Deadline reports: “Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi said what he called the “streaming craze” won’t hurt theatrical box office and recalls decades of previously perceived threats from the VCR and the internet.”
Vulcan Trials Innovative Workplace Safety Training for its Employees
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pixvana, a virtual reality (VR) solutions provider specializing in corporate learning and training, and Alexo, experts in tactical training to counter workplace violence, today announced the release of a VR experience intended to prepare any workplace for an active shooter event. The Active Shooter Response training experience utilizes VR’s immersive powers to enable learners to practice situational awareness, increase readiness, and quicken reaction and response.
The VR training video features Alexo’s founder, Drew Hancock, a Seattle police officer and SWAT Supervisor with more than 25 years of law enforcement experience. Through the VR training, Hancock is able to effectively teach important decision-making strategies and simulate life-saving tactics for employees. Interactive quizzes during and after the program, ensure that employees are prepared and confident in their understanding of the curriculum.
“Virtual reality is extremely effective for teaching situational awareness and life-saving response for an active shooter scenario,” Hancock said. “Learning response strategies is important, but actually simulating and experiencing different scenarios can increase comprehension and response time, which could be all the difference. VR provides employees with valuable practice that cannot be replicated in typical training. It’s a game-changing technology that can have a real impact for people in moments when it counts the most.”
The VR video reinforces critical protocols taught by Alexo, including two simple acronyms, “OODA” (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) and “ABC” (Avoid, Barricade, or Combat).
The active shooter training experience is available to businesses everywhere - and for a small incremental investment, companies can augment the core curriculum with tailored VR content that fits their specific location, layout, or industry.
“It’s unfortunate that this type of training is now necessary for every company, large and small, and for every employee near and far,” Hancock said. “However, VR makes it simple for even the most disparate, global organizations to deploy this high-impact training at scale, anytime and anywhere.”
Seattle-based Vulcan Inc., which oversees the business activities and philanthropic efforts of Microsoft’s late co-founder, Paul Allen, has been the first to trial the innovative workplace safety training for its employees. Early results from the VR experience show a 32 percent overall increase in employee readiness for a live shooter event.
“Virtual reality is the future of workplace learning and development, including everyday safety,” said Rachel Lanham, Chief Operations Officer at Pixvana. “This particular project has great meaning for us - everyone, including our own team, knows someone touched by this type of violence in some way. We hope that through this video, we can better prepare employees for violent situations, help them make quicker decisions, and potentially save lives.”
To experience the VR active shooter training content created and produced by Alexo and Pixvana, visit http://try.pixvana.com/work-place-safety-training
About Pixvana
Pixvana, a virtual reality solutions provider, helps enterprises develop cutting-edge approaches to solve business challenges in innovative ways. Customers choose Pixvana for its powerhouse combination of breakthrough VR technology and award-winning creative team. Pixvana addresses a range of corporate VR applications - from training and tours, to marketing and healthcare - and can manage all aspects of project development, from strategy to execution. The company is venture-backed by Vulcan Capital, Madrona Venture Group, Microsoft, Cisco, Raine and Hearst Ventures. Pixvana’s founders have proven startup success in media technology, and hail from senior product and engineering leadership roles at Apple, Adobe, Microsoft, and Lucasfilm. For more information visit www.pixvana.com.
About Alexo
Today's unfortunate reality is that big or small, workplace violence incidents have touched businesses, schools and organizations of all types and demographics throughout the country. And in response to that reality Alexo Corporation has been comprised of currently active law enforcement professionals who specialize in tactical situations and training. Their passion is to protect and defend, and their credibility is decades of training and real world experience. With their expertise they can assist organizations in mitigating potential workplace violence risks and create a safer work environment.
Jeff Pecor
Tailwind Public Relations, LLC
jeff@tailwindpr.com
206.948.1482
The Verge reports: “NBCUniversal’s streaming service finally has a name: Peacock. The name is based on NBC’s iconic logo, the colorful peacock that sits at the bottom of people’s TV screens when shows play. It is also a homage to “NBCUniversal’s rich legacy of creating beloved films, TV series, characters and franchises that have been at the epicenter of pop culture and will continue to define the future of entertainment,” according to a press release.”
VentureBeat reports: “Mobcrush, a mobile livestreaming service, said its American audience has grown to more than 84 million unique viewers per month (UVPM) across its network, according to the May 2019 data from measurement firm Nielsen.”
Billboard reports: “Amazon has officially entered the lossless sound wars. On Sept. 17, the company launched Amazon Music HD, the highest tier of its subscription streaming service. With 50 million HD songs, Amazon’s new tier boasts the largest collection of lossless, uncompressed audio available.”
Variety reports: “Ted Farnsworth, the financier who helped set in motion MoviePass’s meteoric rise and precipitous fall, has submitted an offer to purchase the beleaguered subscription service and its parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc.”
