The Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) is a new multimedia file format that allows images, sound and metadata to be easily exchanged across platforms and applications.

Widespread adoption of digital technology has revolutionized the media industry, bringing new creative possibilities. Productivity and quality have significantly increased, with more potential still to be unlocked.

The Advanced Authoring Format defines authoring as ‘the creation of multimedia content including related metadata’. Today, content authoring usually involves opening source media, manipulating or editing the content and then resaving. AAF aims to remove cross platform project bottlenecks often hit when files are interchanged between applications. These include loss of project metadata, the need to rewrite whole files in order to edit them, limited off-line to on-line communication, poor referencing to other files and many other issues. In an ideal environment, a user would work with many different applications without worrying about interchange.

An independent cross industry body, the AAF Association was created to promote the development and adoption of AAF technology and to work with standardisation bodies. The AAF was incorporated in January 2000 as a non-profit making organization. AAF founders include broadcasters, post houses and manufacturers. The AAF has a full time executive officer, Brad Gilmer and a group of founders that includes Avid, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Cable News Network, Discreet, Four Media Company, Matrox, Microsoft, Pinnacle, Quantel, Sony, Turner Entertainment Networks, and the United States National Imaging and Mapping Agency. Follow this link for a list of current members.

For the broadcast and post community, involvement with the AAF association provides a unique opportunity to influence working practices of the future. For manufacturers, involvement with the AAF Association means active participation in a project that will have a fundamental impact on the markets for their products, allowing the full benefits of digital working to be realized. The plurality of backgrounds and the independent status of the Association reflect a common ultimate aim - efficiently authoring outstanding content that consumers will want to experience. AAF will allow creative energies to be focused where it counts.

To join the AAF association, follow this link.

The AAF Board of Directors includes representatives from many major players in the media industry including Mike Rockwell of AVID, Andrew Oliphant of the BBC, Gordon Castle of CNN, Ian Gordon of Discreet Logic, Gavin Schutz of 4MC, Alain Legault of Matrox, Tom McMahon of Microsoft, Laurin Herr of Pinnacle, Jon Pannaman of Quantel, Peter Dare of Sony, Clyde Smith of Turner Entertainment Networks and Steve Long of the US National Imaging and Mapping Agency.

AAF Association Executive Director Brad Gilmer has over 20 years of experience in broadcast operations and production. He is currently President of Gilmer & Associates, Inc., a consulting company that specializes in strategic business issues surrounding technology for rich media. Gilmer also chairs two committees of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

Gilmer was formerly Director of Engineering and Operations at Turner Broadcasting Systems in Atlanta. He writes a column for Broadcast Engineering magazine and makes regular presentations at industry conventions such as NAB and IBC. Gilmer started his broadcasting career at CBS affiliate KGGM-TV in Albuquerque, NM and is graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgia State University.