The seasoned filmmaker (director of movies like The Fly, Videodrome, and A History of Violence) was at Cannes for the premier of his upcoming sci-fi film, Cosmopolis, as well as that of his son’s first feature, Antiviral.

Both films were shot using (RED competitor) Arri Alexa cameras, of which Cronenberg said: “what you do as a director, how you work with the actors and what the lens do and what the light does is exactly the same” between digital and film.

Like others in the digital camp, the director extolled the convenience of the medium, saying that most film developers have shut down, forcing him to send film canisters off to LA. There you have it, then, one fewer person on Christopher Nolan’s side, a director who opted for film in The Dark Knight Rises because of the picture quality edge and IMAX resolution afforded by the over century-old medium.

What’s the one thing Cronenberg will miss? “The smell when you open those film cans.”

Source: The Verge

They and a host of other stars were on hand to see Moonrise Kingdom, the new film from US director Wes Anderson, launch the annual cinema showcase.

Bruce Willis, Bill Murray and Britain’s Tilda Swinton joined other cast members at the movie’s glitzy premiere.

The film is one of 22 in contention for Cannes’ prestigious Palme d’Or award.

Reactions to Anderson’s latest have been broadly positive, with The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw saluting “a soufflé of strangeness [that] rises superbly”.

The Telegraph’s David Gritten was similarly effusive, describing it as “a mood elevator of a movie” and “an ideal opener” for this year’s event.

Moonrise Kingdom was a suitable curtain-raiser for a festival in which US films and directors are heavily represented.

The main competition line-up contains six US-based movies, among them a new thriller starring Brad Pitt and an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel On the Road.

“American cinema is back in force,” said Cannes’ artistic director Thierry Fremaux, when he announced the programme last month.

The US invasion continues on Friday with an out of competition screening of the latest DreamWorks animation, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.

Only one British film – The Angel’s Share, directed by Ken Loach – is up for the Palme d’Or. Yet British talent is well represented in other areas.

On Thursday the Critic’s Week sidebar launches with Broken, a London-based drama from acclaimed theatre director Rufus Norris, starring Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy.

Source: BBC News

2Pac, wearing only his 6-pac and low riding baggy jeans, thrilled a new audience and stunned his fans when he appeared in a hauntingly reincarnated ‘hologram’ shouting, “What the fu-k is up Coachella?”

So lifelike was his performance that The Brief had to conjure an urban legend: what if Tupac is still alive? What if he is actually hiding out in Cuba as some of his fans insist? After all, nobody saw his corpse. And what about Tupac’s prolific posthumous output? But bizarre theories aside, audiences at Coachella had only Dr. Dre to thank for making Tupac’s virtual appearance as badass as real life.

Don’t take my word for it; watch and come back:

Did you think you saw a ghost? Me too. And, frankly, we did. We saw a variation of a ghost illusion. Pepper’s Ghost to be exact. A visual effect discovered back in the 19th century that relies on an angled piece of glass to create a ghostly image. And as back to the future as it may sound, virtually the same thing that was happening back in 1862 happened in 2012 at Coachella. With one technical difference: “In the Victorian era, Pepper’s Ghost was used to reflect actual, physical objects or actors, making them appear “dimensional” in ways that projected or computer-generated imagery, typically used today, do not.”*

Dr. Dre had a spectacular vision. To bring the illusion of Tupac “back to life” to perform at Coachella. First stop Digital Domain – the Hollywood visual effects company that won an Academy Award for the work they did on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Four months later, Digital Domain handed over computer generated graphics of Tupac’s physical characteristics and movements which were captured from recorded performances.*

About the difficulty in creating those graphics, Ed Ulbrich, C.E.O. of Digital Domain, said “To create a completely synthetic human being is the most complicated thing that can be done… performances of the rapper’s hits ‘Hail Mary’ and ‘2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,’ weren’t simply old ones captured on film and repurposed: This is not found footage. This is not archival footage. This is an illusion.”*

But still a giant step from Coachella. To bring the computer graphics and projection to the stage, Dr. Dre enlisted AV Concepts in San Diego. They utilized the Musion Systems Ltd. patented Mylar screen - which steps up all the above to a gangsta spectacle that transcends.

