Wannabe filmmakers take note – last call for entries for the Kirin “First Cut” Short Film Competition

Are you one of those people with a vague ambition to make a film but never act on your ideas?  Here’s your chance. Japanese beer, Kirin Ichiban is running its inaugural First Cut short film competition and wants entries of all standards and formats, from amateurs on their mobile phones to pros using 35mm.  One stipulation is that the film should be themed around the concept of “First Press”, a reference to Japan’s Prime Brew, Kirin Ichiban, which is made by the “Ichiban Shibori Process”, which literally translated means “First Press”.

For full details on how to enter, visit www.kirinfirstcut.co.uk.  Deadline for entries 30^th June 2011 so time to get creative!

The rules

Short film entries must be original work and can be anything from 1 minute to 10 minutes in length and use one of the following production techniques: live action, animation, narrative/experimental or documentary.  

The Judging process

A shortlist of the four best film entries will be chosen by a panel of industry experts from the world of short film including the London Short Film Festival and award winning Short Film director Simon Ellis. 

The four shortlisted films will also be screened at the Kirin Ichiban Pop Up restaurant in East London in August 2011.

The Prize

The overall winner will then be chosen from a shortlist by public vote and receive £3000 cash and the career boosting prize of having their film shown at a series of prestigious short film festivals in the Capital.  These include the prestigious 55^th BFI London Film festival in partnership with American Express (October 12-27^th), Rushes Soho Shorts festival ( 20-29 July) and the London Short Film Festival in early January 2012. 2^nd place will receive £1000 cash, 3^rd place will receive £500 cash and the final runner up will win a year’s supply of Kirin Ichiban beer

To find out more and to get your creative juices flowing, visit www.kirinfirstcut.co.uk for more details of how to submit your film and the full terms and conditions.

Whether it is your first steps on the road to directorial stardom using your mobile phone or your first short in a while, be sure to make ‘First Cut’, your next move as the deadline for entries is the end of this month – June 30^th 2011.

As a starting point, some of the short films below may give you inspiration.

1         Interview with Simon Ellis http://www.kirinfirstcut.co.uk/home.html

2         Right Place - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHyfN5qsUW0

3         Bruce - http://vimeo.com/groups/18713/videos/5395365

4         The Yellow Smiley Face http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HDM6ERbBKA

5         4 - Noodles - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex90lHEJh1o

Oscar-winning director to judge hundreds of commercial online videos in vzaar Video Festival

Hollywood movie director Oliver Stone will have his socks knocked off when he views the entries for the vzaar Video Festival – the standard of the hundreds of digital mini-movies vying for the title of Best Business Online Video 2011 is “fantastic”.

So says Stephen McCluskey, CEO of vzaar – the leading British-based online video hosting platform which is running the hotly contested international competition.

Mr McCluskey said that with just over two weeks to go before entries close, more than 600 videos have been received, most of them from creative agencies in London and the USA.

“We are delighted to note that the standard is very impressive,” said Mr McCluskey, who added that  he thought  the ultimate judge of the competition  – film director Oliver Stone – was going to “have his work cut out” choosing winners in the various categories, and the video deemed worthy of the Best Business Online Video 2011 title.

Vzaar is expecting to receive hundreds more entries before the deadline on July 1^st. Winners are to be announced on July 18th, but before then vzaar will contact entrants whose work has made the shortlist, so they can be on standby for the final judgment to be delivered by Mr Stone.

It’s easy to enter. Simply submit your video at http://vzaar.com/festival bearing in mind that digital video content submitted will be judged on style, originality and its commercial impact.

The categories for which awards will be made (along with an endorsement and personal critique from Oliver Stone) are

- Best Product/Service Video
- Best Video by a Creative Agency
- Most creative use of Video Online

The entry adjudged the best of the bunch across all categories will win the Best Online Video 2011 Award.

