Business Issues: By Miles Weston

Content Insider #536 - Open Access

It's Tough to Keep the Internet a Borderless Service

We live on the Internet -- communicating with people around the globe, researching stuff for articles, skimming over the free video stuff the kids post on YouTube and Facebook, streaming content to the big screen in the family room. We even stream subscription shows from Netflix and Amazon Plus as well as transaction documentaries from Vimeo. It's great to catch up on content like this even though our service provider doesn't exactly let us watch 4K in 4K but rather something that is a little smaller that travels more easily OTT. Had to explain to the kids that unlimited data plans from our "favorite" carrier is only their version of unlimited not what you or I call unlimited. Of course it's always nice to know that "they" are keeping track of what you're watching/doing on the Internet...for our own good. Read More

The announcement of R19's features came just a few weeks ago during SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles. Since then, 3D artists have been excited about the release date. The new version will dramatically improve the way artists work through iterations of their 3D design. R19's update also includes a spherical camera, which will allow CINEMA4D artists to easily create 360º videos. Read More

Events: By Ko Maruyama

IO brings Victorem to IBC

IBC always brings some really interesting new tech and announcements that weren't ready or not on schedule for NAB in April. IBC describes itself as a conference that is an unrivaled global destination for discussion and debate about the many different challenges facing the electronic media and entertainment industry, both in its sessions and in the range of networking opportunities it affords. Many call it Europe's NAB, as it is filled with new ideas and innovative technologies for broadcasters. IO industries, a video camera company, is debuting their tiny 4K camera. Read More

Technology: By Miles Weston

Content Insider #535 - VR Film Work

In just a few weeks the content ecosystem will focus all of its attention on Amsterdam. Once again VR will garner all of the coverage because well it's a lot more glamorous than things like codecs, true streaming bandwidth and carriers throttling mobile video delivery. VR is so real this year you can almost touch it and the excitement, opportunities are beginning to be appreciated. Some of the most fertile shooter minds have perfected techniques to make VR more than just cute but a strong commercial solution for entertainment and business. It will also be great to take off the goggles and see what the streaming 4K world is going to offer people across the M&E spectrum. Despite all the great new tools it's still talent that drives the industry. Read More

Feature: By Sandesh Joshi, President and co-founder of Indovance Inc

Unreal Estate

The rise of Augmented and Virtual Reality systems should not take anyone by surprise, as the foundations have been present for decades. The first head-mounted display for immersive simulations was created in 1968, and Building Information Modeling was debuted shortly thereafter. As computers displaced pen and paper, basic 3D rendering became a matter of course, expected by clients as part of the design package. Read More

Project Profile:

Behind the Scenes of the Gritty Drama "The Things We've Seen"

In the new indie film "The Things We've Seen," a struggling town is devastated when the local mill catches fire, eliminating most of the town's jobs. Rayford Boem (Randy Ryan) is soon accused of arson by Sheriff Pascal (John D. Carver) but won't go down without a fight and organizes an armed resistance. Soon, word of Rayford's actions reaches his family, and his teenage son Reagan (Jarrett Maier) sets out to find his father and help fix what's gone wrong. Read More

Business Issues: By Miles Weston

Content Insider #534 - IBC M&E Showtime

People don't really need an excuse to go to Amsterdam but IBC gives everyone who is anyone a solid reason to be there in a few weeks. This time the show looks more exciting because there is so darn much going on in the industry. VR showing it's real. OTT showing the way for a new way to watch content anywhere, anytime. 4K/HDR and 8K getting real real. Service firms of every shape, size setting out to tell the world they are the way of tomorrow. Executives will be there to do deals and learn. Following close behind will be publicists hungry to grab anyone with a media badge and offer them up to the boss. No the pro PR people won't do that because well they know these folks. Unfortunately it's the same at every show! Read More

Business Issues: By Miles Weston

Content Insider #533 - Streams of Streams

The pipe guys thinks all the money is being raked in by the content folks. The distributors know the content folks are making the big bucks. The content people know they're being taken to the cleaners by the pipe guys and distributors It's big bundles, skinny bundles; huge bundles, diddly bundles and no bundles. It's all the content you can stream to constriction in the pipes. The consumer isn't too sure other than they're having a horrible time finding the content they want. It will work out given enough time but you may recall the "good ol days" where the cable guy sent you what they wanted, when they wanted. It wasn't that good but it will get better. Read More

Case Study: By Miles Weston

The Father and The Bear

Indie filmmakers are in the business because they have stories they have to create, tell, share. Stories they have to shoot, edit. Storeis they have to save. Stories they have to share. John Putch's The Father and The Bear is one of those stories and he touched all of the bases. It is a story you can enjoy and learn from. Read More

Business Issues: By Miles Weston

Content Insider #532 - Content Delivery

There's more and better content available today than you can possibly view in a lifetime thanks to great work indie filmmakers are doing. The key is getting the right titles to come to your attention to invest your time in viewing. You could let the network tell you what they think is best for you but that kinda sucks. No it's more fun, more enlightening to find the best stuff off the beaten path like at Vimeo. The key will be new technology that enables richer content to get to your screen regardless of where you're watching it. At IBC we'll hear the promises and at SMPTE we'll hear about the progress that has been made. Hint - It's all good and getting better! Read More

Feature:

How VR Is Revolutionizing Other Industries, including Healthcare

Virtual Reality, or VR, is the next big thing in production technology. VR production projects are becoming more and more common, even among mainstream companies and media. The VR revolution is bleeding out into other industries as well. It is interesting to see how VR is changing the way we do things in general, especially in industries such as retail, healthcare, and education. Read More

Project Profile:

Capturing the Horror of "The Atoning" with Blackmagic Design

Family drama unfolds and demons arise in the new indie supernatural thriller, "The Atoning." The film follows a family that is haunted by the horrors of their past, with the parents (Virginia Newcomb, Michael LaCour) trying to protect their young son Sam (Cannon Bosarge) from a dark secret that will tear them all apart. Read More

Feature: By Neil Mandt, Chief Executive Officer and Founder

The Future of AR/VR in the Sports Industry

The gaming industry is usually the first industry that springs to mind when discussing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). However, aside from interactive entertainment, both technologies also lend themselves particularly well to fields such as real estate and sports. Read More

Case Study:

Loco UK Efficiently Stitches Four 90º Plates in SCRATCH VR to Create Slo-mo 360º VR Experience

There is a special joy in witnessing a 360-film newbie spinning around with mobile phone in hand, delighting in the magical experience of the video content that surrounds them. Loco is riding this wave of 360-video excitement by exploring emerging technologies and software as well as developing new techniques to take their creative work further into this realm. Read More