Posts Tagged ‘hollywood’
March 4, 2011
Cindy McCreery
Cindy is a graduate of the Walt Disney/ABC Feature Writing Fellowship program for the 2002-2003 year. In 2006 National Geographic Films hired Cindy to rewrite ELEPHANT WILD and later in 2007 in partnership with Warner Brothers, they hired her again to develop and write FREE WILLY: ESCAPE FROM PIRATES COVE. Cindy also teaches Advanced Screenwriting at UCLA.
Beginning December 15, 2010 I helped organize Vpype’s second Hollywood Screenplay Pitch Contest, which ran until the end of January. As some of you might recall, the first pitch contest held December 2009 through April 2010 turned out to be a very big success as we had over 400 five-minute-pitches submitted via Vpype’s Facebook application, vBroadcast. We had contestants from all over the world with ideas ranging from epic period pieces to massive blockbusters to outlandish comedies to touching dramatic true stories. Not only did the winner of the contest get the opportunity to develop her pitch into a screenplay with a known producer, but many of the top ten were contacted by judges and are still currently working on ideas as well.
This year, we made some changes to the contest. Rather than running it for several months, we decided to run it for two months and make it a three-minute pitch, rather than five. We also had participants use Vpype’s newest application, vComedy, which has a three-minute cap already in place, to pitch their screenplay. We had a 100 pitches submitted from all over the world including Spain, Germany, Pakistan and India. Many of the judges from last year participated as well, including Julie Richardson, Producer of “Collateral” and “The Collector” and Christopher Lockhart story editor for William Morris Endeavor and producer of “The Collector” and most recently the documentary, “Most Valuable Players”. The other judges included former Disney executives, Producers and even a Professor from the top screenwriting program in the country.
Pitching is a funny thing because writers generally are not actors or extroverts. It’s especially tough to pitch alone in a room to a camera because you can’t read your audiences body language. Also, getting across an entire story from start to finish in under three minutes is really an art and I must admit I was very impressed with the quality of the pitches this year. I was also inspired by the courage it took to actually do it! One of the top 10 from this year is a speech therapist who isn’t in “the biz”, in fact lives in a very small town far from Hollywood and sent me a Facebook message admitting to me how terrified she was, but she did it and did a great job. All of her friends and family who watched her pitch were impressed and proud of her, as they should be! At least when I have a meeting with a producer and pitch them my idea it’s not recorded and posted on Facebook for everyone to see and critique! The judges were all impressed with everyone as well and I’m encouraged by the fact that many of the judges personally reached out to several of the top ten, wanting to read their work and or further discuss their pitches.
This year’s winner is Joe Palladino from Santa Barbara, California. His winning pitch, “Towers of London”, is a fictionalized account of Harry Houdini, Arthur Conan Doyle and Jack the Ripper. Joe’s story was not only compelling, clever and simply a lot of fun, but his actual pitch was very clear, very well thought out and a delight to watch. His personality shined through and he made it enjoyable for his audience. All of the judges agreed that they easily envisioned the movie – both the tone and the hook of it, which isn’t an easy thing to pull off!
Vpype - Hollywood Screenplay Pitch Contest
Wilton Richards, who came in second with his pitch “The Hitman”, pitched twelve ideas all of which were really fun and original. His other pitch, “Battle For Earth” made it into the top twenty. “The Hitman” is fun action comedy about a hitman who is dying of cancer and puts a hit out on himself but is cured and must save himself from the other hitmen. Wilton lives in The Bahamas and I am pleased that this contest brought Hollywood within reach for him and that he has been in contact with two of the judges.
In third place was AD Smiths, “The Assigned” which was definitely the most entertaining of the entire contest as he had props, music and he even acted out a scene using cardboard cutouts! I have to admit that I watched his pitch at least five times because the theatrics of his pitch were so fun. AD has a very natural pitching ability, which I’m a little jealous of.
