Jun
17
Jun
17
Not too long ago, 1 June to be specific, Disney India in collaboration with Green Gold Animation began airing ‘Arjun: Prince of Bali’ every Sunday at 9 am. So AnimationXpress.com felt it was about time to review the series.
The story revolves around the daily life of the young Prince of Bali, royalty, bravery, compassion and loads of challenges. Arjun, is being raised to be skilled in the arts of warfare, his is learning the use of weapons, to ride and to hunt.
The character detailing is well executed and very much relatable, though set in the scenic beauty of Bali there is considerable creative liberty taken to give the characters a more Indian feel and look, keeping in mind the Indian audience.
The introductory music is very catchy and hummable, and that is certainly something both companies must be proud of; music being very important in any visual communication as it greatly adds to the overall experience of the visual spectacle.
The protagonist – Arjun – is very likable and relatable as a character; he’s like any kid of his age who wants to explore the world but at the same time has other responsibilities to fulfill as well. He’s ably supported by other characters on the show like his pet tiger Zimbu, which accompanies him on his adventures and Pucho, who happens to be the son of the guard Bairoo and aspires to follow in his father’s footstep to protect Arjun from any dangers on his journeys.
The other important aspect that ‘Arjun: Prince of Bali’ has going in its favour is the focus on family values and relationships. Not many Indian animations in the recent past have tried to harness this quotient and really leverage it in terms of grabbing the attention of the Indian audience. Even a Japanese anime like ‘Shin-Chan’ continues to work its magic on Indian kids leveraging his relationship with his parents, baby-sister, dog, neighbours and friends.
With the series following Arjun on his various adventures that include not only well executed action sequences, but also sorcery and magic, it’s a good opportunity for Indian kids to not only enjoy the stories but also learn family values and respect relationships along the way.
The show has already completed three weeks and is looking good to have a long innings on Indian television; if it sticks to its guns and keeps refreshing its content and storylines.
We at AnimationXpress.com would like to wish Disney and Green Gold Animation the best from our side.
Also read: Will this Arjun hit the bullseye?
Jun
17
Prime Focus Technologies has revolutionised the way TV spot transcoding and distribution works
Posted in: Animation
Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) is the technology arm of Prime Focus, which serves the needs of the media and entertainment industry services. PFT attempts at bringing together a unique blend of Media and IT skills backed by a deep understanding of the global media and entertainment industry.
CLEAR™, PFT’s award-winning Hybrid Cloud technology enabled Media ERP platform and digital content services help broadcasters, studios, advertisers, sports bodies, news agencies, the government and service providers drive creative enablement, enhance ecosystem efficiencies and sustainability, reduce cost and realise new monetisation opportunities.
PFT, VP advertising & head of media library Zenobia Noshir Sanjana over an e-mail interaction with AnimationXpress.com’s Sidharth Iyer expounds the benefits of using CLEAR™, how is it going to revolutionise the way digital advertising works and leveraging the new media, among other things.
Excerpts:-
What are your views on the rise of advertising across TV, Cinema and Digital?
With the advent of digitization, the advertising industry is expected to expand through online and offline platforms. While the longevity for offline platforms is high, and the interaction is low, the reverse trend works for online advertising. The latter is a more effective way to virtually connect with every corner of the country. Given the agility of the online platforms, content, too, has evolved overtime, and focus has shifted to localisation and targeted advertising so as to cater to regional tastes and needs. While print and television will continue to be popular with the masses, digital advertising is making place for itself in the advertising space.
In 2013, the total advertising spend from various sectors across all media was estimated at INR 362.5 billion, within which digital advertising revenue grew by 38.7 per cent, occupying a market share of 8.3 per cent; this trend is expected to continue in 2014. (Source: FICCI-KPMG 2014)
Cinema advertising has gained in appeal due to digitization. What is the real opportunity?
Prior to digitisation, advertising was restricted to the main 600 centers across the country. The digital era has truly transformed cinema. With digitisation, almost 100 per cent of all screens across India get access to content on the day of the release. This has brought about a huge opportunity for advertisers in theatres. Now, all 8,000-odd digital screens across India are available to advertisers who can use cinema to reach out not only to the audiences in metros and Tier 1 cities, but across Tier 2 and 3 cities of the country. And they can do so without the prohibitive cost of additional prints and with the greatest flexibility in scheduling. Cinema advertising revenues have grown by at least 35 per cent year on year for almost every major theatre chain in India touching roughly Rs 550 crore in 2013-14.
