Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Movies to Go
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CC Levy stood in line to pick up her “American Gangster” tickets from the kiosk in the lobby of the Showcase Cinema in Revere. Though she couldn’t wait to see Denzel in action, she didn’t notice the line stretching in front of her; she was busy watching ”Open Water” on her video ipod. Her boyfriend stood beside her, absorbed in the end of the “Scrubs” episode he downloaded earlier. Clearly film is not what it used to be.
“’New Media’ is passé, the future is today,” announces the president and CEO of Bite TV, a “multi-platform entertainment universe” (sheesh). “BITE is on the entertainment frontlines, successfully infiltrating traditional media with the newest technologies. A comedic, metropolitan and edgy ever-changing universe…” Poor old Hi-Def just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Mobile media is shorthand for any content that can be experienced on a handheld device – a phone, pda, ipod or smartphone. Film companies are fast becoming hybrids, experimenting with online shows, video blogs and small screen storytelling in order to hold on to their always on the go audience. Phone companies are getting into filmmaking, and talented filmmakers are busier than ever – they can ply their trade almost anywhere if they’re willing to remember the rules – lots of close-ups work on the small small screen, overlapping dialogue doesn’t.
Mobifest is a festival of such small screen films underwritten by Treo. The Art of Seduction is a mobile media community experiment sponsored by Helio and BRAVO and hosted on the Sundance Channel. Somewhat ironically, you can watch all of the films and shows produced for mobile on the web.
So who’s watching this stuff? And is it any good? Judy Gladstone, an executive director at Bravo, promises, “As the owners and users of hand-held devices containing video capability emerge from a teen-age demographic to include an older, sophisticated audience, the demand for quality content shall increase.” We’ll see.
“Practical” applications seem more promising. Two of the most interesting implementations of mobile media technology are travel documentaries, which can enhance a visit to a new place, and video additions to audio guides made for museum exhibitions. Michael Epstein is the founder and CEO of Untravel Media, a company based in Cambridge, MA that produces both. His vision, he says, is to create “mobile storytelling that combines real world exploration with portable audio, video and interactive content.” One of the company’s early projects was “Untravel Stata” a 30-minute guide of the famed Stata Center at MIT that features voices, detailed images and interactive media.
Untravel recently unveiled a series of three multi-media guides to three different areas in Massachusetts. Launched on Halloween, “Creeping Through Boston” includes “Boston’s Little Lanes and Passageways,” “Seeking Sanctuary in Salem” and “The Greatest Neighborhood This Side of Heaven,” about Boston’s lost West End neighborhood.
Untravel hosted a contest for local filmmakers and the winners ultimately produced the content with Untravel. The idea is that the tours can go with you and you can enjoy them anytime. If you feel like roaming around Salem in the dark, you can; your Untravel guide will lead the way.
We should love this; aren’t we always doing more than one thing at once? If I have to run upstairs to grab the other ballet slipper, I do it with a pile of laundry under my arm and an extended finger to right a crooked picture. Scores of people eat lunch at their desk or put on makeup while driving. We are multi-taskers with limited attention spans. But watching a mini-movie while walking around an unfamiliar place sounds like an accident waiting to happen. I’d be afraid I’d march right into a lamp post or worse, a Salem Wicca meeting in session.
Epstein advises stopping for breaks while watching the video portions… I’d advise trying it for the first time when no one’s looking! But having a mobile multi-media guide can enhance the experience of visiting a new place as much or even more than a human guide. Untravel’s new productions include first hand narration from people on the inside of the story - from Wiccan high priests in Salem to former residents of the West End, to Ray and Maria Stata. Let your phone be your guide - if you don’t get hurt you’re sure to find a whole new appreciation for the town you thought you knew.
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