07.29.19

The Linux Foundation Has Outsourced Most Academy Software Foundation (ASWF) Projects to Microsoft

Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 4:06 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Microsoft Linux Foundation

Summary: The Linux Foundation continues to hand over to Microsoft various Linux Foundation projects, even more than a year after the GitHub takeover (and more than it did prior to the acquisition by Microsoft)

This morning at 8AM we saw early media coverage [1-3], press releases [4-6] and Linux Foundation (LF) puff pieces [7-9] about the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF). The leading story is a couple of DRM giants joining ASWF and there’s also a new project. At 8AM came out the press releases, at 8:30AM the LF published some pages and at around 9AM there was some ASWF press coverage, likely prepared in advance with/by ASWF under embargo. Having surveyed the 5 key projects of the ASWF, we’re sad to say that they’re mostly hosted by Microsoft at GitHub, which exercises control over this code and can now ban developers from about half a dozen countries. Well done there, Zemlin PAC…

“Sometimes it feels like this Foundation is an extension of Microsoft marketing and recruitment.”One might be tempted to say that the handover precedes the Microsoft acquisition, but the latest project, OpenTimelineIO, is also on Microsoft’s turf — a turf that the Foundation actively promotes. Sometimes it feels like this Foundation is an extension of Microsoft marketing and recruitment. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

Netflix, Amazon Web Services Join the Motion Picture Academy’s Software Foundation

Netflix, Amazon Web Services, RodeoFX and MovieLabs have joined the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF), the group said Monday. The foundation was started a year ago by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science in cooperation with The Linux Foundation to offer a forum for open source software developers to share resources and collaborate on image creation, visual effects, animation and sound technologies.

AWS and Netflix have come on board as premier members, Rodeo FX as a general member, and MovieLabs as an associate member.

Initiated by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council, the foundation also announced on Monday that OpenTimelineIO has been accepted by its technical advisory council as the fifth foundation-hosted project. Created by Pixar, OpenTimelineIO is an open source Application Programming Interface and interchange format aimed at enabling collaboration and communication of editorial data and timeline information between a studio’s story, editorial, production and postproduction departments. It’s already been used in production on Coco, Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4.
Netflix, Amazon Web Services Join Hollywood Open Source Group
Academy Software Foundation Marks 1st Anniversary with Major Announcements

The Academy Software Foundation is celebrating its one year anniversary at SIGGRAPH this week, with plenty to be proud of. The Foundation has accomplished a 78% growth in membership in the past year, with just-announced newcomers Netflix, Amazon Web Services, Rodeo FX and Movie Labs. ASWF further revealed that Pixar’s OpenTimelineIO will be the fifth project hosted at the Foundation.

SIGGRAPH attendees can check out projects from across the industry during Open Source Day on Tuesday — a full day of Birds of a Feather sessions focused on open source projects tailored to visual effects, animation and image creation. More exciting announcements are in store for these sessions.
Academy Software Foundation Announces Amazon Web Services as a New Premier Member

“We are pleased to welcome Amazon Web Services as a new Premier member. Many open source projects and developers rely on cloud services from AWS for content creation and production. We look forward to their contributions as our projects continue to evolve and grow,” said David Morin, Executive Director of Academy Software Foundation. “We are also excited to have Rodeo FX and MovieLabs join our community. Rodeo FX has a deep expertise in visual effects and developing artist-driven tools that will be beneficial as our Foundation continues to grow. MovieLabs has a history of bringing together studios and tech companies to develop common technology goals, which aligns with our goal of driving collaboration and shared development of open source technologies across the motion picture and media industries.”
Netflix Joins the Academy Software Foundation

The Academy Software Foundation (ASWF), a neutral forum for open source software development in the motion picture and media industries, today announced that Netflix has joined the Foundation as a member.
Netflix, Amazon Web Services Join Hollywood Open Source Group

Netflix and Amazon Web Services are among the newest members of the Academy Software Foundation, a group dedicated to promoting the use of open source software in Hollywood that is being spearheaded by the Linux Foundation and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Amazon Web Services, RodeoFX, and MovieLabs Join Academy Software Foundation

The Academy Software Foundation (ASWF), a neutral forum for open source software development in the motion picture and media industries, today announced that Amazon Web Services has joined the Foundation as a Premier member, Rodeo FX as a General member, and MovieLabs as an Associate member.

“We are pleased to welcome Amazon Web Services as a new Premier member. Many open source projects and developers rely on cloud services from AWS for content creation and production. We look forward to their contributions as our projects continue to evolve and grow,” said David Morin, Executive Director of Academy Software Foundation. “We are also excited to have Rodeo FX and MovieLabs join our community. Rodeo FX has a deep expertise in visual effects and developing artist-driven tools that will be beneficial as our Foundation continues to grow. MovieLabs has a history of bringing together studios and tech companies to develop common technology goals, which aligns with our goal of driving collaboration and shared development of open source technologies across the motion picture and media industries.”
Netflix Joins the Academy Software Foundation

The Academy Software Foundation (ASWF), a neutral forum for open source software development in the motion picture and media industries, today announced that Netflix has joined the Foundation as a member.

The Academy Software Foundation also announced today that OpenTimelineIO has been accepted as a Foundation-hosted project and is one of the first projects Netflix will contribute to as a member of the Foundation. Initially created by Pixar Animation Studios, OpenTimelineIO (OTIO) is an Open Source API and interchange format that facilitates collaboration and communication of editorial data and timeline information between a studio’s Story, Editorial, and Production departments all the way through Post-Production. You can read more about the announcement here.
OpenTimelineIO Becomes Fifth Project Hosted at Academy Software Foundation

Initially created by Pixar Animation Studios, OpenTimelineIO (OTIO) is an Open Source API and interchange format that facilitates collaboration and communication of editorial data and timeline information between a studio’s Story, Editorial, and Production departments all the way through Post-Production. Since 2016, there have been eleven OTIO releases with contributions from many studios and vendors including Pixar, Lucasfilm and Netflix. It has been used in production for films including Coco, Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 4.

“Picture-less data produced by editorial departments is very useful across the pipeline. We developed OpenTimelineIO to provide an open source alternative to proprietary formats and enable our community to easily and efficiently interchange editorial timelines,” said Guido Quaroni, Vice President of Research and Development at Pixar. “As an Academy Software Foundation project, we hope OpenTimelineIO can help facilitate content creation within the motion picture and other similar industries.”

OTIO makes it easier to build tools that use editorial timeline information, filling a gap in film production pipelines that was previously underserved by similar, proprietary technologies. It supports clips, timing, tracks, transitions, markers, and metadata in an API that is easy for studios to integrate with their tools and for vendors to integrate with their software. Use cases include tracking shot length changes, providing context shots in dailies, communicating shots added or removed, conforming new renders into a cut, and dealing with picture-in-picture shots.

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