PGA NMC Blog

TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING - THE NEW ENTERTAINMENT PARADIGM

2010-10-05T12:54:00.009-04:00

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2010

7:00 to 9:00 pm

Theresa Lang Center

The New School

55 West 13th St. at 6th Ave.

New York City

Refreshments will be served. Members are strongly encouraged to bring qualified

prospective members as their guests.

Special thanks to Terra Fossil for providing premium wines for PGA East events.

To RSVP for this event, please visit:

http://transmedia.eventbrite.com

Event hosted by The Producers Guild of America, New Media Council, New York Chapter.

Transmedia development, production and implementation is now fully in practice at the highest levels of companies such as Disney, Saban, Microsoft and Mattel. Around the world, visionaries are generating stunning multi-platform endeavors based on the principles of transmedia. Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, is the world’s foremost expert at developing entertainment properties and premium brands into highly successful transmedia franchises. He has worked on such properties as Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar, Coca-Cola’s Happiness Factory, Halo, Transformers and the upcoming,Tron Legacy. In this, his first Master Class after this September’s revelatory TED talk in Geneva, Switzerland, Jeff will candidly share his latest experiences in the field, expanding upon the vanguard technique of funding, planning, creating and producing highly engaging story worlds that maximize both the creative potential of your work, equity participation and subsequent revenues. Case studies will include analysis of some of the biggest entertainment franchises of today, and the discussion

will include advice on how to apply these concepts to your own projects, large or small, fact or fiction.

JEFF GOMEZ

CEO, Starlight Runner Entertainment

Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, is the world’s foremost expert at developing entertainment properties and premium brands into highly successful transmedia franchises. As a creative consultant to Fortune 500 companies, he contributes strategic planning and production for the cross-platform implementation of content.

Jeff conceived, co-wrote and produced one of the most successful transmedia storylines of the decade with Mattel’s Hot Wheels comic books, videogames, web content and animated series. He has gone on to work with such franchises as Pirates of the Caribbean and Tron Legacy for The Walt Disney Company,James Cameron’s Avatar for 20th Century Fox, Halo for Microsoft, Happiness Factory for The Coca-Cola Company, Transformers for Hasbro, and most recently Men in Black 3 for Sony Pictures.

Jeff is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) East Executive Committee and serves on the national board of the PGA New Media Council.

Additional Speaker:

BRENT WEINSTEIN

Head of Digital Media, United Talent Agency

Brent is one of the leading figures in the digital media industry, helping develop content deals for broadband, videogame, and mobile platforms. He formed the digital media practice at United Talent Agency in 2003, where he leads a team of dedicated digital media agents to identify and evaluate opportunities for UTA clients: actors, writers, directors, producers, and recording artists, in addition to many business-to-business and consumer-oriented technology and corporate clients. Brent, with UTA co-founder and partner Jeremy Zimmer, also formed UTA Online, a dedicated broadband division that finds and represents the next generation of web-based content artists. In 2007, Brent served as the CEO of 60Frames, a privately-held, venture backed company dedicated to financing, ad sales and syndication of original professionally produced entertainment content for the internet. The company was incubated by

United Talent Agency and Spot Runner, an innovative internet-based advertising agency.

During his tenure at UTA, Weinstein made digital media deals for many of the best known artists in entertainment, including Johnny Depp, Jack Black, Jim Carrey, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, as well as top digital media artists such as Big Fantastic (“Prom Queen”), AskANinja (askaninja.com), and others.

Prior to joining UTA in 2001, Weinstein practiced corporate and business litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he earned a Bachelors degree in Business Administration, and the University of San Diego School of Law.

For the most up-to-date information on the PGA New Media Council East, please visit the blog at

http://pganmc.blogspot.com

For more information about the PGA and to access a membership application, please visit:

http://www.producersguild.org

Previous events from our event series can be accessed in both webcast and podcast format at:

http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

PGA and NYTF Autumn in New York Cocktail Reception

2010-09-22T08:12:00.011-04:00

The Producers Guild of America New Media Council East
and the New York Television Festival

PGA NMC

and

New York Television Festival

Invite you to
Autumn in New York Cocktail Reception
Wednesday, September 22nd

7:00-9:00 pm
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick Street

YOU MUST BE A QUALIFY PGA MEMBER TO ATTEND EVENT
For information on becoming a PGA MEMBER please go to Producer's Guild of America Website

Wine provided by Terra Fossil Terra Fossil
Beer provided by Stella Artois Stella Artois

Join industry colleagues and PGA members as we celebrate the new season in New York, the New York TV Festival, and the autumnal equinox*

*the autumnal equinox is officially at 11:09 pm EST on 09/22/10

SOCIAL MEDIA AND NON-FICTION FILM PRODUCTION PANEL:

2010-04-30T17:04:00.012-04:00

SOCIAL MEDIA AND NON-FICTION FILM PRODUCTION PANEL:

Thursday, May 6

MPE Penthouse

432 West 45th St. btwn 9th & 10th Aves

7:00pm - Doors Open

7:30pm - Panel Begins

Refreshments will be served

PGA members only
(to become a member of PGA please go to producersguild.org)

Social Media is omnipresent, but is it the new marketing wonder weapon? This panel discussion with

documentary filmmakers and experts in social media will show and tell how filmmakers can use social

media to market and promote their films at all different stages of production.

A social media consultant will provide a brief 101 of social media, including the most important

social media sites, demographics and statistics, and offer some tips and tricks to set the scene for

the panel discussion to follow.

Using examples from different documentary and non-fiction productions, the audience will hear first

hand how filmmakers:

Tap into existing fan bases, create new fans, and build engagement and awareness.

Help find financing for their film and reach out to potential audiences.

Get the message of their film out across the country and into the world, beyond the traditional film community.

Create buzz and revenue opportunities.

Moderator

CRIS POPENOE: Producer, New Media Council

Cris Popenoe is a creative executive and entrepreneur who over more than 30 years, has innovatively combined content, commerce, and social engagement into media. She has produced numerous award-winning digital media projects, including online videos, mobile and online apps, and games. She's been a digital media maven for as long as there's been digital media and in recent years has focused on the intersection of video, social media, and monetization. See her website, www.dawn-productions.com, for details.

Panelists
AMY KALAFA: Filmmaker, Producer
Amy Kalafa is an award-winning filmmaker specializing in health and wellness communication. She's also a certified health coach, organic farmer and mother of two. Amy's production credits include Dr. T. Berry Brazelton's parenting show, "What Every Baby Knows", PBS specials, "Our Nation's Health: A Matter of Choice" and "Healthy Aging", as well as the Reiner Foundation's, "The First Years Last Forever". She has produced food and health segments for the Emmy nominated "Martha Stewart Living" series and has appeared as a guest chef on PBS's, "Cultivating Life."  She also worked as a writer / producer / editor on the past three seasons of the James Beard award-winning series, "Lidia's Italy". Since 2005, she has spent her "spare time" spearheading a project that is both a movie and a movement, "Two Angry Moms," a documentary about greening the school food environment that has received numerous festival awards and major national media coverage. www.angrymoms.org, www.angrymoms.groupsite.com

SHALINI KANTAYYA: Filmmaker, Producer
Combining biting social commentary with a dash of commercial appeal, filmmaker and eco-activist Shalini Kantayya finished in the top 10 out of over 12,000 filmmakers ON THE LOT, a Steven Spielberg Fox television show in search of Hollywood's next great director. The mission of her production company, 7th Empire Media, is to create a culture of human rights and a sustainable planet through a wildly imaginative media of the highest professional quality. A William D Fulbright Scholar, her award-winning film, a DROP of LIFE, a futuristic sci-fi flick about the mounting global water crisis, has been used as an organizing tool in over 40 villages across Africa. www.7thempiremedia.com

MARK MORI: Filmmaker, Producer
Mark Mori is an Academy Award® nominated documentary filmmaker and Emmy Award® winning TV producer. Through his shingle, Single Spark Pictures, Mori has produced hard-hitting and memorable documentaries and television series, garnered film festival screenings, theatrical distribution and television broadcast worldwide. Mori's latest project, the documentary film Bettie Page Reveals All is the authorized bio of the pin-up legend and is currently in post-production. Mori is using Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, myspace, flickr and other social media sites to reach Bettie Page fans worldwide, drive traffic to his website and build an audience for and monetize the film. He’s also using social media and online distributors including Amazon, iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, Neoflix, Indieflix to advertise and distribute his Emmy winning doc, Kent State: The Day The War Came Home and his Academy Award nominated doc, Building Bombs. www.bettiepagemovie.com

MARISELA RIVEROS: Multimedia Producer, Social Media Consultant
Marisela Riveros is an award-winning producer with ten years of experience in broadcast journalism. She transitioned into developing social media strategies through her company, Reverie Media, when colleagues asked her to better understand Facebook, Twitter, Digg, blogs, etc., and build their online presence. She is a twitterer with a strong know-how of building communities and engaging audiences online. Her social media work focuses on designing social media strategies for clients like journalists, musicians, non-for-profits and small business, to maximize ROI and build brand equity. www.mariselariveros.com

GAMES FOR CHANGE: PRODUCING TRANSFORMATIONAL VIDEOGAMES

2010-04-21T13:21:00.001-04:00

The PGA New Media Council East Presents
GAMES FOR CHANGE: PRODUCING TRANSFORMATIONAL VIDEOGAMES

Monday, May 3, 2010 at 7:00pm
This Event Is Open To Everyone.

Theresa Lang Auditorium
The New School
55 West 13th St. at 6th Ave.

The Games for Change movement – spurred by the growth in ‘Serious Games’ and intelligent conflict-resolution games – is now a full-fledged subgenre that has backing from the United Nations and other international bodies. Games for Change – or G4C – is a movement and community of practice dedicated to using videogames for social change. Games for Change is also the name for the non-profit organization which builds a support framework and shared resources for individuals and organizations using digital games for social change.

This session will include some of the leaders in the Games for Change movement, who will demonstrate some of their works, as well as discuss how G4C producers can join in with a growing community of online, console, and mobile developers for the next generation of progressive videogame creativity.

Panelists include:

Asi Burak, executive producer, Games for Change
Eric Zimmerman, independent game developer (and founder, GameLab)
David Martz, Vice President of Business Development, Muzzy Lane

Panel moderated by Chris Pfaff, Chapter Chairman, PGA New Media Council East

Wine and refreshments will be provided.

RESERVATION INSTRUCTIONS
-RSVP by visiting pganmceast2.eventbrite.com

BRICK CITY – A NEW MEDIA MARKETING CASE STUDY Wednesday, February 3

2010-01-31T22:19:00.002-05:00

BRICK CITY – A NEW MEDIA MARKETING CASE STUDY

Wednesday, February 3
6:00pm - Networking mixer with wine and light refreshments
7:00pm - Programming begins
57th Street Screening Room
140 W. 57th St. btwn 6th and 7th Ave
PGA members only
(to become a member of PGA please go to producersguild.org)

The PGA East Diversity Committee; Documentary Committee and NMC East celebrate Black History Month with the team behind the groundbreaking Sundance Channel documentary BRICK CITY. Originally aired in September, 2009 as a five-part documentary series, it examines the city of Newark, New Jersey during a pivotal year in the renaissance mayoral administration of Cory A. Booker, whose 2006 election signaled a new chapter in the city’s fortunes. As the mayor and his allies fight to make the city safer and stronger, the lives of Booker, citizens on the front lines, and key figures re-making the city – from developers to reformed gang members and youth mentors – create a compelling portrait of a critical moment in American urban history.

BRICK CITY (recently nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special) featured a bold new media marketing campaign - spearheaded by Sundance Channel VP Digital Media & Creative Development Jeff Kunken - that created a virtual community around the bold project, which was created and directed by award-winning filmmakers Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin.

Panelists:
MARK BENJAMIN and MARC LEVIN – Executive Producers/Directors, ‘Brick City’
JEFF KUNKEN, VP Digital Media & Creative Development, Sundance Channel
KEITH MCQUIRTER, Co-Producer, ‘Brick City’ (PGA East member)
DESIREE PETERKIN-BELL, Director of Communications for the City of Newark, Mayor Cory A. Booker
JOHN STAUB, EVP of Marketing at Cornerstone Media

Moderator:
JENNIE BOURNE, PGA NMC East member

BRAVE NEW (OPEN) WORLD: A PRODUCER’S PRIMER ON THE LATEST OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

2009-10-26T13:57:00.006-04:00

From Wikis to Ruby on Rails; How to Produce Content the Open Source Way

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Theresa Lang Auditorium
The New School
55 W. 13th Street
New York, NY 10011

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE CLICK HERE

The Open Source software revolution, long the province of computer

scientists and software developers (e.g., LINUX, Mozilla), now offers a

wide spectrum of free, open source tools ranging from wiki builders to

video and audio packages. Companies ranging from Ning and KickApps have

benefited from the move to flexible, modular applications. New media

producers are now the beneficiaries of an innovative movement that

offers continuously improved software – thanks to the open source

community – that can deliver lower costs and high-quality features for

web and mobile apps; video editing and distribution; audio recording,

and collaborative applications.

This session will provide a snapshot of the open source software

movement’s key features for those producing in the virtual world.

Panelists include:

• Ron Yetkutiel, Kaltura (open source video)

• Tatum Lade, Diversion Media (open source web; Ruby on Rails)

• Ted Metcalfe, Lime Bits (open source audio)

• Rony Greenberg, Funambol (open source mobile)

Panel moderated by Chris Pfaff, Chapter Chairman, PGA New Media Council

East

Wine and refreshments will be provided.

For more information about the PGA New Media Council and to access a membership application, please visit:http://www.pganewmedia.org

For more information about the PGA and to access a membership application, please visit:http://www.producersguild.org

Previous events from our 2005-2009 event series can be accessed in webcast format at:http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

5th season of NMC East programming begins CORE CLUB EVENT Magnify.net founder and CEO Steve Rosenbaum

2009-09-28T10:30:00.005-04:00

This coming year – 2009-2010 – marks our 5th season of NMC East programming, and we are very pleased to bring our membership and guests some of the leading digital media producers, executives, and industr gurus through our event series which, as always, is recorded and webcast for posterity by Scribe Media (www.scribemedia.org/pga).

A Conversation with Steven Rosenbaum, Documentary Filmmaker and CEO of

Magnify.net.

Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00pm

The Core Club

66 East 55 Street, between Madison and Park Aves.

The explosion of user-generated video content both professional and amateur has spawned a new generation of video archive and curation tools that offer a wide range of filters for producers and viewers alike. The melding of editorial and filtering has created a new metric for how the public views news and actualities today, the most discussed piece of video may not be shot by a professional news crew, but produced and or captured by an amateur. As the mainstream media races to catch up to the shifting video viewing habits of a voracious public appetite for video,companies ranging from Mediaite to Weather.com offer new ways to

syndicate and cull video for a wide range of tastes and applications.

Steve Rosenbaum, a noted documentary filmmaker and CEO of New York based

Magnify.net, will discuss the landscape for video curation, and talk

about his company's video publishing platform, which enables the integration of user generated video into company websites and provides tools for building video communities.

STEVEN ROSENBAUM, CEO, MAGNIFY.NET

Steve Rosenbaum is an award winning documentary film director and producer who, together with his wife and business partner Pamela Yoder, has also created the CameraPlanet Archive, the largest compendium of 911 related images and videos, which was recently contributed to the September 11th Memorial and Museum. Steve directed the acclaimed 7 Days in September, a documentary that examined the effects of the World Trade Center attacks on New Yorkers.

Steve created the first audience participation TV series of its kind MTV Unfiltered and was an early proponent of merging off line and online content. He has produced a wide range of films, documentaries, and web projects for the likes of A&E, CNN, Discovery, HBO, MSNBC, and many others.

As CEO of Magnify.net, Steve has helped develop tools that engage,embrace and facilitate media creation, sharing, and discussion. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council East.

Moderator: CHRIS PFAFF, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council

BUILDING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT BRANDS: HOW TO PROFIT IN THE MULTI-PLATFORM UNIVERSE

2009-05-11T12:56:00.005-04:00

Producers Guild of America New Media Council East Presents the 2008-2009 Panel and Salon Series

***EXCLUSIVE MEMBERS ONLY EVENT***

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

BUILDING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT BRANDS: HOW TO PROFIT IN THE MULTI-PLATFORM UNIVERSE

A Conversation With Fred Seibert, President & Executive Producer, Frederator Studios

The development of profitable digital media ventures relies as much on knowing when the next wave will hit as it does on creating sustainable revenue models. In some respects, the first decade of the 21^st-century belongs to the media entrepreneurs who have the foresight to create new digital brands that build a trusted, satisfied audience that can attract revolving advertising and syndication revenue streams.

Fred Seibert is a hyphenate producer who has done as much to create today’s New York media landscape as any single individual: music producer, cable television programming pioneer, agency executive, cartoon producer, and Internet television executive. Frederator Studios has produced award-winning hits such as ‘The Fairly Oddparents,’ ‘ChalkZone,’ and My Life as a Teenage Robot, while creating hundreds of new characters for Nickeloden at the Random! Cartoons and Oh Yeah! Cartoons sites. His latest venture, Next New Networks, has aggregated micro-networks – including the likes of BarelyPolitical.com – with the stated goal of creating 101 new networks over the next three years.

He has helped launch brands as massive as MTV, rekindled such cherished icons as Hanna-Barbera, and produced Grammy-nominated jazz records while developing a portfolio of work that continues to evolve. In his own words, he “just can’t seem to stop living!”

Fred Seibert, President & Executive Producer, Frederator Studios

Fred Seibert makes cartoons and television networks.

In 1998 former Hanna-Barbera Cartoons president Fred Seibert formed Frederator Studios, an independent television production company. He is the executive producer of seven animated series on Nickelodeon’s networks: The Fairly Oddparents, ChalkZone, My Life as a Teenage Robot, The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! (with Susan Miller), Oh Yeah! Cartoons, and Random! Cartoons. He is a founder of Channel Frederator, the world’s first cartoon podcast, and Next New Networks, a company launching 101 micro-TV networks.

Seibert began his career in college radio, produced jazz records, and started in television as the first creative director of MTV: Music Television. He co-founded Fred/Alan Inc. with Alan Goodman as the first branding agency in television, where they created Nick-at-Nite and relaunched Nickelodeon as the #1 network in cable television.

Moderator: Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council

This event takes place at The Core Club in New York City.

***YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO ATTEND THIS EVENT!***

CLICK HERE INFORMATION ON BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA

Previous events from our 2005-2008 event series can be accessed in both webcast and podcast format at: http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

HOW TO PROFIT IN THE MULTI-PLATFORM UNIVERSE

2009-05-11T09:27:00.000-04:00

Producers Guild of America New Media Council East Presents the 2008-2009 Panel and Salon Series

***EXCLUSIVE MEMBERS ONLY EVENT***

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

BUILDING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT BRANDS: HOW TO PROFIT IN THE MULTI-PLATFORM UNIVERSE
A Conversation With Fred Seibert, President & Executive Producer, Frederator Studios

The development of profitable digital media ventures relies as much on knowing when the next wave will hit as it does on creating sustainable revenue models. In some respects, the first decade of the 21st-century belongs to the media entrepreneurs who have the foresight to create new digital brands that build a trusted, satisfied audience that can attract revolving advertising and syndication revenue streams.

Fred Seibert is a hyphenate producer who has done as much to create today’s New York media landscape as any single individual: music producer, cable television programming pioneer, agency executive, cartoon producer, and Internet television executive. Frederator Studios has produced award-winning hits such as ‘The Fairly Oddparents,’ ‘ChalkZone,’ and My Life as a Teenage Robot, while creating hundreds of new characters for Nickeloden at the Random! Cartoons and Oh Yeah! Cartoons sites. His latest venture, Next New Networks, has aggregated micro-networks – including the likes of BarelyPolitical.com – with the stated goal of creating 101 new networks over the next three years.

