[visionlist] PhD studentship: Vision models for cinema applications

[Marcelo Bertalmío]

The Information and Communication Technologies department at Universitat
Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain) invites applications for a PhD studentship
position. The doctoral student will be joining the research group “Image
Processing for Enhanced Cinematography” (http://ip4ec.upf.edu/) and will be
co-supervised by Prof. Marcelo Bertalmío (
http://www.dtic.upf.edu/~mbertalmio/) and by Prof. Jesús Malo (
http://isp.uv.es/excathedra.html) from Universitat de València. The
position is funded by the European Commission through its H2020 Programme.

Candidates should hold an M.Sc. with a solid background in mathematics and
be proficient in spoken and written English. Experience in image
processing, visual perception would be highly valuable.


*Contact:* please send application with CV, contact information of three
references, and a summary of research accomplishments to marcelo DOT
bertalmio AT upf DOT edu .


*Description*

The objective of this project is to develop image processing algorithms
based mainly on vision science models that address different challenges in
moviemaking, from shooting to exhibition.

Given that in terms of sensing capabilities cameras are in most regards
better than human photoreceptors, the superiority of human vision over
camera systems lies in the better processing which is carried out in the
retina and the brain. Therefore, rather than working on the hardware,
improving lenses and sensors, we resort instead to existing knowledge on
visual neuroscience and models on visual perception to develop software
methods mimicking neural processes in the human visual system, and apply
these methods to images captured with regular cameras. We take the same
approach when addressing projection/exhibition, developing vision-based
image processing algorithms that try to overcome the limitations in
contrast and color reproduction that current display systems have.

We also want to translate motion picture know-how into better vision
models, then use these models to develop image processing algorithms for
cinema postproduction. As it has successfully been proven in the case of
paintings, studying the craft of artists can give very profound insights
into how vision works. Doing this for movies, where photographic realism
can provide a very immersive surrogate for the perception of the real
world, we expect to develop improved vision models for contrast and color
perception that can be used to automatize filmmaking tasks, optimize
results for emerging technologies, and process image content to maintain
its appearance constant under changing viewing conditions. Furthermore,
these models may open up new horizons in many different fields, having
important scientific, as well as industrial and artistic, impact.


*Remuneration:*
Gross salary is 1.500EUR/month. This is a very competitive scholarship
given the cost of living in Spain (
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/calculator.jsp).


*Comment/web site for additional job details*

Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF, http://www.upf.edu/en/) is a public
university located in Barcelona. It is the best Spanish university
according to the London Times higher education index, 2013, and it's the
number one Spanish university in number of ERC grants. The Department of
Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC, http://www.upf.edu/etic/)
consistently ranks among the top computer science departments in Spain
(e.g. the only computer science department from an Spanish university that
has even been included in the top 100 of the Shanghai Ranking). The
accreditation Units of Excellence Maria de Maeztu 2016-19 recognizes the
units in Spain that perform cutting-edge research and are among the world's
best in their respective areas: only 3 university departments are
accredited as such in Spain, and DTIC is the only one among technology and
engineering.

The DTIC is sited in UPF's Communication Campus, which was opened in 2009
and is located within the vibrant 22@ technological district of
Barcelona. Its PhD program offers advanced training in this
interdisciplinary field, becoming an innovative and unique program in
Spain. The  PhD program has been growing steadily and currently hosts about
140 PhD students and 40 supervisors. The program received a Mention of
Excellence award from the Ministry of Science and Innovation in 2011.

Departmental Indicators:

   - Research income: 15.6 M€ / year.
   - 67 FP7 projects participated and coordinated by 26 staff members (>
   60% UPF EU funds) including 13 prestigious ERC Grants.
   - Leader in Spain with  > 5% of all the competitive funds obtained by
   Spanish Universities.
   - Consolidated scientific productivity: some 200 articles/year, more
   than 75% of them in Q1 international journals.
   - 50% scientific papers and articles with at least one international
   collaborator.
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