Menu

Oscar-Nominated Short Films Appeared Online, Then Pulled

By
February 25, 2013

Disney’s short film “Paperman” was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Animated Short) last month and was soon after posted on YouTube — an effort to garner attention for the film. The other nominees followed suit, but have since been yanked from the Web because of a letter sent to each of them from the chief executive of Shorts International, who complained that the streaming would cause damage to theatrical releases. Continue reading Oscar-Nominated Short Films Appeared Online, Then Pulled

New Nickelodeon App is TV Everywhere Capable and More

By
February 21, 2013

After two years of research, asking 9- and 10-year-olds what kind of content they want to watch on an iPad, the results are in: they don’t want to watch very much actual TV. So instead of simply making its programming available on the iPad, Nickelodeon designed its new app as a noisy, colorful collection of animated clips, music videos and more, including actual full-length episodes. Continue reading New Nickelodeon App is TV Everywhere Capable and More

Sales of Physical Toys Impacted by Rise of Tablets and Apps

By
February 14, 2013

Jim Silver, editor in chief of timetoplaymag.com, estimates that more than 90 percent of the “so-called app toys that were trotted out last year sold poorly,” reports the Wall Street Journal. But toy companies are still trying to make it work, begging the question: “why have a hybrid, combining some aspect of a tablet with an actual physical toy or game, when a tablet alone will do?” Continue reading Sales of Physical Toys Impacted by Rise of Tablets and Apps

Disney and Google Launch Stunning Immersive Chrome Project

By
February 8, 2013

Google and Disney have teamed with UK app and Web developer Unit 9 to launch a Chrome Experiment to promote Disney’s upcoming film, “Oz the Great and Powerful.” Wired describes it as “Hollywood marketing machine meets tech evangelism in the future of online storytelling.” The project illustrates “the sort of immersive experiences possible when using Web technologies such as WebGL, CSS3, WebAudio, WebRTC, and other HTML5 tools.” Continue reading Disney and Google Launch Stunning Immersive Chrome Project

Disney Short Film Blends Computer and Traditional Animation

By
February 1, 2013

Disney Animation debuted its animated short “Paperman” in theaters with “Wreck-It Ralph” at the end of last year. The short is now available online, allowing people to watch it before the Academy Awards. “The Oscar-nominated animated short that blends hand-drawn and computer-generated imagery in a beautiful, innovative way that might just look like the future of animation as a whole,” writes Wired. Continue reading Disney Short Film Blends Computer and Traditional Animation

Disney Preps Infinity: New Universe for Interactive Gaming

By
January 22, 2013

“Disney Infinity”is a new interactive universe that allows children to interact with figurines in a digital world. It connects characters from Disney and Pixar movies including “Monster’s University,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Incredibles,”although Disney plans to add more before the June launch. With characters from different franchises interacting with one another, will we see any “Star Wars” entries? Continue reading Disney Preps Infinity: New Universe for Interactive Gaming

CES 2013: Disney Tests Trifocal Camera for 3D Production

By
January 8, 2013

The days of stereo 3D mirror rigs could be numbered quicker than you think if new trifocal camera technology being developed by the Arri Group, the Fraunhofer Institute and Walt Disney Studios comes to fruition. If all goes according to plan, Disney will use the new system in action on a feature film production in the near future. Continue reading CES 2013: Disney Tests Trifocal Camera for 3D Production

In a Multichannel World, Pay TV Fought its Future in 2012

By
January 4, 2013

According to Variety, 2012 was more about what didn’t happen than what did happen when considering the intersection of TV and digital media. As the multichannel world continues “begging for disruption,” the cost of the “average pay-TV subscription has skyrocketed 68 percent over the past 10 years,” notes the article. It seems something will definitely have to give, “but despite the fragility of their delicate bond, programmers and distributors didn’t face any real challenge in 2012 from any of the expected upstarts hoping to gain rights to live TV and package it in more innovative ways.” Continue reading In a Multichannel World, Pay TV Fought its Future in 2012

Streaming: Is Netflix Popularity with Kids a Double-Edged Sword?

By
December 13, 2012
  • In August 2011, Netflix launched its “Just for Kids” page, which features commercial-free age-appropriate content organized by “superheroes” and “princesses.” Recently, the streaming service signed a content deal with Disney for an estimated $300 million a year.
  • “But Netflix’s popularity with children could be a double-edged sword,” the Wall Street Journal suggests. “Analysts say the streaming service could be undermining the very companies that supply it with most of its children’s television content, namely Disney and Viacom.”
  • Sanford C. Bernstein analyzed TiVo data, finding that kids’ cable ratings were up 8.5 percent in the first quarter among viewers who didn’t stream content compared to the relatively small 0.4 percent uptick among those who did. “Disney ratings grew 11 percent for nonstreaming users and 6 percent for streaming users, while Viacom ratings grew 6 percent for nonstreaming users and only 2 percent for streaming users,” WSJ reports.
  • “Bernstein says those trends have persisted through the year. And looking at an individual network tells the same story. From the end of 2011 through August 2012, ratings at Nickelodeon were up 11 percent among nonstreamers, compared with only 3 percent among streamers,” the article continues.
  • Unlike Nickelodeon, Disney Junior and Disney XD ratings are rising. “But both channels are relatively new and are coming off a small base. And even there, Netflix appears to be having an effect,” the article states.
  • “For Netflix, the risk is that Disney and Viacom demand significantly more for children’s content to make selling it worthwhile. In extremis, they could even decide to stop selling it to the streaming company.”