The competition is open to all vzaar customers, be you a media and communications company, marketing agency, e-commerce business or non-profit organisation. If you are not already a vzaar client, no problem – sign up on the website for a free trial, and you can upload your video for judging.

YouTube is watching you!

From today, YouTube will have to cope with explosive growth in terms of security images that are to be uploaded. This is due to the introduction of IP Cameras that automatically upload evidence to YouTube. As a result, YouTube will become not only a location for watching or sharing images but alsole for saving private videos.

Real time monitoring

You can monitor everything from a distance with a Marmitek IP Camera*. It is, therefore, the ideal solution for checking that everything is in order at any time of day or night.
Your sense of wellbeing can be improved if you can check, from the office, whether the pets at home are alright, check who is at your front door or just see if the sun is shining back at home.

Evidence

In addition, a Marmitek IP Camera can also provide images that allow you to verify what exactly happened and who or what let to the situation changing.
These images are automatically sent to your e-mail address or uploaded to a NAS (Network-attached storage) server. Storage space from an e-mail account, however, is often limited. And uploading to a NAS server means that you cannot usually access and view saved images online and specific technical knowledge is required if you do wish to do so.

World first!

Today, Marmitek is introducing two new IP Cameras. The IP Eye Anywhere241 and the IP RoboCam541. These IP Cameras can automatically and independently (without the intervention of a computer) upload your security images to YouTube. You can allow these to be seen by anyone or protect them so only you have access. As a result, you have a free, online alternative to a NAS server.
So whether it's your car on the driveway, the motorbike in the garage, the exclusive equipment in your lounge or the nursery where your baby is sleeping – YouTube is watching!

Price and availability

The IP Eye Anywhere241 (Static camera) is available from 4 July for €199 /GBP179.
The IP RoboCam541 (Pan&Tilt variant) is available from 4 July for €279 / GBP249.
For availability, see .

Click here if you would you like to know more about IP Cameras and what you can do with them or if you would like to see live images from a Marmitek IP Camera. 

If you would you like to know more about the important aspects when choosing an IP Camera or know how you can see the images from the IP Camera on your smart Phone then please take a look at theMarmitek University. 

The sky's the limit for Sony Ericsson as the Xperia(TM) Hot Shots hit Wimbledon

The Xperia(TM) Hot Shots hit London last week, ahead of the Championships at Wimbledon, with an action packed diary as tennis meets entertainment, which included a game of tennis suspended at 50 metres above the Thames!

The Xperia(TM) Hot Shots are six female tennis players who are all featured in a web-based TV show played out on YouTube each week, filmed by Sony Ericsson.

Last Friday, 17 June, a selection of the Xperia(TM) Hot Shots played 'Tennis in the Sky' alongside Heather Watson.  They were all lifted into the air on a specially constructed mini-court and put on a tennis master class against local celebrities including British TV presenter Gary Lineker and UK table tennis star, Darius Knight. To complete the international field, Australian former Wimbledon winner Pat Cash umpired the matches.

During the same week (on Thursday 16 June), the Xperia(TM) Hot Shots also headed to the exclusive Women's Tennis Association Players' Party at the salubrious Kensington Roof Gardens. There they mingled with celebrities from around the world and partied the night away before knuckling down to the serious business of winning tennis matches this week.

At the Players' Party, lucky Bethanie Mattek-Sands revealed a unique dress created especially for her to wear at the event by Lady Gaga's dress designer, Alex Noble. The dress was commissioned a month ago and since then Bethanie and Alex have collaborated over ideas and designs to come up with something which is truly show-stopping, in true Lady Gaga style!

British player Heather Watson was also styled for the party in a Mulberry outfit which she revealed on the red carpet.  

Xperia(TM) Hot Shots follows six tennis players around the world as they compete on the WTA and realize their dreams on and off court, through exclusive access to the worlds of music, film, gaming and fashion. At the end of the year, the player that has generated the most support on Facebook will win a Sony Ericsson support deal. 