Can you give an overview of how Prime Focus Technologies’ solutions are helping the advertising industry?
The advertising industry deals with multiple challenges, including last minute deadlines that leave little time for shoots and editing process, followed by time-consuming delivery of tapes, and ultimately, a cumbersome process to distribute the content; all these factors often impact the final product.
Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) has made content management a very simple process by enabling advertising agencies and brands to shift from a tape to a tapeless environment, thereby dismissing one of the major problems in the ad industry. PFT’s hybrid cloud-enabled Media ERP technology, CLEAR™, helps reduce the duplication of effort and resources associated with physical media, manpower, logistics and administration – all of which add up to huge costs for managing tape-based deliveries.
Imagine a brand powerhouse like Unilever, GSK, Nestle or Dabur, where each brand runs numerous spots in different media formats in each market, in different languages, every day. Managing movement of content from provider to broadcaster in tape format is laborious, costly, unsustainable and time consuming; and in case you need to reuse the content or to make local versions, for every extra step of the content lifecycle, tape-based delivery is adding to irrecoverable costs. In an increasingly agile world, these processes are still in the primitive tape-mode.
In all this chaos, the CLEAR™ Spot Distribution solution facilitates acquisition and delivery of files from/to the ecosystem. The CLEAR technology platform automatically optimises bandwidth usage, and provides effective transmission.
What’s also important is that content that is being created needs to be platform agnostic. Quality conversion for broadcast and cinema at competitive price and maintaining image quality is key; we specialise in conversion of SD to HD digital formats and use industry standard conversion equipment.We also support aspect ratio corrections and multi-format up conversions, down conversions and cross conversions from any HD format to any HD format including support of resolutions up to 1080p.
How different is advertising on new media? What is PFT’s contribution in bringing a change?
New media brings along an array of platforms of visibility for our clients. It has already shown tremendous progress, and is poised to grow steadily over the next few years; and this growth will be faster than any other category. Traditional advertising channels such as print and TV will soon be outgrown by digital.
PFT has the most comprehensive set of integrated services built around clients’ needs. Our services span the entire marketing communications cycle covering creative concepts, production, versioning, logistics and fulfillment across channels, platforms and regions. We manage both online and offline assets.
Production: We pre (shoot) and post produce all types of Audio Visual advertising and communications across all media. We produce over 3,500 unique content pieces every month which then is published across broadcast, radio, outdoor and online. We can take brand engagements live to audiences through our Live Streaming production services.
Versioning & Transcreation: We can help tailor brand messages for specific target audiences. A full range of culture and legal consulting, local consumer insights and multiple language services capabilities are offered by us. We produce the VOs with native speakers and post produce the individual language versions in a timely and cost effective manner.
Digital: We can create optimised digital brand experiences with our suite of services spanning web development, mobile and tablet integration, SEO, digital publishing, email and campaign management, social media and app development. PFT is a YouTube certified partner for Audience Development.
Distribution Services: Leveraging CLEAR Media ERP platform, PFT delivers spots and marketing/media materials to major media owners across broadcast, publishers, online, outdoor and radio.
Cloud Digital Services: PFT has the most comprehensive suite of technical services including Archiving, Metadata creation, and Content Preparation Services like QC, Mastering and Bulk Digitization.
Can you explain how the entire spot distribution ecosystem works with broadcasters / cinema and advertisers?
PFT has revolutionised the way TV spot transcoding and distribution process works.
CLEAR™ Spot Distribution workflow is orchestrated to facilitate collection of tapes or files from content providers, followed by QC, digitisation and transcoding in the apt format for final delivery to channels. A low resolution copy is made available on the CLEAR™ Media ERP platform for preview, creative review, cataloguing and Standard & Practices (S&P) reviews. Direct digital delivery of files is facilitated by a network of edge servers located at the broadcasters’ premises. The files are delivered digitally from the CLEAR™ server to the play-out location. Sending large files quickly, reliably and at a lower cost makes CLEAR™ a perfect choice for the advertising, and video production communities.
