I recently spent an hour with Richard Raddon, co-founder of ZEFR (formerly MovieClips), a Venice, California company that is “connecting fans and franchises for the good of all.” MovieClips was co-founded by Raddon and Zach James about three years ago. The company developed proprietary technology that allowed them to identify content on YouTube. When MovieClips became ZEFR, it shifted its focus to help studios, sports, TV and music videos collect and monetize postings on YouTube. Continue reading ZEFR Helps Content Creators Reach Their Hidden Audience

Online movie ticket service Fandango has entered an agreement to purchase Quantum Loyalty Solutions, a competitor that runs the popular Hollywood Movie Money gift certificate system. Studios often use Hollywood Movie Money to promote DVD and Blu-ray releases with tickets to theatrical releases. Fandango, which has been working on its own voucher system, generates revenue by processing online ticket sales and selling advertising on its site. Continue reading Fandango to Acquire Hollywood Movie Money in Quantum Deal

French video game developer Ubisoft is pushing for a more interactive television experience, one in which viewers have more control over what happens, similar to the control players have with games. As a new generation of game consoles get ready to hit the market, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot hopes to join forces with Hollywood to help make this happen. Game developers say consumers have a growing appetite for new entertainment experiences. Continue reading Ubisoft CEO Envisions New Wave of Interactive Entertainment

Digital Optical Tape System (DOTS) could be the answer to the film industry’s digital archiving problem. Group 47, a startup of several Hollywood technology veterans, is getting ready to build an engineering model, and hopes to have the technology available in the next 18 months. The company proposes DOTS as a robust, secure, inexpensive digital archiving format that could last more than 100 years. The plan is to further develop the technology and license it to manufacturers.  Continue reading DOTS Technology Could Solve Hollywood Archiving Challenges

Now that Barnes & Noble is getting out of the tablet business, the company announced it is launching free Nook Video Apps for Android, iOS and Roku devices. The new apps enable users to purchase or rent movies for streaming and includes integration with individuals’ UltraViolet collections. No longer keeping content exclusive to Nook devices, the retailer has also updated its Android and iOS e-reader apps with the ability to read Nook Comics titles, previously not available outside of the Nook ecosystem. Continue reading Nook Video Apps Now Available for iPad and Android Tablets

Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation (WCF) has been restoring rare films since 2007. The public will benefit from these efforts when eight of the rescued films will be made available for the first time in the U.S. on Hulu, in a partnership with the Criterion Collection. The films will initially be offered for free with ads. After August 24, commercial-free WCF movies (and more than 800 Criterion titles) will be available only to paying Hulu Plus subscribers. Continue reading World Cinema Foundation Unveils Restored Films on Hulu Plus

Several notable films, including “Skyfall,” “Oblivion,” “Man of Steel” and “Iron Man 3” have used drone technology to capture spectacular aerial shots. Although there exist certain liability laws that govern how unmanned drones can operate in U.S. airspace, there are advantages for filmmakers. While productions have cranes to capture certain shots, drones have more reach and range. They are also more agile than a helicopter and can capture risky shots that would otherwise be generated by a computer. Continue reading Drones Offer Film Productions Thrilling Aerial Possibilities

Los Angeles-based startup Hive Lighting has developed energy-saving plasma lights intended to make film and television production more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Although Hollywood has launched initiatives in recent years to make the industry more green, it has been a challenge transitioning to productions that use less energy and minimize pollution. Hive’s plasma solution can potentially lower on set energy usage by 50 percent and power costs by 40 percent. Continue reading Hollywood Going Green with New Energy Saving Plasma Lights

Two San Diego startups, Verance Corporation and PirateEye, have developed technologies to prevent and reduce media piracy. PirateEye uses cameras in theaters to scan for illegal recording, while Verance uses an audio watermark to determine if a video on a Blu-ray player is legitimate, and gives purchase options if the disc being played is a pirated version. Both Verance and PirateEye have received funding from film studios for their projects. Continue reading Startups Use Spy Cameras and Audio Tech to Stop Film Piracy

Facebook recently announced two new features for its mobile Web and iOS and Android mobile apps that will allow users to book restaurants and access TV and movie listings without ever leaving the world of Facebook. These features could help the social network compete with services offered by the likes of Fandango, Yelp and GroupOn. Ultimately, by influencing offline spending, Facebook hopes to generate more revenue and draw more advertisers. Continue reading Facebook Launches New Features to Influence Offline Spending

Automobile manufacturer Honda recently launched a national campaign called Project Drive-In that hopes to preserve a bit of American history by upgrading drive-in theaters in the U.S. The company plans to donate digital projects to five drive-in theaters that receive the most votes on its website. Honda will also take financial donations to assist in providing more projectors. Drive-ins are struggling, especially during the transition to digital format films. Continue reading Honda Launches National Campaign to Save Drive-In Theaters

Disney has launched a $13.99 iOS app for the iPad that explores the animation and history of all 53 animated Disney films. “Disney Animated” features interactive images, multi-layer animated clips, interviews with animators — and allows users to animate authentic Disney 3D character models and control a Disney visual effects simulation. The comprehensive app is a collaboration between Disney Interactive, Walt Disney Animation Studios and London-based app studio Touch Press. Continue reading New App Brings the Magic of Disney Animation to the iPad

Netflix devotes significant resources in order to develop its rating and recommendation systems, which is a key component of the service. The company employs 800 engineers to operate the service. Netflix estimates that 75 percent of viewing activity is now recommendation driven. The company uses several types of customer data in order to create the personalized recommendations, and uses behavior of similar users to suggest preferences. Continue reading Netflix Viewing Activity Is Largely Recommendation Driven

Cable operator Comcast is developing a new approach to combating piracy that would convert illegal downloads to legal transaction opportunities. The approach would be an alternative to the Copyright Alert System, or “six strikes” voluntary initiative, currently supported by leading programmers, distributors and studios affiliated with the MPAA. Comcast is pitching its plans to film and television executives in hopes of getting major content companies and distributors on board. Continue reading Comcast Pitching Anti-Piracy Alternative to Copyright Alert

Some comic book publishers are now offering writers a greater share of revenue from comics that end up on the screen. This contrasts to larger comic book publishers that are typically the major beneficiary of published content. Some small publishers have been the source for film and TV studios creating new projects, such as “The Walking Dead” series and the film “2 Guns.” Both were comics, and both are sharing returns with the original creators. Continue reading Writers Profit as Their Comic Books Become Shows and Films