Taking advantage of an advanced optical "ligthpath" linking it to partners all over the world, Ryerson University has become one of the key players in a technology transformation that will forever change the way films are made.

Film will diminish as a medium for cinema, ultimately to be replaced by digital technology that relies on ultra-fast, ultra-large bandwidth networks and advanced collaborative middleware that can allow producers and artists to share, in real time, file sets that are measured in terabytes.

"Digital cinema allows filmmakers to do everything they can already do with film, and more," said Paul Hearty, director of the Rogers Communications Centre at Ryerson University, one of the architects of the North American digital high-definition standard. "It's a whole new medium so there is still a lot to explore, and awareness about the benefits of going digital is still growing."

Digital technology can produce very high-quality imagery - in fact, better than that of film. However, it requires significant bandwidth. Consider an image of 8.8 megapixels, 42 bits per pixel and 24 frames per second, combined with an audio track of up to 16 channels. This is where ultra high-speed optical networks enter the frame, as filmmakers share and manipulate the data streamed over these networks at the production and post-production stages.

Ryerson University, one of the biggest media schools in Canada, is a founding member of CineGrid, a consortium of worldwide labs including the University of California San Diego, University of Southern California, and Keio University in Japan. Ryerson's Rogers Communications Centre, which houses the university's media schools, will soon open a new digital lab complete with state-of-the-art equipment and a 10 Gbps direct "lightpath" connection over CANARIE that will enable collaboration with other CineGrid participants.

CineGrid is an international, non-profit research consortium that focuses on the development and demonstration of networked collaborative tools using grid technologies to enable the production, use and exchange of extremely high quality digital media over photonic networks like ORION and CANARIE.

CineGrid networked collaborations effectively reduce or eliminate geography as a barrier to participation in film creation, so that filmmakers can remotely tap into a vast pool of resources and talented experts in post-production houses around the world. This is particularly relevant for Toronto and San Francisco, both homes to significant creative resources in post-production work, leading to growth in the local media industries, in accord with the Digital City Network Agreement, of which the two cities are a part.

With the new digital lab scheduled to be fully operational this fall, Ryerson is poised to become the hub and leader of digital cinema in Canada.

The lab will employ 4K digital cinema, which is four times as sharp and detailed as standard high-definition imagery, already being heralded as the way of the future of filmmaking.

The digital image maintains the film format's maximum fidelity, yet real-time collaboration at the production adn post-productio levels requires much greater bandwidth. The ultra high bandwidth of CANARIE and other R&E networks permits filmmakers and technicians to see, hear and manipulate the same material in real time with no time lag, no matter where they are physically located.

What does the new digital lab and participation in CineGrid mean for Ryerson film and image arts students?

Connecting through a 10 Gbps "lightpath" over CANARIE to CalIT2 and other film schools will enable collaboration on projects with other students, hands-on training with next-generation equipment, and practical experience with what is reputed to become the new standard medium of the industry.

Instruction can be carried on remotely, with international experts able to conduct seminars and workshops from anywhere in the world, reducing the cost of travel. In this way, Ryerson can build a network of creative experts in specific skills (the biggest challenge for media schools), thereby improving the quality of educational training for students.

The university is currently acquiring new equipment to support the facility, including a Dalsa 4K digital sensor camera. It has a 16-bit per colour channel and produces images 4000 pixels wide by 2000 pixels high, broader and sharper than the traditional film image. (Interestingly, Dalsa is another Ontario success story: the digital imaging company originated in Waterloo by a University of Waterloo alumnus and now has branches around the world).

According to Hearty, the minimum requirements for participating in CineGrid enabled digital cinema are 4K AV user-driven configuration and connection at both ends; two-way AV interactive telepresence (each participant has to see and hear the same information at the same time); new tool development for collaborating and managing resources; consistent low response delay; and top-quality tools to ensure commonality of the viewing and listening experience.

"Creatives have to be able to use the technology easily since they don't have the same skills base to draw on as engineers do. It has to be affordable and it has to be secure," continued Hearty. "One of the biggest challenges we've encountered so far is how to ensure filmmakers can give creative direction and maintain creative control at the same time. We still require the development of new digital security tools to protect intellectual property rights."

In order to promote digital filmmaking among the Toronto cinema community at large, Ryerson will encourage industry professionals and other groups interested in the new medium to use the lab to experiment and learn.

However, other practical uses for the medium exist. The new technology has yet to be fully explored and it will likely be some time before its full potential is realized. In the meantime, Ryerson film and image arts students will participate in the experimentation and learn about the new medium of cinema.

For more information on CineGrid, visit www.cinegrid.org.