Hollywood can feel very far away for most aspiring screenwriters, even for those of us who live in Los Angeles and it’s exciting when you come across a company like Vpype who has the resources to make it just a little more accessible. Having a voice, but not being heard is a very frustrating and lonely thing and I’d like to hope that this contest has helped a few writers feel as though they’re being heard. If anything, everyone who participated in the contest now has a community of other writers who they can share their ideas with.
The Hollywood VPYPE Pitch Contest group page on Facebook has become a sort of water cooler hang out for a lot of aspiring screenwriters and it continues to grow every week. Also, the vComedy application page has become a place to share ideas and notes on each other’s work. Every pitch that was submitted has been viewed multiple times and many have comments and suggestions from other participants. I hope that writers in the group will continue to share their ideas with each other and really use each other as sounding boards. I know that some members have used vBroadcast to discuss ideas with each other and over the next few weeks, I’m hoping to created a “writer’s group” using vBroadcast where each week a writer will broadcast their own ideas live, while other members of the group can watch and chat with them live.
What every aspiring screenwriter dreams of is an audience and Vpype has helped provide one!
Joe Palladino’s pitch, TOWERS OF LONDON on vComedy…
http://apps.facebook.com/vcomedy/vcomedyviewer?auth_token=82020b1098aa9a22b34c89b2453ffb1c
Wilton’s pitch, THE HITMAN on vComedy…
http://apps.facebook.com/vcomedy/vcomedyviewer?ref=ts
AD Smith’s pitch, THE ASSIGNED on vComedy…
http://apps.facebook.com/vcomedy/vcomedyviewer?ref=ts
Tags:cindy mccreery, Facebook, facebook fan pages, hollywood, joe palladino, julie richardson, live video, screenplay pitch contest, shoieb yunus, social media, social networking, social video, social viewing, social web, towers of london, vbroadcast, vcomedy, Vpype, vpype live
Posted in citizen journalism, cloud computing, cloud storage, comedy, Facebook, hollywood, hollywood scriptwriting, humanties, interactive tv, internet, movies, social applications, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, technology, video, video platform, virtual computing | Leave a Comment »
December 16, 2010
Cindy McCreery
Cindy McCreery, Hollywood Screenwriter.
Cindy is a graduate of the Walt Disney/ABC Feature Writing Fellowship program for the 2002-2003 year. In 2006 National Geographic Films hired Cindy to rewrite ELEPHANT WILD and later in 2007 in partnership with Warner Brothers, they hired her again to develop and write FREE WILLY: ESCAPE FROM PIRATES COVE which will be released in March of 2010.
Last January Vpype held it’s first Hollywood Screenplay Pitch Contest. It was the first and only pitch contest exclusive to Facebook, which allowed users to pitch industry professionals live via webcam. Judges from MGM, Fox, William Morris Endeavor as well as many known Producers with credits that include COLLATERAL, REMEMBER ME, THE COLLECTOR, OVERBOARD and ELF. I’m proud to say that not only did the top three winners win great prizes, but also they are still currently developing their ideas with producers that judged the contest. The gains weren’t limited to the top three; in fact, many of the contestants were contacted by producers who watched their pitches.
vComedy app on Facebook
This December we’re proud to announce the 2nd annual pitch contest! This time we’ve made a few changes. First we’ve limited the pitches to three minutes, as that’s really all the time one needs to get out what their movie is! Secondly, we’ve shortened the duration of the contest to a little over a month so we don’t lose momentum. Third, participants must submit their pitches using Vpype’s latest application, vComedy, although pitches aren’t limited to a specific genre.
Many of the judges from last year will be participating including Julie Richardson, Mac Torluccio, Christopher Lockhart, Trevor Engelson and many more.
What makes this contest special is that it’s not only free but it’s open to writers all over the world. Last year we had participants from as far as Israel to Pakistan to Italy to Australia. It really opens Hollywood to writers who don’t have the resources to live in LA.
Also, what I think makes this such a special contest is that everyone involved is really dedicated to the idea of helping aspiring writers get their feet in the door. The CEO of Vpype is also a filmmaker and understands not only the importance of the writer but also the importance of making industry contacts.
