This domain of activity encompasses the chain of audiovisual production and applications for HDTV content, digital cinema, 2D and 3D animation, digital special effects, multiplayer and online video games, multimedia, online and offline interactive applications, high-resolution and spatialized sound, real-time generated interactive sound, virtual reality, and augmented reality.

In terms of international comparison, the Ile-de-France region is second in Europe after London and it is among the top 10 for these activities worldwide. We want to transform the international recognition of the French touch into a true industrial success, by comforting French digital content production markets and generating new international markets. Technological innovation and innovation in new methods of production is the necessary condition for the survival and development of business export in a increasingly globalized competitive market.

France’s cinema and audiovisual industries represent over 7 billion Euros (2004 CNC assessment) and household spending on audiovisual programs increased by 7.5% in 2004 reaching 7.775 Million Euros.

Major Technological Challenges
Digital cinema, HDTV, and HD games are three technological breakthroughs that have had major impacts on the entire content chain of production: the very rapid change from silver film to digital broadcasting, the change from color television with 400,000 pixels to more than 2 million pixels and an almost photographic image definition, to today’s video games and HD virtual reality for future game consoles with hyperrealist persistent worlds and massively multiplayer online videogames.

Other important technological and economic challenges are taken on by R&D projects carried by fifty of so businesses and research labs involved in the cluster, principally:

* High definition image processing, notably with the revitalization of stock programs and the creation of catalogues for HDTV, a strong international competition on these new contents has multiplied image definition by 5, reaching 2 million pixels.

* Speech and sound processing with the generalization of high-resolution spatialized caption, the creation, mixing, and broadcasting of interactive or non-interactive spatialized sound.

* 3D animation and real-time for new procedures yielding increased productivity –such as motion capture techniques, the development of artificial intelligence tools for games, pre-calculated or real-time animations, and tools for managing large databases.

* Protection of user rights and ownership. Systems for digital content protection (digital watermarking and digital tattoos) are and will be ever more essential to capitalize on the changes in these different sectors.

Community Contact:

François Hanat – francois.hanat@capdigital.com – 00 33 (0)1 40 41 11 89