CNM Short Takes

Sequel for Grande Ourse to see illico componentThe sequel to Reeves Interactive’s Grande Ourse series, l’Héritière de Grande Ourse will launch on CBC French-language television on January 6, this time with an interactive game for Vidéotron illico subscribers. The ITV component was funded with a grant from the Fond Vidéotron. The illico piece is being produced with Net Communications, in-house at Vidéotron. The web content accompanying the series will be released in timed fashion as new episodes air. Chalk gives viewers sneak peek into making of showChalk Media Corp. has added new content to the second season of Dave Chalk Connected that shows the audience what happens on the other side of the camera. It fuses informal interview clips with unscripted footage to create what Chalk is calling a "docuality.’"The second season began airing on October 30. D-BOX launches armchair with built-in motion simulatorD-BOX Technology Inc., Longeuil QC, is launching its new QUEST armchair equipped with a fully integrated motion simulator at the Consumer Electronics Show early next month. The basic model will sell for around $5,000, well below the cost of its higher-end models. Now, the company says, it will be able to sell the futuristic furniture in the same price range as complementary merchandise such as flat screen TVs and projectors. "QUEST represents a great step forward for D-BOX. To date, without any significant marketing investment, we have managed to distribute our first upmarket system, with a price ticket of over US$25,000, in more than 12 countries," says company president and CEO Michel Jacques. Hip partners on new horror video games seriesHip Interactive Corp. on December 15 announced that its Hip Games publishing division has signed an agreement with Living Dead Productions Ltd. to produce a George A. Romero series of video games for all platforms. Romero is known for his cult-classic films Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead. "Horror fans have been searching for the ultimate horror experience in gaming and we intend to deliver it to them with the tremendous creative input of legendary director George A. Romero, and Living Dead Productions," says Hip president and CEO Arindra Singh. Heritage supports native youthCanadian Heritage and Western Economic Development jointly announced on December 16 new supprt for the Redwire Native Youth Media Society. The funds will allow the organization to establish a new arts and culture web portal, Awake.com. The web site will feature web logs, artists’ work and their resumés, and a quarterly e-zine will contain articles on events, trends, networks and Aboriginal arts and cultural services. The funding is being provided by Canadian Heritage’s Gateway Fund, part of the Canadian Culture Online Program. MTS taps ExtendMedia and OpenCase for MTS TVMTS anounced on December 16 that it has appointed Toronto-based ExtendMedia as its strategic integration and development partner for MTS TV, and will deploy Extend’s OpenCASE product in conjunction with the service. OpenCASE is a content service management platform that allows service providers to launch consumer content services while providing back-end tools to manage them. Extend is also working with MTS to integrate MTS’ video-on demand system, develop new interactive television applications such as MTS Centre On Demand (CNM, Dec. 6/04) and develop a comprehensive content management and publishing systems to manage the interactive content within MTS Centre on Demand. Medianet to buy Theatre D Digital operating assetsCalgary-based Medianet Communications Corp. announced on December 3 its intention to purchase the assets, liabilities and going concern of Theatre D Digital Corp., Toronto. The two companies are hoping to generate funding through consolidation of assets sufficient to complete and expand the high definition post-production shop located in a heritage theatre in Toronto. Dan Peel, a principal in Theatre D, said in a media release: "Our business model restores historic movie houses, creates the finest cutting-edge post-production facilities possible, and provides recurring multiple revenue streams to make those buildings viable. Our merging with Medianet Communications provides us with a vehicle whereby the numerous people inside and outside the film industry, and those who wish to preserve heritage sites who have expressed interest in participating in our vision, can do so at various levels through this company." The Greatest Canadian driven by Akamai on CBCAkamai Technologies Inc. said late last month in a media release that the CBC series The Greatest Canadian, had its online voting application driven by its EdgeSuite and EdgeComputing services. The release notes that the CBC chose the technology since purchasing more servers to handle anticipated demand was not practical, and the broadcaster required a product that could be scaled on-demand, be secure, and meet short deadlines. Cinerio, GWEV launch interactive children’s DVDCinerio Entertainment Inc. and GWEV Publishing Inc., both based in Ottawa, have launched a series of animated children’s picture books on interactive DVD. The first three books released are; Fergus, Prince of Frogs; The Very Last Ladybug War; and Simon with Two Left Feet, all written by Winnepeg author Angela Narth. Content for the interactive DVDs is based on the popular Canadian SERA BOOKS collection, and is being used by Cinerio under a royalty-based license agreement with GWEV Publishing. "We believe the market for books on interactive DVD represents a new frontier for kids’ literature and we are committed to capitalizing on our expertise in animation with the introduction of our unique line of animated picture books," said Cinerio president and CEO Barry Sullivan in a media release. Centennial grad wins Premier’s award for contributionsTodd John Galda has won one of five 2004 Ontario Premier’s Awards in the category of recent graduate. Galda graduated from Centennial College with a certificate in digital animation, and has gone on to contribute to the DreamWorks film Shark Tale. Prior to that, he worked at various Toronto animation companies, including Nelvana. Santa to be broadcast live from North PoleInteractive Netcasting Systems Inc. is providing free live broadband video access to Santa Claus in the North Pole. The service shows Santa telling stories, taking phone calls, playing games and interacting with children. This is the second year the company has provided a webcast feed to Santa Claus. Banff New Media Institute transfers site to DVDThe Banff New Media Institute (BNMI) is collecting 18 issues of its monthly online publication HorizonZero and transferring them to DVD. The 18th issue marks the final one for the HorizonZero project. Sara Diamond, artistic director of the BNMI said of the transition in a media release: "HorizonZero is experiencing a phase change. From a permeable liquid it is shifting to the solid form of a DVD on the one hand, and to the atmosphere of virtual space on the other. We hope that it will inspire the perpetual motion of cultural knowledge in new media and its related forms for many years to come." The DVD will be launched in 2005 as part of the BNMI’s 10-year anniversary. Heritage provides funding to B.C. tribal web siteCanadian Heritage is providing $50,000 to the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council to assist it in creating a web site. The site will focus on the history, spirtuality, culture, and way of life of the Nuu-chaa-nulth people, with language lessons and information about the marine heritage of Canada’s West Coast. The funding is being provided through the Gateway Fund, part of the Canadian Culture Online Program. CHUM signs on for oneSTOPCHUM Television has signed on to be the exclusive content sponsor for the new oneSTOP Toronto Inc. digital advertising network (CNM, Oct. 12/04). The company will provide, through its flagship Citytv station, news, sports and weather for the network, which will reach 800,000 commuters on the Toronto Transit Commission. The system will use 40-inch LCD screens placed in high-traffic subway stations in Toronto and eventually on subway cars themselves. Online shopping up: SympaticoSympatico.MSN.ca announces that early traffic numbers from ComScore Media Metrix indicate volume was up 37% over last year at the portal’s online shopping mall in November. The portal says the numbers are consistent with a survey of visitors to the portal conducted by OpenVenue e-Research Solutions that shows 42% of Canadians intended to turn to the Internet to do their holiday shopping. The Sympatico/MSN search tracking shows that the Apple Corp. iPod MP3 player is one of the hottest items of the season.

CNM Short Takes

Broadcast | December 22, 2004

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