Film fests push third-screen media consumption

The big-buzz title at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will likely be unveiled on a big screen, but it may not be too long until you discover future must-see-movies in your very own hand. There's no question about it, mobile videos and mobisodes are on the rise. Most new handsets are video-enabled, YouTube is finding itself on more phone screens and the hype surrounding - and popularity of - new multimedia handsets such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone and services such as Telus Corp.'s Mobile TV are setting the foundation for greater mobile viewing.But mobisodes and mobile films still have a long way to go before hitting mass-market penetration levels. Nevertheless, several festivals and co-branded competitions are aiming to accelerate the adoption of third-screen media consumption.Last June, the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) expanded its Worldwide Short Film Festival through its SHORTSNONSTOP initiative. Sponsored by Telus Canada, and conducted in partnership with Toronto-based online and mobile video content company iThentic, the year-long competition has would-be directors submitting three-minute mobile videos in hopes of capturing an award and exposure. A jury that includes representatives from the CFC, Telus, Sundance Channel and Australia's ABC TV, as well as award-winning Canadian filmmaker Ryan Redford, judges entries. Every other month, a new contest begins and a winner is awarded $1000 cash."We're getting all sorts of submissions. We're getting experimental films, animation, live-action, all sorts of things," says Eileen Arandiga, CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival director and jury member. "There have been a lot of user-driven material, films that aren't really films but are rather gimmicks or jokes." The first round attracted approximately 60 entries from directors of various ages, backgrounds and countries. Arandiga expects the same level of response for the second period, which closes October 5th.SHORTSNONSTOP announced its first winner, "The Red Kite," on August 20th. Directed and produced by Peter Lacalamita, the beautifully animated short explores the dangers of war through the eyes of a young boy flying a kite. The film, and other submissions, can be viewed at ShortsNonStop.com. Telus wireless, ADSL and Telus TV Video-On-Demand clients can also download finalists' submissions to their hardware."As a way of extending both the festival's and Telus' brand, we thought it would be a really good idea to work together to create an online, digital festival. It's a great way to look for new works that could be viewed on mobile devices but also other digital platforms," explains Arandiga. "It was just taking short film in a completely different direction and expanding (CFC's) mandate." Telus did not respond to repeated requests for interviews.While SHORTSNONSTOP is attracting submissions from people of all walks of life, other competitions such as Toronto-based Mobile Jam Fest have specific demographics in their crosshairs.Mobile Jam Fest, self-described as "the world's largest youth creativity festival," kicked off its second competition-meets-celebration on September 4. Last year, the festival encouraged youth aged 14-24 to create two-minute films on any motion-capture device. The public viewed and voted on films online and on their mobile phones, and the grand prize winners received $10,000 scholarships. The festival's creator, Craig Goodwill, clearly had his sights set on the right target. Within six weeks there were over 10,000 mobile video streams and by the third month, there were over 1.5 million page views on their website by 250,000 unique visitors. They've attracted sponsorships from various organizations including Yahoo Canada, Microsoft Canada's Xbox division, the CFC and the National Film Board. Aiming to attract a greater spectrum of participants, they've expanded the contest to include fashion, music, photography and machinima, an emerging film genre where video game characters, scenes and even camera angles are used to create short films. Winners will be announced every eight weeks, with the grand prizes awarded in July 2008. Mobile Jam Fest organizers have extended the length of "traditional" film submissions from two to five minutes, but that doesn't necessarily mean that consumers are ready to trade in their big-screen TVs for miniature mobile sets. "I don't think they're really heralding in new consumption behaviors," says CFC's Arandiga. "I definitely think there's a future for mobisodes but I don't know if it will define what will come in the future," she adds referring to future content development and media channels.But that isn't stopping carriers and handset manufacturers from jumping on the cross-marketing bandwagon. Motorola has once again joined forces with TIFF to sponsor the Moto-Film Project. Participants in the Talent Lab, an initiative run by Strada Films producers Sandra Cunningham and Brad Fox for emerging film makers, are outfitted with video-enabled Motorola phones in the weeks leading up to TIFF. Last year participants shot films surrounding the concept of "self portraits." Mobile movies created during last year's lab, by director Matthew Swanson and producer Amy Belling, will be screened as trailers at all gala and special presentations. This is the second year where submissions from the previous year's Moto-Film Project are featured before films.Although mobile videos are garnering a fair share of attention, Arandiga says it's best to think of mobile videos as an additional channel, not a replacement, for media consumption. "I think mobisodes are here to stay. It's instant entertainment; readily available (and) it can be shared and accessed easily. But I think it's just an extension of what we already have available to us."

Film fests push third-screen media consumption

Broadcast | September 13, 2007

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