Visionaries are inspiring. The rest of us can steal. Now that you know how and where it can be done, you only need the right brand, a budget over $100,000 and you can envision an out-of-home experience that may blow peoples’ minds. Just imagine:

1. A flash mob over mobile going out to 6 cities across North America.
2. They congregate to witness a staged event of (say) Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. (Easy for me to say!)
3. Whilst ambassadors for Chanel hand out samples of their heavenly new fragrance. And you can download the Sistine Chapel as a free screensaver.
Or,
4. More mundane and done by AV Concepts with other CEO’s dead and alive - Steve Jobs makes one of his otherworldly new product presentations for 2013.

Of course, with a healthy budget you can always go the traditional route. But judging from here, you might challenge yourself to thrill people.

MORE VIRTUAL TO DIE FOR
Madonna live with Gorillaz hologram using the same Musion Systems Ltd. patented Mylar screen in this illusion used for the 2006 Grammy Awards. Click and enjoy:

Séance Sources

* Rapper’s De-Light: Tupac ‘Hologram’ May Go On Tour’ Wall Street Journal, TECHNOLOGY Monday, April 16, 2012
* Report: Tupac Hologram at Coachella Cost at Least $100K Rolling Stone Music, April 16, 2012
* “Hologram” in Marketing: An Uncanny Ally? By Andrew Pryor Mashed Marketing, April 23, 2012

—–

Comment to Linda at this address: thebrief@to411.com.
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Now in its 30th year, the company has more to celebrate beyond a new name and fresh look. Mergers, acquisitions, geographic expansions, a new executive team and a growing repertoire of services have increased its success and heightened its profile.

The company’s current growth and plans to enter new markets are cited as key reasons for its name change. Sim Video merged with Bling Digital in 2009 with the intention to create a company that could provide the most comprehensive equipment and file-based workflow solutions in the industry. Today, the fully merged company is working on top productions like Steven Speilberg’s Falling Skies in Vancouver, Vampire Diaries in Atlanta, and the massive Guillermo del Toro feature Pacific Rim in Toronto.

Founder and CEO, Rob Sim said of the name change, “SIM is a company that has worked hard to be at the forefront of our industry, and that means we are always evolving. While our name has served us well over years, the word ‘video’ seemed a little out of place with cameras like the Arri Alexa, Sony CineAlta and RED cameras winning over the industry,” said Sim. ”We have one of the most impressive inventories of digital cinema tools and cutting-edge services available, and yet our name didn’t imply it. After exploring some options, we ultimately focused on choosing a name that simply reflected how the industry and our clients refer to our services today – and SIM Digital was born.”

SIM has experienced significant growth in the past few years and is looking to expand its Bling workflow service offerings in the LA market in 2012. Sim’s Bling Digital division provides workflow solutions that include: on-set data management, video assist, digital dailies, LTO tape archiving and post-production equipment provision.

“Productions see no boundaries on where or how they shoot today. Our clients need to have access to our equipment and services in any city or country they decide to shoot in, so we’ve made it a priority to be more accessible,” said Jim Martin, CSO, SIM Digital. ”Change is always around us, and that’s what makes this an exciting time for our company. We’re eager to introduce our services to these markets under our new design, and we believe that our revamped identity will serve us well in this digital age.”

The non-refundable film, TV and digital tax credit, worth about $1 million according to the government, will replace the old film tax credit, worth about $8 million, that was cancelled in the provincial budget as a cost-cutting measure.

The new program, announced Friday afternoon, offers a 25 per cent non-refundable tax credit on production costs, but only companies that make a profit will get the money.

Ron Goetz, president of the Saskatchewan Motion Picture Industry Association (SMPIA), said that’s a problem.

“If you have no corporate earnings you have no tax credit,” Goetz said. “So that’s the difficulty, because most film companies don’t make a profit.”

Most of the companies are created for one specific film, Goetz explained.

“It’s not like these single-purpose companies are holding on to significant funds at the end of the day,” he added. “They’re designed to complete that production.”

The NDP turned up the heat on the change in the legislature.

“Why is the government forcing through a plan that will be completely useless in keeping the film industry alive in Saskatchewan and that won’t attract outside investment here?” Danielle Chartier asked Culture Minister Bill Hutchinson.

“Let’s be clear about this,” Hutchinson replied. “In every one of our discussions with the film industry, we have been very clear that the old refundable tax credit wasn’t viable. It obviously wasn’t helping to grow the industry. The industry was seriously in decline. It came at an enormous cost to taxpayers, and it was unfair to every other industry active in this province.”

Hutchinson added that over 98 per cent of the $100 million paid out through the old program was “really just a grant to companies that don’t even pay corporate income tax” in Saskatchewan.

