This workflow combines AI algorithms with the firm’s technical knowledge to reduce the time needed to remaster content to 4K/ HDR and prepare it for distribution. Based in Los Angeles, VDMS claims this can reduce the distribution of large-scale projects from years or months to weeks or even days.

The proliferation of streaming services and new viewing platforms, as well as an uptick in series reboots, has created unprecedented demand for library content. Studios and content owners require faster ways of meeting this consumer demand and maximize revenue. Matchmaker’s AI scene match technology and intelligent hybrid workflow eliminates traditional quality issues, as well as time and budget constraints, that often prevent content, especially older titles, from being re-released and distributed via broadcast or digital platforms.

“There's a breadth of television and film content that can't easily be shared with today’s audiences because it was finished on standard definition video tape or another older format,” said Ron Smith, Director of Restoration Services at VDMS. “Viewers aren’t satisfied with SD and nobody is willing to wait to get content on their platform. They need it done quickly, and it's got to look as good as the new content being produced today.”

Matchmaker hybrid workflow alleviates the time-consuming process of scene matching, recombining an average of 30 content minutes in about 8 hours. The workflow’s high-speed scene-matching process almost instantly delivers AI-matched data points with near 100% accuracy prior to reaching an editor, according to VDMS.

The company has several episodic and theatrical projects slated for the Matchmaker pipeline. A current TV series project, which was originally shot on film and finished on tape, requires going back to the original film dailies to match and reproduce all scenes, visual effects, titles and credits. Smith estimated a typical half-hour, single-camera sitcom uses about 70 rolls of film with each roll allowing 10 minutes of shooting time, translating to about 700 minutes of film per episode.