CLEAR™ Spot Distribution can be integrated with the agency’s order management system and can collect media delivery advice on the back of media release orders. CLEAR™ works on a white box approach. A customer is notified when content is being delivered at every single stage through e-mail and SMS.
CLEAR™ enables to push commercials, promos, trailers, film rushes, long-form and other media locally and internationally. It also enables approval of digital content to media players. Security tools include user authorisation and authentication, session management, token-based UR authentication and integrated digital rights management (DRM) support. Comprehensive reporting happens on all digital deliveries through the system. CLEAR’s intuitive UI makes it easy for even non-technical savvy users to receive and distribute content. The technology is agile in deployment and offers a scalable ‘Pay-as-you-Grow’ option. It saves infrastructure costs, avoids expensive VTRs, software, servers, network equipment and bandwidth infrastructure.
How is CLEAR’s spot distribution different from traditional or other spot distribution solutions?
CLEAR’s spot distribution infrastructure offers the most comprehensive set of integrated services built around clients’ needs. PFT’s services span the entire marketing communications cycle by providing a one stop solution by covering creative concepts, production, versioning, logistics and fulfillment across channels, platforms and regions. Another defining differentiator is that we are equipped to manage both online and offline assets.
Running global campaigns in regional markets effectively – is intelligent, but how will it be executed, is Versioning the answer?
Brands and service providers face innumerable uncertainties when deploying campaigns in global markets. Versioning is the obvious answer to make a communication market sensitive but it should ensure that language and visual transcreation stays true to the brand’s strategy.
With targeted advertising and localisation services, campaigns can be focused on a city or even a specific locality in a city. Due to these changing trends, media planning for a campaign is more relevant than before. With the number of channels in India alone crossing the 700 mark, the reach of an ad campaign can be phenomenal for building or maintaining a brand. Versioning or language dubs for an advertisement in local/regional language and weaving the same with an outdoor and/or print media campaign is a trend, which is increasingly seen in the country and will be targeted to garner maximum recall amongst the masses.
What are PFT’s credentials in creative Versioning and Adaptation?
PFT’s hybrid cloud-enabled Media ERP technology, CLEAR™, enables the most comprehensive portfolio of integrated services and solutions to brands. Whether it is production, adaptation or distribution of advertising materials, across different media and languages, brands rely on the PFT ecosystem.
As global brands resort to creating local connect in their ads, tailored brand messages for specific target audiences are the way to go. PFT’s range of culture and legal consulting, local consumer insights and multiple language services capabilities help global brands address their local needs effectively. At PFT, voice overs are done with native speakers and post production of the individual language versions are completed in a timely and cost effective manner. Moreover, PFT’s virtualised content workflows across enterprise and supply chain enables 99.9 per cent control and brand consistency and lowers cost by 30 per cent.
Can you name few of your clients / customers?
As a trusted partner of many of the world’s most recognisable brands, CLEAR™ Spot Distribution transforms brand delivery processes for clients across five countries (India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & South Africa), and in 20 languages. More than 900 brand marketers and agency partners access PFT’s services and technology each and every day.
We collaborate with clients across verticals, to streamline their advertising processes and create a digital workflow. Our esteemed clientele includes names such as Unilever, GSK, Nestle, Dabur, Kellog’s, Vodafone, TATA DOCOMO, Micromax, and TVS, among others.
PFT also works with major content owners like Bloomberg, Disney, Warner Bros., News Corporation-owned Star TV, Zee TV, Eros International, Sony Music, Viacom 18, Sony MSM, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), IPL (Indian Premiere League, The Associated Press, A & E TV Network and Schawk!
What is your market share in India and globally? Can you mention some of your competitors?
We are one of the largest players in the sub-continent. Annually, we deliver more than 60,000 spots for Linear TV to more than 500 locations and over 10 million files for TV Everywhere.
Can you elaborate on your expansion plans?
We are certainly looking at South East Asia, countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. We are a big presence this year at Broadcast Asia in Singapore in June. The Middle East especially the GCC market is also on the cards.
