Hasta La Motion!

CABSAT  the special event for the broadcast, satellite, digital media and filmed entertainment industries for the Middle East and North Africa – is entering its twenty-fifth edition with a fresh, newly evolved format that will bring the full content creation, production, post-production satellite, OTT video, esports, digital media and entertainment ecosystem to centre stage.

Taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), 12 to 14 March, CABSAT 2019 will unite the media industry’s creative experts and most sought-after tech suppliers to unpack and unveil the new consumption habits, digitisation efforts and next-gen revenue opportunities being shaped by modern audiences.

The entertainment and media (E and M) industry are rapidly evolving, entering a stage of higher audience expectation – phenomenon analysts are referring to as Convergence 3.0. Total global E and M revenue will rise 4.4 per cent over the five-year forecast period through 2022, growing to be worth US$2.4 trillion, up from US$1.7trillion in 2017.

Moreover, digital revenue, which accounted for 50 per cent of the industry’s income in 2018, will continue to account for a greater share of the industry’s revenues as the ecosystem continues to evolve. Consumers are hungry for content like never before, and distributors are tasked with meeting this frenzied demand.

As new streaming services, such as Spotify, enter the MENA market, and content distributors like Netflix make strategic moves into content creation, the industry is pushed to look at the rapidly evolving media ecosystem in a completely new light. Business models throughout the industry are being reinvented to unleash new revenue streams, and it is line with this shift that CABSAT’s refreshed format for 2019 will bring focus to the three most dynamic pillars of future broadcast media: content creation, content production and content distribution.

CABSAT manager Syed Ali said: “The media and entertainment industry has always been dynamic, but this year the ecosystem is predicted to evolve with a rapidity that we have never before seen. If brands do not innovate quickly, they will stagnate. To succeed in this new world of on-demand, personalised content consumption, all players need to drastically re-envision how content is created, produced and distributed. CABSAT has, for over two decades, kept the regional industry at the bleeding edge of technology, business modeling and emerging revenue streams. This year we are thrilled to keep the industry thinking outside of the box so that they can keep creating, producing and distributing in this, a golden age of media.”

Fox Networks Group general manager and senior vice president Sanjay Raina, said: “Consumers are taking in media content at a never-before-seen pace. Viewers want their content options to be tailored to their tastes, and we need to meet their demands in real time. As we shift into this new era of media, industry leaders need to adapt, scale and distribute rapidly or face becoming obsolete. CABSAT is an ideal opportunity to not only unveil our solutions to the region, but to also discover the latest in international media trends and technology, as well as network with the entire MENA Entertainment and Media industry.”

CABSAT’s Content Creation pillar will be where the best minds in the industry meet. From the content creators themselves, to distributors and investors; anyone who is  in the industry will be a part of the CABSAT Content Marketplace, showcasing the best this region has to offer. The marketplace will provide unprecedented opportunities to network with and buy and sell filmed entertainment to the region’s major broadcast players.

As technology drives the latest innovations in the E and M ecosystem, CABSAT’s content production pillar will immerse attendees in the tech, gadgets and gear that will produce the next generation of content. From cameras, lenses and lighting, to blockchain, AI and 5G, new and emerging technologies such as augmented reality will continue to redefine the industry. CABSAT will feature the latest in content production gear.

Consumers in the Convergence 3.0 era demand that their content is both personalised and readily available at the tap of an app. Digitisation is redefining how consumers take on content with new Over The Top (OTT) technologies, and purpose-built platforms that facilitate “anytime, anywhere” consumption. Brands need to capitalise on this opportunity to provide bespoke content to this generation’s demanding audiences. At CABSAT’s Content Distribution and Satellite pillar, brands will highlight how they are putting the power of choice into the hands of their fans.

“For 25 years now CABSAT has been the Middle East’s leading annual event for broadcasters to initially learn how the industry has changed, then get their hands on the tech driving it forward,” said DWTC senior vice president, events and exhibitions management  Trixie LohMirmand.

“While the technology may have changed almost beyond recognition, CABSAT still remains the premier event for those looking to make waves in broadcast entertainment – from the content creators, through photographers and videographers, to those looking for the opportunities to be discovered in live video and streaming.”

