I was in Union Square recently and walked past this group of film students shooting a scene. Aside from a flashback to my days in film school when I used what looks like an Arri SB camera in the photo, I was also surprised by what was absent, namely any form of modern technology for creating content in this white-hot field of IPTV.

Now, the fundamentals of filmmaking are not solely technology driven. As a DP, learning about composition, lighting, working with boards, and the rest does not require a DV camera connected to a laptop running WM Encoder. What I wonder when I'm looking at this photo is what do these aspiring filmmakers know of IPTV, the coming transformation of analog to digital content delivery, and how well prepared will they be in a field where, I believe, differentiation is the key to success.
I worked on a shoot in the early 1990's with a successful DP who at the time had purchased an Aaton Super 16. It was not long before he was mostly getting requests for tape as that movement took root. What that person had to do ultimately was purchase a Betacam package in order to stay current with technology and the trend in content delivery.

My question is how many film schools are creating curriculum to teach students about IPTV production? Topics include: Shooting content for fixed or mobile devices (mobile has its own set of requirements), compression, extensibility across different players and platforms, embedded adverts and consumer conversion, digital rights management issues, technologies and authentication, revenue share models, and so on?

I welcome speaking with educators out there who are interested in discussing this in greater detail....

Since Yahoo! has launched their Yahoo|Current platform, I think it time to revisit my article about Yahoo! FinanceVision and an image of their UI, which I recently came across.

Back in 2000, Yahoo! created the first and most innovative IPTV platform of the day. It featured two reporters in New York City, Bertha Coombs at the NASDAQ and Mary Snow at the NYSE, in addition to a studio in California where content was fed in real-time and then back out to the Internet. I had the pleasure of working with them on many projects during my tenure at the company.

Yahoo! FinanceVision, circa 2000

- Content channels (upper left, shows were also available for on-demand viewing)
- Player window (streamed as MW or Real)
- URL pushed links window (upper right that were specific to the topic or guest)
- User customized pane (lower left, stocks, weather, etc....)
- Search Window (lower right, for content viewing on any site)
- In addition, the player window was adjustable to view only the video stream, or some or all of the other panes.

What made the platform unique were features like polling, the ability to receive questions from the audience during a live interview, as well as pre-roll spots. A person called a Data Wrangler pushed out URL's during an interview. The 30-person group did not survive nor did the platform, which is a shame. The Vision platform was ahead of its time, and of course, there was a general lack of broadband deployment at the consumer level, which was an impediment to adoption.

So, flash forward to 2006 and the Yahoo|Current platform.

Yahoo|Current, circa 2006

What strikes me and other people who worked with it, is how little has progressed since 2000 specific to user interactivity. So, what is going to separate the Y|C platform from other YouTube/me too sites? The answer, I think, is in creating a platform where there is relevance for communities. I was talking with a friend recently who put it simply. "Yahoo! groups are a core asset of the company" yet he did not understand why they do not leverage that community to build content channels! Examples abound, a special interest group for instance can share content and mash it up. And that would make it a better targeted group for adverts....

As Frank Chindamo, of Fun Little Movies said in a recent interview I had with him, how many times do you want to see a cat falling off a chair, and what is the revenue model?

In 2000, Yahoo! created what many consider the most innovative IPTV platform of its day, even when compared to what is available today. The Vision platform had more interactivity, more user customization then many existing platforms, and was ahead of its time.

Flash forward to September 20, 2006 with the announcement that Yahoo! has partnered with Current TV, Al Gore's Internet creation to form Yahoo|Current. The deal will leverage Currenttv's community of user-generated content, both consumer and professional.

Yahoo! will bring their global brand and reach along with four channels they will add to the mix, namely

They will add to the mix:

- Current Action: Action sports and news, such as Surf, Skate, Snow, BMX and FMX
- Current Buzz: Content from their Buzz network, which consists of what's on the minds of people and what's hot in popular culture.
- Current Driver: All about automotive, Drivers, Mods, Rides, Stunts & Crashes
- Current Traveler: Globe-trekking BBS of video postcards

The four channels will also be seen on Current's TV network, Al Gore said. Current is only available now in 30 million of the nation's 110 million homes with televisions acording to a Yahoo! article.