This might be a small contest, but it has provided big opportunities for many writers including Marc Maxwell recently wrote this to me, “Living in Pembroke, Kentucky feels a million miles away from Hollywood. But that’s where I find myself working as a Department of Defense Guidance Counselor for the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell. As an Army Counselor, I assist our Soldiers in achieving their Adult Education goals of obtaining a degree or diploma. My writing partner, David Horne, and I started collaborating four years ago. To date, we have co-written nine sports trivia/history books through the Sports by the Numbers series, however we have always aspired to write screenplays. With me in Kentucky and Dave stationed as a civilian in Germany, the dreams of being a screenwriter were just that…dreams. Geographically, even if we had a great script, we weren’t in any position to pitch our ideas. That was, until the first Vpype Hollywood Pitch Contest came to Facebook. I heard about the contest through Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat website and immediately started working on our pitches. After pitching five ideas, we found ourselves with two submissions in the Top Thirty and one pitch in the Top Ten. Even though we didn’t win the contest, we were contacted by a judge and Hollywood Insider to send them our completed screenplay. We continue to work with them on rewrites and have been invited to submit any future screenplays we complete. Without the Vpype contest, our screenplay may never have been seen or read by movie producers. And because of this contest our dream lives on.”
No matter where you live or what you do for a living, if you have a movie idea be sure to pitch it via vComedy before January 25th 2011! Who knows, this time next year you could be living out your dreams!
For more information join our Facebook Group, The Hollywood VPYPE Pitch Contest!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=259144206323
Tags:christopher lockhart, cindy mccreery, collateral movie, collector movie, Facebook, hollywood, hollywood pitch contest, how to pitch to hollywood executives, julie richardson, live video, marc maxwell, screenplay pitch, shoieb yunus, social media, social networking, social video, social viewing, technology, vbroadcast, vcomedy, Vpype, vpype live
Posted in comedy, Facebook, hollywood, hollywood scriptwriting, humanties, interactive tv, internet, movies, social applications, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, technology, video, video platform, videos | Leave a Comment »
December 9, 2010
Gary Klein
By Gary Klein, Product Manager, Vpype Corporation
It was not that many years ago when you placed an advertisement in a magazine or newspaper, paying a charge based on their total subscriber base, knowing only a small number of those readers would be interested, and hoping some even smaller number might act. If you wanted to know what your customers thought of your products, you could include a response card, and hope one percent ever replied. Today, social media has changed the landscape: restaurateurs can respond to customer reviews on Yelp, Delta Airlines monitors Twitter to remedy customer complaints, and Jack in the Box has over 300,000 friends on Facebook. Social Media Expert Mari Smith dubs this The Relationship Age in her latest book:
“With the incredible boom of online social networking sites – particularly Facebook and Twitter – what we’re seeing now is a massive paradigm shift in the way we communicate and do business around the globe.”
Social Media Expert Mari Smith doing a live broadcast
Vpype’s vBroadcast application was designed to enable you and your brand to interact with your customers in real-time. Speak directly to your customers where they socialize: on your branded Facebook Page and your branded web site. You can demonstrate products or answer questions using state of the art streaming video. Participants are identified by name and photo, and can ask questions or provide feedback immediately. Chat is recorded along with the video for time-shifted viewing. One click opens a window for participants to share posts with Facebook and Twitter, allowing them to share their experience with their friends, while integrating these feeds into a unified social stream for the broadcaster.
In the last year thousands of shows have been created, including:
• A pitch contest where screenwriters from around the world were able to pitch scripts to Hollywood studio executives (from 20th Century Fox, MGM, William Morris Endeavor and others)
• An independent tire and auto care shop shared maintenance tips and closed four new customers during their first broadcast
• A graduate program offered distance learning classes and broke their enrollment record
• A church broadcast sermons to housebound parishioners and reconnected with others that had moved away
• A realtor toured open houses with his laptop, answering questions from out of town buyers
• A specialty horse accessory maker gave tutorials and answered questions from their customers on four continents from a barn in Colorado
• A candidate for Congress fielded questions from his future constituents
How can you build stronger relationships with your customers? If you don’t, your competitor will, as when Southwest Airlines tweeted flight information to a JetBlue customer complaining about his delayed flight.