Variety reports: “With its $800 iPhones and $1,400 Hermès smart watches, Apple’s not exactly in the business of bargain-bin pricing. But the surprisingly low-priced debut of Apple TV Plus, at $4.99 per month for a family subscription, is a signal that the streaming video market of tomorrow — soon to be awash with services from Disney, WarnerMedia and others — will be one with pressured margins and claws-out competition for viewers’ wallets.”
Hollywood Reporter reports: “YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video will have a combined 54 percent market share in 2019 of online video revenues in the fast growing Asia Pacific market, excluding China where all three platforms don’t operate, according to a new study by Media Partners Asia (MPA).”
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#IBC2019--The IBC2019 Awards saw recognition for the real – in terms of socially responsible projects and charitable bodies – and the virtual, including holograms over 5G and the cutting edge in delivering augmented reality. The two came together in the International Honour for Excellence, presented to Andy Serkis.
A remarkable live actor in theatre, film and television, Serkis is now best known for redefining the art of performance capture. His skills and intensity have created characters as varied as Gollum, King Kong and Tintin’s Captain Haddock: all computer generated; all dependent upon his skills and experience to create the fidelity, the detail, the humanity.
In an on-screen tribute, actor Woody Harrelson, who co-starred in War for the Planet of the Apes, said “Andy is one of the most gifted actors I’ve ever encountered. It blows my mind to see how much he can convey just in his eyes.”
Accepting the award from Naomi Climer, chair of the IBC Council, Andy Serkis said “I’m deeply honoured to be here as part of this eclectic, worldwide community, a community that is quintessentially enabling a reality of the ambitions of someone like myself who seeks to bring characters and stories into existence, to hopefully – in some tiny way – change the world for the better.”
He thanked his family “who have born with two decades of me in Spandex and spots, God bless them”, and concluded with “Thank you IBC for this most incredible award. I am thrilled and I will cherish it always”.
IBC Social Impact Award
IBC introduced two new award categories this year. Competition for the social impact award was so intense that the judges awarded not one but three trophies.
The first went to Turkish broadcaster TRT for its World Citizen programme, and particularly for its Journalism for Juniors initiative. This teaches young people, including those in the country’s large refugee camps, how to take their native social media skills and develop their story-telling abilities.
“J4J is a celebration of global access to media, which is a human right,” said Zia Ahmed Eshanzada, senior campaign specialist at TRT. “We hope to encourage others to create similar programmes.”
Following the devastating Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, the Indian authorities recognised they needed not just to monitor the threat from the sea, but to communicate information and warnings to the people likely to be affected. Gaian Solutions developed Sagar Vani, an omni-channel citizen engagement platform, which received the second of the awards.
“Proper application of technology can ensure that both the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ get access to the same quality of service – especially in terms of life-saving emergency services,” said Gaian CEO Chandra Kotaru.
The third trophy went to Chouette Films, an initiative of the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. This aims to produce academic and informative content with the smallest of environmental footprints.
As Chouette Films says, it aims for “increased impact on humanity with minimal impact on the planet. Recognising environmentally and socially conscious film production is one small step for IBC, but one giant leap for the industry at large – we’re over the moon to be a part of it.”
IBC Young Pioneer Award
The second new category recognised young people making their mark in the industry. The audience heard about seven finalists, all under 30, successful in areas as diverse as interactive video production and business management.
The award, though, went to Vera Bichler. Vera is a graduate of the HBS Broadcast Academy, and is now the first female football director at Austrian national broadcaster ORF.
Accepting the trophy, Vera said “Today I am the first woman in directing for the ORF, but I hope in a few years it is not going to be that huge an issue, because gender wouldn’t matter.”
IBC Innovation Awards
Sail GP took the first of the three IBC Innovation Awards, for Content Creation. This is a new competition for very high speed yachts racing in scenic harbours and coastal regions around the world. Wherever the venue, though, all the feeds are routed back to Timeline Television in England, for live production in three different languages.
From the very many nominations, the jury of international editors and technology consultants produced a shortlist of four for this award: Fox Sports, with technology partners Epic Games and Zero Density for its new augmented reality Nascar studio; Riot Games for remote production of the League of Legends e-sports championship, using Haivision technology; and Vodafone in Romania which used 5G to carry a live hologram from one side of Bucharest to the other, allowing a 10 year old guitar prodigy to play with his favourite band. Dejero, Hawthorn Theatrical, Huawei and Musion 3D were technology partners.
If the award for content creation was for thrilling action on the sea, the IBC2019 Innovation Award for Content Distribution took us beneath the waves. Associated Press, with its technology partners Inmarsat, LiveU and Sonardyne, broadcast live from an untethered submersible at 200 metres, using the Indian Ocean itself as the bearer for optical HD transmission.
Running AP very close for the award was BT Sport, which with the help of EE, Huawei, Mobile Viewpoint and Timeline Television provided coverage of a football match at Wembley Stadium, remotely produced thanks to 5G transmission of the cameras; and COPA90, which with the help of Base Media Cloud developed a tremendously engaging social media platform for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Winner of the award for Content Everywhere was India’s ETV Bharat. With technology partners Aveco, Grass Valley, Harmonic, Octopus, Ross Video and VTI is has developed a cross-platform news infrastructure at massive scale – 5000 journalists covering 29 states, and working in 13 languages.