Jun
17
Come 25 July the ‘Dabbangg’ hero is ‘Ready’ to hit the big screen with yet another Eid release, this time he will be seen sporting many looks in the Telegu remake of the film ‘Kick’.
Starring alongside Salman is actor Randeep Hooda who made heads turn once again in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Highway’ in the recent past. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui (last seen in The Lunchbox) also stars in the film.
The film has been long overdue, mainly due to the heavy use of visual effects and that is clearly visible through the trailer that officially launched on 15 June. If the trailer is anything to go by, this looks like a ‘Salman Movie’ after the debacle ‘Jai Ho’ that released in the early half of this year.
The trailer shows Salman jumping through glass windows, riding a bicycle over the rooftops and even racing alongside a train. Prime Focus had been mandated to deliver the VFX for this Sajid Nadiadwala directorial.
Interestingly, the film’s screenplay is penned by renowned author Chetan Bhagat who last wrote the screenplay for Khan’s film ‘Hello’ that was based on Bhagat’s book ‘One Night At The Call Centre’.
Playing Khan’s love interest this time around is the sizzling Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez; that should be a refreshing change for the ‘Tiger’ of Bollywood, who is known to cast fresh faces normally.
AnimationXpress.com is certain that Khan will surely ‘Kick-Ass’ (pun intended) with this film at the box-office.
Jun
17
After the successful airing of the re-imagined special in January, Cartoon Network has now announced the global return of one of its most beloved franchises, the Emmy-winning, The Powerpuff Girls.
Slated for a 2016 launch, this reboot will include an all-new television series produced by Cartoon Network Studios and a full licensing program that will roll out across all regions. The announcement was made today by Rob Sorcher, to kick off the 2014 Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.
“The original Powerpuff Girls was a franchise phenomenon for Cartoon Network, paving the way for a new generation of innovative storytellers and enthusiastic fans worldwide,” said Rob Sorcher, chief content officer, Cartoon Network. “We are calling these girls back into action based upon an overwhelming demand for sugar, spice and Chemical X.”
One of Cartoon Network’s most enduring original series, The Powerpuff Girls has earned two Emmy Awards along with five nominations, as well as countless animation honours throughout its 78-episode run. The series also inspired a feature film in 2003, a 10th anniversary special, and a re-imagined CG special, The Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed which aired on Cartoon Network in January 2014 and featured Ringo Starr. The series is among the top-grossing Cartoon Network brands of all time, with more than US$2.5 billion in retail sales generated since its debut, and has endured as a global fashion brand with a range of apparel partners and fashion collections around the world.
“This news is three large spoonfuls of excitement for Cartoon Network Enterprises in Asia Pacific,” added Melissa Tinker, Vice President of CNE in Asia Pacific. “We can’t wait to unleash this unique brand of cute and chic into the Australia and New Zealand markets. While in Asia, this will further expand and complement our existing Powerpuff business, a licensing programwhich already enjoys great success across our markets.”
The Powerpuff Girls, which debuted on Cartoon Network in 1998, was created by Craig McCracken and revolves around three sugar-coated superheroes whose mission in life alternates between going to school, fighting crime and winning at hopscotch.
Jun
17
Paris (France) & London (UK): Technicolor, worldwide technology leader in the media and entertainment sector, today announced details of its presence at CommunicAsia 2014 exhibition and conference (June 17-20, Singapore). Visitors to Technicolor’s showroom can experience a broad range of technologies designed to help communications operators deliver compelling 4K, smart life and enhanced Wi-Fi services.
“We’re committed to helping service providers create amazing immersive viewing experiences, combined with revolutionary smart home capabilities and enhanced Wi-Fi connectivity,” said Michel Rahier, President Connected Home at Technicolor. “Each of these innovations is designed to create clear differentiation in services offered to end users.”
Immersive 4K experiences
On show in Asia for the first time will be Technicolor’s 4Kp60 set-top box, capable of delivering 60 frames per second. Available for both Cable and Satellite networks, Technicolor is gearing up to deliver the most immersive 4K experience. This industry first follows the company’s demonstration of the first 4K/UHD set-top box in 2013.