Tags:20th Century Fox, cindy mccreery, Facebook, facebook fan pages, gary klein, hollywood, jetblue, julie richardson, live video, mari smith, MGM, relationship marketing, shoieb yunus, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, social web, southwest airlines, the relationship age, twitter, Vpype, vpype live, William Morris Endeavor, Youtube
Posted in Facebook, hollywood, hollywood scriptwriting, internet, movies, social applications, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, technology, video, video platform | Leave a Comment »
September 27, 2010
Cindy McCreery
Guest Writer Series, Part 6 Cindy McCreery, Hollywood Screenwriter. Cindy is a graduate of the Walt Disney/ABC Feature Writing Fellowship program for the 2002-2003 year. In 2006 National Geographic Films hired Cindy to rewrite ELEPHANT WILD and later in 2007 in partnership with Warner Brothers, they hired her again to develop and write FREE WILLY: ESCAPE FROM PIRATES COVE which will be released in March of 2010.
Last Sunday, September 19th, I had the pleasure of hosting a vComedy booth with the rest of the Vpype team at the 30th annual San Francisco Comedy Day in Golden Gate Park. Over forty stand-up comedians from all over the country, including actor Robin Williams, performed on one stage for five straight hours! The day started out a little shaky considering the temperature was in the 50’s, raining and windy but the crowds still came despite the weather.
30th Annual San Francisco Comedy Day
For our vComedy booth, we had laptops with web cams armed and ready to record visitor’s jokes using the vComedy application. I’m not going to lie; we had an interesting group visit our booth! First of all, we were located in the Sharon Meadows area of Golden Gate Park which sits right across from the famous or infamous Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco and secondly, as stated earlier, the weather was terrible. We had a few homeless who were thrilled to have the opportunity to be heard (and get out of the rain), we had a couple of young kids who on approaching the booth were seemingly shy but when the camera rolled, shy they definitely weren’t! We had a grandmother tell a joke that her grand children definitely should not watch and a father tell a joke dedicated to his kids.
Most of the people who stopped by our booth were college students who spend a lot of their time on Facebook and were excited to get a chance to be a part of Comedy Day by themselves telling a few jokes. Two of my UC Santa Barbara students made an appearance and did several vComedy recordings. They’re both aspiring comics and were excited to have an excuse to record some of their comedy and send it out to all of their friends.
People trying out vComedy app at Vpype booth
In talking to a lot of different people about vComedy what I’ve heard consistently is that being an application specifically for telling jokes, makes it easier and less frightening to actually record something. For example, if you had a funny story to tell all of your Facebook friends, it would feel kind of awkward to just record something and post it on your page. But, by doing it specifically through a comedy application, it’s wrapped up in a nice fun virtual comedy card of sorts! I think beyond using the app to tell a joke, it’s a great way to connect with friends and family. If a user wants to just say “hello” to a friend, vComedy is a great way to send a fun quick message.
Also in the coming weeks, a new feature will be added to the app, which I think will skyrocket the amount of users – an uploading feature. Users will have the choice to either record something using their webcam or they can upload a funny video. And for aspiring comics they can upload their best bits from performances and send it out as well! It’s great because many comics aren’t stand-up comedians, but rather excel at improv and by adding this feature, we’ll be opening the app up to sketch and improv comedians as well! Or maybe just a funny moment captured on video at your friends wedding!
Another feature I really like about vComedy is that it keeps a catalogue of your recordings so users can basically create their own line up of different vComedy bits, a virtual shmorgishborg of funny!
Who knows, maybe next years Comedy Day lineup will include some comics discovered by using vComedy!