He has helped launch brands as massive as MTV, rekindled such cherished icons as Hanna-Barbera, and produced Grammy-nominated jazz records while developing a portfolio of work that continues to evolve. In his own words, he “just can’t seem to stop living!”

Fred Seibert, President & Executive Producer, Frederator Studios

Fred Seibert makes cartoons and television networks.

In 1998 former Hanna-Barbera Cartoons president Fred Seibert formed Frederator Studios, an independent television production company. He is the executive producer of seven animated series on Nickelodeon’s networks: The Fairly Oddparents, ChalkZone, My Life as a Teenage Robot, The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! (with Susan Miller), Oh Yeah! Cartoons, and Random! Cartoons. He is a founder of Channel Frederator, the world’s first cartoon podcast, and Next New Networks, a company launching 101 micro-TV networks.

Seibert began his career in college radio, produced jazz records, and started in television as the first creative director of MTV: Music Television. He co-founded Fred/Alan Inc. with Alan Goodman as the first branding agency in television, where they created Nick-at-Nite and relaunched Nickelodeon as the #1 network in cable television.

Moderator: Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council

This event takes place at The Core Club in New York City.

***YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO ATTEND THIS EVENT!***

Previous events from our 2005-2008 event series can be accessed in both webcast and podcast format at: http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit: http://www.scribestudio.com.

New York Web TV Meetup - April 2009

2009-04-16T17:19:00.003-04:00

New York Web TV Meetup - April 2009 - A Conversation with Fred Seibert of Frederator and Next New Networks

The New York Web TV Meetup is a monthly event devoted to celebrating and supporting innovation in the exploding digital entertainment industry and bringing together the dynamic web television community. Each month, we’ll take an in-depth look at the processes and people behind some of the most successful entertainment products created for broadband distribution, followed by networking with industry peers, artists, executives, producers, and up-and-comers.

Stay up-to-date on Web TV happenings in New York City by joining their Facebook Group.

April 2009 Event
Fred Seibert is a media and marketing sensation whose influence has shaped the future of entertainment. He's also a good friend to Tilzy.TV.We're excited for an in-depth conversation followed by mixing and mingling with some of New York City's movers and shakers of online video and Web TV.

When: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 6:30 PM

Where: NYU's Cantor Film Center - 36 E. 8th St.

More about Fred Seibert
As MTV's first creative director who went on to remake Nickelodeon, run famed animation studio Hannah Barbara, create digital and television animation studio Frederator and found a next generation television network, Next New Networks, Fred is a creative visionary with big insights and a bigger personality.

Fred's career in his words:

Does it seem strange for a former jazz cat to morph into a TV executive, and then turn into a cartoon producer who sets out to pioneer the new frontier of video on the Internet?

Not to me.For me it's all part of a very clear continuum. I'm attracted to community, to places where disenfranchised people find what they love, and find each other and get creative. I'm attracted to heart and soul and humor, and to things that are wild, weird and unpredictable.

I guess you could say I'm attracted to crazy. With any luck I'll have a few more crazy lives to add to this document in the years ahead.

We're looking forward to seeing you there, and meeting and talking with you and other members of the NYC's dynamic online video community.

2009-04-11T22:16:00.002-04:00

Producers Guild of America
New Media Council East
Presents the
2008-2009 Panel and Salon Series
****EXCLUSIVE MEMBERS ONLY EVENT****

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

HARVESTING A GREEN CHANNEL IN THE MULTI-PLATFORM AGE

A Conversation With Laura Michalchysyn, President and
General Manager, Discovery Communication’s Planet Green

The urgencies represented by rapid climate change have created a veritable flood of media addressing solutions to the problems wrought by greenhouse-gas emissions. However, to date, only one major cable television network represents the growing eco-lifestyle community. Launched in June, 2008, Discovery Communication’s Planet Green delivers multi-platform content – ranging from expert tips on how to go green and online forums – from a
24-hour cable channel with more than 250 hours of original green lifestyle programming and the web sites PlanetGreen.com and TreeHugger.com.

Laura Michalchyshyn, President and General Manager, Discovery Communications’ Planet Green

Laura Michalchyshyn is responsible for all aspects of the creative and business strategy for Planet Green, Discovery Communications’ multi-platform businesses including the 24-hour television network. As chief editorial executive, she manages the overall direction of the network, including programming, operations and content development, as well as interfacing with ad sales and affiliate sales to further develop the brand and its appeal to advertisers, operators and viewers.

Prior to Discovery, Michalchyshyn served as executive vice president and general manager of Sundance Channel where she was responsible for day-to-day operations, including program development, creative strategy scheduling and marketing both on- and off-channel. Since joining Sundance Channel in 1995, Michalchyshyn doubled original programming hours and tripled the number of programming hours on the network overall. Under her leadership Sundance Channel was the largest aggregator of independent films on television acquiring as many as 250 films in a given year.

Moderator: Kendall Allen, PGA NMC East Executive Committee Member; Founder, Influence Collective, LLC

A leading digital media and marketing executive, and a member of the PGA NMC East’s executive committee, Kendall has led online content development and campaigns since the web’s inception. She helped found Thrive, an AOL/Time Inc. joint online venture in the mid-‘90s, and held top positions at USWeb/CKS and EuroRSCG Circle, while based in San Francisco. Kendall was a founder of Fathom Online and a director at iCrossing. She recently built out the agency and creative studio at Incognito Digital and has gone on to establish her own business advising publishers and agencies in digital channel development – Influence Collective, LLC. Her career roster of clients includes Ask Jeeves, Chandon, Intel, Intuit, VOOM, American Express, Fairmont, Colgate-Palmolive, Bloomberg, Haier America, OKI, Fox, FX, Carolyn & Co. Media and ‘mktg.’

Recognized as a leader in media circles, Kendall is a weekly contributor to MediaPost, as well as a regular speaker at digital media and marketing conferences, including Search Engine Strategies and Ad:Tech. She is a periodic lecturer at New York University and serves on the board of the Ad Club of New York Digital Marketing and Media Council and on the Ad Council for the Association for Downloadable Media. Kendall also serves on the Board of Directors of 212NYC, where she oversees the Professional Development programming series.
Wine and light refreshments will be served during a networking mixer prior to the programming.

This event will take place at the Core Club in New York City.

****YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO ATTEND THIS EVENT.****

Previous events from our 2005-2009 event series can be accessed on the web at:

http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit: http://http://www.scribestudio.com/.

Curated Screening with College Humor TV

2009-03-14T20:18:00.003-04:00

Big Screen Little Screen - The New York Web TV Meetup

Curated Screening with College Humor TV…

featuring…
Ricky Van Veen, Founder and Editor
Sam Reich, Director of Original Programming
Jake Hurwitz, Writer and Star
Amir Blumenfield, Writer and Star

When: March 19, 2009 6:30 PM

Where: DROM @ 85 Avenue A

Presented by Tilzy.TV in association with 10Ton, The Producers Guild of America New Media Council, and For Your Imagination, the event is an opportunity to meet and engage movers and shakers in the digital entertainment industry, a community dedicated to growing, exploring, and innovating with a dynamic new medium.

If you’d like to present at or host Big Screen Little Screen, please email us at info(at)tilzy(dot)tv.
PLEASE RSVP AT THE BIG SCREEN LITTLE SCREEN - NY WEB TV MEETUP PAGE

The Power of Transmedia

2009-03-09T22:36:00.000-04:00

PGA NMC East member Jeff Gomez featured on forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/03/jeff-gomez-advertising-leadership-cmo-network_starlight_runner.html

On the Record with…
JEFF GOMEZ
The Power of Transmedia
Interview by Laurie Burkitt

Though these may be dark economic times, there are certain executives with extraordinary insight and unique approaches who are achieving striking results for their companies. Each week, Forbes.CMO will spotlight one of these visionaries and fire off questions designed to keep you ahead of the curve.

Transmedia is a word that has been buzzing both Hollywood and Madison Avenue, but very few seem to have a handle on what it means, or the potential of its value proposition. For our premiere column, we turn to Jeff Gomez, CEO of New York-based Starlight Runner Entertainment for answers.

A self-described “transmedia storyteller,” Gomez is a producer who specializes in developing and extending entertainment and advertising properties across multiple media platforms. His clients include The Walt Disney Company, Microsoft, Hasbro and perhaps most notably, the Coca-Cola Company.

What exactly is transmedia and how did you become interested in it?

Simply put, transmedia is the art of conveying a rich message, theme or storyline to a mass audience using multiple media platforms in concert. Each part of the story is unique and plays to the strengths of each medium, and the audience is often invited to participate and somehow interact with the narrative. We first saw the term used in this way by M.I.T. professor Henry Jenkins in his book Convergence Culture.

In today’s interconnected world, young adults, teens and even kids have become so comfortable with media technology that they seem to flow from one platform to the next. The problem is that their content is not flowing with them. As a discipline, transmedia provides us with a foundation for the development, production and rollout of entertainment properties or consumer brands across all of these platforms. Transmedia creates the flow.

As a mass audience we’re too savvy and too impatient to experience the same content over and over again. There’s too much out there to enjoy. Repurposing sucks! I actually learned this as a kid living in Hawaii in the 1970s, and being exposed to psychedelic Japanese pop culture. The creators of cartoons and kidvid like Ultra 7, Kikaida and Galaxy Express 999 were allowed to turn their stories into animated TV series, toy lines, live events and feature films.

But instead of repeating the plots over and over again for each medium, the creators would continue and expanded their storylines, generating dazzling mythologies and complex narratives. The act of chasing, collecting and searching for new parts of the story made me a participant. I became immersed in these worlds. This was early transmedia storytelling, and man, I knew right there what I wanted to do when I grew up!

Well, it turns out that yesterday’s “cult” is today’s cool.

What gives transmedia its unique power? How do you distinguish it from concepts such as branded entertainment?

What’s so powerful about transmedia implementation is that it maximizes the potential of your story or message, while both building intense brand loyalty and opening up multiple revenue streams.

The loyalty is derived from giving fans more of what they want from your story: more character background, more story mythology, more opportunities to dialog with the story’s creators and with one another. When you know that Samuel L. Jackson will be playing Nick Fury in the next nine Marvel super hero movies, you’re delighted because this ties that whole universe together. It’s a richer and deeper entertainment experience for the fan.

Revenues may be increased dramatically, because you are furnishing fans with more product. The storylines of major films like The Dark Knight, Wolverine and Watchmen are being supplemented by direct-to-DVD animation releases, each of which are selling quite well. The Watchmen videogame serves as a prequel to the movie and contains “valuable” story developments that fans want to know about. New stories set in the same world are alluring, as opposed to repurposed content, so the products become more attractive and in many cases more lucrative.

We’ve seen this with such properties as Hannah Montana, Lost and Heroes, but we’re also seeing it with Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble. It’s a growth industry, and it’s an exciting time to be a part of it.

I think it’s important to point out that transmedia storytelling is not branded entertainment. Branded entertainment drives product awareness by sort of tacking the brand onto something else, like whatever brands you’re seeing on The Apprentice. On the other hand, transmedia builds brand mythology, placing the brand front and center and building narrative around it, like the various tie-ins we saw around The Matrix franchise several years ago. Branded entertainment comes and goes in a flash, but transmedia storylines are timeless because they are built on a foundation of classic narrative structure. They’re good stories. Finally, the owner of the brand pays for branded content, but transmedia entertainment is designed to generate revenue because it’s content that the audience wants.

What’s the short history of transmedia?

After the Industrial Revolution, the printing press allowed for ideas and stories to be spread to much larger populations. Thousands of people were reading Stoker’s Dracula or Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. With radio, new elements were introduced into the mythos of these narratives. Perry White, Kryptonite and the term “faster than a speeding bullet,” for example, all became a part of Superman from the 1938 radio serial.

After World War II, the Japanese government promoted the cooperation of manufacturers, suppliers and distributors to spur economic recovery. They called this keiretsu. This is what allowed for popular comic strip characters to easily jump across various kinds of media in a concerted fashion. By the ‘60s and ‘70s, this became a sleek machine that exported pop entertainment globally from Godzilla to Gigantor to Speed Racer.

I wouldn’t be the only one to be turned onto this. George Lucas has often acknowledged Japanese cinema for inspiring Star Wars, but I dare say he was also fascinated by keiretsu and Nippon’s pension for celebrating and rewarding creators of cross-platform story epics. He shrewdly held back the rights to his characters and merchandising from 20th Century Fox and launched what would become the prototype for transmedia storytelling in America.

But the true actualization of transmedia arrived in 1998 with a weird website called The Blair Witch Project, nearly a year before the release of the film. Was it real? A hoax? Our curiosity and our dialog made us participants in the narrative, and the whole thing exploded, making the film one of the most profitable in history. Transmedia requires an interactive component.

Transmedia has often been used to promote TV shows and movies, things that already have a story built into them, but how does it work with products?

It’s true, since Blair Witch we’ve seen some progressive television and film execs and producers use transmedia techniques to engage mass audiences. JJ Abrams used the Internet, books and comics to build on the storylines of Lost and Cloverfield, as did Tim Kring on Heroes and Warner Bros. on The Dark Knight. All of these had strong stories to start with, and fans were offered (and often paid for) a “deeper dive” with this additional content.

We’ve also seen companies like Procter & Gamble use transmedia techniques such as extending soap opera narrative. In 2007, P&G commissioned Guiding Light: Jonathan’s Story, a novel that revealed the adventures of a major character that had been mysteriously absent from the show. The book was a media sensation and became a New York Times best seller.

But we’re also seeing transmedia elements in the marketing of consumer products and advertising. With “The King” campaign from Burger King a few years back, for example, audiences became engaged with this bizarre character, watching the commercials, purchasing and playing the videogames. Profits soared for the chain.

Then there’s Victoria’s Secret, a somewhat looser but still quite valid example of transmedia narrative. We start with the mystique of the original catalog, but then the models take on personas all their own. We follow their glamorous and sometimes scandalous lives through the tabloids, on the web and on television. Like living fantasies they’re adorned with the iconography of the angel wings in print ads and commercials. We follow them into their own annual TV specials, and ultimately back into the catalogs and retail stores. A thriving empire has been built here not so much on lingerie, but on story.

In 2002, my company Starlight Runner was tasked to create a storyline around 35 die-cast metal Hot Wheels cars for Mattel in tandem with the line’s 35th anniversary. It had never really been done before. We worked with the company to discern the essence of the brand and watched how kids played with the toys before inventing an elaborate racing universe and driver characters that embodied the messages and themes of the brand. The story was successful, sales across the entire line increased dramatically, and over the next three years five computer-animated movies were released, a videogame, a comic book series, new playsets and an elaborate web site.

How do you know transmedia works? What numbers do you have to prove it?

Well, Mattel sold an awful lot of Hot Wheels DVDs! The entire product line derived a significant revenue bump over those three years. These are hundreds of millions of additional dollars for a franchise that had frankly gotten a bit dusty in the past decade.

Heroes 360, the online component of the Heroes TV series multi-platform campaign, generated an additional $50 million in advertising revenue for NBC-Universal, according to Fast Company magazine, and that doesn’t include sales of hundreds of thousands of hard copy graphic novels and prose fiction all set in the universe of the show.

Then there is Happiness Factory from the Coca-Cola Company. A few years back, Coke consolidated its global advertising with Wieden+Kennedy. The agency’s Amsterdam office came up with “The Coke Side of Life” campaign and one of the commercials featured a wild fantasy world of characters and creatures that existed inside a Coke machine. The computer animation by PsyOp was gorgeous, hilarious and a tiny bit subversive.

The commercial was called Happiness Factory and it was the highest rated Coke commercial in history. People loved it, and Coke wanted to somehow continue working with the premise. Starlight Runner was called in to do some of this creative development and generate multiple touchpoints for the property. Coke had us come up with a transmedia storyline designed to last for years.

The initial rollout in the later half of 2007 was a smash. A second, extra-long commercial was created that vastly expanded the world of Happiness Factory and gave us characters we could connect with. We worked on an elaborate international web site with AKQA that allowed you to become an employee of the factory. Coke joined with its distributors in countries around the world to customize the way people would connect to the property based on culture and budget. There were comics in Brazil, mechanical installations at shopping malls in Denmark, costumed characters lumbering around in Japanese supermarkets, all tied into “event” airings of the four-minute narrative on television.

At last year’s Media 360 conference keynote, Jonathan Mildenhall, Coke’s VP Global Advertising and Creative Excellence, announced the campaign had boosted global volume sales of Coke by 4% and Coca-Cola’s share price from $42 to $60 over Happiness Factory’s initial transmedia rollout period. Although “The Coke Side of Life” campaign is now over, Happiness Factory is tapped to play a central role in the company’s new “Open Happiness” campaign. So the Kissy Puppies will be back!

[Editor’s note: You can see the Happiness Factory commercials at http://www.coca-cola.com/hf]

Why was Coke interested in transmedia?

Mildenhall has said that he was searching for ways move away from brand interruption and boost brand engagement for his company’s flagship product. After the original Happiness Factory scored so well, he started looking for ways to extend the property. But right now, advertising is not built to stretch a story beyond a minute or two.

After learning about our work, Mildenhall had Starlight Runner present our “Blockbuster Worlds” seminar to his exec team in Atlanta, and he immediately embraced transmedia as a strategy for Coca-Cola. The results have made him one of the most vocal and articulate advocates of the process.

Tell us about your work for Coca-Cola and where it is going. How are we going to see Coke’s narrative develop and in what forms of media?

Working on Happiness Factory for Coke was both challenging and quite a thrill. All we had to start with was the commercial, and we were tasked with building an entire fictional universe around it, with a rich history, dozens of characters and wild adventures yet to come.

Starlight Runner has a proprietary technology that facilitates the rapid development and implementation of transmedia properties, and we put it to use on all fronts here. Our first task was to immerse ourselves in the brand. Coke is a part of Americana, with its own archetype and mythos. We needed to make certain that was reflected in all aspects of the narrative. Wieden+Kennedy then showed us about how their “Coke Side of Life” campaign romanced the brand, and we took those themes and imagery into account.

As with most of our clients, our first major milestone for Coke was a franchise Mythology. This is a visually impressive guide to the people, places, history and devices of the fictional universe. We get into the cultures and mysticism, messages and themes, everything you need to know to produce dozens, even hundreds of hours of content from this world.

For Coke we also produced a transmedia rollout “blueprint,” strategizing how Happiness Factory can play across comic books, videogames, outdoor interactive ads and other media across the globe over the course of the next several years. We’re only scratching the surface so far, but the vision is truly ambitious. I’m also hoping we’ll see a stronger presence here in the U.S. soon.

Where else are we likely to see your work in the future?

We’re tremendously fortunate to be working with some of the biggest properties in the world. We’ve worked on Avatar, the upcoming James Cameron science fiction, which is going to blow people away. We have a great client in Disney, where we’re working on the Bruckheimer film Prince of Persia and will hopefully be returning to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise with the fourth film. There is Halo for Microsoft.

Starlight Runner is also expanding its consumer product work. We’ll be speaking with the CMO’s of major brand owners, as well as with the big agencies here in New York as more of them convince their clients that transmedia narrative is both inevitable and, if done right, can be hugely profitable.

As for the future of transmedia storytelling, I think it’s going to become a true art form. If movies are a grand piano, that’s fantastic, you can create beautiful concertos with that one instrument. But if you take movies, television, the Internet, and any combination of other media, you are assembling an orchestra of sorts. The symphonies you can create are almost beyond imagination. To me this is the true potential of transmedia.