The competition is already in full flow with the participating tennis stars already immersing themselves in the world of entertainment in a bid to gain more 'likes' on their Facebook profile pages.

The six girls who make up the Xperia(TM) Hot Shots are: Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA), Heather Watson (UK), Alize Cornet (France), Sabine Lisicki (Germany), Sorana Cirstea (Romania) and Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia).

To watch all the videos so far of the Xperia(TM) Hot Shots go to www.youtube.com/xperiahotshots 

The BCreative Directory

This new and exciting free social networking site www.thebcreativedirectory.com  is causing quite a stir amongst creative professionals an amateurs alike. It is now spreading via other internet sites, press, radio and TV. It is attracting musicians, writers, artists, actors, models, filmmakers and all those working at the creative development of any art form to join.  Be they well established connoisseurs of their art or students of their own creativity, hobbyists, wannabe’s, all are welcome at The bCreative Directory. By request ‘comedy’ is the latest
category to be added.

The purpose is networking.  It is the place to be to give, and get back. Anyone creative is welcome to join (free). You will find people who understand the highs and lows of working in an intense, stimulating career area, as well as those who desire to follow their heart and create. Paintbrush, guitar or camera in hand, they need to communicate with like minded people.

Founded by Tony Klinger (film producer, director – 'Get Carter', ‘Shout at the Devil’, ‘The Kids are Alright’, author, lecturer etc). The bCreative directory was his answer to the eternal questions asked by many students, friends and colleagues.  ‘Who do I ask? Who might understand? Where do I start? Am I the only one?’ These and many others are the questions that roll around the heads of creative folk, and need fast answers.

Tony decided to bring in a few contacts as ‘Ambassadors’ to set the tone. Currently they include luminaries in the fields of poetry/lyrics, music publishing, cinematography, photography and music production. More Ambassadors will be added as the site develops.

Already for our musicians and groups there is a tie up with MyBand TV creating an outlet for their sound and visuals on a world stage.  The site also features mentoring and job searches which are proving popular.
Many events and services are being planned, and suggestions are always welcomed as this organic site develops. Whatever we do at bCreative, the ethos will always be the same. How can we help you achieve your dreams?

To join free just go to www.thebcreativedirectory.com and sign up.

DISNEY•PIXAR CARS 2 FILM TALENT BRINGS THE CHARACTERS TO LIFE IN CARS 2: THE VIDEO GAME

Spy-Themed Video Game to Feature Voices of Larry the Cable Guy as Mater,

Tony Shalhoub as Luigi, Along with Other Fan Favorites 

LONDON UK, Disney announced today a star-studded cast of celebrities straight from the upcoming Disney•Pixar animated film Cars 2 will lend their voices to Cars 2: The Video Game.  The celebrity voice cast will include Larry the Cable Guy returning as Mater, Emily Mortimer as Holley Shiftwell, Tony Shalhoub reappearing as Luigi and John Turturro as Francesco Bernoulli.

“I’m excited to be back as the character of Mater in the upcoming Cars 2 film and video game,” said Larry the Cable Guy. “That rusty old tow truck can really git r done in Cars 2: The Video Game! I’ve even had the chance to play it and it was a real authentic Cars 2 experience.”

Larry the Cable Guy adds hilarious, down to earth appeal in the role of Lightning McQueen’s best friend, Mater the tow truck. Emily Mortimer’s Holley Shiftwell is a rookie field spy who tries to stick to the rules of her training. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Lightning McQueen’s new opponent -- an Italian racer named Francesco Bernoulli, voiced by John Turturro. In his younger years, Francesco and pals used to sneak onto race tracks, but now he’s focused on taking on Lightning in the World Grand Prix. Another sweet Italian also returns to the game with Tony Shalhoub giving voice to tire specialist Luigi, the Fiat 500.

“The zany, eloquent, and quirky assemblage of characters will bring this game to life in such a fun and engaging manner,” said John Blackburn, vice president and general manager of Avalanche Software.  “When you layer in the amazing cast of celebrity film talent giving voice to the game characters, it amplifies the experience even more.”

