment, Internet movie distribution company Clickstar and computer manufacturer Intel gave a presentation on the digital home of the future where security protected video content will be legally downloaded from servers much in the way it’s presently done via the legitimate online music services. On the flip side of that coin, the MPAA’s John Malcolm gave a chilling report on rapid growth in both the trade and techniques of digital piracy, where the half-life between the release of a film and pirated versions appearing for sale has been reduced from weeks to a matter of hours."
  
• "Perhaps it was DGA Special Projects Committee Chair Jeremy Kagan who best summed up human element of Digital Day when he said `It's wonderful that these new tools exist, but one thing is going to remain the same — directors need to retain creative control over their work.'