Second screen content, coming soon to your movie theaters
The cinema advertising company Screenvision is launching a second-screen experience for movie theaters. Called The Limelight, it will let users browse additional content before their movie starts.
To access this pre-movie content, they will have to download a specific app,Screenfanz, which is already available for iOS, with an Android version coming within a few weeks.”
The app, which belongs to Screenvision, includes a large range of entertainment options, from practical information on movie sessions to gaming and social features. For instance, movie-goers will be able to check-in, share content through Facebook, earn points and compete for film tickets.
On paper, the concept sounds quite promising. While we wouldn’t necessarily want to get distracted during the movie itself, watching trailers and commercials doesn’t require more attention than TV viewing. This means that moviegoers may want to play with a second-screen app on their phone – as long as the content is interesting enough. ...
According to the company, brands that participated in the Limelight pilot research “delivered 54% unaided ad recall with nearly half intending to purchase these brands in the next year.” ...
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Forget Hollywood — U.S. startups are in dire need of copyright protection
...And I’m not just talking about taking an idea and tweaking it; this is about copying a site’s entire design, layout, and logo almost pixel for pixel and coming up with some uninspired derivative name (e.g., “Pinspire” instead of Pinterest, “Zolando” instead of Zappos) that reeks of being a cheap knock-off. ...
Two potential solutions that give greater IP protection to U.S. startups would help improve the current clone problem:
International harmonization for enforcement against “close copies”
Lead time protection for entering new markets
This is a guest post written by Wei Lien Dang, who is currently a JD/MBA student at Harvard University. He studies entrepreneurship, venture capital, and emerging issues in Internet law.
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Using the whole chicken: Warner looks to monetize movie audio clips
Seattle-based Hark, which bills itself as a kind of YouTube for audio clips, is currently pitching the majors on a concept it calls “derivative content.” The company just announced a deal with Warner Bros. to stream sound files on its site from nearly 100 of the studio’s movies.
The plan works this way: Movie fans searching for, say, Laurence Fishburne’s memorable description of the Matrix in Warner’s 1999 eponymous sci-fi classic will be directed to apage that not only has a streamed audio file of that quote, but also has a national advertising component the studio shares revenue in. It also has links to direct the user to Amazon and the Warner studio shop so that they can rent or buy the movie. ...
So how much monetization are we talking about at this point? Well, the money isn’t going to replace DVD anytime soon, but based on the performance of the pilot partnerships with studios, Hark CEO David Aronchick told paidContent, ”We are generating value in the six-figure range trending to seven figures on an annualized basis.” ...
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Netflix Could Undermine UltraViolet As Low Cost Rentals Trash Studio Profits: Report
Moguls will need a stiff drink nearby when they read Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne’s bracing report today about the state of the home video business — and Hollywood studios. He says that film operations at Universal, Disney, Paramount, Fox, and Warner Bros are worth about $19.3B, down from $40.2B in 2007. And a big reason for the 52% drop is that studios’ annual home video profits from each TV household fell to $100 last year from $127 in 2007 — and will continue to slide to $93 in 2015. Sales and high-priced rentals of DVDs and Blu-ray discs from retailers such as Blockbuster are simply falling too fast as consumers discover that they can do just fine paying $1.20 a night to rent a disc at a kiosk — or less to watch a movie from Netflix. The analyst says it’s possible that studios will boost sales of discs with the UltraViolet initiative, which gives buyers opportunities to stream the movies to mobile and other digital devices. But probably not: Swinburne figures that Netflix users, who pay about $8 a month for a subscription, in effect pay just 48 cents for each movie that they stream. As a result, “the incentive to rent a film at $4-$5 or buy a digital copy at $10-$15 goes down considerably,” he says. “It suggests Netflix film deals are potentially an impediment to the success of UltraViolet.” Meanwhile, DVD sales are falling much faster than Blu-ray disc sales are growing. ...
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Three of this year’s lauded DPs Reflect On Their Wins, Recent Endeavors
Robert Richardson, ASCHaving won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography twice (JFK, The Aviator) didn't prepare Robert Richardson, ASC, for his recently receiving the coveted honor a third time in his distinguished career (Hugo).
"Winning the Oscar this year was virtually an out-of-body experience," reflected Richardson. "I recall little from the first moment my name was announced until I pulled a meter from my belt on an exterior shot of Django Unchained [Quentin Tarantino's latest feature] two days later."
As for the biggest creative challenge posed by the Martin Scorsese-directed Hugo, Richardson simply cited the fact that the feature was shot in 3D.
"We began testing with no experience, hence we were at square one...Furthermore, we were forced to ask if it were viable both physically but also financially to shoot in 3D or would it be best to do 3D in post. Graham King (Hugo producer) allowed us to evaluate these questions through a series of tests, then all parties sat down and conversed—and obviously the decision was to shoot in 3D."
While Richardson's longstanding collaborative relationship with Scorsese (The Aviator, Shutter Island, Shine A Light, Bringing Out The Dead, Casino) "allowed us," said the cinematographer "to move rapidly through the central questions/problems," Hugo still had a sophisticated learning curve. Asked what the most valuable lesson was that he learned from Hugo, Richardson replied, "Imagination is more valuable than experience."