Disney Tests the Video Game Waters with Possible Character Franchise

By
November 23, 2011
  • The Walt Disney Company is working to replicate the success of “Angry Birds” with its new “Where’s My Water?” iPhone and iPad game.
  • Since its September 22 release, the game has proven rather successful, even taking the top spot from “Angry Birds” for three weeks.
  • “The logic is pretty simple; games are a cost-effective way of not only testing new characters, but also building a fan base for a potential movie,” reports Market Intelligence Center. “Developing the game cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars and about seven people. The time to build the game was less than eight months.”
  • The article points out that the financial risk is minimal when compared to a feature animation project: “Animated movies can easily run in excess of $100 million to produce, so each one is big gamble. If the game continues to find success, Disney can start to plan an animated movie around the game knowing they already have a fan-base for the movie’s characters. Disney will also be able to use its merchandising muscle to create and sell all kinds of toys and clothes around the game’s characters before it ever gets a movie into theaters.”
  • ETCentric staffer Phil Lelyveld adds: “Entertainment technology must now be defined VERY broadly. The ‘Halo II’ launch incorporated thousands of calls to pay phones into a coordinated transmedia market development campaign.”

The Surface: Microsoft Table-Sized Tablet to Ship by Early 2012

By
November 18, 2011
  • The Surface 2.0 SDK, demonstrated at last year’s CES, will be released sometime early next year. Pre-orders can be placed with Samsung resellers in 23 countries (including the United States).
  • The $8,400 table-sized tablet, also wall-mountable, is four inches thick and recognizes hands, fingers and objects placed on the screen. It is currently known as the “Surface” or “Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface.”
  • “Running Windows 7 and Surface 2.0 software, SUR40 has a 40-inch screen measured diagonally, 1,920×1,080 resolution, a contrast ratio of 2,000:1, an AMD GPU along with 2.9GHz Athlon X2 dual-core processors, 320GB of storage, and 4GB of memory,” reports Ars Technica. “Ports include Ethernet, HDMI, and 4 USB 2.0 ports.”
  • Microsoft targets the Surface for professional use and envisions it being used in a number of industries including automotive, education, finance, healthcare, hospitality and retail.
  • The original Surface is already in use by the Hard Rock Cafes, Microsoft retail stores, MSNBC, Disney, Sheraton hotels and others.

Bob Iger Named to Apple Board, Arthur Levinson to Serve as Chairman

By
November 16, 2011
  • Apple has named Disney chief exec Robert Iger to its board, while Arthur Levinson will take over the chairman post previously held by Steve Jobs.
  • Bob Iger was a friend and business partner of Jobs. The two worked together when Disney acquired Pixar Animation Studios in 2006.
  • Levinson, chairman of biotech company Genentech, has been co-director of the Apple board for six years.
  • “They’re trying to shore up the Disney relationship or strengthen that relationship because it’s an important part of where Apple is going,” said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos, referring to the possibility of a future Apple television and its need for licensing deals. “The content piece is the critical key to the living room,” Munster added.
  • “He is going to make an extraordinary addition to our already very strong board,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said of Iger, commenting that Iger’s role at Disney in harnessing new technology makes him “a great fit for Apple.”

Disney and YouTube Join Forces in Original Video Series Deal

By
November 8, 2011
  • Disney and YouTube have announced a partnership to produce original content for online distribution.
  • “Disney Interactive Media and YouTube, a division of Google, will spend a combined $10 million to $15 million on original video series; those shorts will be produced by Disney and distributed on a co-branded channel on Disney.com and YouTube,” reports The New York Times. “The channel will also include amateur video culled from the torrent uploaded to YouTube daily.”
  • Disney hopes that the deal will attract children to its online videos as Disney.com has seen a drop in traffic and Disney Interactive has reported losses over the last four quarters.
  • The goal is to “bring Disney’s legacy of storytelling to a new generation of families and Disney enthusiasts on the platforms they prefer,” explained James A. Pitaro, co-president of Disney Interactive, who added that a complete redesign of Disney.com should be completed by fall 2012.
  • YouTube hopes the deal will help create credibility with parents who are concerned about the site’s content as well as compete with cable providers for advertising revenue.

Competition: Is Google Considering Plan to Enter the Pay TV Business?

By
November 7, 2011
  • Google previously announced a high-speed Internet service project in Missouri and Kansas. The Wall Street Journal now reports that insiders indicate Google may expand the project to include a phone and video service, with channels from Disney, Time Warner and Discovery.
  • Google has other ventures in the television business including its new Google TV software update and announced deals to produce around 100 free, ad-supported online YouTube channels.
  • A former Google product director said, “Internet companies like Google will be able to give you [the] same high-quality content” as cable and satellite prices and possibly at lower prices as more TVs connect to the Web.
  • Nothing has been confirmed about Google’s plans to expand the project to wider areas. But if the company follows through, it “could unleash a new wave of competition within the traditional TV business,” suggests WSJ.

Viewer Email: Pixar CEO John Lasseter Answers Fan Questions

By
November 7, 2011
  • CEO John Lasseter answers New York Times readers’ emails as Pixar Animation Studios turns 25 this year.
  • Lasseter on Walt Disney: “The films take me to other worlds through the amazing stories and characters…He really inspired me to do my life’s work and to try to entertain audiences in that same way.”
  • On his favorite animated feature: “‘Dumbo’ is my favorite film for many reasons. It’s very tight storytelling. It’s amazing to have a main character not speak at all through the whole movie.”
  • On CalArts: “The original instructors were all these amazing Disney artists that had gone into retirement, and so they came out of retirement to teach us.”
  • On advice for aspiring animators: “Every young person gets so excited about new software packages and new technology. Technology never entertains an audience on its own. It’s what you do with the technology.”
  • Steve Jobs during the making of ‘Toy Story’: “John, you know at Apple when I make computers, what is the lifespan of this product, two years, three years at the most, and then about five years, they’re like a doorstop. But if you do your job right, these films can last forever.”

Top Stories
More News