Creating Responsive Images (New Group)

Hi

For the last few weeks I have been doing research on creating responsive images with emphasis on art direction.
This group has done a great job finding a solution for the browser. However, the issue of how the different versions of an image are created has been left out. If you want to go further than offer just a higher resolution version of the same image, then there is some work involved.
Let’s take the https://responsiveimages.org/ from the RICG website. I assume that there was a photographer who shot the original picture and passed it to an image agency. Later, a graphics designer took it and created those four versions of the image. A web developer then wrote the markup that would load the correct image depending on the viewport size.

I believe, a true responsive image should be able to adjust itself. If the image contained metadata about how it should be presented on different screens, then a web server could automatically create the needed versions and output the correct markup. The creator of the photo could create that metadata as well, so he could keep creative control over the image.

This would be out of the current scope for this group since the focus here is on the delivery of existing alternate images. But I really think that the issue of creating alternate images should have its own community as well. 
I therefore propose a new community group I call ‚Universal Images‘. This group shall deal with all the issues of creating responsive images. Those are mainly: 
- Coming up with a standard for metadata to hold the necessary information.
- Building tools that would allow a photographer or graphic designer to specify crop and non-crop regions within an image.
- Building  a library that would crop an image depending on the environment it is displayed in and the crop rules.
- Sorting out legal issues (hint: They differ per country)
- Promote responsive images among image agencies and web designers.
- Teach photographers how to shoot for multiple formats.

If enough people join, we could get this group off the ground. Click on this link to join the group: 
https://www.w3.org/community/blog/2015/12/14/proposed-group-universal-images-community-group/ 

Cinematographers (I used to be one) have been shooting responsive footage for years. (Theatrical widescreen and 4:3 TV at the same time) . But I think for most photographers this would be something new.

I have already drafted a schema for a metadata standard and plan to build a prototype for the user interface and the server side library within the next few weeks.

Responsive Images should really start at the camera, and not at the web-agency or in the newsroom.

Best Regards
Simon