Cars 2: The Video Game is inspired by the upcoming Disney•Pixar animated film. The game will allow players to dive into the Cars 2 universe alongside some of their favorite Cars personalities in exotic locations spanning the globe. Cars 2: The Video Game will expand beyond the movie’s storyline as players take on the role of one of more than 20 different Cars characters and train to become top notch spies at the international spy training center, C.H.R.O.M.E. (Command Headquarters for Recon Operations and Motorized Espionage). Over the course of their training, players will take on dangerous missions, compete to become the fastest race car in the world and use their spy skills in non-stop action packed combat racing and battle arenas.

Cars 2: The Video Game launches on 22^nd July 2011 on all major gaming platforms including PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and Windows PC/MAC. 

Please visit www.Disney.co.uk/Cars/  and www.facebook.com/CarsUK.IRE  for more information. 

Released in 2006, Disney·Pixar's feature film Cars has become a leading boys' franchise generating an impressive $2B in annual global retail sales for a total of $8B to date. Winner of the Golden Globe® for Best Animated Feature, Cars went on to gross $462M in global box office sales. It's supported across The Walt Disney Company through films including the highly anticipated release of Cars 2 in Disney Digital 3D, consumer products, live theater productions, park attractions including Cars Land planned for launch in 2012, music, a web site www.Disney.com/Cars, TV including the popular series of short form content: Cars Toons, home entertainment, video games - including Cars and the upcoming June release ofCars 2: The Video Game supporting all major platforms, a virtual world www.WorldofCars.com , and books - with more than 75 new titles releasing throughout 2011 domestically, in addition to more titles on digital books and mobile applications.

Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in Cars 2 when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile (voice of Michael Caine) and the stunning rookie field spy Holley Shiftwell (voice of Emily Mortimer). Mater's action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. The fast-paced fun includes a colorful new all-car cast, complete with menacing villains and international racing competitors.

John Lasseter returns to the driver's seat to direct this follow-up to his 2006 Golden Globe®-winning Cars. Cars 2 is co-directed by Brad Lewis, producer of the Oscar®-winning film Ratatouille, and produced by visual effects industry veteran Denise Ream (associate producer, Up; visual effects executive producer, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith). The film hits the track on 22^nd July 2011 and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D(TM) and IMAX® 3D in select theaters.

Pixar Animation Studios, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is an Academy Award®-winning film studio with world-renowned technical, creative and production capabilities in the art of computer animation. Creator of some of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time, including Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL·E, Up and most recently, Toy Story 3, the Northern California studio has won 29 Academy Awards® and its eleven films have grossed more than $6.5 billion at the worldwide box office to date. The next film release from Disney·Pixar is Cars 2 on 22^nd July 2011

© Disney/Pixar. FIAT is a trademark of FIAT S.p.A.

Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

The ‘Telemetry Effect’ is dominating online video advertising across the globe

It’s an established fact that the ‘dot com boom’ is experiencing a second-coming – and this time it is British expertise leading the charge in its inimitable sober fashion, despite the “hype” surrounding multi-million dollar new generation internet companies in the United States, says Anthony Rushton, co-founder of a relatively small British company that has made a massive impact in the red-hot online advertising sector inside of just three years.

Mr Rushton’s company, Telemetry, has a turnover of £24-million predicted for this year, and currently occupies a lofty position in Tower 42 (the former Natwest Tower) in London, while its presence is felt strongly in New York with offices on Broadway, and premises in Hong Kong in the pipeline.

“The United States is positively over the top with excitement,” says Mr Rushton. “Each week a new internet firm emerges with some or other great idea, attracting a massive valuation,” he said. He cited the example of Zynga, the company which has a virtual monopoly on games on social network sites, which has been valued at $9-billion.

