Ann’s Marketing Memes

Congratulations to Lynne Cherry, Diane and Karen Lampiasi and David Bunting on winning awards at the 2011 My Hero Project. The mission of MY HERO is to use media and technology to celebrate the best of humanity and to empower people of all ages to realize their own potential to effect positive change in the world.

The not-for-profit project is supported by visitors of all ages who share stories, art, and short films on our award-winning multimedia journal and digital library.

Studios and filmmakers are committed to 3D although there is definite push back from the theaters. Higher ticket prices help the theaters, but they are faced with the studios making them pay for the 3D glasses. An expense the studios have absorbed so far. Cameron feels that 3D is going to improve but the time is right to convert. Disney saw a big theater attendance for the re-release of The Lion King in 3D, with Beauty and the Beast coming out next. Titanic will take a year to convert.

Enjoy your favorite shorts and have fun with all the new shorts arriving daily. The online films feature shorts from current favorites and best of fest for past years. Check it out http://shorts.kidsfirstmedia.com.  Filmmakers, we have a special 2 for 1 submission fee for shorts now through December 31, 2011. Enter now.

Apple Inc. is preparing to put movies in the cloud, entering a market in which it may be both competitor and ally to a similar offering backed by most Hollywood studios.

Representatives of the iPhone and iPad maker have been meeting with studios to finalize deals that would allow consumers to buy movies through iTunes and access them on any Apple device, according to knowledgeable people who requested anonymity because the discussions are private. The service is expected to launch in late 2011 or early 2012.

The talks come as the first movies from the multi-studio venture known as Ultraviolet are launching this week: Warner Bros.’ “Horrible Bosses” and “Green Lantern.”

People who buy DVDs or Blu-ray discs for those and other upcoming titles, including Sony Pictures’ “The Smurfs” and Universal Pictures’ “Cowboys and Aliens,” will have access to digital cloud copies they can instantly watch on their Internet-connected TVs, smartphones and tablet computers. Ultraviolet purchases via the Web, without discs, are expected to come in 2012.

Every major studio except Disney is working on Ultraviolet with a large group of retailers and electronics companies that notably does not include Apple.
The studios are eager to boost purchases of movies, which have flat-lined in the face of competition from less expensive video on demand and Netflix and Redbox rentals. Sales of DVDs and digital downloads are still crucial to the studios’ bottom line, as they are much more profitable than rentals.
However, despite the increasing popularity of digital distribution, online movie purchases are on track to bring in only $231 million this year, about the same as in 2010, according to IHS Screen Digest.

Storing digital films in the cloud, instead of making buyers manage the digital copy themselves on a computer or other device, could help spur online purchases by making it easier for people to access the movies on any device.

Congrats to Ruizfamily14. You are the winner of the $100 for participating in our survey. Please contact our office to receive your gift certificate.

At the 3D Entertainment Summit at the Hollywood and Highland Center last week, titans of the industry including James Cameron and Robert Iger weighed in regard the future of 3D. Cameron, who is spending 18 million to convert Titanic to 3D says that “As soon as the TV industry gets 3D right, it will quickly become a pervasive success across all mediums and every movie wil be made in 3D.”

Robet Iger, President and CEO of Walt Disney Company says “3D is really compelling” and sees a huge future in the sports area for 3D. For more info check out Scott Hettrick’s 3D Hollywood

So say those producing the films, but Sony has sent a letter to theater owners saying it will stop footing the bill for 3D glasses in May 2012. These cost the studios $5 to $10 million per major release. But who’s going to foot the bill? Movie goers already pay a premium for 3D. Will they also pay for the glasses at the theater? Studios began paying for the glasses to provide an incentive for theaters to convert, but now want someone else to pay. What’s your opinion?

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) are proud to announce the11th Annual Native Cinema Showcase Join us August 15th through August 21st during Indian Market Week as we honor indigenous media and the imaginative work of Native filmmakers. All screenings and programs will be at the New Mexico History Museum (113 Lincoln Avenue, Santa Fe, NM). Admission is free and open to the public.

Netflix is expanding into Latin America. Make a video for a chance to win $40,500. Deadline August 9, 2011.

Heelys - fun, freedom and fearless. Win $18,500 for the winning video featuring Heelys.

State Corn Dogs? Really? Worth $9,000 for the best video.

If you are not quite ready for filmmaking, check out the New Kideo Facebook Page.