New Digital Dailies Solution saves time and money on the Set of "The Human Stain"

Las Vegas, NV, April 7, 2002—HEURIS, Cohen Communications, and Panasonic recently revolutionized the movie production process with a new digital dailies solution based on Panasonic’s iDVR player. This new solution is currently in use on the Lakeshore Entertainment Production, a Robert Benton Film, "The Human Stain" to be released by Miramax Films featuring Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Gary Sinise, and Ed Harris. This new digital disk-based solution offers cost savings and unique flexibility and functionality over traditional methods for producing and viewing dailies. The new process creates dailies in High Definition video format and displays them via a turnkey, nonlinear playback system.

Because 35mm work prints and mag tracks and are not required, the new digital dailies process offers significant cost savings—estimated to be as much as $300,000 for a typical movie. Yet it offers a high-resolution image and audio track comparable to film—allowing directors, producers as well as the Director of Photography to clearly assess the day's shoot.

The iDVR-based dailies system combines technology from both HEURIS and Panasonic. The iDVR player contains an ATSC decoder as well as a DVD-RAM drive and offers clear and beautiful playback in a cost-effective package. The player’s DVD-RAM drive offers unparalleled simplicity in loading and unloading materials as well as a very simple way to archive, catalog and ship dailies from location to location. HEURIS has provided specialized software utilities that optimize the iDVR to the dailies operational requirements and ensure compatibility with existing post production techniques.

"The new IDVR system offers a clear improvement over earlier generation, tape-based solutions," said James McQuaide, who heads post production at Lakeshore Entertainment. "The system provides random access to everything required from the day’s shoot and allows for the rapid creation of a rough cut for the producer, the director and the D.P. The quality is fantastic and it’s so easy to use. What’s not to love?"

Steven Cohen, CEO of Cohen Communications specified the requirements for feature film functionality as well as designing and installing the digital dailies playback system in custom screening rooms on location. Cohen Communications has managed the digital dailies process as Digital Consultant to "The Human Stain" and "The Bulletproof Monk" as well as many other important films such as "The Mothman Prophecies" and "Panic Room." "My twenty years experience in motion picture production and post production has enabled me to offer this technology to filmmakers," said Cohen. "Everyone who has seen this system is very excited."

This new process is taking Hollywood by storm. The technology associated with digital dailies was discussed in detail recently at a question and answer session at the Director's Guild Theater following a screening of "The Mothman Prophecies". "I’ll never go back to doing it [dailies] the old way again," stated Mark Pellington who used the digital dailies process while working as Director of the "The Mothman Prophecies." "It was just great," he added.

"The application of the iDVR player to digital dailies is another example of Panasonic’s commitment to digital content creation, " said Stuart English, Vice President of Marketing for Panasonic Broadcast. "From our VariCam™ variable-fram HD camera to D-5 HD VTRs, the Panasonic brand stands for the highest quality of image and cost effective digital production solutions. We’re pleased to have HEURIS and Cohen Communications working with us to optimize our cost effective iDVR playback solution for additional benefit to the movie production industry. "

"HEURIS' new technology is an important step forward in the movie making process," said HEURIS President, Brian Quandt. "Lower costs means that digital dailies are accessible to a wider audience including producers, directors nd actors. Higher resolution means that everybody can see all the picky details from makeup and hairdressing, to set dressing to camera angles and lighting. Ultimately this results in finer artistic control over the movie making process and better movies."

About Panasonic Broadcast

Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast, professional video and presentation products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the principal North America subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC), one of the world's leading producers of electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. For more information, access the company’s web site at www.panasonic.com/broadcast.

About HEURIS

Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, HEURIS is the developer of the most widely used professional software MPEG encoder, MPEG Power Professional. This award winning, cross platform software product is the first MPEG encoder to deliver the features and encoding quality demanded by professionals, without the expensive hardware. HEURIS has been working with MPEG since 1991, and its customers include: Walt Disney, Sea World, Apple Computers, The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Taco Bell Corporation, The Home Depot, AT & T Labs, IBM, Boeing, Vanderbilt University, Boston Museum of Science and the U.S. Military. HEURIS can be found on the World Wide Web at www.heuris.com.