Animation and Non-Fiction Filmmaking Event

2009-03-06T12:57:00.017-05:00

The Producers Guild of America

New Media Council

presents the

2008-2009 Panel and Salon Series

ADMISSION IS FREE! BUT AN RSVP IS REQUIRED.

RSVP to: rsvp@pga-ny.org

TIME

7-8:45 PM panel, followed by a wine and cheese reception.

LOCATION

Theresa Lang Auditorium at The New School

55 W. 13th Street, Second Floor

Between 5th and 6th Aves.

New York City

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

WHAT'S UP, DOCUMENTARY?

Animation and Non-Fiction Filmmaking

The increasingly popular use of animation in documentary and non-fiction filmmaking will be examined in this panel discussion sponsored by the New Media Council of the Producers Guild of America East and the New York Film/Video Arts Council. Producers, directors and animators will show clips and discuss a range of projects, explaining how and why they chose to use animation, the positives and negatives in terms of time, budget and skill sets, and the artistic or interpretive contributions animation can bring to a project.

Speakers (alphabetically):

JOAO AMORIM is a Brazilian director focusing on animation and documentary filmmaking. He is currently represented by Curious Pictures, New York. Joao has worked worldwide as an industrial designer, animator, and Animation Supervisor for many years prior to directing. He was the Animation Director for "Chicago 10", Brett Morgen's feature doc. that opened Sundance 2007. He has also directed commercials for BMW, Panasonic, Oceana, among others. He is currently working on ³2012, Time for change², his first feature documentary, highlighting ideas on sustainability and consciousness.

BARBARA ATTIE and JANET GOLDWATER have worked collaboratively since 1990 making widely acclaimed documentaries that have been broadcast nationally and internationally. In 2005 they were awarded the prestigious Pew Fellowship in the Arts. Their newest documentary, currently in post-production, is Mrs. Goundo¹s Daughter, about a Malian mother¹s fight for asylum in the U.S. to protect her two-year old daughter from female genital cutting/mutilation.

LISA CRAFTS is an animator whose work is characterized by richly rendered imagery and a quietly quirky sensibility. Her independent animated films have ranged from a meditation on the role creativity plays in the survival of the human spirit, to a funky romp through the land of human sexuality. These works have been shown in Europe, Asia, and throughout North America. In addition to animated films, Crafts also paints quietly disturbing psychological landscapes which capture the dreamlike dissonance of the American roadside.

LUCIEN HARRIOT Is founder, director and visual effects supervisor of Mechanism Digital, a full-service production resource in NYC specializing in digital production. 2D/3D animation, visual effects, broadcast design, and green screen shoots. Mechanism's work ranges from commercial to entertainment; their award-winning team of artists, directors, and producers write, design, storyboard, shoot, animate, edit, and integrate visual effects for film, television and new media.

CINDY KLEINE is a film and video artist whose prolific career began when she was an undergraduate at The Museum School and at the legendary (and long-gone) MIT Film/Video Section, studying with Richard Leacock and Ed Pincus, and among a legion of future filmmakers in the program, including Ross McElwee, Robb Moss and John Gianvito. In line with Boston peers, Kleine has developed a central body of documentary work which are family dramas: camera visits with her grandmother and her sister, and intense probes of her parents¹ fifty-nine years of a dubious, fractured marriage. Additionally, Kleine has gone outside of family for films about odd artists and off-the-wall musicians; and she¹s gone inside herself for some deeply personal, poetically framed psychodramas about love lost, the spirit gained.

MARK MARABELLA is an Emmy® nominated executive producer and founder of Marabella Productions. His award-winning, independent production company specializes primarily in current affairs, history, and science programming for Discovery Channel, History Channel, National Geographic Channel and PBS. Mark has more than 15 years experience developing, writing, producing, and directing over 90 hours of factual series and specials that have aired in nearly 100 countries. Prior to founding Marabella Productions, Mark was the series producer and writer of 60 hours of The Discovery Channel's top-rated prime-time series THE FBI FILES for three and half seasons.

The event will be introduced by documentary filmmaker Howard Weinberg of the Film/Video Council and moderated by digital media producer Trilby Schreiber of the PGA New Media Council East.

For more information about the PGA New Media Council and to access a membership application, please visit: www.pganewmedia.org.

For more information about the PGA and to access a membership application, please visit: www.producersguild.org.

For more information about the New York Film/Video Council, please visit: www.nyfvc.org.

Previous events in our series can be accessed in both webcast format at: www.scribemedia.org/pga.

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit: www.scribemedia.org/about

.

POLITICAL SATIRE CHANGES THE (NEW MEDIA) WORLD

2009-02-22T21:46:00.001-05:00

POLITICAL SATIRE CHANGES THE (NEW MEDIA) WORLD:
An Evening with Ben Relles, Founder of BarelyPolitical.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The political arena has been one of the heaviest contributors to the social media revolution. The 2008 presidential election saw a groundbreaking new media campaign from President Obama, including mobile marketing, liveblogging, and online video, but was also at the epicenter of a groundswell in online political satire, including 'The Last Republican,' endless user-generated parodies of candidates, and one of the most compelling viral video campaigns of all time – 'Obama Girl.' The singular creation of BarelyPolitical.com's Ben Relles, the Obama Girl phenomenon captured the public fascination with candidate Obama and helped lay the foundation for online discourse that, in many ways, rivaled mainstream media's attempts to keep up with "netizens".

Ben Relles, founder, BarelyPolitical.com
Ben Relles launched his political satire website BarelyPolitical.com with the hit video "I Got a Crush on Obama." In total, he has produced more than 150 online videos, which have been viewed more than 200 million times worldwide. Recently, Ben launched BarelyDigital.com, an online video network satirizing the world of technology. He has spoken at conferences that include: Forbes MEET, Streaming Media East, and NATPE; has guest lectured on college campuses nationwide, and appears regularly on MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN. Born in Wisconsin, Ben was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After college, Ben co-founded MarketVision, Inc., where he was a partner from 1997 - 2002. Later, Ben received his MBA from the Wharton School, and has spent time working for Omnicom marketing agencies.

Moderator: Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA NMC
A board delegate of the PGA New Media Council since 2006 and a PGA NMC member since 2004, Chris Pfaff leads a consultancy – Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC – that represents some of the leading service providers, audio/video technology firms, networking vendors, and media companies in the world, from PRIMEDIA and Eastman Kodak to Cantor Telecom. A veteran of the venture world, Chris helped launch more than 20 ventures from the Lucent New Ventures Group, including iBiquity Digital; Flarion; Lucent Digital Video, and GeoVideo Networks, among others. In addition, he has helped launch AT&T's Internet strategy; the Viacom New Media division of Viacom, Inc.; Sony Electronics' Digital Betacam format, and Sharp Electronics' LCD product division.

7pm – 7:45pm – Networking mixer with wine and light refreshments
7:45 – 9pm – Conversation with Ben Relles
9pm – 9:30pm – Mixer continues/wrap up

The Core Club
66 East 55th Street
Between Madison and Park Aves.
New York City
www.thecoreclub.com

Space is limited; RSVP required. Please RSVP to rsvp@pga-ny.org.
NOTE: PGA members are encouraged to bring a qualified prospective member as a guest. Guests required to reconfirm their RSVP 24 hours prior to event.

Broadband Video Leadership Evening

2009-02-12T14:15:00.005-05:00

VideoNuze, in conjunction with NATPE, will hold its Broadband Video Leadership Evening on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, from 6:00-9:00 pm at the Hudson Theater, 145 W. 44th Street in Manhattan. Will Richmond, from VideoNuze, will be presiding.

The evening includes a networking reception from 6:00-7:30 pm, followed by a 7:30-9:00 pm panel featuring senior executives (read: not producers) in the broadband video industry, including:

Albert Cheng, EVP, Digital Media, Disney/ABC Television Group

Greg Clayman, EVP, Digital Distribution & Business Development, MTV Networks

Karin Gilford, SVP of Fancast and Online Entertainment, Comcast Interactive Media

Curt Hecht, President, VivaKi (Publicis Groupe)

Tom Morgan, Chief Strategy Officer, Move Networks

Moderator: Will Richmond, Editor/Publisher, VideoNuze

For more info VideoNuze

The Power of Online Storytelling

2009-02-02T13:36:00.001-05:00

We are pleased to invite you to our first New School event of 2009, which we are producing in conjunction with The Screenwriters Colony and The New School.

The ‘Power of Online Storytelling’ events takes place next Thursday, February 5th, from 6:30-8:30 pm, at Wollman Hall, at The New School (65 W. 11th Street, 5th Floor). Enter at 66 W. 12th Street.

See the full program invite below.

We are pleased to have two NMC East members on this panel – Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner (and NMC East member-at-large and NMC Board delegate) and Dina Kaplan, co-founder of blip.tv – and we are quite sure that this will be over-subscribed, so please RSVP today to rsvp@thepacificfoundation.org to request a seat.

RSVPs are for one person only. All RSVPs must be re-confirmed to be considered valid. Wine and light refreshments will be served during a networking mixer after the programming.

The panel consists of:

Mary Feuer, writer ‘LonelyGirl15,’ ‘With the Angels’

Jeff Gomez, Starlight Runner, James Cameron’s ‘Avatar,’ Microsoft’s ‘Halo’

Kathleen Grace & Thom Woodley, writers, ‘The Burg,’ ‘The All-For-Nots’

Amy B. Harris, writer/producer, ‘Sex and the City,’ ‘Puppy Love’

Dina Kaplan, co-founder, blip.tv

Moderator: Virginia Heffernan, columnist (‘The Medium’), The New York Times

"FAIR USE vs. FARE USE"

2008-12-04T20:53:00.000-05:00

Producers Guild of America

"FAIR USE vs. FARE USE"
The Boundaries of Legitimacy or Theft
in Using Other Artist's Work

a special joint Workshop from

PGA East Documentary and Non-Fiction
Committee

and

New Media Council East

Monday, December 15, 2008

7pm – 9pm

Whether you are doing a documentary film, non-fiction television, or a social network viral video or webisode, if you are using other people's copyrighted materials, this workshop is for you!

FAIR USE and LEGAL POLICY of Copyright Material: A workshop panel for PGA members *ONLY*
on its use in Film, Television and New Media
from one of the foremost experts in the field, DR. PETER JASZI

CASE STUDIES, and current application in recent Film, TV and On-line Video:

The Producers Guild of America New Media Council East and the PGA East Documentary and Non-Fiction Committee presents a workshop on the future of media policy, and the current changes in Copyright Law that effect the use of video, music and material choices all producers need and have wanted to choose to get their stories across, but have been held back because of the costs of clearances and the hesitancy of what is Fair Use and what is not. The advances in new technology also have created different ways material is used and these areas will be examined as well as the traditional role this material is used in Film and Television. Case studies will be discussed and members may bring up specific ways they are using copyrighted material and the accepted rights and clearances necessary, or NOT necessary, regarding E&O insurance, rights clearances costs, lengths of material accepted for use, and the interpretation of the law accepted in today's world, of the term "Fair Use".

The ability to easily create and share online video presents unprecedented opportunities for self-expression, but has at the same time generated significant confusion about what is permissable versus impermissable copying. How does one balance the rights of copyright holders and the rights of those who use content for new, valuable and expressive purposes.

Dr. Peter Jaszi having spent many years educating and speaking on "Fair Use" policies for Film and Television, has now turned his attention to Online video, as well.

Dr. Peter Jaszi, Professor of Law and Director of Intellectual Property Law Clinic at American University
Professor of Law, and Director of Intellectual Property Law Clinic at American University, Peter Jaszi has literally written the book on copyright and Fair Use.
www.centerforsocialmedia.org

Moderators:

Mark Marabella, President, MARABELLA PRODUCTIONS, Co-Chair of the Documentary and Non-Fiction Committee
Mark is an Emmy® nominated executive producer and founder of Marabella Productions. He has more than 15 years experience developing, writing, producing, and directing documentaries and television series. The company has produced more than 20 hours of primetime factual programming for the Discovery Channel, The History Channel, The Science Channel, and The National Geographic Channel.
Mark is the PGA East Co-Chair of the Documentary Committee.
www.marabellaproductions.com

Paul Waterman, President, COSMIC SCREEN, LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council
Paul Waterman is the founder and chief executive officer of Cosmic Screen, LLC, a global production company that specializes in original entertainment programming for digital media platforms. The company’s initial production, ‘7 Sins,’ is one of the first original HD web production made for the syndication market. Paul has produced a large body of live video and studio music productions, ranging from his work with NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ and ‘Late Night with David Letterman’ to productions with Showtime and pay-per-view events with the Rolling Stones, acquiring the use of video segments. He is regarded as one of the industry’s premier performance rights negotiators, and has expanded this expertise into new media production rights management.
www.cosmicscreen.com

REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED.

LOCATION:
HBO - Conference Room
1100 Avenue of the Americas
(Between 42nd and 43rd)
New York City

Space is *VERY* limited to 35 participants so a confirmed RSVP for this event is required.

MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY-MAKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

2008-10-21T15:06:00.010-04:00

Producers Guild of America
New Media Council East

Presents the
2008-2009 Panel and Salon Series

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

7pm – 9pm

MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY-MAKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY:
BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, IT WILL BE OBSOLETE

The convergence of media and technology in the 21st century has led to such accelerated pace of change in the behaviors of consumers that both content producers and device manufacturers have had to adapt in nothing less than a paradigm-shift-per-day schedule. The men and women who help shape government policy for the U.S. media industry are facing enormous challenges in the development of regulations and frameworks for an industry whose audience has seemingly more control than ever before.

With a new administration entering the White House in January, 2009, and the looming February 17, 2009 digital t.v. switch-over upon us, the landscape for new media is exploding with opportunity – and potential policy headaches galore. From the future of the Internet and Net neutrality to open source development and content syndication and the battle over digital copyright, the environment in which content producers find themselves today is more weighted with intellectual property questions and policy issues than ever before.

The Producers Guild of America New Media Council East presents a snap-shot of the future of media policy, and the coming changes in Washington’s outlook on the role that new technology plays in media, with some of this country’s leading technology policy experts, including:

Eli M. Noam, Professor of Economics and Finance at Columbia Business School

Eli Noam has been Professor of Economics and Finance at Columbia Business School since 1976. In 1990, after having served for three years as Commissioner with the New York State Public Service Commission, he returned to Columbia. He is the Director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information. CITI is an independent university-based research center focusing on strategy, management, and policy issues in telecommunications, computing, and electronic mass media. Noam has published over 19 books and 400 articles in economic journals, law reviews, and interdisciplinary journals. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Justin Hughes, Professor of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Professor Hughes teaches intellectual property (IP) and international trade at Cardozo School of Law in New York. Formerly a policy expert in the U.S. Department of Commerce (USPTO), his areas of expertise include domestic and international copyright, Internet and new technologies as they relate to intellectual property, trademarks, geographical indications, WTO and TRIPS issues, and intellectual property in developing countries. As Chairman of the Thomson Foundation for Film and Television Heritage, based in Paris, he is active in audiovisual preservation and conservation efforts. At Cardozo, Professor Hughes has been director of the law school’s intellectual property program since 2004.

Jonathan Askin, Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
Jonathan Askin is a Professor at Brooklyn Law School, teaching Telecommunications, New Media and Internet Law. Jonathan is also the Founder and Director of the Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy Clinic, designed to represent and advocate on behalf of Internet and new media startups and causes. Jonathan is also a communications, Internet and media attorney and consultant, representing clients on strategic business development and policy advocacy.
Jonathan is a recognized advocate, lobbyist and thought-leader for the competitive telecommunications, new media and Internet industries. He has sat on the boards of many recognized industry bodies, including the Universal Service Administrative Company and the North American Numbering Council.

Ray Beckerman, Partner, Ray Beckerman, PC
Ray Beckerman is the president of Ray Beckerman, PC, practicing complex commercial and copyright litigation. Additionally, he supervises litigations and other proceedings taking place in other geographical areas, advises businesses and not-for-profits, incorporates start-up entities, negotiates contracts, and assists in obtaining copyrights and trademarks.
In 2004 Ray became a 'blogger', first creating the blog "Ohio Election Fraud" relating to the 2004 presidential election in Ohio. In 2005 he created the blog "Recording Industry vs. The People," (http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com) which collects information about the copyright infringement litigations prosecuted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against owners of internet access accounts that are linked to peer-to-peer file sharing.

Moderator: Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council
A board delegate of the PGA New Media Council since 2006, and a PGA NMC member since 2004, Chris Pfaff leads a consultancy – Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC – that represents some of the leading service providers, audio/video technology firms, networking vendors, and media companies in the world, from PRIMEDIA and Eastman Kodak to Cantor Telecom. A veteran of the venture world, Chris helped launch more than 20 ventures from the Lucent New Ventures Group, including iBiquity Digital; Flarion; Lucent Digital Video, and GeoVideo Networks, among others. In addition, he has helped launch AT&T’s Internet strategy; the Viacom New Media division of Viacom, Inc.; Sony Electronics’ Digital Betacam format, and Sharp Electronics’ LCD product division.

The New School
Theresa Lang Community and Student Center
55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor
between 5th an 6th Avenues, NYC
www.newschool.edu

Space is limited so an RSVP for this event is required. This is PGA Member event ONLY!

If you are interested in joining to attend this event and other great events please visit the PGA New Media Council http://www.pganewmedia.org

Previous events from our 2005-2008 event series can be accessed in both webcast and podcast format at: http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit: http://www.scribemedia.org.

Sony XDCAM EX In Depth

2008-06-25T23:38:00.003-04:00

Abel Cine Tech, in association with the Producers Guild of America New Media Council and PostWorks, presents their second joint workshop, Sony XDCAM EX In Depth.

Click link to view invitation: http://www.abelcine.com/invites/

The Sony PMW-EX3 camcorder will be making its East Coast debut at this workshop.This new model adds more features and greater flexibility to the already successfulEX1 camcorder.

The EX3 adds an interchangeable 1/2" lens system and a hand holdable, ergonomic design to the already impressive specs of the EX1, a 3-chip 1/2" CMOS sensor that records1920x1080 native resolution HD images onto SxS PRO flash memory cards.

Learn about the new features of the EX3, and hear firsthand accounts form filmmakerswho have used Sony's revolutionary XDCAM EX format from production through post.

DATE: Saturday, June 28, 2008

LOCATION:
Abel Cine Tech
609 Greenwich St - 5th fl.
New York, NY 10014212-462-0100

TIME:
10:00 am - 12:35 pm, 1st session
1:30 pm - 4:05 pm, 2nd session

Please indicate which session you plan to attend. Your name will be on the list for thatsession at the door.

RSVP:
rsvp@abelcine.com

This is an invitation only event.
Admission is free, but space is limited.

To learn more about the Sony EX1, visit http://www.abelcine.com/store/product.php?productid=1000401

To learn more about the Sony EX3, visit http://www.abelcine.com/store/product.php?productid=1001002

Use the Force

2008-06-18T14:30:00.005-04:00

All fans are equal but some are more equal than others. For any given property, you've got fans… and then you've got superfans. Superfans make up a small percentage of the audience, but can have an impact far greater than their numbers. They're a loyal band of dedicated individuals whose focus and intention can make extraordinary things happen. In cult media terms, they're the Jedis of the fan world. As a transmedia producer your job is to get them to use their power for good and keep them from going to the dark side.

Winning over superfans is the first step toward attracting a mass audience. "But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they." Avoid sparking these emotions at all costs. Honor and respect the property that they hold so dear. Do not underestimate the power of the dark side.

Jenkins: What are the risks involved in alienating the base of your audience?