"The distribution reach and community of online viewers that Yahoo serves gives an unparalleled opportunity to connect the online video experience, including video-related content, with a mass audience," Gore said.

You will also see celebrity submissions; the current one is of U2. Their music has always been an important part of my collection and I still get a charge when I watch 'Where The Streets Have No Name', the 1987 masterpiece shot on a LA. rooftop. It saddens me however, to watch this ill-conceived and poor quality content, if a celebrity is going to shoot it, it should at least look good.

On the other hand, in looking back at the U2 video of 1987, I found this frame of a person in the crowd taking video of the impromptu concert. If this were shot today how cool would it be to blend that user-generated footage in with the footage the band shot? Well, it certainly would boost community to provide clips of the professional footage, which users could cut with their own content, or the content of other users, and create many different versions.

What is different between the two pieces of user/celebrity-generated content? The former has little content structure, is of poor quality and gets tiring in a hurry. The latter would add more cut-away footage to the event and draw in the user community in a fashion I think more compelling.

I am glad Yahoo! has taken another step forward in the space since they had pulled back earlier this year; I have high expectations for this space and know what is possible if companies had more vision and were willing to take more risk.

When it comes to getting Indie filmmakers to embrace creating new content and existing content on channels like Brightcove, Maven or other tool/aggregator sites, it is not enough to build easy to use tools, networks or even revenue share models, you need to build from within the user community.

If you remember the television show "I Dream of Genie", you may recall Doctor Bellows was in search of the X-Factor, a secret ingredient that would create some breakthrough and elevate his status with the general.

I feel as if companies in this space have not fully figured out how to find or use the X-Factor to foster adoption, though it seems rather straightforward to me, here are just a couple of examples of what I am talking about, I may post others from time to time.

- Collaborate with established Indie producers and DP's to co-promote their projects. These people are the influencers who can pave the road and encourage other filmmakers to exploit creating content for and distributing on IPTV.

- Sponsor and work the Festival circuit, scout for new talent and highlight on your companies site under a community/development tools section for professionals.

Volcom, a retailer of specialty clothing for snowboarding and surfing has long embraced audience and celebrities content in branding the story and not just the company. I am surprised resources are not being put into these areas. At the end of the day, companies need to evangelize not only their product but also the medium if it is going to see adoption and growth.

As reported in the September 18th issue of Online Media Daily (Subscription required) LonelyGirl Dumps YouTube for a new date, namely Revver.

The reason for her moving to a new network, a better revenue share model as the producers stand to gain a 50-50 cut of ad revenue from the segments, the switch should be complete by Friday.

Guess no love lost with YouTube..No Bucks, no Buck Rogers!

In the September 19th issue of Business Week, MSN's on-line answer to YouTube was announced.

Of note were comments by Rob Bennett, general manager of MSN's entertainment and video services unit, specifically "Microsoft believes there is `still plenty of room to innovate,' and go beyond what I would say most services provide ... just sort of the basics, a very kind of primitive experience that is not that engaging," Bennett said. "It's not that fun to use. It just gets the job done."

The article mentioned MSN would use a larger window size and use time-line jump capabilities. In addition, they will facilitate network circles of friends and family for sharing of content, which is the only intriguing feature in the article that I want to, hear more about.

So how is Microsoft going to make the experience engaging? Not with window size and jump capabilities alone, this is so 2005 thinking. What is going to stick against the wall, to use their spaghetti reference, is enhanced features like, interactivity, social networking with other users, on/off-site editing, platform extensibility, i.e., to mobile as well as fixed devices among others ideas.

In the end, it is not going to be spaghetti that makes people hungry for this service, it will be more like a Chinese menu of features, which the viewer can use at will and anywhere they happen to be. With that said, I will get off my soapbox for now and wait to see what comes to the front door. Don't forget the brown rice....

"Hey there lonely girl, lonely girl/ Let me make your broken heart like new" As sung by Eddie Holman.

The filmmakers and the star of Lonelygirl15 are singing though are anything but lonely these days. The outing of Lonelygirl15 in itself is not what interests me. What interests me is that convention has been turned on its head, and that a hundred- fifty- dollar Webcam can replace a $6k HD camera in the minds of the audience and also that every demographic has a story to tell, be it on YouTube or through mainstream outlets. As the saying goes it's a whole new ballgame, or is it?

