Doug Peterson

Executive Overview

As the Head of Product at Digital Transitions, I identified a critical market gap created when the digital photography revolution left behind major cultural institutions that needed to preserve their film archives. I conceived, designed, and launched the DT Film Scanning Kit, an innovative camera-based film scanning solution that achieved:

• Market Leadership: Captured ~80% market share in the institutional film scanning space

• Revenue Generation: Drove over $50 million in total sales, so far

• Customer Adoption: Deployed in major museums, libraries, and archives worldwide

• Productivity Revolution: Increased digitization throughput 40x compared to legacy systems

This case study demonstrates my ability to identify market opportunities, develop innovative solutions, and successfully bring products to market that deliver exceptional value to customers.

Market Analysis & Opportunity Identification

The Problem

In 2000s, as digital cameras became the norm, commercial film scanning technology development halted. This created an unintended crisis for cultural institutions:

• Museums, libraries, and archives housed millions of irreplaceable film negatives and slides

• Legacy scanning equipment had become obsolete and unsupported

• Many archival film collections physically deteriorate with time

• Existing digitization methods were prohibitively slow for large collections

Customer Discovery

The opportunity emerged in 2013 during a site visit to the Walt Disney Archives, where I observed firsthand their struggle with mass digitization. They were using a room full of legacy film scanners and estimated 125 person-years to scan all of their collection. I knew that camera-based capture, already widely used at that time for reflective material, would dramatically cut that estimate.

To validate and quantify the opportunity camera-based film scanning presented, I:

• Conducted interviews with potential customers across multiple institutions

• Evaluated competitors’ legacy film scanners and their technical limitations

• Identified the gap between customer needs and available solutions

Product Description

Our solution was a work station with a backlight (DT Photon), work deck (DT Film Scanning Stage), holders for different sizes/types of film, and a camera (DT RCam) on a moveable column (DT AutoColumn). The software to control the system was an OEM version of Capture One that we named Capture One Cultural Heritage which integrated control of the lighting, camera, and column.

Below is a video of the current version of this product (0:30 to 1:00 provides a brief walkthrough of the components of the solution). I led the strategy, script, and production of this video.

Key Value Propositions & Differentiators

• Unprecedented Productivity: 40x improvement (2,000 frames/day vs. 50 frames/day with legacy systems)

• Superior Image Quality: Modern 80MP medium-format 16-bit low-noise sensor with premium Schneider lens; legacy systems were using outdated 10-bit or 12-bit line sensors

• Safe Handling: Non-contact holders for fragile/degraded film; legacy systems used automated feeders and glass compression

• Complete Solution: Turnkey system with domain-specific training and institutional support

Product Challenges

• New Product Category: As a novel approach to film scanning we had to educate potential clients on the benefits of camera-based capture.

• Vibration/Environment: Film scanning is sensitive to ambient light and vibration. We found and incorporated vibration isolation padding for the bench, and educated the client on how to check if ambient vibration was problematic.

• Wide Variety of Film: Archives contain a wide range of film sizes and types. So we provided both format-specific holders for the most common formats, and a glass carrier that was compatible with the rest.

Go-to-Market Execution

Sales Model

• Turnkey Package: Includes hardware, software, installation, training, and support

• Complete Solution: Package included installation, training, and support

• Focus on ROI: Our premium price point was accepted because we focused on cost-per-frame across large collections; the capital expense was offset by reduction in labor

• FUD: Created urgency by highlighting the degrading physical condition of film archives

Launch Strategy

• Influencer Seeding: Placed prototype units at influential institutions for early feedback

• Leveraging Early Success: Developed case studies from early testing

• Industry Presence: Delivered presentations at key conferences

Incorporation into Standards

Testing by the Library of Congress proved especially valuable. They integrated our performance benchmarks into their FADGI Standards which govern most federal digitization, creating requirements competitors couldn't match.

Product Maintenance

The core product concept has proven remarkably durable, but has been incrementally improved based on customer feedback:

• Improved camera sensors as they became available

• Added X-axis gating for film capability

• Glass carrier for unusual film format sizes

• Automatic crop software feature

My Role

My two product management case studies showcase different aspects of my skills. This product was developed in 2016 when my company had just nine employees and I was the only Product person, so I handled the entire lifecycle:

• Ideation: Transformed the initial idea into a comprehensive product specification

• Market Research: Conducted customer interviews and competitive research

• Design Requirements: Developed the product charter and requirements documents

• Outsourcing Management: Coordinated with fabrication partners to produce components

• Testing: Tested prototypes and coordinated with key influencers to test pre-production units

• Product Launch: Developed go-to-market strategy, marketing assets, and led the product launch

• Maintenance: Kept product competitive over time through cost-effective incremental upgrades

While this case study highlights my individual capabilities and the length of my experience, the other (more recent) case study demonstrates my collaboration skills within a larger team environment.

Impact & Results

• Zero product returns in a decade of sales

• Consistent positive customer feedback

• Still maintains ~80% market share

• Generated over $50 million in total sales

• Enabled preservation of countless irreplaceable cultural artifacts

• Transformed the economics of large-scale film digitization projects

• Spurred many knock-offs in the enthusiast market

Lessons Learned

This product succeeded because it:

1. Addressed a critical unmet need in a specialized market abandoned by consumer technology

2. Leveraged a jump in technology that the competition had not adopted

3. Focused on complete solutions rather than just hardware

4. Considered the full user workflow beyond basic specifications

5. Achieved early-adoption by influential institutions who the market trusted

6. Continuously incorporated customer feedback to refine the offering