CABSAT’s many steadfast features will return to the show this year, with the Content Congress set to host the industry’s leading disruptors, and the Digital Hub set to be ground-zero for all thing OTT content. Between them, speakers from the likes of Fox International, MBC Group, ICFLIX, Zee Network, Rotana TV and du TV will dissect every hot topic across digital broadcasting and content creation, including how to meet, maintain and grow consumer/viewer interest, the best way to find content development partners, integrating social media into broadcasting, and the changing face of the media and consumer landscape – locally and internationally.

The GVF Satellite Summit will host vitally important dialogues and networking opportunities for key players in the satellite industry, while CABSAT’s Global Meetings Programme will provide exclusive, free to use, networking services allowing registered visitors and exhibitors to search, connect and book meetings with key contacts at the show.

Esports set to be one of the fastest growing segments in the industry in coming years – will be featuring for the first time at CABSAT 2019, with the show hosting a dedicated B2B esports showcase aimed at providing an opportunity to showcase and understand new monetisation models. CABSAT’s esports Pavilion will define what esports – growing at an incredible pace – will look like in the future, enabling opportunities for industry leaders and those who are on the cutting-edge of this emerging industry. Seminar topics will range from e-sports content and tournament organisation, to building a fanbase, e-sports governance and marketing strategy.

From the moment content is created, to the second it is consumed, CABSAT’s 25th edition will guide the region’s industry through the next revolution in the Entertainment and Media industry. To get involved visit www.cabsat.com.

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Often I wonder playing a mobile game like Subway Surfers while returning from office- how it is benefiting me? Not only that, the rat race of accomplishing the task and reaching the final destination has disrupted the complete ecosystem, be it studies, business, work and so on. Therefore engaging in the game with an aim to reach an ultimate goal is like willingly driving yourself towards extra tension. However, on the other side, the story reveals that gaming helps in releasing tension, relaxing your mind and few variations in games also teach how to solve social issues.

Yes, you heard it right, social issues! Think about what if various global issues such as international conflict, population, pollution, cancer and so on or domestic issues such as poverty, national security, hygiene and so on; could have been solved through gaming. Though there are no games which completely resolve social issues, with the advent of technology innovation, the initiatives to solve issues through gaming have started. The notion is initiated at a steady pace because people build the society; therefore the social issues of the society can only be solved with the cluster of socially-aware people. If video games are made by people in society and are addressed to people in society, then perhaps social issues can also be solved through them.

Taking an example while playing the popular game Pokemon Go, one often stops at the pokestops to catch Pokemon and because of this many brands tied up with the game. As the brands believe under the Pokemon umbrella businesses were benefited their sales increased. What if there was a similar game where there were ‘taskstops,’ and a player has to stop by the ‘taskstop’ to do some social activity like disposing of plastic bottles in a plastic dump recycler machine which will help the player to earn random in-game rewards. While the idea can be implemented in different ways, these are some of the only surface hypothetical scenarios that have struck us.

Perhaps the materialisation of these ideas can put in motion the necessary workflow to create awareness and solve the issues at one go.

Here are the few games which have aimed at creating awareness among people to dissolve social issues:

Ayiti: The Cost of Life: Global Kids and GameLab developed the game in 2006 and it is among the first games which reflect the social issues faced by poverty-stricken people. It is a human right game which is free to play for PC and Mac. In the game, the player is a young, poverty-stricken child in Haiti and the game challenges its players to manage a rural family of five in Haiti over four years. The youth chose to design a game that focuses on the issue of poverty as an obstacle to education and uses the country of Haiti as a case study. The game and its associated curriculum were released through UNICEF’s Child Alert: Haiti website and TakingITGlobal’s network of over 170,000 educators worldwide.

3rd World Farmer: The game developed by 3rd World Farmer Team launched in 2006 and is free to play in PC and Mac. 3rd World Farmer touches on many subjects related to world hunger and poverty, such as corruption, trade barriers, armed conflict, lack of education, sanitation, infrastructure and economic stability. These factors are brought into play through an intuitive and easy-to-play simulation, where the player makes choices primarily about crop types, livestock, tools, and structures for his farm, as well as managing the family members’ health, education, marriages and jobs.

Nightmare: Malaria: It’s a 2D platformer where a player has to head into the bloodstream of a little girl who is infected with malaria. The goal of the game is to help her escape alive. A player has to face 21 gloomy, danger-filled levels. Player’s goal on each of these levels is to find the teddy bear and save it. However, to do so, a player will have to face dangerous enemies such as mosquitoes, which will do away with the player if he/she doesn’t protect themselves using mosquito nets. The game is free to play in iOS and Android devices developed by Psyop Games launched in 2013.

