DIGITAL HOLLYWOOD NEXT-GEN MEDIA : FIVE TRENDS TO THRIVE NOT JUST SURVIVE BY MODERATOR JOYCE SCHWARZ

FIVE TRENDS TO THRIVE, NOT JUST SURVIVE IN NEXT GENERATION ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA.....by Joyce Schwarz, moderator Digital Hollywood Next Gen Media & Entertainment panel and emerging entertainment expert & author.

Photo shows, Fall '05, Digital Hollywood panel on Next Gen Media and Entertainment realities (Joyce Schwarz, moderator is at far left standing by podium) and second from right is comedian/producer Sinbad who added spice and zest to the panel discussion). Other panelists included execs from TV GUIDE SPOT, Program Partners, Carat Fusion and NCM. Watch future blogs for more details on their calls on the future of entertainment and media.

FIVE TRENDS TO THRIVE NOT JUST SURVIVE -- for Media Execs/Companies:

Joyce Schwarz, author  and blogger of Hollywood2020 and head of JCOM, marketing and emerging media, www.joycecom.com, offers five trends for film, television, entertainment (online and offline) and IT firms to consider as we move into the "Broadband Era" of next generation media and entertainment.

Since 1992, Joyce Schwarz has become known for tracking trends and forecasting the future of media and entertainment in Hollywood and beyond. She is the author of several books and more than 100 articles on these topics. Shown here is "Multimedia: Gateway to the Next Millennium" which Schwarz edited and wrote with Robert Aston & other top experts on emerging media. Schwarz section is entitled "HOLLYWOOD USA" and covers the earliest new media and multimedia projects start-ups and traditional Hollywood got involved in starting in the early '90's. The book is still available at www.amazon.com.

"For the past five years we have been either building the bridge or stuck in the middle of the path to Broadband, now we're truly entering the Broadband and on-demand era of content, production and technology. A new era requires that we all look at the roles of media and entetainment in a new light. Here are my five trends that are aimed at aiding you in thriving,not just surviving in the next decade,"Joyce Schwarz, JCOM, www.joycecom.com, author/marketing and biz dev consultant.

TREND #1: Rise of Byte-sized content in this era of multi-tasking and information overload -- gaining and retaining attention is one of the biggest challenges. The rise of Byte-size content -- digital content that is available on-demand to viewers is offering content and rights holders a method to gain new followers and cut through the clutter. Content-2-go, advertainment (where advertising becomes entertainment like the BMW short films) and branded content where brands underwrite media and special events that then become the focus of content i.e. concerts, TV specials, live events (NASCAR) are all spin-offs from this trend. The ifilm/Viacom deal announced recently in www.paidcontent.org is one of the recent developments which may underscore the power and revenue value of Byte-size content. 

TV GUIDE SPOT EXAMPLE: www.tvguide.com/spot/ - - Cached During the Digital Hollywood Next Gen panel, Stacy Jolna, SVP, general manager, TV GUIDE TELEVISION GROUP proudly showed off the demo reel for TV GUIDE SPOT -- a new on-demand opporetunity for programming (more in an upcoming blog). Meanwhile you can preview it at www.tvguide.com/spot/  - Cached

TREND #2: THINK COMMUNITY VS

JUST CONSUMER

GO GLOBAL, BUT THINK LOCAL

...social networking, blogs, photo sharing

EXAMPLE:

Ritch Colbert, principal,

Program Partners, showed Da Vinci's Inquest

sales promo reel.

Special websites like

www.davincisinquest.tv

allow viewers

of like-interest to share.

Trend #3

Audience as Producer/Editor/Writer:

The increasing popularity of mix-tapes, podcasts, blogs

and community involvement

Cory Trefelletti,

Managing Director,

CARAT FUSION

talked about a campaign for
the TV SHOW "VERONICA MARS"

Cached where viewers

sign up to be involved. .

Cast Veronica Mars

via epguide.com

watch for

more interactive campaigns

like the ones

Carat has created in the past.

TREND #4 RE-INVENT DON'T

JUST REPACKAGE AND REPURPOSE:

One of the examples that Schwarz pointed

to was the rise of re-invented classics:

Check out these newa versions of

classics Nancy Drew,

Hardy Boys and Zorro at

www.Papercutz.com

Great example of re-inventing media,

not just repurposing.

TREND #5 Rise of

custom-tainment...

edu-tainment

not just training,

way-finding, not just maps,

podcasts, blogs

and more require an

increasing emphasis on

media asset management (MAM),

archiving

and workflow management

where content creators

and producers work side by side

with software, technology
MAM solutions providers.

Schwarz pointed to her client

www.vfinity.com

as an exampale

of a firm that is creating

customized solutions

for edu-tainment

& custom-tainment.

On the panel,Cory Mitchell,

SVP, Nationalcinemedia (www.ncm.com)

noted that the one of the most

popular special screenings and events for her firm

this past year was a Drum Corps screening

that attracted 400,000

to NCM's theatres for a special screening.

See www.ncm.com for

new 'opps" for movie theatre events.

WATCH FOR MORE

DIGITAL HOLLYWOOD COVERAGE:

Sinbad, comedian,

producer is truly a guru on next generation media.

Watch for a full blog

column on Sinbad's wisdom and wit.....