Multimedia content creation tools in the EU ACTS programme

Content-related activities in the EU ACTS (Advanced Communication Technology and Services) Programme are grouped in the “Multimedia Content Manipulation and Management” domain, part of a larger multimedia area. Virtual production in a distributed environment is a cornerstone of content-related activities with two large projects in this area. But virtual studios are only one element of a much wider set of activities shaping the future of content. R&D activities in this group show that as communication applications become more sophisticated, they increasingly borrow from the advanced content creation tool box. This paper primarily concentrates on activities in virtual studio projects. It also gives a wider picture of research aimed at laying the ground for the object-based (OB) and generic content tools of the future