That Dragon Cancer: The video game is created by Ryan and Amy Green, Josh Larson, and a small team under the name Numinous Games. The autobiographical game is based on the Greens’ experience of raising their son Joel, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at twelve months old, and though only given a short time to live, continued to survive for four more years before eventually succumbing to cancer in March 2014. The game is designed to have the player experience the low and high moments of this period in the style of a point-and-click adventure game, using the medium’s interactivity and immersion to relate the tale in ways that a film cannot.

Life is Strange: The game was launched in 2017 and is developed by Square Enix which is free to download for iOs devices but it has in-app purchases to enter different seasons. The game covers bullying, teen suicide, and fleeting teen friendships and it includes coarse language, as well as scenes of bullying. It is a five part episodic game that sets out to revolutionise story-based choice and consequence games by allowing the player to rewind time and affect the past, present, and future.

Chhota Bheem Swachh Bharat Run: India’s mobile gaming company, Nazara Technologies launched the game for mobile this year. The game is inspired by prime minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The game is a part of Nazara’s Play4Good initiative wherein a mobile game is being used to educate young children with good values to keep their surroundings clean.

Indeed social impact games is a genre that seeks to effect positive changes in society through their gameplay as players are put in roles where they have to take crucial decisions that have impactful consequences.

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Following its successful Academy Awards sojourn which saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse take home the prize for best animated feature, Sony Pictures have now made an important announcement: Hotel Transylvania 4 will be releasing on 22 December 2021!

That’s right, The Hollywood Reporter writer Borys Kit revealed on his official Twitter handle that Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Releasing have began production on the film and also have a release date, as aforementioned.

The animated horror-comedy franchise has gained a cult following since the 2012 release Hotel Transylvania kick-started an epic saga, while the third and the latest installment, which released last year, grossed $1.3 billion at the box-office worldwide, the highest figures registered in the series.

Even though a formal announcement is yet to be made, the stellar principle voice-case of its prequels featuring Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Molly Shannon, Fran Drescher and Mel Brooks, are all expected to be back for the fourth movie.

However, whether Genndy Tartakovsky, who helmed all the previous three movies, will be back in the director’s seat is still unclear.

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Check out the new 3D World magazine with features I’ve contributed on Alita: Battle Angel, DNEG’s environments and Stephan Fleet’s VFX tips.

Patrick Perkins has been announced as chief intellectual property counsel at Warner Bros.,  by Warner Bros. executive vice president and general counsel John Rogovin, to whom Perkins will report.

In his new role, Perkins will supervise all of the company’s intellectual property functions, including copyright, trademark, music, production clearance, and rights analysis.

Jeremy Williams, who previously led Warner Bros.’ intellectual property function for 20 years, will expand his current role as deputy general counsel and continue to take the lead on intellectual property policy issues and in working with industry organisations such as the MPAA.

“Intellectual property is the lifeblood of our business and protecting it is more important—and more difficult—than ever. Patrick has been a strategic, thoughtful guardian of Warner Bros.’ IP for two decades, both as outside counsel and as a senior member of our legal staff. I look forward to working with him in his new role. I am also pleased that Jeremy will expand his current role as deputy general counsel and continue to take the lead on IP policy issues and in working with industry organisations. Jeremy is one of the great intellectual property minds in our industry and Warner Bros. is fortunate to have him,” said Rogovin.

Perkins most recently served as senior vice president, Intellectual Property, having joined Warner Bros. in 2012 as vice president, senior intellectual property counsel. He began his career in general litigation in New York City with Hughes Hubbard and Reed, and later specialised in IP litigation and counseling, including as a partner at the New York IP boutique, Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu. Throughout his career, Perkins has been involved in cutting-edge copyright and trademark litigation and has done work for the Warner Bros. family of companies for more than 20 years. Among his notable cases was Warner Bros.’ successful litigation over the Superman termination rights, on which he served as co-counsel.

Perkins holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College and a doctorate from Columbia Law School.

Williams has been with Warner Bros. 34 years. He served as General Counsel, Warner Bros. Pictures from 1984-1997 before moving to corporate as Chief IP Counsel in 1998. Prior to joining Warner Bros., he was a partner at both Kaplan Livingston and Sidley Austin. Williams holds a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, a master’s from Yale and a juris doctor from Harvard Law School.

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