M+E Daily

One of the latest groups to join the ranks of the Entertainment Identifier Registry (EIDR) unique ID registry system is the American Film Institute (AFI), and along with its mission to preserve the history of motion pictures, the group’s charged with educating future filmmakers.

AFI’s evolving contributions to the film industry and American culture will be the topic of discussion May 23 at the HITS Spring event at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles, during the EIDR breakout presentation “AFI & EIDR: Identifying our Cultural Heritage.” The EIDR-AFI partnership will see AFI register all film titles with EIDR’s unique IDs, in order to enable universal identification and tracking.

“It’s been a long time coming, so we’re excited to begin working with our friends at AFI on identification projects for their amazing collection of some of the most revered films of all time,” said EIDR executive director Will Kreth. “Over the years, AFI has embraced new technologies, built bridges across the industry, and mentored new and innovative creators in the ever-evolving digital storytelling landscape. We can’t wait to get started.”

The breakout session will see Scott Bly, director of IT for AFI, join Kreth and Richard Kroon, EIDR’s director of engineering, offer the inside story on AFI’s contributions to the film industry and American culture.

“AFI has an extensive, well-curated catalog of American film productions, which we’re looking forward to incorporating into the EIDR registry – both to back-fill any current gaps and to enhance existing records,” Kroon said. “We’re also looking forward to working with the AFI Conservatory, and the many programs they sponsor.”

HITS Spring is presented by Entertainment Partners, with sponsorship by LiveTiles, 5th Kind, Amazon Web Services, Birlasoft, Exactuals, Expert System, MarkLogic, Microsoft Azure, Richey May Technology Solutions, SoftServe, Spark Digital, Avanade, CDSA, Cinelytic, EIDR, MicroStrategy, Signiant, the Trusted Partner Network, human-I-T, and Zaszou IT Consulting.

The event is produced by the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) and the Hollywood IT Society (HITS), in association with Women in Technology: Hollywood (WiTH); the Content Delivery & Security Association (CDSA); and the Smart Content Council.

For more information visit HollywoodITSummit.com. To become a sponsor and participate in the event, contact Christian Calson at [email protected] or 310-945-6284.