Gomez: Franchises are built on the energy and loyalty of their hardcore fan bases. While these bases are often a fraction of the size of the total audience, they are indispensable, because they are vocal, passionate and active. A tiny fraction of the genre television series Jericho sent tons of jars of peanuts to the network that had just cancelled the program--moving them to reinstate the series. A small group of fans that gathered at conventions and shared amateur publications centered on the original Star Trek series managed to bridge the period between that series' cancellation and the Star Wars-inspired relaunch of the franchise in the late 1970s.

When the producers of the television series Enterprise publicly stated that the show was being designed for a much wider audience than previous incarnations of Star Trek, and exhibited this intention by altering the shows music cues, pandering to sexual titillation and (perhaps most egregiously) ignoring at will the established continuity and thematic tone of the fictional universe, the result was a gradual erosion of the franchise's core fan base. Without the approval and loyalty of "Trekkers" there would be no reason for the greater audience to stick around.

The original Crow graphic novel and feature film generated an extremely loyal fan base. But with the second feature, producers chose to ignore the fictional rules and tenets set down by the original work, and so the franchise experienced the first of what would become many fractures. Dubbing the property an "anthology franchise" that could be wildly altered based on the vision of individual artists and storytellers, the producers continued to build and deconstruct The Crow into smaller and smaller pieces, each with its own dwindling following. They chose to place the needs of their artists above the integrity of the mythology of the universe--a mythology that the fan base deeply cared about. The property now languishes in limbo.

Jenkins: What do you see as the downsides of generating such passionate consumers?

Gomez: On the other hand, passion can be blind and judgmental. Fan zeal can threaten to "box in" a property, potentially stunting its growth. It can generate negative "buzz" around a project, which can leak into media coverage and plant seeds of doubt in the general audience base. For example, Warner Brother's upcoming "Justice League" feature film has been the target of fan criticism around story and casting issues. Since then, script and casting choices have been amended. Whether or not this will help the production remains to be seen.

Jenkins: As some of these genres have become more commercially viable, the San Diego Comic Con has emerged as an important media marketplace. Can you speak to the role this gathering plays in the marketing of your properties?

Gomez: Comic Con International in San Diego plays a more and more pivotal role in heralding, marketing and launching new genre efforts. In the midst of negotiating with executives at The Walt Disney Company for a job working with one of their largest franchises, Starlight Runner took them on a tour of the Comic Con exhibition floor. Many of the "worlds" we helped to develop were on spectacular display: Mattel's Hot Wheels universe, the fantasy realms of Magic: The Gathering, high priced back issues of Valiant Comics, and the announcements for new video games and comic books based on Turok and our own "Team GoRizer" at Disney's own booth! Suffice to say, a deal was quickly sealed!

Each year, Comic Con attracts well over 100,000 "gatekeepers," fans of niche, cult or genre entertainment who make it their business to spread the word about the newest and coolest content to their friends and acquaintances both in their home communities and on the Internet. It used to be that one of these gatekeepers would have a circle of five to ten contacts back home to whom he or she would convey what was best about the convention. Now in the age of social networking and pop culture web portals, that number has multiplied exponentially. Add to this the mass media coverage given to Comic Con and content producers can reach untold millions through it.

previous Jeff Gomez post

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro.

Do No Harm

2008-06-12T22:18:00.002-04:00

"First, do no harm." This phrase, typically associated with medical professionals, should also be heeded by transmedia producers. In his correspondence with Professor Henry Jenkins, Jeff Gomez asserts that transmedia executions must not compromise the core viewing experience.

Jenkins: What do you see as the challenges of generating content that appeals to both niche and mass publics at the same time?

Gomez: Like any good story, content designed for genre-lovers or niche markets should contain strong characters, evocative issues and clear, accessible through lines. Story arcs must be designed from the outset to feel complete and deliver on their promise.

Also importantly, the audience needs to be able to appreciate and enjoy the content as it is presented solely on the driving platform of the trans-media production. With Heroes, for example, the driving platform is the television series. Much of the success of the franchise hinges on the audience finding the show exciting, intelligible and complete.

What the producers of Heroes are doing quite well is in providing fans of the show with a far more expansive experience of the fictional universe of the show on the complementary or orbiting platforms of the trans-media production. This additional content is presented in the form of web sites, graphic novels, prose fiction, etc., and this material all takes place within the canon of the Heroes chronology. So fans are provided with the level of depth, verisimilitude, sophistication and complexity that they crave, but casual viewers are not required to seek it out to enjoy the show.

When the two approaches cross over, we have seen the potential for pop culture phenomena. The media's coverage of "The Lost Experience" for example, conveyed the fact that there was a greater architecture to the fictional universe of the Lost TV series than was originally suspected. The excitement generated by the trans-media components of the show helped to boost broad interest in it. The same can be said of similar approaches for both the Batman: The Dark Knight and Cloverfield feature films.

Also powerful on the home front, as families gather to watch Heroes, a teen fan of the show might recognize a peripheral character making her first appearance on a given night's episode as one he originally read about in the online comic. So our fan takes on the role of gatekeeper for the show, filling in family and friends on the back story of the character, and giving them a greater appreciation of the show with his "exclusive" knowledge, and making the whole experience more entertaining. In short, depth and complexity are built around the show, rather than weighing it down by presenting it front and center.

Jenkins: What kinds of trade-offs have to occur in order to broaden the appeal of media properties?

Gomez: Studios and entertainment companies are now learning that fewer and fewer trade-offs are necessary to broaden the appeal of niche or "cult media" properties. Contemporary audiences are now primed for high quality genre entertainment across all media platforms. So long as marketing efforts place focus on a driving platform, the launch platform and complementary content can be used to build anticipation, educate audience "gatekeepers" about the property, and enrich the overall experience.

There may be trade-offs, however, when it comes to the level of depth and complexity of the core property and how interdependent the driving platform content is with complementary content. The Wachowski Brothers ran into difficulty with the mass audience reception of the second and third Matrix films, because the films were hard to understand without a working familiarity with the characters and storylines of the orbiting platforms (graphic novels, video games, direct-to-video animation). Hence, at this point in the evolution of transmedia storytelling, it is still vital to present a full and complete entertainment experience within each component of the rollout.

It should be noted that niche productions such as alternate reality games don't tend to bother with these distinctions, trusting the sophistication and intense loyalty of their audience to follow plotlines and story nodes back and forth across multiple media platforms almost indiscriminately. I believe that some day soon, web-based alternate reality games and experiences will evolve into much more accessible and dynamic productions, playing a vital role in transmedia storytelling.

previous Jeff Gomez post

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro

Transmedia Crossover

2008-06-08T22:18:00.004-04:00

Like any pop culture junkie, there’s nothing I like better than a good crossover – when characters from different realities step into each other’s world. Like when Laverne & Shirley or The Big Ragu appeared on Happy Days. Or when Batman and Spiderman teamed up to take on the Joker.

Crossovers happen in real life too. This past fall, I witnessed one of my favorites when Jeff Gomez and Henry Jenkins met at the Future of Entertainment Conference. Seeing these two transmedia giants interact was as epic and entertaining as any fictional crossover.

Prior to the panel discussion, Professor Jenkins had distributed a set of questions to the speakers to help them prepare. Gomez recently decided to revisit these questions and sent his current thoughts back to Jenkins. Events in the transmedia space have progressed so rapidly that he felt it would be valuable to keep the dialog moving ahead.

Over the next few days, we’ll be rolling out portions of the correspondence between these two transmedia heavyweights… it will be as entertaining as when the doctors from St. Elswhere crossed over onto Cheers for a drink.
-------------------------------------
Jenkins: Let's start by examining the concept of "cult media." What does this phrase mean to you, and do you think it accurately describes the kinds of projects you've worked on? Why or why not?

Gomez: To me "cult media" is exemplified by the slow crumbling of traditional media content aimed at huge swathes of the population, down to the more contemporary approach of designing content to engage subsections of that population or even smaller "niches."
My company Starlight Runner works on "cult media" in that we work on projects that already have mass appeal or have the potential to reach mass appeal, but what those projects always have to begin with is a specific genre appeal that almost guarantees an extremely loyal core "niche" audience.

Starlight Runner also consults with movie studios, comic book and fiction publishers, and videogame developers to take their niche or "cult" content and prepare it for extension across multiple media platforms. In this case, we are acting as transmedia storytellers, developing and producing "cult" properties for exposure to a much larger audience.

Jenkins: The idea of cult media historically referred to films that appealed to a fairly small niche of consumers. But many genres, which once were regarded as cult -- fantasy, science fiction, superheroes -- have emerged as increasingly mainstream. What's changing? What accounts for the mainstreaming of niche media?

Gomez: There are five factors that seem to be contributing to the "coming out" of cult media:
1. Baby boomers and gen-X'ers weaned on the explosion of pop culture spurred by the proliferation of television and movies in the aftermath of World War II have come of age and taken control of the entertainment industry. Naturally, they have a strong desire to recreate what they loved and share it with others who've had similar cultural experiences.

2. Genre product such as science fiction serials and horror films, which had been relegated to Saturday matinees and second or third billing in movie theaters, could now be given A-list treatment. The new moguls and visionaries could now apply top grade production value to this content, and hire marquee talent for it, secure in the knowledge that genre fare is more than likely to turn a profit. In the international market, a growing hunger for action and genre content could boost domestic failures into profitability.

3. Attention to quality extended to storytelling. Filmmakers, comic book writers, genre novelists and their ilk were better educated and more interested in stories that conveyed better character development and stronger verisimilitude. Star Wars was fueled by the work of Joseph Campbell.

4. Genre content became more reflective of the mood and politics of the time, and therefore resonated more powerfully with mass audiences. Note the nuclear spawned monsters of the 1950s, the "acid trip" sci-fi of the '60s, the terrifying "evil children" of the early '70s, the "gee whiz" hope of Star Wars and Close Encounters later that decade, the political morass and moral ambiguity of Battlestar Galactica currently.

5. Like no other time in history, devotees of this type of content have complete access to one another via the Internet. Fans whose imaginations are fired by these stories make a deep and lasting connection with them. They become "specialists," intensely knowledgeable of the property, the way that sports fanatics memorize the accomplishments and statistics of their favorite teams. These fans become "apostles" for the property, devoting time, effort and creativity in celebrating the story and characters, collecting ephemera and licensed extensions of the brand, celebrating it with others of their ilk. They form the property's core fan base, which in turn fuels the continued success of the brand.

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro.

The Future of the Book – A Conversation with Bob Stein Monday, June 23, 2008 7PM

2008-06-06T13:17:00.004-04:00

**EXCLUSIVE, MEMBERS ONLY EVENT**

Monday, June 23, 2008
7 pm – 9 pm

The Future of the Book – A Conversation with Bob Stein

It has been 453 years since Johannes Gutenberg published the first mechanically printed book, and recent developments in electronic ink and more user-friendly mobile displays - including the introduction of Amazon.com’s Kindle reader and Apple’s iPhone - have created a market for electronic “books” that go far beyond ink-on-pulp publications. As the printed page is giving way to the networked screen, the Institute for the Future of the Book seeks to chronicle this shift, and impact its development in a positive direction. The Institute is a project of the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California and Columbia University, and is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Bob Stein, Director of the Institute for Future of the Book (http://futureofthebook.org). Stein was the founder of The Voyager Company. For 13 years, he led the development of more than 300 titles in “The Criterion Collection,” a series of definitive films on videodisc, and more than 75 CD-ROM titles, including the CD Companion to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, “Who Built America,” and the Voyager edition of Macbeth. Previous to Voyager, Stein worked with Alan Kay in the Research Group at Atari on a variety of electronic publishing projects. In 1996, Stein started the Night Kitchen company to develop authoring tools for the next generation of electronic publishing. That work is being continued at the Institute for the Future of the Book. Stein is also Research Director, Digital Authoring Tools, USC Annenberg Center for Communication.

Moderator: Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council
A board delegate of the PGA New Media Council since 2006, and a PGA NMC member since 2004, Chris Pfaff leads a consultancy – Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC – that represents some of the leading service providers, audio/video technology firms, networking vendors, and media companies in the world, from PRIMEDIA and Eastman Kodak to Cantor Telecom. A veteran of the venture world, Chris helped launch more than 20 ventures from the Lucent New Ventures Group, including iBiquity Digital; Flarion; Lucent Digital Video, and GeoVideo Networks, among others. In addition, he has helped launch AT&T’s Internet strategy; the Viacom New Media division of Viacom, Inc.; Sony Electronics’ Digital Betacam format, and Sharp Electronics’ LCD product division.

A wine and cheese networking reception beginning will precede the conversation programming.

This event will take place at The Core Club in New York City.

Event hosted by the Producers Guild of America New Media Council East.

**YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO ATTEND THIS EVENT.**

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is the premier industry association for entertainment producing professionals working in film, television and digital media.

For more information about the PGA New Media Council and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.pganewmedia.org.

For more information about the PGA and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.producersguild.org.

Previous events from our 2005-2007 event series can be accessed in web cast format at: http://www.scribemedia.org/pga.

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit http://www.scribemedia.org/about/.

New York: Digital Media Mecca – A Conversation with Chip Austin, founder of i-Hatch Ventures

2008-05-08T12:05:00.002-04:00

Producers Guild of America
New Media Council East

Presents the
2007-2008 Panel and Salon Series

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

New York: Digital Media Mecca – A Conversation with Chip Austin, founder of i-Hatch Ventures

Though memories of Silicon Alley and the 1990s are receding, the role of digital media in the New York economy continues to gain strength. Even as the recent Wall Street crisis continues to unfold, entrepreneurs and major media companies are creating new businesses, new means of digital media delivery and transaction, and venture capitalists are contributing to this evolving ecosystem of content-driven plays.

One such long-standing New York digital media investment stalwart is Chip Austin, founder and partner of New York-based venture capital fund i-Hatch Ventures. Chip has been an active agent in the growth of both the first wave of online ventures, as well as the current landscape of New York-based ventures. Since founding i-Hatch in 1999, Chip has invested in such successful ventures as Vindigo, Dotcast, M:Metrics, and Thumbplay. Previously, in addition to founding Bertelsmann's E-commerce division, Chip was a member of the senior executive team leading the buyout and restructuring of Prodigy Communications and was a co-founder of McKinsey’s & Co.’s interactive practice, where he spent seven years advising Fortune 500 companies on their technology and media strategies. Prior to that, Chip worked at Morgan Stanley and IBM's PC division.

Moderator: Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council
A board delegate of the PGA New Media Council since 2006, and a PGA NMC member since 2004, Chris Pfaff leads a consultancy – Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC – that represents some of the leading service providers, audio/video technology firms, networking vendors, and media companies in the world, from PRIMEDIA and Eastman Kodak to Cantor Telecom. A veteran of the venture world, Chris helped launch more than 20 ventures from the Lucent New Ventures Group, including iBiquity Digital; Flarion; Lucent Digital Video, and GeoVideo Networks, among others. In addition, he has helped launch AT&T’s Internet strategy; the Viacom New Media division of Viacom, Inc.; Sony Electronics’ Digital Betacam format, and Sharp Electronics’ LCD product division.

A wine and cheese networking reception will precede the conversation programming.

This event takes place at the Screening Room at The Core Club.

YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO ATTEND THIS EVENT.

Previous events from our 2005-2008 event series can be accessed in both webcast and podcast format at: http://www.scribemedia.org/pg a

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit: http://www.scribemedia.org/about.

’CONTACT IS KING’ – A Conversation with Douglas Rushkoff

2008-04-08T12:44:00.003-04:00

Producers Guild of America
New Media Council East

Presents the

2007-2008 Panel and Salon Series

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at the Screening Room at The Core Club

’CONTACT IS KING’ – A Conversation with Douglas Rushkoff

As all media becomes a landscape in which interaction takes place, and “literacy” is the ability to participate consciously in this environment, the convergence of media networks becomes ever more important in how we consume, produce, and analyze content. Best-selling author, documentarian, and cultural commentator Douglas Rushkoff is one of the foremost analysts of how people, cultures, and institutions create, share, and influence each other’s values. In this conversation, he will examine how one of his futuristic predictions from the 1990s, ‘Contact is King,’ has manifested itself in becoming a mantra for an all-pervasive communications paradigm for today’s society.

Author of such works as Cyberia, Media Virus, Playing the Future, and the just-completed Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out, Rushkoff has written and hosted two award-winning PBS Frontline specials, The Merchants of Cool (how corporations influence youth culture) and The Persuaders (how the cluttered landscape of marketing makes efforts to overcome consumer resistance).

He regularly appears on TV shows from NBC Nightly News to CNN’s Larry King Live and HBO’s Realtime with Bill Maher. His commentaries are seen and heard on CBS Sunday Morning and on NPR. He is writing a new monthly comic book for Vertigo, and he developed the Electronic Oracle software series for HarperCollins Interactive.

Rushkoff founded the Narrative Lab at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, and lectures about media, art, society, and change at conferences and universities around the world.

Moderator: Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council
A board delegate of the PGA New Media Council since 2006, and a PGA NMC member since 2004, Chris Pfaff leads a consultancy – Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC – that represents some of the leading service providers, audio/video technology firms, networking vendors, and media companies in the world, from PRIMEDIA and Eastman Kodak to Cantor Telecom. A veteran of the venture world, Chris helped launch more than 20 ventures from the Lucent New Ventures Group, including iBiquity Digital; Flarion; Lucent Digital Video, and GeoVideo Networks, among others. In addition, he has helped launch AT&T’s Internet strategy; the Viacom New Media division of Viacom, Inc.; Sony Electronics’ Digital Betacam format, and Sharp Electronics’ LCD product division.

YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO ATTEND THIS EVENT.

Event hosted by Jeff Dachis and Chris Pfaff, co-chairmen, PGA New Media Council East.

Previous events from our 2005-2007 event series can be accessed in both webcast and podcast format at: http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

For more information about please visit ScribeStudio Productions.

Getting Everyone on the Same Page

2008-03-29T22:40:00.003-04:00

THE BIRTH OF CROSS MEDIA PRODUCTION
Adventures in Storytelling pt. 8 - Getting Everyone on the Same Page
By Brian Seth Hurst

The network, the creators, producers and writers and the cross media producers all need to start in the same place. Call it mutual education in which the cross media folks learn in depth about the show and the show folks learn what is possible across platforms. Lines of communication and approvals must be established right away. If this is truly going to be distributed story telling that works, then no one can work in isolation. During preproduction, the Cross Media producers should be briefed and then either go away and come back with a fistful of prioritized executable ideas or what I consider to be the most fun a brainstorming session with producers where the possibilities are thrown on the table, vetted and prioritized.

Ideally the Executive Producer Cross Media should ride shotgun with the producers of the show. The story arc, plot twists and turns, and character development are just a few of the things that will provide foundation for cross media ideas.

Cross-platform strategies can vary significantly according to producer Patrick Crowe. “In the Fallen Alternate Reality Game, the TV production provided the framework for the game world,” explains Crowe. “However, we had enormous freedom to develop the game plot and characters provided these remained consistent with the themes of the TV mini-series. By contrast, in our previous ARG for the TV drama ReGenesis, we worked directly with the writing team of the TV series, planting interactive events into every single episode. Sometimes these clues even influenced the plot of the TV drama.”

What should you consider in the process of building a cross media proposition? The process is deep but exciting. A book or even a manual could be written on it. It is both an art and a science, but briefly you should keep the following factors in mind:

The Show
The Audience
The Platforms
The Business Models
The Vendors
The Production

Previous "Birth of Cross Media Production" post
Next "Birth of Cross Media Production" post

Brian Seth Hurst is CEO of the Opportunity Management Company, Inc. a cross media strategy and production company. Hurst served two terms as Chairman of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council (’03-’05) while simultaneously serving on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors. Currently, he is Second Vice Chair of the Television Academy and sits on the National Board of the PGA.