Here’s the link to vComedy on Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/vcomedy
Tags:cindy mccreery, Facebook, hollywood, Human Behavior, live video, robin williams, san francisco comedy day, shoieb yunus, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, Vpype, vpype live
Posted in comedy, Facebook, hollywood, Human Behavior, humanties, internet, movies, social applications, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, technology, video | Leave a Comment »
September 4, 2010
Cindy McCreery
Cindy McCreery, Hollywood Screenwriter.
Cindy is a graduate of the Walt Disney/ABC Feature Writing Fellowship program for the 2002-2003 year. In 2006 National Geographic Films hired Cindy to rewrite ELEPHANT WILD and later in 2007 in partnership with Warner Brothers, they hired her again to develop and write FREE WILLY: ESCAPE FROM PIRATES COVE which will be released in March of 2010.
My most prize possession as a kid was my Steve Martin, “Wild and Crazy Guy” stand up comedy record. I’d listen to his standup over and over again even though, most likely, I was too young to understand why I was laughing. The idea that one guy could make so many people laugh just by telling stories amazed me. A few years later my older brothers exposed me to another great stand up, who I was still far too young to be watching, Eddie Murphy. I must have watched his stand up show, “Delirious” a hundred times. He told crazy stories about his childhood that were both so personal and so hilarious. Then, I discovered Gilda Radner, who became my hero. She was fearless. She didn’t care how ridiculous she looked; it was all about being funny. That was it for me she was who I wanted to be when I grew up. Period. Well, needless to say, I did not become Gilda Radner, but my love of comedy has stayed intact.
Recently, I was asked by Shoieb Yunus, Founder & CEO at Vpype to help promote their new Facebook application, vComedy, which allows users to record, post and send out their best comedy “bits”. What I love about this application is that it’s not about trying to capture a funny moment with your video camera of your cat doing something crazy or someone nailing someone else in the crotch for the millionth time, it’s back to the basics of what I love about comedy. It’s about a personal interaction, about simply telling a funny story. That’s what I love about stand up comedy; it’s so personal and so simple. Sometimes it works. Sometime it doesn’t. But I admire anyone with the nerve to try.
I recently sat down to use the app for the first time and it was terrifying. I’ve spent the last eight years as a professional screenwriter, constantly putting my work out there, but this was much more terrifying, I had to put myself out there! Let’s face it, my joke wasn’t that great, but I sent it out to my dad on Facebook, who I dedicated it to and he absolutely loved it. He loved that I took the time to record this joke just for him. It was better than any greeting card I had ever mailed to him. He laughed and was touched. My first bit was a success! Don’t worry I’m not going to quit my day job! Milton Berle once said, “Laughter is an instant vacation”. I think vComedy can be an “instant vacation” for someone right there on their Facebook Page. I know it was for my dad.
30th Annual San Francisco Comedy Day
This September 19th at the 30th annual San Francisco Comedy Day I’m thrilled to be working a vComedy booth where we’ll be recording patron’s best funny! It’s going to be a great day where over forty of the best stand ups in the country will be performing on one stage for the city where Steve Martin recorded “Wild and Crazy Guy”. The day begins at noon and runs until 5pm in the beautiful Sharon Meadows in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. It’s totally free and a family friendly day of food, drinks and comedy! Our vComedy booth will be armed with webcams ready to record patron’s best funny and we’ll post them on Facebook for everyone to share with their friends.
For more info on vComedy go to … http://apps.facebook.com/vcomedy
For more info on San Francisco Comedy Day go to … http://www.comedyday.com
To watch Vpype CEO’s latest interview, click here … http://www.vimeo.com/14661583
Tags:cindy mccreery, comedy on facebook, Facebook, hollywood, live video, san francisco comedy day, shoieb yunus, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, social web, Vpype, vpype live, Youtube
Posted in comedy, Facebook, hollywood, hollywood scriptwriting, Human Behavior, humanties, interactive tv, internet, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, technology, Uncategorized, video, Youtube | Leave a Comment »
August 28, 2010
Guest Writer Series, Part 2
Cindy McCreery, Hollywood Screenwriter. Cindy is a graduate of the Walt Disney/ABC Feature Writing Fellowship program for the 2002-2003 year. In 2006 National Geographic Films hired Cindy to rewrite ELEPHANT WILD and later in 2007 in partnership with Warner Brothers, they hired her again to develop and write FREE WILLY: ESCAPE FROM PIRATES COVE which will be released in March of 2010.
