[modfilms-general] SANCTUARY NEWSLETTER > AUG 10 > 2005

[Alex Zinzi]

FRIDAY RSVP
Please let Michela know if you are coming on Friday night (6pm onwards) 
for drinks - 07775 840 950

FILM TRIAL
Remember how the other week we told you about Michela's application
for a grant of £200K on the BBC show 'The Dragon's Den'. Well this week
we're gonna tell you about the American version of this show whose
Grand Prize is no less than a Budget of 1.1 Million Dollars to make a
major motion picture with FilmTrial.com and a well known Production
Company for Hollywood Distribution. Over 25 Production Companies have
already signed up to assess the Online Pitch from Miramax to Dimension
Films to even the people that bring you the Simpsons every week, IDT
Entertainment. Which is why I say.. go for it .M. you go girl!!
http://www.filmtrial.com


BRITSHORTS
There's no standard reference to Short Film Sales Figures, the UK
market is frankly too small to warrant anyone collating figures, but
in recent talks with BritShorts' Simon Young, Michela was able to
garner the following information. Top selling shorts can make 20-30K
world-wide for a few years, typically through broadcast sales. These
titles tend to be very original with a good balance between Art and
Commercial appeal. 15K/year is otherwise a successful sales figure
with average figures being around 7K/year (for shorts that are good
enough to win distribution). Note that many buyers do not want to pay
more than 300 euros.
http://www.britshorts.com/html/contact_frame_si.html


GAME MODS UNDER THREAT
Game hackers have probed, tweaked and enhanced everything from 'Halo'
to 'The Sims 2' over the years without incurring the wrath of game makers -
despite widespread click-wrap contracts prohibiting unauthorized
modifications, and ambiguities in copyright law that make distributing
the hacks legally uncertain. All that changed recently when game
industry opponents and some Democratic lawmakers raised a furor over a
sexually themed mini game baked into Rockstar Games' best-selling PC
and console title GTA: San Andreas. See article here:
http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,68284,00.html?tw=rss.TOP


BtBOT
Btbot has nothing whatsoever to do with British Telecom, it' actually
a popular and fast growing Search Engine for Bittorrents, Ringtones
for cell phones, Friends and Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Funded in
May 2004, Btbot provides its users with simple and clean search
interfaces and very fast responses. For example, a bittorrent search
takes less than 0.2 seconds in average. http://www.btbot.com


HIGH DEFINITION DVD REDEFINED
As consumer electronic manufacturers, duplicators, and motion picture
studios prepare for the launch of a DVD format capable of storing high
definition video, retailers are carefully evaluating their
merchandising alternatives. As of this writing, two formats, each
capable of storing high definition movies on DVD, are planned for
release into the market. Retailers uniformly agree that the
concurrent distribution of more than one format is likely
unsustainable, and that the launch of a single format is preferable to
a format war which could confuse the public and lead to reluctance to
embrace either format.
http://www.idealink.org/Resource.phx/vsda/resources/hi-def-dvd/hi-def-criteria.htx


A LESS IDIOTIC BOX QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"DTV conversion, or at least a statistically significant, financially
viable deployment of the technology, is the largest marketing
challenge in the history of consumer electronics, and whatever
happens, it will rock the very economic foundation of the broadcasting
industry as we know it today." - Charles A. Pantuso
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://realprogrammers.com/mail/modfilms-general/attachments/20050810/61f30e03/attachment.htm