Also shortlisted for the award were Deutsche Telekom (supported by Akamai, Iconic Engine, INVR.SPACE, Magnum Film, MediaKind and Tiled Media) for live 6k, 360˚ VR; and Facebook, which has brought La Liga to the Indian sub-continent on Facebook Watch, with additional technology from Guud and MediaPro.
Special Award
Picking up on the social impact theme, IBC presented a Special Award to 4K 4Charity. At IBC2014, Sam Blackman of Elemental founded a Saturday morning fun run. 4k was the 2014 technology buzz, and 4km seemed like a reasonable target for a run at 7.30 am in the middle of a trade show, and so 4K 4Charity was born.
Sadly, Sam died in 2017, but his charitable legacy lives on. There are now four 4K 4Charity runs a year, and more than a million dollars has been raised for non-profit organisations concerned with increasing equality and driving diversity. Elemental – now AWS Elemental – continues to provide the administrative support, so that 100% of registration fees go to the good causes.
The IBC2019 event was started by soccer star Robin van Persie. It saw 631 registered runners, who were joined by a goat which escaped from the local petting zoo. One of the biggest cheers of the awards ceremony greeted the video which showed the goat beating van Persie over the finish line.
Accepting the award, Laura Barber said “What Sam loved about this run is how efficiently it helped us raise money for non-profits focused on increased equity, as well as letting folks engage in a healthy, unique, fun activity amidst the intensity of tradeshow. IBC is where it all began, and we are honoured to receive this award.”
Best technical paper
This year’s prize for the best technical paper went to researchers from Finland, seeking practical solutions for the delivery of realtime augmented reality content to mobile devices. Sebastian Schwarz of Nokia Technologies accepted the trophy on behalf of his colleague Mika Pesonen and Jani Norminen of Innogiant.
Aimee Moore
Marketing Assistant
amoore@ibc.org
T +44 (0) 2078324104
F +44 (0) 2078324130
The latest product from the new KODAK SMILE instant-print product line is now available on Amazon
EDISON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#camera--Today, C+A Global, an authorized brand licensee of Eastman Kodak Company, announced the availability of the KODAK SMILE Classic Instant Print Digital Camera (SMILE Classic), the latest device from the SMILE instant-print product line. The trendy camera produces the largest instant prints from the KODAK new instant print line up and comes equipped with features to ensure a picture-perfect shot.
The KODAK SMILE Classic combines the contemporary technology of instant printing into a retro camera body for a nostalgic look and feel with modern features. The camera is equipped with a pop-up viewfinder, an automatic single strobe flash, a MicroSD card slot, a 10-second timer and AR capabilities. The 3.51 x 4.25-inch KODAK ZINK® Sticky-Backed Photo Paper prints instantly from the camera after a picture is taken. You can also print pictures from your smartphone by connecting it to the camera via BLUETOOTH Technology and the free KODAK Instant Print Companion app. Before printing, the images can be edited and enhanced in the app, as well as embedded with a 30-second video using the camera’s AR feature for some added fun. The video can be viewed using the app.
The KODAK SMILE Classic is now available on Amazon for $149.99 on Amazon.com.
The New KODAK SMILE App
The app features unique Augmented Reality capabilities to enhance the fun of instantly printing photos. Users are able to bring their photos to life by attaching any video from their media library, including sound, up to 30 seconds. Once the photo is printed using the SMILE Instant Digital Printer, anyone with the app can view the corresponding video by simply holding the smartphone over the picture. This feature is great for creating video photo albums and sharing special memories that can’t be captured in a still image alone. Embed videos with love notes, secret messages, funny stories and much more with the KODAK SMILE App.
Download the free KODAK SMILE App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
To request a media review kit of either products, please contact Alexis Isaacs at alexis@zazilmediagroup.com.
About C+A Global
C&A Marketing, Inc., doing business as C+A Global, is a leading manufacturer, distributor and online reseller of consumer products, electronics, cameras and photographic equipment. Headquartered in Edison, N.J, C+A Global operates several e-commerce platforms, including RitzCamera.com and Skymall.com. With over 50+ years of industry experience in its management team, the depth and breadth of C+A Global's inventory is constantly expanding, as is its presence and reputation in the consumer products marketplace. Most recently, C+A Global added a brand-licensing agreement with Kodak to its expanding portfolio of brand partnerships.
For additional information on these Kodak products, visit us at kodakphotoplus.com, follow us on Twitter @KodakPlus, like us on Facebook at Kodak Plus, and follow @KodakPlus on Instagram.
The Kodak trademark, logo and trade dress are used under license from Kodak.
Alexis Isaacs, Zazil Media Group, Alexis@Zazilmediagroup.com, +1 773 816 7944
