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MovieShift
4 Filmmakers Use Social Media to Crowdsource Their Stories
The second line of filmmaker Tim Burton's new short story is this: It is, of course, a tweet -- and one that encapsulates a new participatory era where contributions and voices from the public are reflected in all forms of art and storytelling, film included. One of the early adopters of emerging media was filmmaker Kevin Smith, who now has...
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MovieShift
SXSW Showcases Rise of Multiplatform Storytelling and Collaborative Filmmaking
South By Southwest (SXSW) is an annual gathering of interactive, film and music creatives, executives and marketers in Austin. It is the ideal setting to explore multiplatform storytelling, multiscreen experiences and projects that reflect the talents of the collective. After several days of knowledge-filled panels and hyper-networking featuring digital thought-leaders, there were a few notable trends that made an imprint...
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MovieShift
How to Experience the Oscars on Mobile, Social Media
The Academy Awards are less than 127 hours away. While most people haven't seen all 10 Best Picture nominees, the Oscar-nominated reels may still be experienced through the revelry of mobile, digital and social initiatives. For moviegoers who still want the big screen experience of dreams and swans before Sunday, AMC Theatres offers the final chance with its Best Picture...
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MovieShift
'The Social Network,' Streaming Boom Dominate Film in 2010
From Pandora to Palo Alto, digital and social media grabbed movie headlines in 2010. The year started with a box office record-breaker that captured our 3D imaginations ("Avatar") and is ending with David Fincher's fascinating look at Facebook ("The Social Network") collecting awards for film of the year (American Film Institute, Los Angeles Film Critics, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics, et al).
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MovieShift
How Filmmakers Use Crowdfunding to Kickstart Productions
According to the crowdfunding pitch for the film "Art Machine," a $1 donation will buy you "love and respect from the cast and crew." And if you give $1,000, you get perks like a DVD and a speaking role in the film. That's the promise from director Doug Karr and Chop Wood Carry Water Productions for anyone who supported...
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MobileShift
Gaming + Mobile + Social = 'Conspiracy for Good' from Tim Kring
Tim Kring, a long-time television writer and producer, is best known as the creator of the NBC show "Heroes." But he's rapidly expanding his media universe -- last week at Comic-Con he launched a new book project, "Shift," which will debut in August from Crown Books. He has also created a new transmedia project called "Conspiracy For Good" (CFG), which...
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MovieShift
How 6 Big Summer Films Are Using Facebook For Marketing
Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man, believes in "better living through technology." Most marketers would argue that better marketing is enabled by technology as well. One of the primary game-changers today is Facebook and studios are learning how to engage audiences online to spur a better box office. Movie marketers understand the impact that reaching their desired audiences on...
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MovieShift
How Film Festivals Use Twitter to Boost Attendance, Engagement
Action. Animated. Documentary. Experimental. These are four of the categories that film festivals program in their schedules. But they're also apt descriptions of the Twitter narrative that film festival organizers are weaving into their filmgoer engagement and marketing initiatives. Leslie Feibleman, director of special programs and senior programmer for the Newport Beach Film Festival, said Twitter is similar to the...
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MovieShift
Can Social Media Chatter Predict Oscar Winners?
The biggest night in movies is two days away, and everyone has an opinion as to who will win an Oscar. While there isn't a proven formula that can tell us which film is going to win, a closer look at social media such as blogs and Twitter can provide some interesting perspective as to which nominees are dominating conversations...
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MovieShift
How Digital Marketing Helped 'Avatar' Break the Box Office
Do you remember August 21, 2009? Moviegoers in more than 100 IMAX 3-D theaters worldwide watched 16 minutes of footage from a new James Cameron movie. That same day, Ubisoft debuted a trailer for a videogame based on the film, and Mattel unveiled action figures inspired by the film's characters. A day earlier, the teaser for the very same film...
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MovieShift
Film Industry Experts Offer 10 Predictions for 2010
Films such as "2001" and "2012" illustrate how the future has long fascinated Hollywood. With a new year on the horizon, I asked 10 executives and analysts, many of whom were in attendance at the recent Future of Film Summit in Santa Monica, Calif., for their predictions about the film industry. Below are 10 topics and thoughts on what the...
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MovieShift
DigiFest Examines DIY to Big Budget Special Effects for Films
Apocalyptic visions and alien invasions descended upon Hollywood earlier this month, to the collective delight of the digital media industry. At the American Film Institute's DigiFest, which was produced by the AFI Digital Content Lab, attendees experienced two days of presentations and screenings focused on new media platforms and creative storytelling using digital innovations. The event spotlighted advanced productions from...
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MovieShift
Universal's Neil: Original Videos, Word of Mouth Key for Online Promotion
Movie marketers are poised to see a significant boost to their online marketing budgets, according to eMarketer, which predicts studios will spend $2.7 billion by 2013 in online advertising. That's more than double the $1.2 billion spent this year. Digital LA, a networking organization for online entertainment, marketing, advertising and tech professionals in Los Angeles, hosted a "Movie Marketing: Online,...
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MovieShift
Movie Apps Get Social as Studios Integrate Facebook Connect
Movie studios fully understand the influence that word-of-mouth reviews, whether positive or negative, have on box office receipts. Social networks are accelerating this conversation as consumers hype or hurt a movie's perception. Many observers speculate that moviegoer talk on Twitter, which often comes straight from a mobile phone inside a theater, can impact a film's opening weekend. As a result,...
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MovieShift
Digital Media Summit Explores New Models for Promotion and Creation
My first job was in old media. In the summer of 1986, I spent Sunday mornings constructing the San Francisco Examiner with my cousin, and venturing out via bicycle to share a heavy bundle of news, advertisements and stories from around the world. I was a paperboy. At iHollywood Forum's Digital Media Summit in Los Angeles last month, editors at...
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