U2 3D

2008-03-09T00:19:00.002-05:00

Producers Guild of America
New Media Council East
Presents the
2007-2008 Panel and Salon Series
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Dolby Screening Room
6:00pm – 9:30pm
U2 3D

Reception/Screening/Q&A with U2 3D producer Peter Shapiro

The first-ever live-action digital 3-D film, U2 3D is a unique cinematic experience that places viewers within the pulsing energy of a stadium concert given by the world’s most popular band. Marrying innovative digital 3-D imagery and multi-channel surround sound with the excitement of a live U2 concert – shot in South America during the final leg of their “Vertigo” tour – it creates an immersive theatrical experience unlike any 3-D or concert film that has come before.

This rare private screening of U2 3D - which opened theatrically worldwide in January, 2008 through National Geographic Entertainment - is only shown in cinemas equipped with Digital 3-D or IMAX® 3-D projection systems.

Please join the Producers Guild of America New Media Council East and 3ality Digital Productions for this special screening, with opening remarks from Marc Scarpa, PGA New Media Council East founder.

6:00-7:15 pm: Reception/Cocktails

7:15 pm: U2 3D SCREENING (*NO ONE WILL BE ADMITTED ONCE FILM BEGINS*)

8:45 pm: Conversation with Peter Shapiro and Chris Pfaff

* NOTE: After the film, we please ask that you stay for the conversation. Please ensure that you arrive no later than 7:00 pm to secure seating, as this event will be at capacity*

Peter Shapiro (Producer, U2 3D) has forged an eclectic career whose acclaimed, groundbreaking projects include the IMAX concert film “All Access,” the Green Apple Festival (America’s largest Earth Day event), the annual Jammys awards show and concert, the VH1 hip-hop documentary “And You Don’t Stop” and his current efforts with 3ality Digital, of which he is a founding partner, to help digital 3-D become a significant component of the out-of-home and in-home entertainment experience.

LOCATION:
Dolby 88 Screening Room

1350 6th Avenue (at 55th Street) New York City

This event is open to PGA members and their qualified guests only.

Event hosted by The Producers Guild of America, New Media Council East.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is the premier industry association for entertainment producing professionals working in film, television and digital media.

For more information about the PGA New Media Council and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.pganewmedia.org

For more information about the PGA and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.producersguild.org

Previous events from our 2005-2007 event series can be accessed in web cast format at: http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit:

http://www.scribemedia.org/about.

"Broadband Video: What Is the Future?"

2008-02-23T15:41:00.004-05:00

Bill Sobel, friend of the PGA NMCe, will be hosting one of his fantastic NY:mieg breakfasts on Thursday, February 28th. If you haven't been to one of his events, definitely check it out... and this looks to be a good one.

Broadband-delivered video represents a paradigm change for all of the players in today's video distribution value chain. For the first time in history, video content providers have the technical ability to deliver high-quality video directly to their intended audiences, without a business relationship involving a third-party distributor. Our panel of industry veterans will look at the many opportunities and challenges and help define the future of this exciting and ever changing medium.

Featuring

Fred Seibert, Mike Hudack & Kevin Shively
Fred Seibert/Co-Founder of NextNewNetworks

Fred makes cartoons and television networks. In 1998 former Hanna-Barbera Cartoons president Fred Seibert formed Frederator Studios. He is the executive producer of seven animated series on Nickelodeon. He is a founder of Channel Frederator, and Next New Networks.. Seibert began his career in college radio, produced jazz records, and started in television as the first creative director of MTV: Music Television. He co-founded Fred/Alan Inc. with Alan Goodman as the first branding agency in television, where they created Nick-at-Nite and relaunched Nickelodeon as the #1 network in cable television.

Mike Hudack/CEO of blip.tv

Mike Hudack is a co-founder of blip.tv and serves as the company's president and CEO. He is responsible for blip.tv's overall business strategy, focusing in particular on community relations along with syndication, distribution and advertising partnerships.Prior to blip.tv, Mike worked as a developer and administrator for the National Hockey League, where he managed the team responsible for one of the biggest IT projects in the history of the League — consolidating and re-developing the NHL's internal applications, which serve hundreds of employees using dozens of technologies.

Kevin Shively/EVP of TVWorldwide, Inc.
Kevin Shively has spent the last decade working to develop revenue streams for streaming media companies. He initially spent several years developing the Internet radio industry with Beethoven.com and Net Radio Sales, where he helped negotiate the Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002 and brought many Fortune 500 advertisers to the medium. In 2003 he was named one of the top 100 people in digital media by Digital Media Magazine. Currently, Kevin is responsible for developing new business and revenue streams for TV Worldwide through advertising and sponsorship sales and developing new Internet TV channels with clients and partners.
7:30am - 10:00am

SobelMedia World Headquarters
4 West 43rd Street
(just west of 5th Avenue)
New York, NY

Cross Media Methodologies

2008-02-17T23:04:00.005-05:00

THE BIRTH OF CROSS MEDIA PRODUCTION
Adventures in Storytelling pt. 7 - Cross Media Methodologies

By Brian Seth Hurst

“Welcome back.” A phrase that has been used in television since it began. But these days it has a whole new meaning when it relates to a persistent active and dynamic community built around a television property. When the show is not on the air, its life and the life of its fans can continue across a number of distribution platforms.

Previous posts presented examples of cross media production includingNBC’s Heroes 360 Experience, The Jericho Experience, ABC Family’s Primetime Emmy® winning Fallen Alternate Reality Game, and Showtime’s The L World. These examples are really just the beginning of a growing trend that may actually provide new programming genres: part drama, part interactive mystery, part game, part social network. And, though these examples are anchored in television, new and compelling storytelling can begin on any platform -- Comedy Central’s Lil' Bush was born on mobile and there are many examples of original programming born or reborn as both linear and cross media programming on broadband including Prom Queen, Kate Modern and Quarterlife.

Mapping out and producing cross media programming is a challenge. And, just as television production companies specialize in producing television, there are new cross media production companies teaming with television and film producers that are the experts in the planning and production of cross platform storytelling. It is challenging, but as production processes in film and television have become standardized over time, so too will cross media methodologies.

In most cases now, it is a chaotic world of experimentation - like the early days of any medium - but speaking for cross media producers I can say that we are rapidly and of necessity quickly finding our way. We are responsible for defining not only what is possible on each platform but what story or content will live on those platforms while remaining true to the creator’s and producer’s vision and the audience. After all, the audience has to have an authentic and engaging experience regardless of platform. If it’s too complicated, or not complex enough, not true to the story, not organic, or they feel manipulated we will lose them. We have to be more audience-centric than your traditional television producer. We really need to know who they are and how they behave with technology and each other. We are profilers of a sort, mapping and predicting their behavior with content, technology and each other. Finally we are responsible for selecting the right technologies, partners and best of breed vendors to execute the vision. And like any production we must remain on time and on budget.

When dealing with a specific show we begin the process with a strategy. Traditional producers might call it preproduction, but to Cross Media producers it’s that and more. It’s blueprinting. It is an audience experience “flowchart” of how fans will move through and interact with the story. We found it necessary to create a workflow methodology that maximizes efficiency, facilitates integration, communication and quality assurance... but leaves plenty of room for creativity and the “secret sauce” that makes it delicious to the audience. And so our planning stage -- whether we are coming in before a show has even been produced or coming in after the fact -- has to have a process.

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Brian Seth Hurst is CEO of the Opportunity Management Company, Inc. a cross media strategy and production company. Hurst served two terms as Chairman of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council (’03-’05) while simultaneously serving on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors. Currently, he is Second Vice Chair of the Television Academy and sits on the National Board of the PGA.

Welcome to Cube One

2008-02-16T08:31:00.004-05:00

THE BIRTH OF CROSS MEDIA PRODUCTION
Adventures in Storytelling pt. 6 - Welcome to Cube One
By Brian Seth Hurst

In recent posts we’ve explored some of 2007’s stand out best cross media executions.

Heroes 360 Experience
The Jericho Experience
Fallen
The L World

These are really just the beginning. And, just as television production companies specialize in producing television, there are new cross media production companies that are the experts in the planning and production of cross platform storytelling.

It isn’t easy right now, but just as production processes in film and television have become standardized over time, so too will cross media methodologies. In most cases now, it is a chaotic world of experimentation - like the early days of any medium - but speaking for cross media producers I can say that we are rapidly, and of necessity, finding our way. We are responsible for defining not only what is possible on each platform but what story or content will live on those platforms while remaining true to the creator’s and producer’s vision and the audience. After all, the audience has to have an authentic and engaging experience regardless of platform. If it’s too complicated, or not complex enough, not true to the story, not organic, or they feel manipulated we will lose them. Finally we are responsible for selecting the right technologies, partners and best of breed vendors to execute the vision. And like any production we must remain on time and on budget.

So, how do we do it? We’ll talk about the nuts and bolts of cross media production including the strategy, the business models, production integration and implementation in the upcoming posts.

This is one of the most exciting times in the history of storytelling. In fact, Cross Media storytelling is becoming a genre all unto itself. And, the participation of the audience is blurring the boundaries between fiction and non fiction, providing fertile ground for new ways to tell stories to a new “interactive” generation. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and the imagination of your audience. So, in the multidimensional world of cross media you are not really at square one -- you are really at cube one. Cross Media producers are here to help to turn those cubes into building blocks for a remarkable audience experience.

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Brian Seth Hurst is CEO of the Opportunity Management Company, Inc. a cross media strategy and production company. Hurst served two terms as Chairman of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council (’03-’05) while simultaneously serving on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors. Currently, he is Second Vice Chair of the Television Academy and sits on the National Board of the PGA.

Local T.V. Meets Global New Media PGA NMC Event Tuesday Feb 26th

2008-02-13T20:57:00.005-05:00

Producers Guild of America
New Media Council East

Presents the

2007-2008 Panel and Salon Series

Tuesday February 26, 2008

Local T.V. Meets Global New Media: A Real-Time Interactive Session between New York and San Francisco

The emergence of new media platforms and consumer's interactive behaviors have made the local television market a different landscape, where news is now fed from online broadband channels, created by local consumers, and distributed throughout a wider, and more eclectic network of advertisers, journalists, and producers. Each location will have 4 panelists representing both traditional and new media, discussing the merging technologies and their personal experiences as they forge ahead in this ever-changing industry. Both audiences will have an opportunity to view the live bi-coastal panel discussion and participate in a question and answer session with both panels.

New York Panelists will include:
• Nick Abramovich, CFO, The NewsMarket, President
• Danny Passman, Vice President, DailyMotion
• Andy Keidel, Founder, ModMyLife
• Juliette Powell, Co-Founder, The Gathering Think Tank, Inc.
• Moderated by Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media, LLC

San Francisco Panelists will include:
• Justin Gunn, Vice President, Online Programming, Current Media
• Dan Rosenheim, Vice-President & News Director, KPIX-TV
• Craig Newmark, Customer Service Rep & Founder of Craigslist.org
• Mark Randall, Chief Strategist, Adobe
• Moderated by Tracy Swedlow, CEO, publisher & editor-in-chief of Interactive TV Today (itvt)

NEW YORK EVENT TIME:
8pm - 10pm EST
**A networking mixer beginning at 8pm will precede the panel programming. Wine and refreshments will be served during the mixer.**

NEW YORK LOCATION:
Theresa Lang Auditorium at The New School
55 W. 13th Street, Second Floor
Between 5th and 6th Aves.

NEW YORK RSVP:
Rsvp@pga-ny.org

SAN FRANCISCO EVENT TIME:
Promptly 6pm-8pm EST
**Networking mixer after the panel with refreshments.**

SAN FRANCISCO LOCATION:
Adobe Systems
601 Townsend Street
San Francisco, CA

SAN FRANCISCO RSVP:
sfpgamixer@yahoo.com

Event hosted by The Producers Guild of America, New Media Council East in conjunction with the Producers Guild of America San Francisco Chapter.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is the premier industry association for entertainment producing professionals working in film, television and digital media.

For more information about the PGA New Media Council and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.pganewmedia.org

For more information about the PGA and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.producersguild.org

Previous events from our 2005-2008 event series can be accessed in web cast format at: http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit: http://www.scribemedia.org/about.

This event is made possible through generous cooperation with the New School Department of Media Studies. Please visit http://mediastudies.newschool.edu for more information.

The L Word

2008-02-10T21:33:00.005-05:00

THE BIRTH OF CROSS MEDIA PRODUCTION
Adventures in Storytelling pt. 5 - The L Word
By Brian Seth Hurst

Though not in 2007's Emmy® crop, Showtime’s cross media programming for The L Word is another wonderful example of a brilliantly executed cross media property rooted deeply in the culture and social behavior of its audience. The approach taken by Showtime’s Digital Media Group and Senior Vice President and General Manager Rob Hayes seemed to achieve the perfect balance of promotion for the on air show and cross platform story telling.

It began by making the show available for download on iTunes, Movielink, Cinema Now etc. so that viewers, even those not subscribed to Showtime, could have access anytime and anywhere. Fans were passionate, and a community formed online instantly. Showtime became a part of that community and then literally gave ownership of the show brand over to the fans.

First, through a company called FanLib, the community had a chance to take the characters of the show and write their own stories and situations. Known as fan fiction (a growing industry unto itself) the stories are based on the original work. According to FanLib Founder and CEO Chris M. Williams, this season an actual fan scripted scene will be shot and incorporated into an episode. It is the first time this has ever been done. The show also has a MySpace page, and clips available on Youtube, and other video sharing sites, and fans building their own tribute pages.

But, the best playground was yet to come- L-Word in Second Life. A virtual world with all the locations, characters, parties - everything you need to live the L-Life. Like any virtual world, fans choose an avatar and an identity and enter the world that was established by Showtime but that they now own and create. And, Showtime has now entered the world of social media with “Our Chart” , a Web 2.0 network for the lesbian community. Showtime watched the trends among their demographic and simply integrated itself into those trends.

We do need to tip our hats to non-fiction producers for breaking down the forth wall and allowing viewers to participate in the telling of the story. Back in 2004, FX’s ToddTV offered the audience the chance to control Todd’s life through their T-Mobile phones. The hook wasn’t enough and the show tanked. But bigger brands with bigger audiences can succeed where smaller ones cannot. Flash forward to this season on CBS’ Big Brother 8 and “America’s Player”. Housemate Eric was handed tasks to complete in each episode by the viewers votes at CBS.com or via text messaging. And, each task completed not only affected proceedings in the house but earned Eric $10,000. As of this writing Eric has completed 20 out of 27 tasks and has one task left - to cast America’s vote for who should be the winner. Additionally, CBS gave fans more - the Big Brother broadband talk show House Calls and, for the things that you can’t show on network television, Big Brother After Dark on Showtime Too.

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Brian Seth Hurst is CEO of the Opportunity Management Company, Inc. a cross media strategy and production company. Hurst served two terms as Chairman of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council (’03-’05) while simultaneously serving on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors. Currently, he is Second Vice Chair of the Television Academy and sits on the National Board of the PGA.

Fallen

2008-02-10T21:09:00.001-05:00

THE BIRTH OF CROSS MEDIA PRODUCTION
Adventures in Storytelling pt. 4 - Fallen
By Brian Seth Hurst

ABC Family’s Fallen was a 6 hour miniseries that told the story of fallen angels loosely based on the four volume fantasy novel “The Fallen” by Thomas E. Sniegoski. The extension of Fallen would be an alternate reality game or ARG.

An ARG is a story that takes place over time and actually has a beginning, middle and end as opposed to a “persistent world” created in virtual reality games. The devices (platforms) of storytelling vary but the hallmark of an ARG is the audience’s ability to interact with the character(s) and each other - thus blurring the lines between fiction and reality.

The Fallen Alternate Reality Game, 2007's Emmy® winner for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television, gave fans the opportunity to immerse themselves in a clue-based universe of emails, chats, video, live online events, and clues embedded into the television show. Here the viewser enters the brilliantly contrived, designed and executed online world through a device called “The Oculus”. A runic puzzle that must continually be solved in order to reveal story elements, working the Oculus will help to ultimately reveal the origins of Faith Arella, the main character in the experience.

Once you are playing, The Fallen ARG is no more difficult than any video game but you have to know the television program. Again, this is something to be experienced. After all, to get to know how to use these platforms and devices to reach your audience, you have to know what’s possible.

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Brian Seth Hurst is CEO of the Opportunity Management Company, Inc. a cross media strategy and production company. Hurst served two terms as Chairman of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council (’03-’05) while simultaneously serving on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors. Currently, he is Second Vice Chair of the Television Academy and sits on the National Board of the PGA.

The Jericho Experience

2008-02-09T22:58:00.000-05:00

THE BIRTH OF CROSS MEDIA PRODUCTION
Adventures in Storytelling pt. 3 - The Jericho Experience
By Brian Seth Hurst

CBS Interactive’s The Jericho Experience at http://www.whodroppedthebomb.com also had a deeply interactive audience that lived across platforms. Rich with features that grew over time, the experience included an original prequel “webumentary” called Countdown which took viewers through the expected real world consequences of a nuclear bomb drop. Executive Producers Stephen Chbosky, Carol Barbee and Jon Turtletaub were intimately involved in the process with Turtletaub writing scripts for the online community experience. As in the case of Heroes, a character was introduced on the web with a storyline and videos, who eventually crossed over to television. Though the site launched as promotion, it morphed into a Web 2.0 social community, and sustained the audience’s involvement during a 9 week winter hiatus.

Again the power of an interactive community was evident, especially when fans sent 50,000 pounds of nuts to CBS executives to protest the cancellation of the show. CBS then ordered seven additional episodes warning fans that ratings on TV must increase. But, if you were the creator or the producer of the world of Jericho, you might have to ask yourself… if that community is so active... is the television show as we know it really needed or was it just the flash point for a community that would congregate in a virtual Jericho world or a massive multiplayer online Jericho game either supported through subscription or in game advertising and product placement. This is where storytelling and opportunity converge.

But before we get into how you define those opportunities, there is a brilliant example of a well thought out cross media strategy and execution that is redefining what a television experience can be. You will notice that both the Heroes and Jericho examples use the word experience. That is the essence of the cross media challenge. To involve the audience through the creation of deeper richer experiences of the story, the characters and the community that builds itself around them. Then, both the story and the audience evolve together. Rather than the audience being passive they become your active partners. And hopefully passionate and loyal partners.

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Brian Seth Hurst is CEO of the Opportunity Management Company, Inc. a cross media strategy and production company. Hurst served two terms as Chairman of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council (’03-’05) while simultaneously serving on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors. Currently, he is Second Vice Chair of the Television Academy and sits on the National Board of the PGA.

Heroes 360 Experience

2008-02-07T21:43:00.000-05:00

THE BIRTH OF CROSS MEDIA PRODUCTION
Adventures in Storytelling pt. 2 - The Heroes Experience
By Brian Seth Hurst

The seeds of cross media programming and production may have begun in non fiction, but now, the real innovation is actually happening in fiction. As a matter of fact, some of this activity is blurring the line between the drama of the programming and the non-fiction reality participation of the community. And, though it doesn’t break the “forth wall” down per se, it bends it, twists it and distorts it into compelling interactive audience experiences among loyal fan bases. There could be some valuable inspiration and learning available for non-fiction producers of television by digging into what is happening in the fiction cross media world. We’ll talk more about how all television producers can master cross media in later posts but first, I wanted to give you a few examples. I can write about them but it is like trying to describe a brilliant VFX moment in a movie. You really have to see it. Or in this case you really have to be “in” it. So I urge you after reading this article to go play!

2007’s crop of Emmy® finalists for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television are pioneers, masters of cross media production pushing the frontiers and drawing audiences into the worlds they have created by extending environments, characters and plot onto platforms that are part of their viewers everyday lives: broadband, mobile, gaming, social networking and more. This trend has given rise to a new term - “distributed storytelling” and new titles: Executive Producer Cross Media and Producer Cross Media.

