Intruders TV Relaunches

Intruders TV has re-vamped their site and posted a bunch of new video interviews with musicians, tech wizards, filmmakers and cleantech pioneers. They are a truely global operation, posting in multiple languages. Some great interviews are available...check 'em out.

They describe themselves as follows: "Intruders tv is the leading provider of valuable insights through their unique approach to capturing Innovators on camera. Interviews are conducted by well known, experienced and international industry editors, hand picked by Intruders tv to convey credibility and respectability both with the innovators being interviewed and the audience watching the interview."



"The mastermind behind Java, James Gosling created the programming language that brought the Internet to life and can be found in everything from smartcards to cell phones. In the interview above, James talks about Java, embedded systems, the iPhone and sensors in the middle of the Pacific!"

Massive Online Collection of Canadian Videos

NFB.ca is a Web site where you can watch films produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Their mission is to make these films accessible to all Canadians (and the whole world) via the web.

It is an amazing collection of over 13,000 productions from the last 70 years including animation, documentaries, experimental films and alternative dramas.

For example, check out "The Cat Came Back" (above) by Cordell Barker from 1988. "This hilarious Oscar-nominated animation is based on the century-old folk song of the same name. Old Mr. Johnson makes increasingly manic attempts to rid himself of a little yellow cat that just won't stay away... Also won the 1989 Genie Award for best animated short film."

I Want My Three Minutes Back

"I Want My Three Minutes Back, the new documentary film from Chuck Potter, is a look into the world of online video.

The film follows the lives of three YouTube video creators. Kevin Nalty (“Nalts”) is a 37 year-old marketing professional, father of four, who is obsessed with online video.

Nick James (“Nickynik”) is a 47 year-old struggling filmmaker, father, surfer who despite having some connections in the Hollywood scene, still struggles with trying to make it in the film business.

Cory Williams (“Mr. Safety”) from a small town in California’s central valley, moves to Los Angeles to see if he can make the transition from online video fame to traditional media success."

Interactive Online Movies and User Narative Control

Bandwidth and video technology enable online video producers to mix and match video clips in real time. This means that viewers can click on video to alter the action or storyline. Users steer the narrative by making choices along the way. User navigated content. Some recent examples show just how seamless and full-screen these experiences can be.

Survive the Outbreak is an interactive horror film which allows viewers to make their own life or death decisions with zombies.




NOLAF.org is a wild Tostitos brand entertainment story labyrinth created by Element79 and Mekanism. It is successfully compelling and is able to weave the brand into a Monty Pythonesque tale of crusaders who are fighting against fun. I hope Tostitos is feeling that taking a marketing chance with their budget has proved worthwhile. I can consume this kind of advertising.

The Orange Underground is an interactive video site combined with user-generated videos. A Cheetos ad campaign.

And some groups are pushing the video interaction even further. For example, GPS Film is a location-based mobile cinema. "Using a GPS-enabled PDA or mobile phone, artwork selects clips based on location. As the viewer travels, the movie is revealed. The result is a new type of film experience that is tied to the movement of the viewer. Similar to a game, GPS Film tells stories by exploring an environment… but by taking it off the computer and back into the real world."

3D Animation Gets Gooder and Gooder

A host of new 3D animators are cranking up the quality bar. Check out these examples of cutting edge technical and creative wizardry.

Emily: She's not real
Image Metrics (the production company that created the animations for Grand Theft Auto) made a splash this week with Emily, created using their new 3D modeling technology. It captures the movements and expressions of real actors and re-creates it all in the computer in a creepy way.

Oktapodi
A student film about amorous octopi from Gobelins, the French school of visual design that has produced tons of amazing animators.

Also, don't miss the "making of" video.

Big Buck Bunny
Big Buck Bunny is an open source movie made with open source software from The Blender Foundation. They created this movie under a software development type model, all to promote the use of their tools.

Check out the "making of" video.

My Morning Jacket Music Video
For their song, Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2, My Morning Jacket had the creative team at Mixtape Club create an amazing 3D animation.

Opportunities for Content Creators

Andrew Baron, creator of Rocketboom, recently talked to Beet.tv about the numerous opportunities that exist for digital content creators. Now, more than ever, individuals and small shops can make a living creating original programming for the web and mobile devices. He talks in detail about how to approach entrepreneurial efforts in the fields of digital film making, story development, online video and web show production.

The Rocketboom folks just announced a seven-figure distribution deal with Sony this week, so this is a content team that knows what they are talking about.

Metacafe Partners with Web Video Content Creators

AdAge is reporting that the web video entertainment company Metacafe has partnered with a dozen content-creation companies including 60 Frames, Aniboom, CelebTV, Collegiate Images, Comedy.com, Comedy Time, Diagonal View, GamePro Media, Howcast, SXM, Wannahaves, and Young Hollywood.

"It's important for content creators that they not only have their work distributed as broadly as possible but also that they team with publishers who can help ensure their videos reach the right viewers at the right time," Scott Bushman, vice president of content for Metacafe.

Cre8 Day 3: Michael Eisner, the Master Digital Story-Teller

Yesterday the Cre8 Conference kicked off with keynote speaker Michael Eisner, former CEO of Disney. He is a consummate story teller and master business man. Here are some of the creative ideas he shared.

Think inside the box.
Make sure the box is the right size.
Micromanage it.

Eisner is a notorious micro manager. Often this is a negative connotation, but for him it worked. He even called the front desk of our resort this week to complain about the shampoo and conditioner. Where were the easily-readable designs he instituted during his all-seeing reign?

He had great stories of his film-world adventures. There were the flops like 1980's "Raise the Titanic". Producer Lord Lew Grade once said of the over-budget fiasco, "It would have been cheaper to lower the Atlantic."

There were the hits like "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Apparently that scene where Indiana Jones shoots the sword fighter came about because Harrison Ford had digestive problems as they were getting ready to shoot the final fight scene. Spielberg finally said, "Oh, just shoot him and you can go home." And thus was born a classic comedic scene where once was a planned battle scene.

He's doing some exciting things now-a-days. His new company Tornante is making short-form entertainment for digital distribution on mobile and Internet platforms. His son makes advertisements and is spending $1.3 million for 30 seconds. Eisner and his new stripped-down crew are spending $1,200 for 30 seconds. He called the Internet "creative experimentation." He's making "story-driven Internet video." Tornante is creating series like "Prom Queen" thru his company Vuguru.

He's a major stake-holder in Veoh, one of the top 30 sites in the US and the video site with the longest "engagement metrics" (people watching videos for more minutes than other sites). He also recently bought Tops, and is re-vamping the 50 year old brand best known for baseball cards and Bazooka Joe.

He talked about consistency and managing every little detail. Find out what the brand stands for and what it doesn't stand for. How big is the box? When he joined Disney, the international division was translating/dubbing the films with startling inconsistency. Huey, Dewey and Lewie were often being voiced by the same actor. Mickey had a different voice (and thus personality) in every country. By the time he left, you could barely tell the international versions of the films apart except that the characters were speaking in different languages.

He quoted famous industrialist Thomas J. Watson who once said "If you want to succeed, double your failure rate." Eisner also said that "to punish failure is a good way to encourage mediocrity. Fearful people will settle for mediocrity."

He sounds like he is having fun. He says he's making it up as he goes along. The Internet is a story-driven medium. He is a self-described Internet addict. He's helping to create a new form of distribution and learning how to generate programming for the Internet. His vision for the next 20 years is that digital is the place to be, the Internet will overtake all mediums as the distribution platform for modern story-tellers.