Adobe Systems has announced plans to develop an "industry-wide open file format" for digital cinema files.

The firm plans to use its Digital Negative specification file format as a foundation for the standard which it will call CinemaDNG.

Adobe hopes to reach agreement on the format with companies including Panavision, Silicon Imaging, Dalsa, Weisscam and ARRI, along with software vendors including Iridas and The Foundry, and codec provider CineForm.

Jim Guerard, vice president of dynamic media at Adobe, said: "Adobe is helping to define an industry-standard approach that will benefit the entire filmmaking ecosystem.

"Filmmakers will be able to adopt digital cinema cameras with confidence, and camera manufacturers will be able to provide specialised functionality while ensuring instant file format compatibility with existing workflows."

Bruno Nicoletti, chief technology officer at The Foundry, a visual effects software developer, added: "Experiencing a smoother, more streamlined workflow is, without exception, a good thing and open standards are a great way of accomplishing it."