Traditional TV found a model that works, but online publishers refuse to fully replicate the TV ad load model in their long-form content, and that’s a major loss in revenue and advertising market share. Online video has made huge inroads in the race to make more premium, long-form content available to both consumers and advertisers, but online video will never compete with TV ad dollars if publishers aren’t willing to build in a greater ad load.

Eliminating artificial scarcity
We’ve seen small-scale adoption of the interruption model in online video, largely on sites like Hulu that stream movies and TV shows. Yet many publishers, Hulu included, are constantly “sold out” of inventory. This is partly because of demand, but also because publishers create artificial scarcity.

In truth, greater ad load does not have much effect on video consumption, nor does it scare away video viewers. A recent study by FreeWheel actually found that ad loads within long-form content are on the rise, while completion rates are holding steady at an average of 88 percent. Even Hulu is hitting a 96% completion rate, and it serves more ads than any other video property. There is a clear opportunity to create more revenue by selling more impressions, but publishers have seized upon the idea that demand comes only by limiting supply.

Room for technology innovation
Beyond the obvious lack of inventory, artificial scarcity stymies innovation in the market. Look at audience targeting, which is the strategy du jour in display. When advertisers are forced to buy online video on a per-show basis, it completely eliminates targeting opportunities. Adding more impressions actually makes it easier to slice and dice the inventory into different groups, selling larger campaigns for smaller groups of consumers, and opening certain blocks up to audience targeting.

There’s a clear consumer benefit as well, because more ad opportunities increases the chances of getting the targeting right. For example, let’s say a publisher has campaigns for orange juice, a CPG product like cleaning supplies, and a minivan running on the site at the same time. The ad server detects a mom is on the site, and as she starts a 25-minute TV program, orange juice is served. The mom jumps to another tab to skip the pre-roll ad. There was one opportunity, and it failed.

Targeting algorithms learn based on interactions over time, therefore building more interaction opportunities speeds the rate at which the technology advances. If that same mom skipped the juice ad, but interacted with a CPG ad later in the program, the algorithm can learn.

Then there’s the practice of day parts, which could in turn drive higher ad rates. We know the majority of video viewership occurs from 5 to 11 p.m., the same as TV’s prime time. But with limited supply, it doesn’t make sense to experiment with day parting. Greater availability means publishers can command higher rates for the prime-time inventory, while likely selling through the rest either directly, or through networks and RTB.

Creative experimentation
A greater ad load also opens the door to more advanced creativity, particularly for brand building. Effective advertising should feel like part of the content, rather than take away from it. More ads create the opportunity to develop creative executions based on sequencing. This could mean multiple ads that tell different parts of a story throughout the program, or new creative that is served based on an interaction with a previous ad from the same brand.

The latest Interactive Advertising Bureau protocol is directly tied to standardizing ad pods and sequences, alleviating the stress of multiple ad breaks. Most publishers utilizing modern video ad serving technology should find a greater ad load relatively easy to implement as well. If it still seems like a problem, it’s probably time to invest in a new ad server.

Greater ad revenue is the most obvious benefit of a greater ad load, but the ability to innovate can’t be ignored. Publishers constantly say, “I’m sold out, and there’s no clear benefit to trying anything new.” It’s very difficult to see a benefit without actually trying, so I’ll turn the questions back to publishers. What motivates them to constrain the supply of premium video? Is it solely the user experience, or are they trying to maintain their premium?

Source: Ad Age

“Kuchu,” helmers Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright’s portrait of Ugandan gay activist David Kato and a Teddy winner at Berlin, closed a U.K. deal with indie distrib Dogwoof, negotiated by Cat Le Clef of Cat&Docs and Dogwoof’s Oli Harbottle. The distributor also sealed a U.K. deal for Jeff Orlowski’s “Chasing Ice,” negotiated with Submarine.

Fresh from nabbing the top docu prize at Tribeca, “World,” helmer Nisha Pahuja’s penetrating look at young woman at two extremes of Indian society, garnered a flurry of fest invites and Euro seller and buyer interest, bolstering Cinetic’s efforts to secure U.S. sales.

Last week’s Hot Docs Forum, the two-day pitch event and market centerpiece, saw a roster of international decision-makers at the round table.

But if Hot Docs auds — tracking to hit 160,000 and a 10% increase in box office, according to organizers — demonstrate the public’s hunger for engaging feature docus, today’s economic realities and diminishing broadcast windows and license fees mean the Forum, like similar events, is more about starting or furthering negotiations, as opposed to signing checks.

