Historic debut of 'Sounds' utilizes new technology for independent movie

                                 producers



    WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., July 24 /EMWNews/ -- The first-ever West

Hollywood International Film Festival announces that it will screen a very

unique independent film featuring a new digitally enhanced movie with

Blu-ray quality that was not shot in HD.



    In its inaugural year, the 2008 West Hollywood International Film

Festival (WHIFF) was founded by Martin De Luca, and is bringing in a

diversified lineup of full-length international features and short films.

The sci-fi comedy Sounds was selected as one of the U.S. movies to screen

at the Regency Theaters on Beverly Blvd.



    Sounds, a full-length feature film that was written, produced and

directed by first time film maker Ryan Humphries was shot in Northern

California and Washington, D.C. Sounds will make its West Coast premiere at

WHIFF at 5:30 p.m. on July 29 at the Regency Theaters as the first

feature-length film to utilize revolutionary Super-Resolution Technology

(SRT).



    "Showing Sounds at WHIFF is so cool because it brings me back to

Hollywood where I first learned the professional side of film making," said

Ryan Humphries. "The Super-Resolution Technology was such a great help

because it allowed me to drastically improve the resolution quality of the

finished movie."



    Until now, SRT has primarily been used in spy satellites, the military,

the CIA, a few high-tech forensic labs and U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Texas-based Topaz Labs (http://www.topazlabs.com) is the first to develop

and introduce Super-Resolution Technology (SRT) to the independent film

industry.



    "The discovery of true SRT from Topaz is exactly what I and other

filmmakers need," Humphries said. "The term Super-Resolution Technology has

been used before to describe the process of interpolating and smoothing

pixels during image enlargement, which isn't super-resolution at all to me.

The Topaz technology uses a whole new approach to achieve super-resolution

enhancement."



    The Sounds storyline portrays a group of vacationers who are

mysteriously attacked after a UFO crashes in the nearby woods. To their

rescue arrive a couple of goofy federal agents who tend to do more harm

than good as they fight to save not only the four friends, but ultimately,

all of humanity.



    The SRT software empowers producers to bump-up their standard

definition shot film to hi-def, or even hi-def to digital film of 4,000

pixels. SRT similarly parallels the difference in quality Blu-ray has

achieved over standard DVD and compliments Blu-ray in a number of ways,

providing greater marketing and revenue possibilities for film producers

worldwide.



    The inaugural West Hollywood International Film Festival has lined up

numerous films from nearly 20 countries for festival screening at several

venues, including the Regency Theaters, House of Blues, and the Writer's

Guild of America.



    "We are very excited to be able to screen this new, ground-breaking

technology at the West Hollywood International Film Festival," said WHIFF

founder and producer Martin De Luca. "The purpose of this festival is to

bring high-quality films from all over the world to Hollywood so we can

help introduce them to everyone."



    Herb A. Lightman, a past professor who taught graduate film courses at

both USC and UCLA, screened Humphries' film and likens the effort to that

of two of his former students, George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg.



    "I saw something in these guys 30 years ago that wasn't common in

filmmaking at the time, and I see the same spark in Ryan Humphries," said

Lightman, who was also Editor in Chief of American Cinematographer Magazine

for 16 years, and a past juror at WorldFest. "This event is a showcase

opportunity for distributors to see fresh ideas, remarkable talent, and the

passion that new filmmakers bring to the industry."



    Sounds was also featured at the recent National Association of

Broadcasters conference where Topaz Labs promoted the technology by showing

"Before" and "After" clips from the movie.



    Ticket prices start at $8 for students and seniors, $8 for West

Hollywood residents and $10 for individual general admission. For tickets

and complete schedule of all films, visit http://www.whiff2008.com or call

(424) 288-4536.



    For more information about Sounds and to see the innovative flash SRT

demo, visit: http://www.soundsthemovie.com.

    About Sounds



    Sounds is a fictional sci-fi thriller-comedy that pokes fun at

cinematic drama. Writer/Director Ryan Humphries combines two entertaining

elements: Sci- Fi eeriness and comedic timing in this spoof about FBI

agents on their biggest case ever. Executive Producer Robert Lenney is

currently seeking distribution for Sounds. Website:

http://www.soundsthemovie.com.






     MEDIA CONTACTS:

     Keith Turner

     530-368-0909

     [email protected]



     Martin De Luca

     424-288-4536

     [email protected]