Hollywood Pitch Contest on vBroadcast on Facebook
I got my first big break by winning the 2003 ABC Disney Feature Screenwriting Fellowship, where Disney moved me to Los Angeles and paid me a salary for a year to write a script for them. It wasn’t until I won what was basically a contest, that I finally broke into the world I had dreamed of being a part of. From there I’ve sold seven projects and have remained, sometimes by the skin of my teeth, in the world. For so many aspiring screenwriters, living where those doors are just isn’t possible. There are so many talented people all over the world who could and should be successful in Hollywood, but the miles between them and Los Angeles are too vast and if you’re not where the action is, how in the heck do you get noticed. Contest, that’s the answer.
This is why I was thrilled to help put together a screenwriting contest for the Facebook Application company; Vpype. I was given the opportunity to help open doors for aspiring writers from all over the world. The contest was not only free to the public, but very simple. All that was required was a Facebook account, a webcam, and an idea for a feature film. They just had to record their own pitch using their webcam and Vpype’s broadcasting application, vBroadcast.
I found industry professionals who loved the idea of opening doors from major Hollywood Studios, Production Companies and Agencies to review the pitches. We carefully choose a top ten out of four hundred plus entries from writers across the globe. We had an action adventure pitched from Italy, a very dramatic period piece from the UK, an alien thriller from Israel, a love story from Argentina, a sexy detective story from Arkansas and many many more great ideas! It was so exciting for me every day to open up the application and find another entry from another unique voice.
The top ten then had the chance to pitch their ideas live using vBroadcast, which allows users to broadcast live straight from their Facebook Page. The panel of judges watched the live pitches and used the “chatting” mechanism within the app where they could critique each individual pitch. Here, writers were given whatever aspiring writer dreams of – access. They had the opportunity to pitch their movie to studio executives, producers, agents and managers. Prior to the live top ten finals, I did live vBroadcasts with the writers where I offered my own advice for pitching their scripts. It was really fun to connect personally with these writers from all over the world.
We had the final event where all ten did terrific and took full advantage of this opportunity. Even though we only had one winner, they all impressed the judges. In fact, many of the top ten were contacted by judges and are now developing their scripts with them.
The other exciting thing to come out of this contest was the community of writers on the contest’s group page. Even though the contest has been over for several months, the page has been a “water cooler” of sorts for the nine-hundred plus writers to post questions, offer advice, hold their own live vBroadcasts discussing where they are in their own projects, and most importantly to know that where ever they are in the world that they’re not alone anymore and not so far from Hollywood.
Check out our group The Hollywood VPYPE Pitch Contest
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=259144206323&ref=ts
Tags:cindy mccreery, Facebook, hollywood, julie richardson, live video, movie free willy, movie soccer mom, shoieb yunus, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, social web, Vpype, vpype hollywood pitch contest, vpype live
Posted in Facebook, hollywood, hollywood scriptwriting, internet, movies, social media, social networking, social tv, social video, technology, video | Leave a Comment »
May 10, 2010
A couple of months ago, Hollywood producer Julie Richardson and screenwriter Cindy McCreery launched and hosted Hollywood Screenplay Pitch Contest on Facebook via Vpype. Screenwriters submitted their pitches; A-list judges viewed the pitches and then the top three winners were announced. It was an awesome experience for everyone involved.
Facebook is not only a huge social networking portal, but also a gigantic content distribution platform. Being a native Facebook application, Vpype Live Broadcaster has proved to be a social video distribution platform for the screenwriters, talent management and Hollywood studio executives.
Some of the participants of the screenplay pitch contest have shared their experiences. Here we go:
“I had such a blast participating in the pitch contest. I made the top 10 Finalists! I didn’t pitch in my pajamas, but I did pitch from home–no flying to LA or NY. My family room was my stage, and industry pros were my audience! I’m so grateful for the opportunity the judges and the organizers gave to writers wanting exposure to their stories! And I found out that a few of the judges are interested in reading my script. How cool is that!” comments Mike N. Kelly.