“It all sounds fantastically exciting – but for once Britain is not merely observing the phenomenon, but in many respects leading the way,” said Mr Rushton, whose company has just had a prospective valuation which runs into hundreds of millions of US$).

His company, Telemetry, offers a vital one-of-a-kind auditing service for online video advertisers across the world. From a mere acorn in the wilds of the London suburbs the company’s three founders have nurtured their start-up company and grown a mighty British oak.

Currently they are assessing investment opportunities, will open offices in Asia this year and are about to embark on a huge recruitment drive.

Telemetry’s clarion call for transparency and truth in the controversial field of digital video advertising (DVA) has been heeded by the world’s biggest advertiser – the massive Reckitt Benckiser  (RB) corporation which owns dozens of household brands such as Clearasil, Dettol and Nurofen.

Telemetry currently delivers, and uses its unique code-embedded system to accurately measure, the performance of RB’s online video advertising in 29 countries.

RB are not the only Telemetry clients who are reaping the rewards of a terrific return on their ad spend because of the company’s ability to independently audit and cross-verify DVA performance.

So vital is the company that a new term has been coined in the online ad industry – the “Telemetry Effect” is enabling advertisers to pour money into online video advertising.

“We’re the only firm on the planet able to deliver online video into any website in the world, and extract up to 500 verified key metric points per 20 second clip of video. Our data and actionable results save each advertiser tens of millions each year,” said Mr Rushton.

 “I think we can be pretty proud of ourselves,” says Mr Rushton with a grin.

 “We want to become the world’s first and only $1-billion online video business,” said Mr Rushton, who added that Telemetry has delivered in excess of $85-million worth of online video advertising over the past 12 months and has identified and rectified around 47%-worth of inefficiencies.

All in all this is no mean achievement for a company formed by three friends in a small flat. Initially producing online videos for the Internet, they won an Emmy Award for their pioneering work in interactive online video creation, and then directed their expertise and energy into developing the proto-type of the now sophisticated Telemetry Gateway delivery and verification system.

Bigpoint Surpasses 200 Million Gamers Worldwide

Online Gaming Pioneer Credits Diverse Portfolio and Global Distribution for Continued Success; Company Registers Over 250,000 New Gamers Daily

 Bigpoint (www.bigpoint.com), the global market leader in browser-based online games, today announced that it has surpassed 200 million registered users worldwide, doubling from 100 million users in less than 18 months. The rapid growth rate sets a new record for the company, which ranks among the top gaming networks in the world.

“This is another major milestone that our company has achieved in a short period of time,” explains Heiko Hubertz, founder and Co-CEO of Bigpoint.com. “It shows that members of our community recognize our commitment to delivering high-quality games and online experiences, and we want to celebrate that.”

Unlike traditional game developers – and many start-up social gaming companies – Bigpoint has built and perfected a global distribution network that includes over 1000 media partners who promote the company’s games. To account for such widespread distribution, which requires its titles to be localized into 25 languages, Bigpoint has integrated over 180 payment solutions. The company processes over one billion transactions every day.

Bigpoint’s browser-based game portfolio includes titles for every segment in the market, including hardcore, core, and casual games. Popular titles like Seafight (http://www.seafight.com/), Farmerama (http://www.farmerama.com/), and Battlestar Galactica Online (http://www.battlestar-galactica.bigpoint.com/), which alone garnered more than two million registrations in just three months, exemplify the company’s strategy of developing and distributing games for diverse groups of gamers.

Upcoming titles like The Mummy Online (http://www.themummy.bigpoint.com/), Drakensang Online (http://www.drakensang-online.com/), and RamaCity (http://www.ramacity.com/), are also expected to attract legions of new fans thanks to high-end graphics and compelling gameplay.