What these Indie filmmakers have done, perhaps inadvertently, is to challenge the Hollywood and Advertising establishments as to what constitutes a viable product for consumption by a mass audience. With over 2-mil views, Lonelygirl15 certainly has to have agencies and advertisers salivating -- witness their signing with Creative Artists Agency. There are however, a number of open questions I have before seeing this as a trend.

- Was this a fluke, a viral one-hit wonder? Will her brand be diluted and will her core audience be alienated since her coming out?

- Can a series of 2-minute segments on YouTube or other user-generated sites translate into a feature on the big screen?

- Will other stories follow the same format, and can this form of production by Webcam take root?

Speaking to the potential impact of such a viral hit, one of the original team members was quoted as saying, "...(they) help us usher in an era of interactive storytelling where the line between "fan" and "star" has been removed."

Time will show the path for lonely girl. I am excited by other potential story arcs using pedestrian technologies like the Webcam and other interactive technologies, for example.

- Sites like the urbanbaby message board allow women to vent, rant and share; I could see a group of urban wives making interactive serials -- one big story arc with mashed-up content. I would think Gerber and Pampers might be interested in reaching these folks and even using some of their user-generated content for edgier advertising.

- The HBO Entourage mash-up serials as seen on YouTube portend how community has become part of the story, if only from the outside in.

If I was a Hollywood Producer, I would encourage a series of user-generated stories (like what Lonelygirl15 established) that would be folded into the storyline of the original program, played out OTA/Cable as well as on-line sites like YouTube. Think of it as the first steps in a self-sustaining eco-system, where ideas and content traverse back and forth. While insiders are not going to relinquish control, perhaps they could enlist users and take the best of user-generated content?

From my perspective, Lonelygirl15 is yet another form of innovation and creative storytelling using the technology of the day, and not social manipulation. In 1999, The Blair Witch Project (shot on Hi-8 and 16mm) for a cost of approximately $22k was promoted by the producers as real footage and some people believed it. My recollection of audience response was mostly positive even after the truth came out. I have never viewed YouTube or MySpace content solely as documentary content, but more like a docu-life drama. Perhaps if I were in her age range I would feel a bit put off as a boy, as it would be nice to think of this attractive young woman as a geek like me. I guess I find very few stories on these site sufficient to suspend my disbelief.

Thanks to Guy Battaglia for the inspiration for the title.

I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where, a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and perhaps what keeps the folks at Amazon and Apple up at night? As reported on TechCrunch and other sites, Amazon has beaten Apple out of the gate with their Unbox film download service. I am a long time Amazon user, and as a shareholder I am glad to see they are moving in this direction. I did subscribe to and download their player, which also serves as the media download app. At first, this part was a little confusing as I expected to see a download button on the site for the media. Aside from this, the site is relatively easy to navigate.

The player UI lists titles in your library, synopsis of each title, file size and size for your mobile device, airdate, etc.... There is also a link to IMDB, which is a nice touch.

I downloaded two titles to test, the "Twilight Zone" episode, "I Shot an Arrow into the Air" and the "Star Trek" episode, "The Paradise Syndrome".

You can also view your library on-line. Your media library also has sections for books (duh), your music collection, and of course, videos. You can also add your rating/review to the site via this page.

At $2.00 for each of the two titles I purchased, I do not care much that they will disappear after 30 days however, that is not the case with a title for $15.00. At that point, I would rather purchase the DVD and own it. There is another feature, which may irk some, namely you can download to only two pc's. Now, that does not affect me however, what about the family with two or three children and five pc's around the house? Between laptops, portable devices, and home entertainment units this is rather restrictive. This is where Apple has a better plan.

Viewing "I Shot an Arrow into the Air" full screen revealed clean quality for a .wmv file. The file for portable devices is an unknown format they have labeled, .amzn. In addition, files cannot be opened in an NLE due to DRM encryption. According to engadget, the application FairUse4WM can strip out the DRM protection from WM9 files, which is unfortunate. As a content creator as well as someone who likes to view portable media, I would like the model to allow for ownership as opposed to leasing content however, this is the current system. If you do not like it then let them know. I would not want to be the Indie producer whose content is being ripped off because someone wants to get around license fees; the fact that large studios can afford it is hardly the point.