Technicolor recently signalled its market leadership in 4K in Asia by signing the industry’s first major 4K set top box deal with India’s leading direct to home (DTH) service provider TATA SKY.
Reducing Wi-Fi support costs and setting up low-cost mobile hotspots
As consumers connect more devices to home Wi-Fi networks, connectivity issues can arise which create customer support expense for operators as well as potentially increasing consumer churn. Technicolor will showcase Wi-Fi Doctor, an Android app developed on Qeo that enables consumers to troubleshoot issues easily themselves, as well as providing more detailed diagnostic information when they call through to helpdesks.
Also on show at CommunicAsia will be other Wi-Fi solutions that offer mobile Wi-Fi to subscribers with minimal infrastructure investment, as well as advanced .11ac set-top boxes and gateways which provide 5GHz Wi-Fi solution for multi-screen video streaming throughout the home.
Smart life and the internet of things
Last year at CommunicAsia, Technicolor presented Qeo, its open source software to bridge ecosystems and interconnect devices and applications of all brands in the “internet of things”, to create true smart life services. This year, Technicolor will demonstrate a brand new approach that brings Qeo from enabling smart home to supporting a smarter digital life.
Jun
17
Casey Kasem, who became a household name as the host of popular radio countdown shows such as “American Top 40″ and “Casey’s Top 40,” died early on Sunday according to a statement released by Kasem’s representative Danny Deraney on behalf of the entertainer’s children. Kasem was 82 and had been under a doctor’s care in hospital in Washington state for two weeks, suffering from progressive dementia.
Apart from being a radio celebrity for over four decades, Kasem lent his vocal talents to numerous cartoons over the years, including playing the role of Robin on The Batman/Superman Hour and Super Friends, and famously remembered for his voiceover for Shaggy in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You and its many reimaginings from the late 1960s on. On top of character work, Kasem also often played animated alter-egos on cartoon episodes and films.
He is survived by his wife, four children, and four grandchildren.
Jun
17
Margaret Loesch, the founding president and CEO of the Hub Network, is getting ready for a different innings, once her contract expires at the end of this year with the network.
Loesch said in a statement: “I am very proud of the work we have done and the accomplishments we have achieved at the Hub. The network is now in excellent financial shape, its ratings are up year-to-year, our programming has won more than 30 awards, including 12 Daytime Emmys, and the Hub Network has become a TV home for quality programming that kids and their families come together to enjoy. I will be working closely with our parent companies, Discovery and Hasbro, to assist in the leadership transition. I want to thank both companies for the opportunity they extended me and thank my wonderful team at the Hub.”
“I have loved my job and am proud of the achievements we’ve made. While my career has spanned over four decades, I look forward to evaluating future opportunities and writing the next chapter,” she added.
Loesch was first the president and CEO of Crown Media US, helping to create the cable network Hallmark Channel. She was also previously the president of worldwide television at The Jim Henson Group. She was the founding president and CEO of Fox Kids Network, and in the same role at Marvel Productions.
Jun
17
Come 2015, the online video service – Netflix – is set to premiere animated originals based on the Mattel franchise Ever After High, as well as an all-new DreamWorks Animation original, Dinotrux.
Netflix and Mattel inked a deal for a series based on the Ever After High brand that will launch in all territories where the service is available in early 2015. The 12-episode Netflix original series will be preceded by Ever After High: Spring Unsprung, a new movie.
“The engaging and magical story lines of Ever After High make it a great addition to our growing slate of original kids programming,” said Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos in a statement. “Mattel has a track record of making high-quality animated programs and we’re excited to extend our relationship, bringing our members the enchanting world of Ever After High.”
DreamWorks Animation too will be launching the original Dinotrux in spring 2015 on Netflix. The story is based on a book series from Chris Gall. Dinotrux is already slated for a three-season run.
“DreamWorks has a proven track record of creating beloved characters and we’re excited to be able to bring the Dinotrux friends to our members,” added Netflix VP originals content Cindy Holland. “We know kids and families love discovering new series to watch together and we’re pleased to continue to expand our show lineup from DreamWorks.”
Netflix is certainly leaving no stone unturned in strengthening its animation library and that’s only great news for all the animation junkies out there like us here at AnimationXpress.com.
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A. during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.