NBC’s Heroes 360 Experience knew that their audience of science fiction fans would be an active online community. They wrangled them through the introduction of the character of Hana Gitelman exclusively on-line. Hana became the bridge between what was on television and the opportunity for viewsers to become more deeply involved and therefore have more at stake emotionally in the show. Through emails and text messages to those registered (providing a valuable fan database) she interacted with them on a daily basis, urged them to build profiles, do research, and explore. She began by telling them how to hack into the fictitious Primatech Paper web site where they could find hidden messages, clues, voicemails, etc. that extended the shows plot lines compelling them to solve the mysteries. Later when Hana’s character appeared in the television show, the online community already knew who she was and why she was there. And yet, those who only watched the television show had no feeling of being left out. When Hero’s was off the air, the experience kept fans engaged in the Heroes universe. Between January 22 and March 22 of 2007 the Heros 360 Experience had over 48 million page views and 27 million video downloads testifying to the power of great storytelling and the ability to move an audience back and forth between platforms. (NBC.Com delivers with 'Heroes360'The Futon Critic. 2007-03-22).

Calling this season a dry-run, Co-executive producer and writer Jesse Alexander has promised that this season the 360 Experience will be even bigger. (WWLA: Loeb & Co Talk “Heroes” (Comicbookresources.com March 17,2007) This is a great example of not only knowing your audience but anticipating their needs and desires and giving them content and interactivity that is deeply and richly engaging. It is satisfying a hunger.

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Brian Seth Hurst is CEO of the Opportunity Management Company, Inc. a cross media strategy and production company. Hurst served two terms as Chairman of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council (’03-’05) while simultaneously serving on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors. Currently, he is Second Vice Chair of the Television Academy and sits on the National Board of the PGA.

Adventures in Storytelling

2008-02-05T21:22:00.000-05:00

THE BIRTH OF CROSS MEDIA PRODUCTION
Adventures in Storytelling
By Brian Seth Hurst

Not long ago I received a call from a television producer of dramas. “I know television, I mean I really know television but when it comes to this cross platform stuff… well… that’s why I am calling you. I am at square one. I have no idea where to begin.” Welcome to the new world; a world where the audience is demanding more from television programming; where fans can become a powerful interactive community that actually exercises influence over each other and even over network decisions; a world that is virtual, that is mobile, that extends across a myriad of devices and activities. We have moved from network entertainment (traditional broadcasting) to the era of networked entertainment where a piece of content becomes the gateway to a web of connectivity that becomes both personal and communal. This is the Web 2.0 and it presents television producers with new opportunities to involve and evolve the audience, to extend the brand and even to create new revenue streams.

Mastering this world for traditional producers really isn’t that difficult because, save some revolutionary tools, it is still storytelling. Cross media is built on four foundational pillars: technology, distribution, content and social behavior. Yesterday’s kids weaned on video games, born with a mouse in their hand are now today’s viewsers. They just don’t view television they “use” it and literally can become a part of it. We’ll talk more about how to master cross media in future posts but first, I wanted to give you a few examples. I can write about them... but it is like trying to describe a brilliant VFX moment in a movie. You really have to see it. Or in this case you really have to be “in” it. So I urge you after reading this post to go play!

This “new world” actually started in non-fiction programming which stimulated people to interact with the shows and each other. Perhaps the best known example is American Idol where in version 1.0 fans got on cell phones and landlines to make sure their favorites continued to the next round. But those same fans got on the net and built discussion groups, fan sites, and blogs fighting to turn their favorites into stars. As the seasons progressed, the producers of Idol began to give that community a place to gather, a town hall if you will, where all those visits to the net would come under the fox.com domain and eventually americanidol.com. This is a place where fans play alongside Idol’s advertisers rather than being outside the tent on their own. Over the years more features and ancillary content were added to the site and now of course there are the requisite mobile applications, behind the scenes, downloads etc. During Season 6, producers of Idol motivated that same community for “Idol Gives Back” raising over $75 million for children’s charities in the US and Africa. CBS’s “Big Brother” with its robust Big Brother Goes Mobile, “House Calls” talk show on the net, wikis, message boards and, of course, full episode viewing at CBS.com is a good illustration of what most non-fiction producers are doing to extend their show brands. At BravoTV.com, which covers all of Bravo’s original programming, virtually the same bill of fare is available albeit very well done.

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Brian Seth Hurst is CEO of the Opportunity Management Company, Inc. a cross media strategy and production company. Hurst served two terms as Chairman of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council (’03-’05) while simultaneously serving on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Board of Governors. Currently, he is Second Vice Chair of the Television Academy and sits on the National Board of the PGA.

The Wright Stuff

2008-01-31T21:46:00.000-05:00

The Wright Stuff

by Greg Weinstein

Principle #1 of Jeff Gomez's 8 Defining Principles of Trans-media: "Content must be originated by one or very few visionaries." Or, as my grandmother liked to say, "Too many cooks spoil the broth."

This principle, of course, holds true for most creative pursuits. DaVinci didn't bring in a team to help paint The Last Supper. Rodin did not rely upon focus groups to sculpt The Thinker. And Bach did not leave it up to his orchestra members to write their own parts.

Frank Lloyd Wright is another fantastic example of an artist who exerted full control over his projects. Wright's vision extended far beyond simply designing structures... he crafted complete environments, putting his stamp on virtually every detail -- both external and internal. He managed macro level decisions like community planning and site layout, and narrowed his focus down to the finest details -- designing carpets, lamps, doors, windows, even silverware. Walk into any one of his buildings and the effect is immediately apparent. Because everything sprung from the mind of Wright himself, it all works in harmony.

Chances are you've seen architecture that's not quite as harmonious as Wright's work. Some of the most striking examples can be seen in homes that have undergone renovations. More often than not, renovations are dictated by personal taste or budgetary constraints... not by honoring the designs of the original visionary. Picture a turn of the century Victorian with a 1950's car port, or a modest Cape adorned with stately Greek columns. Ill conceived design can leave you with the subtle feeling that something isn't quite right. Psychologists might describe this feeling as "visual dissonance" -- psychological tension caused by a discrepancy between what you expect to see and what's actually there.

Building extensions onto a media property is not unlike building an addition onto a house. Fans will know what looks right and what doesn't. Get it wrong, and the resulting dissonance will pull even the most casual audience member out of the story and ultimately weaken the franchise. Get it right and you've increased the value of the property exponentially.

Frank Lloyd Wright understood the value of balance, harmony, and consistency. Successful trans-media architects understand that these principles are just as important in cross-platform story-telling.

"Cult Media" MIT Style

2008-01-21T21:29:00.000-05:00

"Cult Media" MIT Style

by Greg Weinstein

On November 17, the PGA New Media Council member Jeff Gomez was a featured speaker at MIT’s Future of Entertainment Conference. (Download audio or video podcast here http://convergenceculture.org/futuresofentertainment/2007/program/)

Jeff was joined on the “Cult Media” panel by Jesse Alexander (co-EP and writer, Heroes), Danny Bilson (Film/TV writer/director, Game Producer) and Gordon Tichell (EVP of Business Development, Walden Media). The discussion was moderated by one of the leading voices in trans-media, Professor Henry Jenkins (Director, MIT Comparative Media Studies Program) http://www.henryjenkins.org/index.html

The three hour conversation flew by faster than an action-packed episode of Alias (one of the shows Jesse Alexander cut his trans-media teeth on before Heroes). When Alexander and fellow Alias writers began building out storylines across multiple platforms they had never heard the term “trans-media.” For them it was primarily an exercise in creative self-expression. Today, the Heroes staff approaches multiplatform extensions more formally, with what could be the first team on a network show dedicated to trans-media. This team provides oversight on all things related to the Heroes fictional universe. Their work, ranging from online comic books to “Create Your Own Hero” contests, has been wildly successful.

So why are shows like Heroes, Alias and Lost so popular today? The panel had a number of interesting insights. These shows draw heavily upon elements from Comic Books, Science Fiction and Horror. In the past these were not considered legitimate genres and relegated to B-status. But kids loved this stuff and now they’re grown up and calling the shots. They’ve combined the best features of these genres with top flight talent and story-telling techniques to bring them into the mainstream.

The shows appeal to a mass audience on one level and a niche audience on another. Archetypal characters allow the broad audience to easily recognize and identify with their stories. But beneath these archetypes lie a deeper and more complex universe for hard core fans to discover. Technology is the great enabler here… helping fans connect in ways never before possible. DVRs and DVDs allow viewers to watch and analyze dense storylines over and over again -- discovering details they might have otherwise missed. And the internet provides an ideal outlet for fans to share knowledge and interact with additional content.

But low tech trans-media can be just as effective, as Alexander pointed out. When his team was approached by a toy company to license and sell a Heroes sword, they saw a trans-media opportunity. Writers created a comic book story for the back of box that told the story of the sword’s origins – contributing even more detail to the Heroes canon.

Using a variety of platforms to flesh out a property's universe is an important component of trans-media, encouraging participation is another. Once kids crack that box open and start creating their own Heroes adventures, they're connecting to the property in a significant and meaningful way. Jeff Gomez, in one of the most thought provoking statements of the afternoon, asserted that next generation story telling will harness the energy of fan participation and feed it back into the eco-system. Fans will become part of the story and their participation will be rewarded by moving them closer to the center of the action. The result will be more dynamic and engaging entertainment than anything we’ve seen from mass media to date.

The experts on the “Cult Media” panel expressed a wide array of opinions on trans-media story telling. Yet they all agreed upon one thing: for trans-media to be successful, the core property must be treated with a deep level of passion, integrity and respect. Fans will accept nothing less.

PGA NMC Event: SILICON ALLEY 2.0 - ALLEY VETERANS RE-CHARGE

2008-01-15T17:19:00.000-05:00

Producers Guild of America
New Media Council East
Presents the
2007-2008 Panel and Salon Series
**THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCLUSIVE, MEMBERS ONLY EVENT**

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

SILICON ALLEY 2.0 - ALLEY VETERANS RE-CHARGE: A conversation with DoubleClick Founder KEVIN RYAN and Silicon Alley Insider Editor-in-Chief (and former Merrill Lynch Internet stock analyst) HENRY BLODGET

Since we last knew them, DoubleClick founder Kevin Ryan and former Merrill Lynch Internet stock analyst Henry Blodget have traveled separate and very distinct paths. Ryan’s celebrated company was sold spectacularly in 2007 to Google for $3.1 billion and he has since re-emerged with a new fund and a new vision for Internet growth, while Blodget, suffering a period of downfall and disgrace, has re-emerged as the key voice of noted blog Silicon Alley Insider. The two join together for a one-on-one conversation about the next and new things in Silicon Alley's fertile Web 2.0 environment.

A conversation featuring:

Kevin Ryan, Founder and CEO, AlleyCorp.

Kevin is CEO of AlleyCorp, a New York-based holding company. Kevin founded Silicon Alley Insider, Panther Express, ShopWiki and Music Nation, and holds investments in TheLadders. From 1996-2005, Kevin was the President and later CEO of DoubleClick, where he helped build the company from a startup of 20 people to a global leader with more than 1,500 employees. Kevin is on the board of Human Rights Watch and is a member of the Insead International Council, Yale International Council, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He has served in the past on the boards of the Direct Marketing Association, the Ad Council and the advisory board of Doctors Without Borders. He received a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from INSEAD.

Henry Blodget, CEO, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, Silicon Alley Insider

Prior to co-founding Silicon Alley Insider, Henry served as CEO of Cherry Hill Research, a research and consulting firm, and contributed to Slate, Newsweek International, The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes Online, Business 2.0, Euromoney, New York, Financial Times, and other publications. He edits an award-winning blog, Internet Outsider, and is the author of The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A Consumer's Guide to Investing. He has been a frequent guest on CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, and NPR.

From 1994-2001, Henry worked in corporate finance and equity research at Prudential Securities, Oppenheimer & Co., and Merrill Lynch. He ran Merrill's global Internet research practice and was ranked the No. 1 Internet and eCommerce analyst on Wall Street by Institutional Investor and Greenwich Associates. He was later keelhauled by then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in a wide-ranging complaint about conflicts of interest between the research and banking divisions of brokerage firms (for details, please see http://www.sec.gov/). Henry attended Yale University and was born and raised in New York.

A wine and cheese networking reception will precede the conversation programming.

**YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO ATTEND THIS EVENT***

Event hosted by Marc Scarpa, founder, Producers Guild of America, New Media Council East. This event will take place in New York City.

Previous events from our 2005-2007 event series can be accessed in both webcast and podcast format at: http://www.scribemedia.org/pga

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit: http://www.scribemedia.org/about.

PGA Award Nominees Announced

2008-01-15T10:14:00.000-05:00

THE DANNY THOMAS PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN EPISODIC TELEVISION - COMEDY 30 ROCK (NBC) THE OFFICE (NBC) ENTOURAGE (HBO) UGLY BETTY (ABC) EXTRAS (HBO) THE NORMAN FELTON PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN EPISODIC TELEVISION - DRAMA THE SOPRANOS (HBO) HEROES (NBC) LOST (ABC) HOUSE (Fox) GREY'S ANATOMY (ABC) DEXTER (Showtime) THE PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN NON-FICTION TELEVISION PLANET EARTH (Discovery Channel) 60 MINUTES (CBS) KATHY GRIFFIN: MY LIFE ON THE D LIST (Bravo) EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (ABC) DEADLIEST CATCH (Discovery Channel) THE PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN LIVE ENTERTAINMENT/COMPETITION TELEVISION THE COLBERT REPORT (Comedy Central) THE AMAZING RACE (CBS) PROJECT RUNWAY (Bravo) AMERICAN IDOL (Fox) REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER (HBO)

THE DARRYL F. ZANUCK PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax)
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight)
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax/Paramount Vantage)
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage/Miramax)

THE PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN ANIMATED THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
"Bee Movie" (Dreamworks Animation)
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation)
"The Simpsons Movie" (20th Century FOX)

THE PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN DOCUMENTARY THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
"Body Of War" (Phil Donahue Productions/Mobilus Media)
"Hear And Now" (HBO)
"Pete Seeger: The Power Of Song" (The Weinstein Company)
"Sicko" (The Weinstein Company)
"White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki" (HBO)

THE DAVID L. WOLPER PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN LONG-FORM TELEVISION
"Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" (HBO)
"The Bronx Is Burning" (ESPN)
"High School Musical 2" (Disney Channel)
"Jane Eyre" (PBS/BBC)
"The Starter Wife" (USA Network)

2008 PGA honorary awards and recipients:

Milestone Award

Alan Horn

David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures

Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall

Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television

Dick Wolf

Visionary Award

Simon Fuller

Vanguard Award

YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen

The Stanley Kramer Award

The Great Debaters

The Award winners will be announced
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2008

PGA NMC Event: Sony EX1 Workshop Saturday, January 12 at Abel Cine Tech NY

2008-01-05T15:45:00.000-05:00

Abel Cine Tech, in association with the Producers Guild of America New Media Council and Studio Monthly, presents The Essential Sony XDCAM EX Workshop.

Click link to view invitation: http://www.abelcine.com/invites/

There's a great deal of buzz in the marketplace surrounding the release of Sony's PMW-EX1 XDCAM EX Camcorder.

The EX1 employs a 3-chip 1/2" CMOS sensor to record 1920x1080 native resolution HD images onto SxS PRO flash memory cards. It represents a dramatic leap forward in both image quality and features available in a camcorder that retails for less than $7,000.
Learn about the breakthrough technologies that Sony has employed to produce this powerful, new creative tool.

DATE: Saturday, January 12, 2008
LOCATION: Abel Cine Tech
609 Greenwich St – 5th fl.
New York, NY 10014
212-462-0100
TIME: 10:00 am – 12:35 pm, 1st session
1:30 pm – 4:05 pm, 2nd session
Please indicate which session you plan to attend. Your name will be on the list for that session at the door.

RSVP: Claire Orpeza
Abel Cine Tech
212-462-0100
rsvp@abelcine.com

This is an invitation only event. Admission is free, but space is limited.

The Essential Sony XDCAM EX Workshop
Saturday, January 12, 2008

Discover the breakthrough technologies behind the new PMW-EX1 camcorder from Sony that has everyone talking. Experts from Abel and Sony will take you through the technical specs and unique features that enable the EX1 to deliver outstanding images and an efficient workflow at such an affordable price.

EX1 Camera Tour: Beyond the Basics
Andy Shipsides, Abel’s Sales Support Tech, will cover the innovative features of the EX1 including its manual focus system, expanded focus capability, selective color correction and automatic depth of field indicator.
Director of Photography Mark Benjamin (Protocols of Zion, Brooklyn Babylon) will show recent footage from his commercial shoot for Euro RSC Agency and share some of his insights on shooting with the EX1.

A Critical Evaluation of EX1’s Image Quality
Jesse Rosen, Abel’s Director of Technical Development, and Juan Martinez, Senior Manager, Technology for Sony Broadcast, will discuss the imaging capabilities of the EX1. They will demonstrate EX1’s overcranking, undercranking and shutter effects, as well as a variety of looks that can be achieved by utilizing the camera’s selectable gamma curves. Critical attributes of EX1’s MPEG-2 Long GOP codec will also be discussed.

EX1’s MPEG-2 Workflow in the Real World
Kaori Uno, Applications Marketing Manager for Sony Broadcast, and Michael Wong, Senior Manager / Professional Applications for Apple, will walk you through EX1’s non-linear workflow via its SxS PRO memory card media and MPEG-2 recording format. Post, edit and content management processes in both Avid and Final Cut Pro environments will be covered.

The Visionaries Continued: Halo & Madonna

2007-12-14T22:42:00.000-05:00

8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production
Part II: The Visionaries Continued: Halo & Madonna

By Jeff Gomez

Many of today’s visionaries operate on a global scale, the products of their muse rolling out across vast swathes of the media landscape. The challenge they’re facing right now is rooted not so much in the content of their message, but in how that message is going to be formed and reformed to provide a unique and satisfying experience no matter what the distribution platform may be.

The best of these artists are coming to understand that what is least satisfying to audiences in the digital age is repurposed content. They’re also learning that the best alternative to milking the cow ‘til it’s dead lays in generating a strategy that extends their message in a variety of ways—a strategy that is carefully coordinated, a plan that is equal parts creatively inspired and tech savvy.

This is the challenge currently being faced by two disparate but powerful mavens of pop culture: Madonna and the development team behind Microsoft’s Halo video game franchise.

Since 2001, Halo has propelled itself from console video games to local access networks and onto the Internet. The complex storyline of the game was expanded upon in novels, web sites and comic books. The releases of Halo 2 and Halo 3 were received with fanfare normally only devoted to major blockbuster movies (or Harry Potter book releases!).

The franchise has generated hundreds of millions of dollars, and it’s now invading everything from YouTube to G4 TV shows thanks to the developers’ ingenious application of a playback and editing mode in the game that allows players to capture and direct their in-game antics as if they were creating big-budget sci-fi film clips.

But a few million video game enthusiasts do not make for a truly global property. In order to do that, Microsoft and developer Bungie Studios will have to realize some of the remaining principles of trans-media storytelling and production. They’ll have to examine their rich universe and carefully extend the characters and narrative in such a way as to make them accessible to a much greater audience. The key lays in their ability to engage people on an emotional level at least half as well as they did with great gameplay. Having a visionary like Peter Jackson on their side will certainly take them a long way, because ultimately story drives great trans-media properties.