However, Hugo did represent Richardson's first theatrical feature experience with ARRI's ALEXA digital camera. ...
It's been an eventful awards season for Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki, ASC, AMC, who won his second career ASC Award for feature film excellence on the strength of director Terrence Malick'sThe Tree Of Life (SHOOTonline, 2/12). The film also earned Lubezki his fifth Best Cinematography Academy Award nomination (SHOOTonline, 1/24), the previous four coming for Children of Men in 2007, The New World in '06, Sleepy Hollow in '00 and A Little Princess in '96. Alfonso Cuaron directed Children of Men and A Little Princess. Malick helmed The New World. And Tim Burton directed Sleepy Hollow. ...
"This wasn't a case of a studio trying to impose 3D on a film. 3D was essential to the storyline created by Alfonso," said Lubezki, adding, "We live in an incredible time where we have all these tools—film, RED, ALEXA, Sony cameras. We have a bigger palette. If you're like me, you can pretty much pick the camera you feel is most appropriate. If you're a new cinematographer starting out, even if you can't choose, you have access to inexpensive digital cameras that you can do very cool work with."
Having said that, Lubezki affirmed, "I hope film doesn't go away. I'm not one of those who says film is the only way. It all depends on the particular project. A lot of the work I do with Terry [Malick], though, couldn't be done on anything but film. In The Tree of Life, we shot with no movie lights. The latitude of film is what allowed us to shoot inside and capture all the detail that we needed."
Still there's room for mixing and matching. ...
THR Poll: 9 out of 10 Call Social Media New Form of Entertainment; Young People Want Texting in Movies
“Social media is the connective tissue that enables consumers to multitask during their entertainment experiences by connecting with others and sharing their opinions,” notes pollster Jon Penn of the findings, based on a survey of 750 social network users ages 13 to 49. And film moguls, take note: The poll found that a majority of 18-to-34-year-olds believe using social media while watching a movie in a theater would add to their experience, and nearly half would be interested in going to theaters that allowed texting and web surfing. ...
Other interesting findings from THR's poll:
- 88% of people consider visiting and posting on social networking sites a form of entertainment.
- 70% of consumers have listened to music by an artist based primarily on what a friend posted on a social networking site.
- 79% of respondents always or sometimes visit Facebook while watching television.
- 98% of all social networkers are Facebook members, while only 56% of social networkers are Twitter members.
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The Met Comes To Athens Ohio
The Athena Grand theater, located at the Market on State in Athens, has recently announced a new affiliation with NCM Fathom. Its parent company, NCM Media Networks, links via satellite more than 15,000 digital screens in 167 markets across the country. ...
Frame is also looking at the programs of other distribution companies in order to present a wider array of entertainment opportunities. He hopes in the near future to have at least five special selections per week, including NASCAR races, boxing events and other sporting events in 3D. ...
UPCOMING EVENTS:
POSTPONED 3/26: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Has been postponed! 8:00PM Trailer
3/27: Monumental: In Search of America’s National Treasure LIVE 7:30PM Trailer
3/28: The Bodyguard 20th Anniversary Event 7:30PM Trailer
POSTPONED 4/4: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Has been postponed! 7:00PM Trailer
4/5: Rascal Flatts: Changed 8:00PM Trailer
4/7: The Metropolitan Opera: Manon LIVE 12:00PM Trailer
4/14: The Metropolitan Opera: La Traviata LIVE 12:55PM Trailer
4/19: Grateful Dead Meet Up 2012 7:00PM Trailer
4/25: The Metropolitan Opera: Manon ENCORE 6:30PM Trailer
5/2: The Metropolitan Opera: La Traviata ENCORE 6:30PM Trailer
5/5: Ring Kings: Mayweather vs. Cotto 9:00PM
5/7: Wagner’s Dream 6:30PM
5/9: Das Rheingold: MET Opera Ring Cycle Encore 6:30PM
5/10: This American Life LIVE! Things You Can’t Do On The Radio 8:00PM
5/14: Die Walkure: MET Opera Ring Cycle Encore 6:30PM
5/15: This American Life Things You Can’t Do On The Radio 2nd Showing 7:30PM
5/16: Siegfried: MET Opera Ring Cycle Encore 6:30PM
5/19: Gotterdammerung: MET Opera Ring Cycle Encore 12:00PM
More information for each show can also be found in our COMING SOON section.
This content comes from here: http://woub.org/2012/03/23/met-comes-athens andhere: http://athenagrand.com/
Light-Up Psychedelic Clothes Designed To Freak Out Squares And Protect Cyclists
The Superheroe is the brainchild of Wolfgang Langeder, CEO and designer of Utope clothing, working in conjunction with the stretchable circuits division of Fraunhofer IZM. The cotton jacket integrates stretchy 64 RGB-LED flexible displays across its front, shoulders and back. These displays create a pattern that changes based on readings from an integrated acceleration sensor and 3D gyroscope, allowing the clothing to match the movements of the rider. It can even sync with a smartphone and display a special pattern whenever there’s an incoming call.
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