I would also strongly recommend Amazon add chapter indexing so you can jump from one scene to another. Currently, if you want to move from one part of the movie to another you will have to scrub the timeline and guess. Yikes....

Net, net the Amazon system worked well and the quality on my laptop was excellent. I did not move to a portable device. It fell to earth, I know not where--we shall see where Amazon's arrow winds up.

In the September 11th issue of Business Week, entitled A Net Pioneer's Wireless Wager (subscription required) it was pointed out that Helio will only enjoy its MySpace exclusivity until sometime in September. In addition, the price point for their hardware, which starts at $200-plus, and the service, which starts at $65 a month, has been a tough sell.

Hardware costs have always come down and tiered rate plans always emerge. I think ease of use in addition to these other points stated in the article will drive adoption. At the end of the day, it is about creating community. If Helio can create enough of a user base then they will survive, if not then the market will self-correct and someone else will step in. It has always been hard to be first, but the goal of creating community and giving people voice to their media is worth pursuing.

Kudos Jeff, it was time that someone put together a list of TV show's available for viewing only on the net. In addition, he created a RSS feeds list of some of the sites with useable feeds.

Shows run the gamut from blogs with YouTube inserted video, Podcast too more professional fare - formats include QuickTime and Flash.

More tools are needed for people to easily search for and find niche content worth watching if this medium is going to grow.

Helio is a 3-G mobile cell platform that gets it - integration, that is. They have appeared to combine easy-to-use mobile photo blogging; Internet; music; news/video downloads and games; plus the capability to move your own media content from your pc. However, the part that interests me the most is the real-time photo blogging portion to MySpace. Mobile is the trend for media delivery and interactivity -- it is a natural progression therefore to provide people with the capability to create their own story arc with photos and text in real-time.

My through line is not simply about the software integration of this particular device, No, I am more interested in story telling. Look at two other projects of interest, PLOG by HP and Microsoft's Photosynth, and you will see where I am going.

The PLOG, research project would enable users with image content sharing while mobile-- read: social networking meets story telling. What is equally compelling is the aspect of time and location-based clustering, meaning your location is tagged via a mapping program. Google Earth comes to mind. As you take photos over the course of a day, the system allows you to share photos taken along with your mapped itinerary, which you could send to your friends or colleagues. You may feel uneasy about turning on your phone's GPS for fear of being tracked by Big Brother however, if you can get past that (if they want to find you they can anyway!) then it could make for an interesting story telling experience. On another front, it opens up all sorts of possibilities for businesses to target customers in proximity to their brick and mortar location. Of course this is all based on users who have opted-in to this service. This has similarities to an article I wrote about Jambo.net.

With the Photosynth system, a 3D map is created from dozens or perhaps hundreds of still images of a scene, for example St. Peter's Basilica. Think of it as a walkthrough by way of clicking on different images contained within that 3D image structure - wide shots, close ups, and even point-to-point traversing. I have some familiarity with 3D walkthroughs having once owned a company VP3 (later sold the name to On2), which endeavored to create 3D storyboards for filmmakers. What is significant from that experience reinforced for me the importance of creating an environment people are comfortable navigating through so they do not get lost in the UI - for example in a 3D space people were not familiar with X/Y axis navigation. MUDs, like Second Life seems to have solved that problem however, a program, be it 3D or uploading images and text to MySpace, needs to be simple enough especially on a mobile device so people do not have to go through too many layers to get to the content they want.

What the Helio device and these research projects may point toward is putting the experience into a visual and text based context for the user - storytelling in an intuitive and useful experience. Taking this a step further would be video segments, again shot in an arc, or unfolding story. With sites like Jumpcut offering on site editing of original and public domain content, one can create augmented or mashed-up stories. I wish wireless providers would remove caps on uploading of video content. For example, the Helio is limited to 949KB transfer to other Helio users, and when sending video to an email address, only 176x144 resolution is supported, yikes. The Nokia N90, which can record over an hour of high-quality video, is similarly constrained. I understand capacity concerns should people start uploading 10MB files however; it is time for the Telco to scale up their networks given the purpose of these devices and the trend with sites like YouTube. The trend with sites like MySpace, YouTube, Jumpcut and projects like PLOG and Photosynth are moving in the direction of personalized storytelling, my hope is that hardware like Helio will match these capabilities in an easy intuitive fashion.