Deal to distribute films by satellite could be precursor to greater interactivity

An advisor to Toronto-based Galaxy Entertainment Inc. says a deal to beam films directly to its theatres could be just the beginning to making movie houses centres for more interactive entertainment. On February 26, Galaxy announced an arrangement with Ottawa-based Telesat Canada that will test the digital distribution of films via satellite, with a trial to send Drop Dead Roses to one of its theatres in Waterloo ON. While the satellite distribution of films represents a revolution in the industry by eliminating the physical transfer of prints, Neil Randall, English professor at the University of Waterloo and academic of computer interfaces, says distribution is only the tip of the iceberg. "Forget the movies, what can you do with a digital screen, anyways? What about the possibility of playing some incredibly popular game on a big high-definition digital set with the most awesome set of speakers on the planet? I can see all sorts of tournaments and things you could run. Ken and I have been talking about these kinds of things and where we could go from there…Realize what you’re dealing with here is a big computer screen." Randall won’t divulge specifics of what he and Prue have discussed, but lists games, distance education, live interactive events such as concerts and others as possibilities that would take advantage of digital projection and broadband connectivity in theatres. But, he says, exploiting those opportunities will require some rethinking of how interactive content is packaged. "One reason why the web works as well as it does right now is because computing is mostly a solitary activity…If we start designing for more social interactivity – and I think there are a number of possibilities when you mix in the gaming world and other worlds – it’s much different. The screen is designed for many people to be looking at it at the same time. Computer screens just generally aren’t. But it’s an exciting shift." While some applications such as distance education (Galaxy serves mid-sized communities that often don’t have universities) would be in the public interest, one of the main goals, says Randall, is to fill the theatre when it might otherwise be standing empty. "You’ve got a two-hour film and if I’m the theatre owner or theatre manager you want people in there for more than that two hours," he tells Canadian NEW MEDIA. "I want them in theatres when films aren’t playing. Basically, movie theatres stand empty for most of the time." Last fall, CNM reported on Projected Ingenuity’s technology that might fit the bill to provide interactive content. The system uses cell phones as input devices for large group activities centred around small screens (CNM, Oct. 3/01). For example, the company is ready to demonstrate an application for movie theatres in which users could play a trivia game using their phones and PDAs to answer questions and win prizes. Or, says company founder Stephen Boyd, the same technology could be used during major golf tournaments to track scores and report those on screens on the 19th hole. The advantage of using wireless devices to interact with content is that there’s little capital cost for owners of theatres, restaurants and other establishments, he explains. Unlike current iterations of in-restaurant trivia games, for instance, there’s little fixed capital or maintenance cost when users provide their own input devices.

Deal to distribute films by satellite could be precursor to greater interactivity

News | 03/07/2002 5:00 am EST

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