Ampex DST Products and Discreet Logic inferno Team Up to Raise Titanic's Visual Effects at Cannes Film Festival.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 1998--The convergence of film making and computer technology will be on display at the Cannes Film Festival, May 13-24, as an Ampex DST data storage system and a Discreet Logic inferno visual effects system team up to demonstrate many of the approximately 550 digital effects shot used in the making of "Titanic."

Digital Domain, the Venice, Calif., digital studio with multiple DST 310 systems, and 10 inferno and 20 flint systems, found the making of "Titanic" to be a challenge unlike anything else previously encountered. As a result, they had well over 50 compositors working 24 hours a day on the movie.

According to Lisa Little, director of effects at Discreet Logic, DST drives with their 20MB/sec data transfer rate are ideal for handling the massive amounts of data that are manipulated by inferno visual effects systems.

"The Ampex DST system is the fastest and only tape format with this capability available on the market," Little explained. "We believe that Ampex DST tape drives are an ideal vehicle for rapid data interchange between facilities, and are delighted that our inferno systems and DST drives complement each other so well."

Ampex DST tape systems are deployed in a wide range of storage management applications, including broadcast television programming, commercial insertion, news archive, high-resolution film scanning, special effects, post-production and DVD data file management. As the filmmaking industry continues to expand its use of computer technology, the need for very fast, high capacity and dependable storage will become much more critical to the success of the increasingly popular big-budget movies.

Inferno offers an integrated suite of image enhancement, motion tracking and effects tools for feature films, commercials, music videos, broadcast programming and interactive media. The system also features tools essential for film projects, including the ability to work at higher bit depth per color channel, higher spatial image resolution and grain management. Artists using inferno can receive the immediate feedback required for true online experimentation and client-driven design.

The Ampex DST product line supports inferno with two models: The Ampex DST 310 single-density stand-alone tape drive and the double-density DST 312 stand-alone tape drive which can automatically accommodate 50GB, 150GB and 330GB cartridge sizes.

Discreet Logic, with headquarters in Montreal, develops advanced systems and professional desktop software for creating, editing and compositing imagery for film, video, the Web, HDTV, broadcast and interactive games.

The company's open systems serve three key markets: visual effects, editing and production, including virtual studio systems, and are used in the creation of visual effects for feature films including "Titanic," "The Fifth Element," "Apollo 13," "Contact," the Academy Award-winning "Independence Day," and "Forrest Gump."

Ampex Corp.(www.ampex.com), with headquarters in Redwood City, is one of the world's leading innovators in the fields of magnetic recording, image processing and high performance digital storage. Currently, Ampex is focusing its technology on the emerging market for mass digital storage in the visual information age.

During its 54-year history of innovation, Ampex has been granted thousands of patents and has earned numerous awards for technical achievement. Today, Ampex customers include numerous well-known organizations such as AT&T, Boeing, Mobil Oil, Time Warner and NASA.

CONTACT: Daly-Swartz PR

Jeffrey Swartz, 949/361-6888

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