Nevertheless, a couple of Forum projects secured cash.

“Shadow Girl,” Chilean-Canadian filmmaker Maria Teresa Larrain’s exploration of blindness via her own experience, nabbed the $40,000 Shaw Media-Hot Docs Forum pitch prize. Polish helmer Hanna Polak won the Cuban Hat award ($1,690 donated by Forum attendees this year) for best pitch for “Svalka: Yula’s Journey,” which follows 11 years in the life of a young girl who lives in a Moscow garbage dump.

Several U.S. projects also found love at the Forum, with dollars certain to follow judging by enthusiastic U.S. and international TV buyer interest.

MipDoc international pitch competish winner “An Honest Liar,” co-helmer-producers Tyler Measom and Justin Weinstein’s doc on 83-year-old magician and famed debunker James Randi, saw BBC, PBS and several Euro pubcasters keen to partner.

Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville had a slam-dunk pitch with “Vidal V. Buckley,” exploring the legacy of the famed 1968 televised heavyweight debates between Gore Vidal and host William Buckley. It attracted serious interest from BBC, PBS/ITVS, Arte/ZDF and HBO among others.

And with major HBO funding secured, Doug Block’s “112 Weddings” (his lengthy part-time gig as a wedding videographer a jumping off point to explore the meaning of marriage) also saw interest from Euro players.

Source: Variety

The Cumberland Four Cinemas is closing down because the property owner has plans to redevelop the site, Cineplex spokesperson Pat Marshall told CBC News on Sunday afternoon.

Marshall said the four-screen theatre near the intersection of Bloor Street West and Avenue Road first opened in 1981.

The theatre’s last screening ran at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The staff working at the Cumberland have been given the option to relocate to other Cineplex theatres, Marshall said.

Cineplex is thanking its customers for their business and invites them to attend its other Toronto theatres.

Source: CBC News

Last week it was announced that Ken Scott was dropping out as director of the movie, the $13-million remake of La Grande seduction, the 2003 Quebec comedy hit, and Grand Seduction producer Roger Frappier made no secret of his bitter disappointment following Scott’s sudden decision.

Scott has left Frappier’s project to write and direct the Hollywood remake of Starbuck, the 2010 Quebec blockbuster that he co-wrote and directed. DreamWorks is set to shoot the English adaptation of Starbuck later this year.

“In situations of emergency, we have to find exceptional answers,” Frappier said.

“And for me, Don McKellar is an exceptional filmmaker. As producers, we are extremely happy that he will be free to direct The Grand Seduction.”

Last week, Frappier said that Scott’s departure was “an opportunity to make a better movie.”

McKellar co-wrote the acclaimed 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould with Montreal filmmaker François Girard, and also wrote The Red Violin for Girard.

McKellar wrote and directed the end-of-the-world laugher Last Night, and wrote, directed and starred in the film Childstar. He wrote the book for the musical The Drowsy Chaperone, which won him a Tony Award, and he also penned the screenplay for the film adaptation of Jose Saramago’s award-winning novel Blindness.

He co-starred in that film. In addition, he directed and executive produced the CBC series Michael: Tuesday & Thursday.

“This film was an easy sell for me,” McKellar said. “With the pedigree of the project and the rocksolid script, it didn’t take much of a seduction to get me on board.

“Besides, I love Newfoundland and I’ve always wanted to shoot a feature out there. I’m looking forward to a very exciting and productive summer.”

The film will shoot on location this summer in Newfoundland with Frappier producing in collaboration with Newfoundland producer Barbara Doran from Morag Loves Company and French producer Pierre-Ange Le Pogam from Stone Angels Production.

Source: Montreal Gazette

The e-books include items such as the shooting script, production notes, storyboards and on-set photographs.

“Now we can give fans rarely seen details of how these stories came together,” said Thomas Gewecke, Warner Bros president of digital distribution.

The Ben Hur e-book includes excerpts from Charlton Heston’s performance and shooting journals from the film sets.

An American in Paris features a reproduction of the tickets to the film’s Hollywood premiere from MGM make-up artist John Truwe.

Casablanca includes a telegram from producer Hal Wallis relating to his row with studio mogul Jack Warner, who beat Wallis to the stage to accept the film’s Oscar for best picture in 1944.

And Hitchcock’s North by Northwest includes costume sketches and composer Bernard Herrmann’s music notes.

Source: BBC News