Madonna’s latest venture will prove to be no exception. In a grand experiment that will only prove risky if the former Material Girl decides to become an avant garde performer for the next five years, Madonna has sealed a remarkable deal with mega-concert promoter Live Nation. The deal reportedly advances her $17.5 million, then pays her $50 million for performances, gives her 90% of ticket sales, roughly $20 million for each of three new albums, and partners with her on licensing deals and new ventures.

The challenge Madonna faces—particularly in light of the current state of the music industry as well as the fact that she’s entered the autumn of her career when most of her peers bailed in mid-summer—are myriad. One thing is for certain—endlessly repurposing music and concert footage simply won’t fly.

Then again, if she’s anything Madonna is an innovator. She understands how to recruit talent to her causes, and in this case savvy producers can make a huge difference. But will these creatives truly be able to help her build a rich, persistent, compelling and participative narrative that weaves what she envisions across an array of audiovisual outlets?

They will, but some alchemy will be needed to pull it off. These producers will have to possess a fundamental understanding of how people have come to integrate their media into their daily lives. More so, they must fully fathom the core messages and themes of this visionary’s new work. Only then will they know how to orchestrate these images, icons, sounds and narratives into a symphony of platform-specific content that engages, entertains and inspires.

I wish her luck.

Next Up: Jeff takes on the second principle of trans-media production when he discusses those special projects that plan their cross-platform rollouts from inception.

Never Surrender!

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro. Over the next few weeks he’ll be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon the 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production

Previous Jeff Gomez trans-media post

The Visionaries

2007-12-09T22:40:00.000-05:00

8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production
Part I: The Visionaries

By Jeff Gomez

If you really give some thought to the great artists throughout history, you push beyond their iconic images and sculptures, concertos and films and you start to consider their messages, their obsessions…their visions.

Often they gravitated to a specific medium and flourished there, but if that platform were to be blocked off or somehow no longer satisfying, the artist would make a jump. Sometimes, if the vision was powerful enough, the medium no longer mattered.

Today, thanks to technology, most professional story telling tools and methodologies are also available to any kid who can access a computer. And it seems that experienced creators can learn a thing or two from the young ones.

At colleges across the country, students are turning in term paper “kits” consisting of hard copy overviews, DVDs containing narrated motion videos illustrating their research, video blogs, animated charts, specially created web sites, even digital bibliographies. Some of their professors don’t even know how to read these things!

What’s vital for every film, television and new media producer to understand is that these students aren’t even aware of the fact that what they are doing is extraordinary! This is how they live, how they experience life, and this is how it’s going to be. We are going to have to catch up with them and give them what they want, or someone else is going to.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated with Japanese pop culture. I always admired the manga-ka. These were the artists, whose visions were realized in phonebook-thick volumes of black and white comic book art. If the books proved popular (like Gundam or Space Cruiser Yamato), they would be adapted as television series, sequelized as direct to video featurettes, then immortalized as theatrical films.

But those artists don’t act alone. They call upon trusted producers to help them develop and extend their central vision across multiple media platforms while ensuring consistent quality and integrity. As producers we can take a cue from the Japanese and do the same in tandem with our own visionaries.

To do this, we’ll need to sharpen our skills and embrace new approaches and newer perspectives. Some of us have already started to do just that, and the results are some of the most exciting and dynamic projects coming out of the entertainment industry today.

In my upcoming entries, I’ll move through each of the 8 Defining Principals of Trans-Media Production to briefly examine what it takes to conceive, develop, produce and distribute this kind of content, whether we’re talking about a tent pole franchise or a modest indie film.

Next Up: Jeff gets specific with the vision thing when he takes on Halo and…Madonna?

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro. Over the next few weeks he’ll be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon the 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production

previous Jeff Gomez trans-media post
next Jeff Gomez trans-media post

Interview: Lisa Hsia Senior Vice President of New Media, Bravo

2007-11-19T11:25:00.000-05:00

Here is a brief Q &A with Lisa Hsia, Senior Vice President of New Media, Bravo

Lisa Hsia is the Senior Vice President of New Media for Bravo . She is responsible for identifying and maximizing programming opportunities for Bravo in new media, facilitating business initiatives in wireless, digital, home video, as well as securing international and ancillary rights. She also develops original programming and external opportunities for digital programming.

Q. How does an independent filmmaker-turned-news documentary producer-turned news executive become one of the leading new media executives in the industry?

LH. How does an independent filmaker-turned-news-documentary producer-turned news exec NOT become engaged in the the hottest area in media? The wild wild west of the digital world is fast-paced, changing every day and a lot of fun. It'll be even more fun when we have some proven business models and we are raking in the revenues. Right now, I still consider us in a period of experimentation and if we get ad sponsorship, i feel very, very lucky and grateful to the advertiser for getting out there with us and trying new things.

Q. How does Bravo capture value for its advertisers on the new media side? What are some of your most recent successes?

LH. I think for the advertisers there are many benefits -- they're associated with a great brand that has lots of tech savvy, passionate and highly engaged viewers, they're absolutely getting the exposure, whether online, on mobile or on the ITV side, and most importantly, they're getting engagement and learnings from the process.

Q. It seems that Bravo “gets” new media in ways that other broadcast or cable outlets do not – do you listen to your advertisers and agencies more than others?

LH. We try to figure out what our viewers and users want and deliver it. If it works, we'll deliver the metrics and the advertisers and agencies will follow.

Q. The industry is still in a very early stage of determining ad pricing models for new media; is your strategy of broad experimentation resonating with advertisers?

Absolutely, there are some fantastic innovators in the emerging media space at the agencies and certain advertisers. We're working closely with everyone to figure out what models work and how best to price the inventory while at the same time maintaining a winning user experience.

Q. The mobile channel is very fertile for Bravo – what are some of the more successful promotions you’ve done in mobile?

LH. I'll name a few you can check out now -- text RUNWAY to 27286 (BRAVO) and you can join Project Runway's Mobile Fan Club. There's SMS/MMS and one of it's elements is a fun location-based, social networking application that is a PROJECT RUNWAY GUIDE TO NY which we built in partnership with Socialight.com. It's a searchable map accessible via phone or the web, and you can find out the designers’ and judges’ favorite places in New York -- from favorite fashion and shopping destinations to restaurants, museums, parks and tatoo parlors and you can comment and rate them as well. Also, go to wap.bravotv.com to see the award-winning Project Runway mobile website. And vote each week in the premiere episodes of Project Runway on a live question and qualify to win a $10,000 shopping spree at bluefly.com.

Q. Is this job the most creative, entertaining gig you’ve had in your career? Would you have expected, 3 years ago, that you’d be in this position in the (still-emerging) new media industry?

LH. This is absolutely the best job I've ever had. It's fun, challenging and ever-changing. Come join us!

Trans-Media enters the 21st Century

2007-11-18T21:46:00.000-05:00

Trans-Media enters the 21st Century
By PGA NMC member Jeff Gomez

The age of true, premeditated trans-media storytelling was arguably kicked off in October of 2005, when Bob Iger took command at Disney. A spry Boomer to Michael Eisner’s stately Greatest Generation, Iger knows from worlds and he also understands technology. He has a firm grip on how we as consumers use the web as a colossal hub for pursuing our interests and connecting with one another over things we enjoy. By extending the worlds created by The Walt Disney Company (everything from High School Musical to Fairies and Pirates of the Caribbean) onto the Internet, he isn’t simply advertising them — he’s growing them at an exponential rate.

This way original movies will premiere with built-in fan bases, fans will get text messages from fictional characters, you’ll be able to start exploring the massive worlds of tent pole pictures in 3D environments before they hit theaters, and each novel, toy and webisode will live up to the standard of quality and consistency that makes the film memorable. It stands to reason that other companies, large and small, are following suit right now.

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro. Over the next few weeks he’ll be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon the 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production

previous Jeff Gomez trans-media post
next Jeff Gomez trans-media post

Content 360 Event

2007-11-15T13:36:00.000-05:00

Attention PGA Members
We know you've got great ideas
Now we're bringing you an opportunity to get them funded

Content 360 is a multiplatform pitching session and competition sponsored by Yahoo, Ogilvy, KBC and the National Film Board of Canada. The competition will be held on April 7-11, 2008 at MIPTV market -- Palais des Festival, Cannes France.

1) Pitch your digital content ideas to industry leaders from across the globe.
2) Make the cut and you could get development funding !

Want to learn more? Join us next Tuesday and we'll explain it all.
- How the program works
- How to position yourself for success
- What you win
** This event is exclusive to PGA Members.

On hand will be Arthur Schweitzer, SVP Television, Digital Media & Operations at Reed Midem (the folks who bring you MIPTV)

AND

Toby Daniels of Mint Digital who will be sharing his experiences as a Content 360 participant (and winner).

Date: Tuesday, November 20th
Time: 7pm
Location: 1515 Broadway (45th St)

RSVP by 11/19 to pganmc@gmail.com

The Internet Explosion

2007-11-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

The Internet Explosion

by PGA NMC Member Jeff Gomez

Trans-media storytelling would come into its own with phenomenal success of The Blair Witch Project. It’s important to note the distinction in the relationship here: as opposed to a piece of licensing or other afterthought spin-off, the Blair Witch website existed as a precursor to the film. It laid down the mythology of the film’s world, even expanding on it, in a way that was scary cool. By spreading the word about this site, you were getting a charge out of letting someone else in on a weird secret.

You were validated and celebrated for your participation in the Blair Witch happening, right there, on the fly, in real time. You and your friends could connect, theorize, and explore this world to the point where the movie became far more than a self-contained piece of entertainment. It was simply a component in a greater experience, and that made it magical. The hip execs like John Hegeman and the folks at Artisan Entertainment took a fascinating risk, and the studio and filmmakers made a fortune.

For savvy marketers like Gordon Paddison at New Line Cinema and on-the-ball filmmakers like Peter Jackson, the web became a platform to launch the fictional universes around which their film franchises would be built. Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, would continue to innovate with major trans-media endeavors based on an array of Disney properties, such as Lost, Pirates of the Caribbean and High School Musical. For fans, these web sites were portals into a philosophy and way of life that they could not find in their local communities. “I love your world,” they seemed to be saying, “and for at least a few minutes every day, I want to live in it.”

The Blair Witch Project is a textbook trans-media execution, adhering to all

8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production. But as Jeff touches upon, it was principle #8 – “features audience participatory elements” – that turbocharged its success.

The Blair Witch visionaries, in a very Orson Welles War of the Worlds kind of way, hijacked media platforms of their day to position a fictional story as real. They employed a number of innovative techniques: Shooting cinéma-vérité style -- on home video cameras with no script. Releasing a television “documentary” Curse of the Blair Witch – claiming to explore the legend. And, of course, seeding the internet with a rich detailed back story that reinforced the air of believability.

Both The Blair Witch Project and War of the Worlds played off humans’ deep-seated emotions related to the supernatural... but the internet gave the Blair Witch audience an outlet for those emotions. The combination of great storytelling... sparking powerful emotions... and providing multiple avenues for expression/exploration results in a truly transformative entertainment experience. This is what trans-media is all about.

- Greg Weinstein

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro. Over the next few weeks he’ll be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon the 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production

previous Jeff Gomez trans-media post

next Jeff Gomez trans-media post

Content 360

2007-11-13T07:06:00.000-05:00

Coming next week -- an amazing opportunity for PGA Members! Learn about the Content 360 New Media Competition. Details to come.

For a quick and easy way to stay up to date on all our events, sign up for our Facebook Group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5841501145

CUTTING EDGE DIGITAL MEDIA TRENDS

2007-11-07T22:30:00.000-05:00

Bill Sobel's, NYMiEG events give new meaning to the term "power breakfast."

Next Wednesday, jump start your morning with his panel on:

CUTTING EDGE DIGITAL MEDIA TRENDS
Syndication, Video InStream, Content Delivery, Behavioral Ad Targeting and Out-of Home Media featuring Israeli Tech Innovators

* Yaron Galai, Founder, Outbrain: Blogs/RSS

* Yoav Arnstein, General Manager/North America, Eyeblaster:Digital Campaign Management

* Yaron Samid, CMO, Pando: CDN Advances

* Oded Salomy: President Taxi Tech, Out of Home Media

* Roy Shkedi, Founder & CEO: AlmondNet: Behavioral Targeting

Opening remarks by Gil Gilanos, Deputy Economic Minister to North America, Government Of Israel Economic Mission

Sponsored by Trylon SMR and NYConvergence

DATE:Wednesday, November 14, 2007

7:30am - 10am

LOCATION:Sobel Media World Headquarters

4 West 43rd Street/Main Ballroom New York, NY 10036

___________________________________________________________________

Admission: $25 Members/$40 General Public

Please RSVP to:nymieg@gmail.com

For additional information:
bsobel@gmail.com
or
eccmedia@gmail.com

Participation TV: New Media Gets Everyone in the Game

2007-11-01T23:16:00.000-04:00

The Producers Guild of America New Media Council
presents the
2007-2008 Panel and Salon Series
**RSVP DETAILS BELOW**

Monday November 12, 2007
7pm - 9pm

Participation TV: New Media Gets Everyone in the Game

Participation media is a new genre of production in which call-ins from audience members, cell phone text messages, and online votes are incorporated into television shows, ranging from American Idol to So You Think You Can Dance. The industry, already more than $300 million annually in the UK, is projected to be a $3 billion market in the United States within the next five years. Leading programmers are creating new ways for audience members to interact as essential factors in the production and selling of TV shows. Meet some of the pioneers of this new type of "interactive TV," and learn more about what is being planned for the 2007-2008 television season and beyond.

A panel discussion featuring:

Jeff Miller, President, Telescope, Inc.

Jeff is the president of Telescope, the pioneering participation media and mobile marketing company that enabled the launch of the first mass-scale interactive TV program with all six seasons of ‘American Idol.’ Telescope delivers high-profile programs that connect traditional TV, radio, and print media with interactive mobile, landline, and Internet channels. Prior to Telescope, Jeff led AT&T’s Content & Commerce markets, providing I.T. solutions for media, entertainment, and communications clients. He delivered IPTV, digital asset management and video-on-demand services for clients in the media and entertainment industry.

Donna Campbell, Executive Director, Ericsson Mobility World North America

Donna is the founder and executive director of Ericsson’s Mobility World North America, working with media and entertainment companies to develop new mobile content services. Donna set up Ericsson’s first-ever third-party partnering program for mobile content and application development, CyberLab NY, in cooperation with the New York City Investment Fund. The CyberLab partnering program was the model for Ericsson’s global partnering network, Mobility World, now adopted by 30 centers around the world. Since its inception, Ericsson has launched 50+ mobile content services, and led innovation in mobile content merchandising, full-length download services, and mobile television.

Rick Mandler, Vice President and General Manager, Walt Disney Internet Group and ABC’s Enhanced TV

Rick Mandler is vice president for the Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) and is responsible for all business development, production, technical, and integrated sales for Enhanced TV fare produced for all Disney-owned broadcast and cable network programming. WDIG and Enhanced TV programming is delivered via an Internet-connected computer and is controlled by the user while watching the show simultaneously on television. It is neither a television experience nor an Internet computer experience, but truly both at the same time -- the first step towards in-home convergence programming.

Moderator: Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council

A board delegate of the PGA New Media Council since 2006, and a PGA NMC member since 2004, Chris Pfaff leads a consultancy – Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC – that represents some of the leading service providers, audio/video technology firms, networking vendors, and media companies in the world, from PRIMEDIA and Eastman Kodak to Cantor Telecom. A veteran of the venture world, Chris helped launch more than 20 ventures from the Lucent New Ventures Group, including iBiquity Digital, Flarion, Lucent Digital Video, and GeoVideo Networks, among others. In addition, he has helped launch AT&T’s Internet strategy, the Viacom New Media division of Viacom, Inc., Sony Electronics’ Digital Betacam format, and Sharp Electronics’ LCD product division.

Wine and light refreshments will be served during a networking mixer prior to the programming.

Wollman Hall

The New School
65 West 11th Street, 5th floor (enter at 66 West 12th Street)
New York City

RSVP to: rsvp@pga-ny.org

Please include the names of any of your guests with your RSVP.

Event hosted by The Producers Guild of America, New Media Council, New York Chapter.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is the premier industry association for entertainment producing professionals.

For more information about the PGA New Media Council and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.pganewmedia.org/

For more information about the PGA and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.producersguild.org/

Previous events in our series can be accessed in both webcast format at: www.scribemedia.org/pga

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit: www.scribemedia.org/about/

The Clone Wars

2007-10-31T08:30:00.000-04:00

The Clone Wars
By PGA NMC member Jeff Gomez

“You fought in the Clone Wars?”

“Yes, I was once a Jedi Knight, same as your father.”

I had just graduated from the melodramatic (if occasionally juvenile) Planet of the Apes cycle, and it would be a few months before I started down that fateful road with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey. Star Wars was unfolding before my shining eyes, and when Obi-Wan answered Luke’s question, I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up: I wanted to tell stories like this one.

Obi-Wan is alluding to the events of another time, filled with knights and clones and the great wars and betrayals between them. Though the lines are never brought up again in the original Star Wars, they fire our imagination by adding depth and poignancy to the drama at hand. For nearly a quarter century after that moment, a generation of young people wanted to be told that story – when even visionary George Lucas had only the slightest inkling of how it went himself. J.R.R. Tolkien would call such exchanges “distant mountains,” details added to stories that created a sense of intrigue and history. They are the lightning bolts with which creators make universes come to life.

Jeff shares a healthy respect for the power of mythology with Tolkien and Lucas. In future posts, we’ll explore how a well defined mythology is the cornerstone of any successful trans-media effort.

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro. Over the next few weeks he’ll be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon the 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production

previous Jeff Gomez trans-media post

Digital Content Week in Review Oct 22 - Oct 28

2007-10-28T19:11:00.000-04:00

Student’s Ad Gets a Remake, and Makes the Big Time - NY Times

iPod Touch Ad - Nick Haley - Youtube

Content Drives Cell Phone Growth, Nokia Says - PC World

Senators Threatening Telcos With Probe Over Net Neutrality - Techcrunch

Ed Burns offers 'Violets' on iTunes- Variety

MySpace film assembles cast- Variety

Diller: Big media is late to Internet chat - Hollywood Reporter

Touching All Screens

2007-10-23T23:14:00.000-04:00

The Producers Guild of America

New Media Council East

presents the

2007-2008 Panel and Salon Series

**THIS FOLLOWING IS AN EXCLUSIVE, MEMBERS ONLY EVENT**

Monday, October 29, 2007

Touching All Screens: How to Produce Award Winning Cross-Platform Content

Creating a hit show on television is one feat of magic. Creating an entire hit cable network that extends programming beyond the T.V. and onto PC and mobile screens, with the same intensity of following – is transcendent. Bravo, the cable network owned by NBC Universal that has developed huge cross platform followings for such staples as ‘Queer Eye,’ ‘Project Runway,’ and ‘Top Chef,’ has been the bellwether for how to deliver value on all platforms, for audiences and advertisers alike.

Please join us for a conversation featuring:
Lisa Hsia, Senior Vice President of New Media, Bravo
Lisa Hsia was appointed Senior Vice President of New Media for Bravo in 2005, joining the company from NBC News, where she served as Vice President of News. She is responsible for identifying and maximizing programming opportunities for Bravo in new media, facilitating business initiatives in wireless, digital, home video, as well as securing international and ancillary rights. She also develops original programming and external opportunities for digital programming. Lisa was named Vice President of NBC News in July, 2001, where she was responsible for a wide range of duties, including executive oversight of primetime news programming for TODAY and NBC News Productions. She had been a Senior Producer for ‘Dateline NBC’ since 1994. She joined NBC News from ABC News, where she was a Producer for ‘Prime Time Live’ from 1989-1992. Prior to ABC News, she was a Producer for public television and was both Producer and Associate Producer for two feature films, ‘A Great Wall’ and ‘Old Enough,’ both released by Orion Classics.
Lisa graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University. She is the recipient of six Emmy awards and currently serves on the board of the Asian American Media Center, which supports the development of Asian Pacific film/video projects for public television.

Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate, PGA New Media Council
A board delegate of the PGA New Media Council since 2006, and a PGA NMC member since 2004, Chris Pfaff leads a consultancy – Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC – that represents some of the leading service providers, audio/video technology firms, networking vendors, and media companies in the world, from PRIMEDIA and Eastman Kodak to Cantor Telecom. A veteran of the venture world, Chris helped launch more than 20 ventures from the Lucent New Ventures Group, including iBiquity Digital; Flarion; Lucent Digital Video, and GeoVideo Networks, among others. In addition, he has helped launch AT&T’s Internet strategy; the Viacom New Media division of Viacom, Inc.; Sony Electronics’ Digital Betacam format, and Sharp Electronics’ LCD product division.

A wine and cheese reception will precede the programming.

***YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA (OR MEMBER GUEST) TO ATTEND THIS EVENT.***

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is the premier industry association for entertainment producing professionals. For more information about the PGA New Media Council and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.pganewmedia.org

For more information about the PGA and to access a membership application, please visit: http://www.producersguild.org

Previous events in our series can be accessed in both webcast format at: www.scribemedia.org/pga.

For more information about ScribeStudio Productions, please visit: www.scribestudio.com.

Go Speed Racer Go

2007-10-22T22:14:00.000-04:00

Go Speed Racer Go
By PGA NMC member Jeff Gomez

The concept of formalized storytelling across multiple mass media platforms really came into focus in the 1960s, and it emerged out of the Japanese comic book industry. Unlike American television, there was no Hollywood machine in Tokyo churning out libraries of animated shorts and simple Hanna-Barbera concepts with which they could jam the airwaves. Japan’s TV studios instead turned to the newly burgeoning manga market for cartoon ideas. Astro Boy, Speed Racer, The Eighth Man and Gigantor all started out as comic strip serials in weekly telephone book-sized anthologies put out by newspaper companies. Studios like Toei and Tatsunoko adapted the strips, and toy companies like Bandai quickly caught on to the notion of merchandising the characters to eager Asian ‘tweens. A business model was forged, and a close-knit industry was born.

By the ‘70s, while I was watching Jabberjaw and Hong Kong Phooey, the Japanese were producing elaborate kidvid serials where super heroes with dark secrets and complex pasts were engaged in life or death struggles with galactic empires and lurid underground criminal organizations. Storylines ran parallel or jumped back and forth between television, manga and eventually direct-to-video, and when situations got really dire, there would be a theatrical feature to mark the event!

This resulted in a series of rich, fully realized worlds, and they started generating a lot of money!

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com) is well-versed in the connection between the entertainment business and the toy industy. His company has developed blockbuster trans-media programs companies like Hasbro and Mattel in addition to The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, and the Coca-Cola Company.

Over the next few weeks Jeff will be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon his 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production

previous Jeff Gomez trans-media post

next Jeff Gomez trans-media post

Digital Content Week in Review Oct 14 - Oct 21

2007-10-21T11:50:00.000-04:00

The End of Analog Television- Media 3.0

Minisode Network maximizing distrib'n- The Hollywood Reporter

Viacom CEO Dismisses Google Antipiracy Plan - PC World

With Enough ‘Daily Show’ Clips, You’ve Got a Whole Program - NY Times

WGA backs strike authorization -Variety

Copyright Principles for User Generated Content Services -Online Video Content Owners and Service Providers

Big, Small Media Create Colluding Copyright Cartel -Wired

Weekend Video: Clip From (FACEBOOK CEO) Mark Zuckerberg’s Q&A At Web 2.0 - Paid Content

Partner Apatow enlivens FunnyOrDie- The Hollywood Reporter

Comcast Blocks Some Internet Traffic- Washington Post

The Origins of Trans-Media Storytelling

2007-10-19T17:37:00.000-04:00

The storytellers behind properties like Lost, Heroes, and The Matrix weave incredibly rich stories across multiple mediums. But they were not the first to do so… far from it. For that, give the credit to Cavemen -- no, not the ABC sitcom...

The Origins of Trans-Media Storytelling
By PGA NMC member Jeff Gomez

Prehistoric men and women would supplement their fireside accounts of great hunts and rich harvests with images painted on cave walls, as well as with expressive dances.

Early multi-platforming!

With the advent of mass media in the late 19th century came a rise in demand for books and periodicals with broad appeal. Fictional characters came to prominence, and readers wanted to enjoy their further exploits in sequels or other iterations. So Sherlock Holmes would venture through issue after issue of Strand magazine, and then those short stories and novellas would be collected as books. Later, there would be stage plays and radio shows adapting his exploits or inventing new ones. He arrived on the silver screen in 1912 in France, and has never been gone for long.

The same can be said for Dracula, Tarzan, Little Orphan Annie and the Lone Ranger. The Superman radio show would even add to the canon established by the original comic series by introducing Jimmy Olsen and kryptonite into the mythology.

Jeff’s examples of Sherlock Holmes and Superman support Principle #4 of his 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production – “Content is unique, adheres to platform-specific strengths, and is not repurposed from one platform to the next.”

In his next post, Jeff introduces us to more colorful trans-media icons like Astro-Boy and Speed Racer.

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro. Over the next few weeks he’ll be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon the 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production

previous Jeff Gomez trans-media post
next Jeff Gomez trans-media post

"New York rocks digital media!" - Bob Greenberg at Night of the Producer

2007-10-19T15:15:00.000-04:00

The PGA NMC East was well-represented at last night’s 3^rd annual ‘Night of the Producer’ event at the New York City Fire Museum, on Spring and Varick, at which Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of TriBeCa Productions, and Bob Greenberg, founder of R/GA, were feted.

Our own Jeff Dachis, who was able to bring in Bob Greenberg for this event, conducted a 45-minute discussion with Bob, who was in rare form. For those that don’t know, Bob Greenberg practically invented computer-based special effects and graphics in the film industry, having handled titles and effects for some 400 feature films (‘Superman,’ ‘Alien,’ and ‘Body Double,’ among others) and 4,000 commercials.

Bob’s presentation was preceded by a 5-minute piece on his career (with a wide range of talking heads, several of whom were in the audience), which has interestingly been segmented by 9-year cycles, in which he “re-invents” his business (he said that his girlfriend of 22 years is a numerologist, and this helps place this in perspective). His 1977-1986 period included the development of computer-assisted filmmaking; 1986-1995 and 1996-2005 saw the development of a digital agency.

The unique aspect of Bob’s career is his active visionary capabilities. He explained that his father helped invent a computerized process for manufacturing mirrors in Toronto, where he grew up. Bob’s brother, Richard (with whom he founded R/GA), plied his Chicago neo-Bauhaus training into the business, and this has formed the core of R/GA’s approach; assembling the best talent for the operation and meshing these talents seamlessly (it also explains the Bauhaus-like structure on 39^th St. that has housed R/GA for years).

Bob had a number of key points, including:

He disclosed that R/GA will open a San Francisco chapter soon. This move is purely to attract talent for R/GA, not to support any Bay Area clients

He believes that we are in a “four-screen” universe now (t.v., computer, mobile, digital signage) that will create a “one-screen” experience, meaning that consumers will choose what screen they want to watch when they want to watch

He is actively involved in trying to fill what he sees is a massive gap in new media talent, particularly coming out of design schools (he has recently met with leaders of RISD and other noted design instititutions)

He is building the next platforms for communication (the Nike Plus; the Nokia N95). He referenced mistakes that companies – such as Kodak and railroad companies – have made in not understanding their businesses (he said that he was on a “Kodak 2010” panel for Eastman Kodak, at which he stated that “by 2010, no one will be using film any more”)

He believes that the moviegoing experience is moribund and needs to be changed (“a kid with a DLP projector, two honking Aiwa speakers, and a bed sheet can create a superior experience for his friends – why does he need to go to a movie theatre?”)

He believes that watching a full-length film on an iPod is perfectly acceptable and natural and that anyone who doesn’t believe this is probably too old

Bob was very positive about his work in New York, and several times cited the fact that he believes New York is the capital of the digital media industry. “New York rocks digital media!” was his emphatic end-remark.

- Chris Pfaff, President, Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC; board delegate,

PGA New Media Council

A board delegate of the PGA New Media Council since 2006, and a PGA NMC member since 2004, Chris Pfaff leads a consultancy – Chris Pfaff Tech/Media,LLC – that represents some of the leading service providers, audio/video technology firms, networking vendors, and media companies in the world, from PRIMEDIA and Eastman Kodak to Cantor Telecom. A veteran of the venture world, Chris helped launch more than 20 ventures from the Lucent New Ventures Group, including iBiquity Digital; Flarion; Lucent Digital Video,and GeoVideo Networks, among others. In addition, he has helped launch AT&T’s Internet strategy; the Viacom New Media division of Viacom, Inc.; Sony Electronics’ Digital Betacam format, and Sharp Electronics’ LCD produc division.

The State of Trans-media

2007-10-17T23:18:00.000-04:00

The State of Trans-media
By PGA NMC member Jeff Gomez

Comic book and video game publishers, movie studios and animation houses, even Fortune 500 companies not normally affiliated with content production are all coming to realize that brands and brand messages are best conveyed through entertainment. Multiple platforms mean multiple revenue streams — and multiple ways to expose a mass audience to your products. Rich worlds lend themselves to large and incredibly loyal fan bases. Fans in turn are demanding stronger, deeper storylines that “speak” to them through whatever medium they have at hand, be it the web, television, their Sony PSP’s, or even their mobile phones. We’re seeing this with franchises as diverse as Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, Bionicle, Hot Wheels, Magic: The Gathering and Halo. In fact, all of these highly successful projects are examples of trans-media storytelling from early stages in their development. And all of these required producers and writers, who were especially prepared to envision these sophisticated narratives, develop, produce and prepare them for distribution.

Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro.

Over the next few weeks he’ll be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon the 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production

previous Jeff Gomez trans-media post

next Jeff Gomez trans-media post

THE NIGHT OF THE PRODUCER for PGA members only

2007-10-15T11:19:00.000-04:00

Coming this Thursday, October 18, 2007

THE NIGHT OF THE PRODUCER

It takes a special breed of professional to succeed in New York City. Members of the New York community thrive on the energy, the excitement and even the incredible challenges that come with producing media in this city. The Producers Guild of America East Coast Chapter, along with the New Media Council East, is hosting a members only celebration of that energy, excitement and community as our fellow producers come together for an evening of conversation with a pair of New York producing legends:

JANE ROSENTHAL

and

ROBERT GREENBERG

Jane Rosenthal co-founded Tribeca Productions and the Tribeca Film Center with Robert De Niro. She is also the creator, along with De Niro, of the first annual Tribeca Film Festival in May 2002 to contribute to the cultural and economic recovery of Lower Manhattan after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Rosenthal's numerous producing credits include The Good Shepherd, Rent, Meet the Fockers, and the Academy Award-nominated Wag the Dog. www.tribecafilmfestival.org.

Bob Greenberg has been a pioneer in the advertising and digital communications industry for three decades. His company, R/GA has created groundbreaking visual effects for films such as Superman, Alien, Predator, Seven and Zelig. R/GA's body of work spans 400 feature films and 4,000 television commercials. Last year, R/GA was recognized by Adweek as the "Interactive Agency of the Year" and named on Advertising Age's Agency Top 10 "A-List". www.rga.com.

All ticket proceeds will benefit charities chosen by Jane Rosenthal and Bob Greenberg.

***YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO ATTEND THIS EVENT! ***

For more information about the PGA New Media Council and to access a membership application, please visit: www.pganewmedia.org .

For more information about the PGA and to access a membership application, please visit: www.producersguild.org.

Digital Content Week in Review

2007-10-13T09:14:00.000-04:00

Digital Content Week in Review

Hollywood prepares for writers strike - FT.com

US interactive ad sales to hit $61bn in 2012- vnunet.com

Online: Live A site offers 'lifecasting' to anyone with a Webcam- WSJ

Joost To Stream Live TV - Gizmodo

Does FunnyOrDie need Will to live? - Hollywood Reporter

Google pegs video ad plans- Variety

CBS Interactive Scares Up Web Series - Mediaweek

Endemol to Bring Content to Next.TV- Mediaweek

2007-10-02T21:27:00.001-04:00

PGA member Jeff Gomez (left) assembled a stellar panel to discuss the brave new world of trans-media production.

“Trans-media” may be a new term for many of us… but after this fascinating discussion, it became clear that the word will soon become part of any good producer’s vocabulary.

The 8 defining characteristics of a trans-media production (by Jeff Gomez):

1) Content is originated by one or a very few visionaries
2) Cross-media rollout is planned early in the life of the franchise

3) Content is distributed to three or more media platforms

4) Content is unique, adheres to platform-specific strengths, and is not repurposed from one platform to the next
5) Content is based on a single vision for the story world

6) Concerted effort is made to avoid fractures and schisms
7) Effort is vertical across company, third parties and licensees

8) Rollout features audience participatory elements, including:

- Web portal

- Social networking

- Story-guided user-generated content

Examples of contemporary trans-media properties include:

The Blair Witch Project

The Matrix

Hot Wheels: World Race / Acceleracers

Bionicle

Pokemon

Magic: The Gathering

Many Disney projects, including High School Musical, Pirates of theCaribbean, Fairies, Hannah Montana

After 2 hours we only began to scratch the surface of this unbelievably rich topic. We will continue the conversation right here, featuring in depth discussion of each of the 8 characteristics.

Greg Weinstein

Next Jeff Gomez trans-media post

Event: CREATING BLOCKBUSTER WORLDS:

2007-09-24T16:42:00.001-04:00

We are pleased to invite all PGA and PGA New Media Council members to our first event of the season.

Wednesday, September 26, 6:30PM – 9PM
The Society of Illustrators 128 East 63rd Street (between Park & Lexington Avenues)

CREATING BLOCKBUSTER WORLDS: TRANS-MEDIA DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION
As exemplified by TV series such as Lost and Heroes , video games such as Halo and the work of creators such as JJ Abrams, Joss Whedon, Zach Snyder and Kevin Smith, storytelling has made a quantum leap in the 21st century. Development and production of a single rich narrative across multiple media platforms is the next exciting challenge being faced by producers in the digital age. Right now, major studios, advertising agencies, video game publishers and dozens of Fortune 500 companies are incubating concepts and developing intellectual properties capable of both enthralling and interacting with audiences who will enjoy them on their TV sets, computer screens, game consoles, as well as in the form of theatrical films, graphic novels and toys. There are only a handful of producers with extensive experience in the lucrative field of trans-media storytelling and production, and the PGA will be bringing them to you in this exciting seminar.

Scheduled to appear:
Jeff Gomez (Moderator), CEO Starlight Runner Entertainment
As the host of the seminar, PGA member Jeff will familiarize producers with the history, criteria and relevance of trans-media storytelling. An expert in the field of trans-media development and creator and producer of highly successful fictional worlds, Jeff exponentially increases the value of intellectual properties by preparing them at early phase to be extended across a wide variety of entertainment platforms. Jeff has written and produced elaborate trans-media universes (including content such as feature and episodic animation, video games, comic books, novels and web portals) for 20th Century Fox, The Coca-Cola Company, The Walt Disney Company, Acclaim Entertainment, Mattel, Hasbro and Scholastic.

Ivan Askwith, Lead Strategist, Big Spaceship
This highly successful executive coordinates narratives and interactive spaces designed to convey the essence and message of his clients' brands across multiple media platforms simultaneously. Through his graduate work at the Program in Comparative Media Studies at MIT, Ivan has been a passionate advocate for the development of trans-media narratives, extensions and franchises in both entertainment and advertising. Ivan now works as a lead strategist at Big Spaceship, a creative agency that develops award-winning interactive campaigns for clients including Sony, Paramount, Google, Adobe and ABC, the most recent involving an online campaign leading up to the release of The Bourne Ultimatum. In addition, Ivan has taught media strategy at MIT and NYU, and written on trans-media narrative for publications such as Slate and Salon.

Warren Weideman, Director, Branded Entertainment, CenterstagingPGA Event Committee Member and Co-Chair of the Producers Guild Annual Golf Tournament.
Warren Weideman is the creator of Rehearsals.TV on Comcast Video On Demand, a companion channel to the Rehearsals.com web site. Warren is also one of the pioneers of feature film product placement, and he also innovated many of today's sponsored and branded media content techniques. Warren produced the highly rated Showtime film series The Inspectors in tandem with the United States Postal Service, as well as the series 18 Wheels of Justice for TNN in tandem with Kenworth/Ford Motors. Today, Warren is developing sponsored trans-media entertainment content with Centerstaging, Comcast and Kidzhouse Entertainment.

Kenneth N. Swezey, Attorney, Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP
Ken Swezey is one of the originators of today's complex trans-media deal structures. A transactional attorney concentrating in entertainment, digital media, copyright, publishing and corporate law, Ken's clients range from well-known licensing agencies, digital media companies, bloggers, software developers, publishers, authors, literary agents, literary estates, visual artists and national not for profit organizations. Ken currently serves as Vice-Chairman of the New York State Bar Association Entertainment and Sports Law Committee and is a frequent speaker and panelist on digital media and copyright issues.

Jeremy Kagan, Vice President/Director, Strategy and Customer Insight, Publicis Modem
A believer in early phase trans-media planning for marketing and entertainment campaigns. Jeremy Kagan heads research and innovation out of the New York office of international advertising agency Publicis, where he develops resources and strategic positioning emerging technologies to ensure a strong impact on the bottom line for even the most cutting edge approaches to marketing. Jeremy spent many years as an independent consultant to a variety of media and technology clients, from cable channels to e-mail technology companies, and as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School teaching Marketing & the Internet.

Producers who attend this seminar will become familiar with the following:
- The definition, history and near-future of trans-media storytelling, development and production Success stories and notorious trans-media failures
- Creative and technical elements that form successful trans-media franchises
- What (and who) you need to know to understand the ambition and scope of trans-media production
- The conceptual building blocks for successful trans-media development and implementation
- Facing the challenges of working with large conglomerates
- Rollout strategies
- The role of product placement, sponsors and promotions
- What goes into developing a trans-media deal
- Examples, illustrations and models

We will have handouts but no audiovisual.

Creating Blockbuster Worlds Wednesday, September 26, 6:30PM – 9PM The Society of Illustrators 128 East 63rd Street (between Park & Lexington Avenues)

- RSVP by sending your reservation request to: pgaeastevent3@gmail.com

- Type your name + if you are bringing a guest (only ONE) in the "subject" line of the email. -

To cancel or change your reservation (INCLUDING GUEST CANCELLATION) after you have received an email confirmation, please email:mailto:lsterritt@producersguild.org

PRE ROLL

2007-09-19T08:02:00.000-04:00

The PGA NMC Blog is THE place to go for all you need to know about producing for new media. It’s not written by some self-appointed guru perched up in an ivory tower. No… here you’re hearing it straight from the source — industry pioneers who are shaping the new media landcape on a daily basis.

The PGA NMC is comprised of thought leaders from all facets of the new media business — Broadband, Mobile, DVD, iTV (I could go on and on). These are the people making it happen… and here you’ll get unprecedented access to them.

Throughout the year, the PGA New Media Council hosts a series of panels and salons that allow you to get up close and personal with the luminaries of our industry. This blog will serve as an extension of our events… providing you with an steady diet of relevant info you won’t find anyplace.

Let us know when we’re getting it right and when we’re getting it wrong. If there’s a specific topic you’d like to hear more about, let us know. There’s one thing our group is not lacking… and that’s people with opinions.

Over and out,

Greg Weinstein