“The Vpype Hollywood Pitch contest has given my writing team the ability to showcase and share our story ideas with true industry insiders. If not for this contest, I’m not sure how long it would have taken us to get someone in Hollywood to give us a chance to submit our screenplays for consideration. This has been an exciting competition and has given us hope that Hollywood is doing everything it can to find new and fresh stories outside its traditional channels. We are extremely grateful to Vpype, the contest’s judges, and to its creators for making this happen,” writes Mark C. Maxwell.
“First off – this was a blast! Right out of the gate, I was surprised at how easy Vpype was to use. What a great idea for script pitching… Writers get exposure and pitch experience. Producers get access to volumes of concepts without having to weed through piles of submissions. I could see Vpype becoming the new darling site among Hollywood execs to discover untapped talent. A home run all the way around!” writes Shelli Wright.
Social video is here – tightly integrated into Facebook for everyone to use.
Tags:cindy mccreery, Facebook, hollywood, julie richardson, live video, shoieb yunus, social media, social networking, social video, Vpype
Posted in Facebook, hollywood, interactive tv, movies, social networking, social tv, social video, technology, Uncategorized, video | Leave a Comment »
May 4, 2010
I love combining my passions for social video and filmmaking, and have been very pleased that our first broadcasters included Hollywood producers, filmmakers, screen writers, actors and talented people who are part of the film industry. This community has really taken advantage of and used the Vpype platform to tell their story since day one and continues to do so.
Social Video allows industries like the entertainment industry to involve fans early (before a film’s release) and often. It is one way to promote a film, business or brand, and encourage a personal and authentic interaction with fans and followers (or likers).
Along with a Fan Page on Facebook, a Vpype Live Broadcast by the filmmakers can potentially impact how many will see a movie when it opens. Vpype’s live and recorded broadcasts allow the filmmakers to connect with fans and audience base in a new way. The broadcasts can tell the story behind the scenes, showcase the creative talent, and let fans know more about why the filmmakers picked a project. And most importantly, viewers can interact with the broadcasters via “live” chat.
With Julie Richardson and other filmmakers of horror film, "The Collector".
Last summer, producer of the film “Collateral” Julie Richardson, said of social video: “Live social video broadcasting technology will help us enhance our films’ Facebook Fans’ experience as well as give us the opportunity to leverage the power of social networking to attract new viewers when we schedule live broadcasts to promote our films using Vpype’s technology.”
Since then Julie Richardson has helped to put together Vpype broadcasts that support her vision for social video. For example, one of our first live Vpype broadcasts was by “The Collector” filmmakers, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton that Julie has produced. Many of the film’s fans attended the live broadcast (or show), and took advantage of our interactive chat option to share thoughts with the broadcasters (in this case, the filmmakers).
With the help of Hollywood Screenwriter Cindy McCreery, Julie Richardson also created the first Hollywood – Vpype screenplay pitch contest, which used Vpype’s ‘social video’ platform for contestants to pitch screenplays to Hollywood A-list judges (from Fox, MGM, William Morris – Endevour and others), in five minutes or less.
Other noteworthy Vpype film-related shows include:
TV actor Steven Weber (and a blogger for the Huffington post) invited us to his home, when he used Vpype to create his first live social video broadcast.
On the set of English feature film, Two Mothers.
Last year, I along with Michael Richter and Jawad Qureshi produced an indie English feature film, “Two Mothers”. Click here to see the interview of Jeremiah Birnbaum, film director of “Two Mothers”. Click here to join the Fan Page on Facebook.
About six months ago, at the annual Film Angels gala event, Barrie M. Osborne, producer of the film “Matrix” did a broadcast about his upcoming film projects. Click here to see it!
Social Video is here – for both, the Hollywood and indie filmmakers to promote their films and have a conversation with their fans and audience base on Facebook.
