ASF formed a new Zero Trust Working Group to develop security protocol standards and best practices, and adds two new members – Raynault VFX and generative AI developer Stability AI.
The Academy Software Foundation has formed a new Zero Trust Working Group to develop standards and best practices for implementing zero trust systems in media production applications. The Foundatiojn is also happy to announce the addition of two member companies to its roster, Raynault VFX in Montreal, Canada,and AI model developer, Stability AI.
“In the past, media creation workflows relied on perimeter security for media creation – securing the facility with firewalls and having artists work entirely inside the perimeter, with minimal additional security checks,” said Jim Helman, CTO, MovieLabs. “But, as productions grow more complex, and workflows and assets move to the cloud, perimeter security is no longer adequate in many situations. MovieLabs instead recommends Zero Trust policies that improve both the efficiency and security of the production.”
Likewise, for studios that have adopted options for hybrid or remote work, legacy security systems designed for teams in physical facilities are also no longer effective.
A Zero Trust security protocol requires any and all users and their devices to be continuously authenticated in order to protect both data and infrastructure – whether a network is local, in the cloud or hybrid. This means that, under a Zero Trust framework, professionals are likely to find themselves dealing directly with security protocols – such as authentication and authorization services, or the use of monitoring software or threat detection systems – in the course of their regular creative work.
The Zero Trust Operating Environment
The new Zero Trust Working Group is dedicated to determining security needs based on a Zero Trust security framework. The Group aims to develop standards and best practices for designing and implementing Zero Trust solutions in media applications, and thereby support any Academy Software Foundation project that needs to function within a Zero Trust operating environment. This requirement has become more common as VFX and animation workflows shift to the cloud.
“Zero Trust is a great framework for today’s film and TV productions – where vendors are often sharing assets, teams are dispersed around the world, and more and more facilities are moving to cloud-based workflows – because it allows us to work flexibly while still being secure,” said David Morin, Executive Director of the Academy Software Foundation. “This Working Group will help our industry through standardization, which will avoid duplicating efforts across all of the individual Academy Software Foundation projects, and will lower the impact on artists by reducing the number of separation authentication requests from their applications.”
Companies participating in the Zero Trust Working Group at launch include Adobe, Amazon Web Services, Autodesk, Foundry, Google, and MovieLabs. To learn more about the Zero Trust Working Group and to contribute, visit the ASWF Projects page. Working Groups are listed at the bottom of the page.
New Members Raynault VFX and Stability AI
More Academy Software Foundation news includes welcoming two new member companies, Raynault VFX and Stability AI. Joining the Foundation as General Members, Raynault VFX and Stability AI will help continue open source development across new areas in visual effects and generative AI.
David Morin said, “As our open source community continues to grow, we are grateful for our member companies who provide operational support and guidance. As new members, Raynault VFX and Stability AI bring with them the artistic talent and the technical know-how that will help strengthen open source development in the motion picture industry. We are thrilled that Raynault VFX and Stability AI are joining the Foundation.”
Founded in 2011 in Montreal, Raynault VFX is known for its work on feature films and television shows including Deadpool & Wolverine, The Mandalorian, Dune: Prophecy and Thor: Love and Thunder. The studio strongly believes in the values of collaboration and inclusivity that define open source.
As a small scale studio, Raynault VFX has always used open source tools, partly because it allows developers to see how code works and adapt it to their applications. More flexible than a proprietary option, it allows artists to focus more on creativity than technological challenges.
The studio currently uses OpenEXR, OpenColorIO and OpenImageIO, and is also interested in getting involved with OpenTimelineIO, the Open Review Initiative and the USD Working Group. By joining the Academy Software Foundation, Raynault aims to give back to the open source community, and to more directly contribute toward the advancement and sustainability of its various projects.
“Raynault VFX is joining the Academy Software Foundation to contribute to the advancement of open source technologies that drive innovation in the visual effects industry,” said Simon Ouellet, CTO at Raynault VFX. “We believe that collaborating with the Foundation will help shape more efficient VFX workflows while maintaining the highest artistic standards.”
Generative AI – Open Models
Stability AI specialises in generative AI, developing open models in image, video, 3D and audio, as well as professional applications designed for enterprise-grade visual media creation. Best known for its Stable Diffusion model, first released in August 2022, Stability AI’s models are used by creators, developers and enterprises with over 260 million downloads so far.
Stability AI has been recognised as one of Fortune’s 50 AI Innovators and as one of Time’s Most Influential Companies. Stable Audio was featured on TIME’s list of the Best Inventions of 2023. On its leadership team are Sean Parker as Executive Chairman, Prem Akkaraju as CEO and James Cameron as Board Member.
Stability AI has joined the Academy Software Foundation as part of its effort to ensure that its Generative AI models can integrate directly into existing production pipelines, workflows and other tools. By making its models openly available, users are able to adapt them for diverse applications and initiate innovation in visual media and elsewhere.
Hanno Basse, Chief Technology Officer of Stability AI, said, “We’re excited to join the Academy Software Foundation, an organization that shares a similar ethos to Stability AI in advancing open source innovation for content creation. Stability AI is built on an open-first approach, releasing all of our foundational models across image, video, 3D and audio.
“This approach has fostered a large and loyal developer community, continuously expanding our models with new tools and functionality. Through our collaboration with the Academy Software Foundation, we look forward to further strengthening the open source ecosystem.”
The Academy Software Foundation welcomes new members to support its mission of fostering a healthy open source ecosystem. Learn about more about becoming a member, here. www.aswf.io