Launch of Sponsor Monster

A few key summary points about Sponsor Monster (SM):

• Our model has been created following 6 months of detailed consultation with sponsors, agents and rights holders
• 
  
• Our ever growing sponsors networks, advertising campaigns and ongoing PR and publicity will ensure sponsors use the site: promoting to sponsors is our main ongoing task
• 
  
• SM is the only specialist online sponsorship service with the technology employed to work accurately for sponsors, such as our demographic search engine and ‘inspiration cloud’
• 
  
• SM is affordable to encourage a broad range of opportunities – a move in response to sponsors’ guidance

SM has two listing types, the ‘Sponsor Monster’ listing - promotional price £75 for 12 months (50% discount), and the ‘Sponsor Tree Network’ (£25/£30) – each designed to work best for two broadly different types of sponsorship opportunity.

Their full website site goes live soon (take the quick online tour), and there is a limited number of promotional rates they can offer to clients pre-launch. 

LITTLE WHITE LIES

DVD and Blu-ray Release 22^nd August 2011

“A beautiful piece of cinema.” Clio Williams, The Sunday Times Magazine

“Sexy & Funny” Anna Smith, Stylist Magazine

"Stunning! It's sharp, witty and intensely moving.” Rich Cline, BBC Radio 5 Live

“A truly original summer classic’’ Beatrice Hodgkin, Easy Living 

The award-winning Guillaume Canet (Tell No One) directs the critically-acclaimed LITTLE WHITE LIES, a joyous portrayal of friendship and humanity that reveals the undercurrents that feed all our relationships… Starring Academy and BAFTA Award winner Marion Cotillard (Inception, La Vie En Rose) LITTLE WHITE LIES will be released on DVD and Blu-ray 22^nd August.  

Every year Max, a successful restaurant owner, and his wife Vero invite their family and friends to a beautiful beach house for a holiday. But this year the eagerly anticipated vacation is not all fun in the sun as a tragic accident causes each guest to reveal their true feelings. Their relationships, convictions and friendships are sorely tested when they are finally forced to own up to the little white lies they have been telling each other over the years...  

Featuring a truly exceptional ensemble cast; Cottilard is joined by the César ‘Best Actor’ award winner François Cluzet and Benoît Magimel. Walking the fine line between laughter and tears Canet directs some of France’s most skillful performers to deliver startlingly intimate performances. 

LITTLE WHITE LIES DVD & Blu-ray Details:

• Number of discs: 1
• RRP DVD/BD: £15.99/£21.99
• Certificate  15
• Sound:  Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround TBC
• Running time: 148 Mins. Approx
• Special features: Gag reel / Making Of Feature
• Blu-ray Special:  Holiday Reel

BARRY NORMAN CBE ANNOUNCED AS NEW LORD’S TAVERNERS PRESIDENT

Film critic and cricket fan, Barry Norman CBE, has been confirmed as the new President of the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity, The Lord’s Taverners. He takes over from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host Chris Tarrant, who has stood down after a busy two years at the helm.

Barry is the latest in an illustrious list of showbiz celebrities to serve as President of The Lord’s Taverners since the charity was established in the Tavern at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1950, following in the footsteps of the likes of Sir John Mills, Sir Harry Secombe, Eric Morecambe OBE, Ronnie Corbett OBE, Sir Terry Wogan and Sir David Frost.

The former BBC Film presenter has been a supporter of The Lord’s Taverners for over 30 years, first becoming involved following a recommendation from the late Sir Bill Cotton, the former BBC Head of Light Entertainment. Barry has been a regular fixture in the Charity’s celebrity cricket team since 1980 and most recently hosted a Q&A with celebrity cricket fans including comedian, Alan Davies, and former Rolling Stone, Bill Wyman, at a Lord’s Taverners fundraising lunch at Lord’s in April.

Barry Norman CBE, new President of The Lord’s Taverners, said: “It is a great honour to become President of this fantastic Charity, especially when looking back at the list of previous Presidents. Cricket has always been a big passion of mine and I hope to be able to help The Lord’s Taverners give even more young people a sporting chance in life by encouraging them to enjoy the benefits that sports like cricket can bring.”