Tags:Barrie Osborne, cindy mccreery, Facebook, facebook fan pages, FilmAngels, hollywood, Huffington Post, jeremiah birnbaum, julie richardson, michael richter, movie the collector, movie two mothers, shoieb yunus, social media, social networking, social video, steven weber, Vpype, vpype live broadcaster
Posted in Facebook, hollywood, Human Behavior, movies, social networking, social tv, social video, technology, Uncategorized, video | Leave a Comment »
February 5, 2010
Commentary: Sundance Film Festival TwentyTen
Egyptian Theater, Main Street, Park City, Utah
On January 22, I flew off to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend Sundance film festival. From Salt Lake airport, drove off to Park City – the actual venue of all the action. It’s been reported that out of 3,274 independently produced films 112 films were selected for the screenings. This year a new section called NEXT was established, which showcased eight low-budget feature films. Cinematic Rebellion was the tagline and highlighted all over.
Cinematic Rebellion
At Sundance, the films were grouped in the following categories:
1) US Documentary Competition: the world premieres of 16 American documentaries, covering the subjects of human rights to popular culture, were shown.
2) US Dramatic Competition: the world premieres of 16 American feature films were shown. This category claims to present fresh voices in American indie film.
3) World Cinema Documentary Competition: the films from around the world were shown encompassing extraordinary personal stories and universal themes.
4) World Cinema Dramatic Competition: the work of international emerging filmmakers was presented in this category.
Other categories included Premieres, Spotlight, Park City at Midnight (horror), NEXT and Short Films program.
I had an opportunity to watch “Bhutto” – on the life and assassination of Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (a US Documentary, produced by Mark Siegel and Duane Baughman), “The Last Train Home” – a Chinese documentary about 130 million migrant workers who travel home for the New Year’s holiday (produced and directed by Lixin Fan), and a number of short films.
I also stopped by the Directors’ Lodge, Sundance TV channel, ASCAP Music Café and HP Center to get familiar with the scene. It was truly a remarkable experience!
So what’s common between Sundance and Social Media: creative, social and connectedness.
Tags:Benazir Bhutto, Facebook, hollywood, Mark Siegel, shoieb yunus, Sundance 2010, Vpype
Posted in Facebook, hollywood, humanties, internet, movies, social networking, social video, technology, video, videos, Youtube | 2 Comments »
November 23, 2009
FilmAngels is an organization that I belong to and support. It is a group that bridges the gap between filmmakers and the investment community. FilmAngels is headed by Thomas Trenker.
It’s the way I was able to connect to the screenwriter/producer and the director for our film, Two Mothers, and how I met a few notable Hollywood filmmakers. I attended FilmAngels’ Annual Gala event in Redwood Shores last week, and we set up Hollywood producer Barrie Osborne for a live Vpype interview on Facebook.
Osborne is the Oscar-winning Hollywood producer of the Lord of the Rings, Face/Off, The Matrix, and many other movies.
Barrie was interviewed about his film making experience using Vpype’s live, interactive video broadcast application on Facebook. If you wish to see the broadcast, click here.
This was an opportunity for us to use Vpype to reach out to Barrie’s fans, to share his perspective, and to address questions live. It’s a great way for a film producer, director or actor to get in touch with fans, and tell them more about the story behind their endeavor.
I believe applications like Vpype that allow for live, interactive video broadcasts are among the best ways for filmmakers and all the associated talent (writers, actors, special effects, music mavens…) to connect with a global audience before they go in production to get feedback and after to promote and more of the story behind the film. This is a valuable step that can be exploited to share perspectives and get valuable feedback.
My advice, if you are a filmmaker, is to develop and reach out to your audience, show your human side and passion, and be proactive about telling your story or promoting your projects and expertise. This can all be done using social video applications and Facebook.
Tags:Barrie Osborne, Facebook, FilmAngels, hollywood, Lord of the RingsFacebook, social video, The Matrix, Vpype
Posted in Facebook, hollywood, movies, music, social video | Leave a Comment »
