TV moves online
Perhaps because I was busy celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day, I missed an interesting On Point on NPR. TV Online not only discussed the trend towards web presentations of broadcast favorites, but also the new web-only properties.
Some key points
- VCs are throwing gobs of money at big name producers to mimic TV on the web.
- Everyone knows it’s going to be big, but they’re not quite sure how it’s going to look.
- Lots of anecdotes about teenagers setting up Apple TV, watching football with laptops, and such – but the Forrester analyst seemed to get it.
- Advertising models are evolving and look promising.
So yesterday I asked my class of film and television students how many of them watched a good amount of “television” online. Nearly all raised their hands. How many watched video on their mobile phones? None. “I don’t even know anyone who does,” said one student.
One big question for those of us in the content creation business is what tools and what infrastructure will we need to play in this new world? Traditional TV is not going away. We will be re-editing content for multiple distribution channels. Digital asset management and content management is going to be big — not just for the networks, but for independents.
For those of us working primarily on content for broadcast, the implications are going to be huge. It’s possible that broadcast and cable will begin to look more like AM radio than traditional prime time — sooner rather than later — with lots of talk and sports. Everything else migrates towards digital distribution, wagging The Long Tail.
Celtx 0.9.9.5 released
Last week the latest update to Celtx was released.
Celtx is the world’s first fully integrated solution for media pre-production and collaboration. It replaces old fashioned ‘paper, pen & binder’ media creation with a digital approach to writing and organizing that’s more complete, simpler to work with, and easier to share.
Celtx is a client-server application. The application and basic web services are free. The script writer is elegant, though a little cumbersome when working with large scripts. The stroyboard tool is quite nice as well. Overall, Celtx is perfect for me to bang out a quick storyboard, script, and shooting schedule.
Those looking for true collaboration should look elsewhere. Celtx currently lacks version control, making it almost impossible for two people to work on a script concurrently. Even a simple check-in/check-out approach as used in Adobe Dreamweaver would be welcome.
Also, there’s no peer-to-peer networking available through Celtx. All collaboration must go through the Celtx server — an understandable limitation since the business model is based on upselling web services. It would be an easier sell to my clients if client-side encryption were available.
While Celtx lacks acceptable collaboration tools at this pre-1.0 stage of its development, it shows promise. (Version control is rumored to be in the pipeline.) As a production planning and scripting tool for a single user, it’s quite elegant. Definitely worth a download.
Apple looking to sell ProApps division? Probably not
I’ve been hearing some chatter that Apple is once again looking to sell its ProApps division – Final Cut Studio, Shake, etc. These rumors pop up from time to time. Back in 2000 reliable sources told me that Pinnacle (now owned by Avid) was close to striking a deal with struggling, pre-iPod Apple. The stumbling block that allegedly killed the deal was Apple’s insistence that FCP remain Mac-only for three years.
It’s plausible that Apple would be looking to unload a division that serves a relatively small market compared to iPods, iTunes, iMacs, and Apple TV, but the division remains a huge PR plum and Mr. Pixar sure loves the industry. I’d find it hard to believe Apple will find a buyer on its terms at a price it will find acceptable.
The latest rumor I’ve heard has Thomson very interested. Note: No current Thomson or Apple employee was the source of this rumor, so it’s what I’d classify Rumsfeld-quality intelligence. employee That might be a nice fit. At this stage, it’s just chatter. Something that I think about only to consider the effect such a move would have on my business. Almost half my work these days is done in FCP. Personally I’d hate to see Final Cut Studio leave the Apple fold. The ProApps have done a great job of keeping Avid and Adobe on their toes. Because Apple can justify its aggressive pricing somewhat due to the fact that Final Cut Studio helps sell some high end Macs and has PR value, it’s hard to imagine any potential buyer maintaining Apple’s pricing model.
Getting completely hypothetical here… Let’s say that the ProApps division is sold. What might some of the consequences be?
- Third party vendors such as AJA and Red may be a little less eager to hitch themselves to the new vendor as they have with Apple. When a vendor hooks on with Apple it gets the benefit of the Apple marketing machine. What potential buyer can match that? Will third party vendors continue to believe in Final Cut Studio’s growth, or will they fear stagnation and begin making contingency plans?
- A likely slow down in Final Cut development, and a possible price increase could give Avid, and Adobe to a lesser extent, some breathing room to raise margins a bit and justify more development expenditures.
It’s not that I really expect Apple to sell Final Cut and company. I don’t. But it’s probably time we stopped taking Final Cut’s aggressive development and pricing model for granted.
New PBS Tech Specs
The link to the PBS Technical Operating Specifications and the appendices were recently posted to Avid-L2 by an esteemed colleague. The appendices include very nice glossary of digital media terms.
Though most video pros don’t deliver PBS programs to the network on a regular basis, the PBS spec is commonly used as a benchmark throughout the industry.
The walled garden vs. the open plain
The whole iPhone thing doesn’t interest me, not because I’m not open to doing more interesting things with my mobile phone, but because I can’t use AT&T’s service. I get zero bars in my office on the I-495 technology belt in Massachusetts. It might behoove AT&T to lease a tower in the vicinity. Until then, even a $400 price drop wouldn’t make a difference.
Though I’ve paid scant attention to the iPhone craze, I admit it gave me a chuckle when Jobs instituted the $200 show-off surcharge last week.
This Knowledge@Wharton article got me thinking about the iPhone and, more specifically, Apple’s go to market strategy. It rehashes much of the ongoing walled garden vs. open plain debate, but in familiar terms. The iPhone makes an interesting example as its pending launch in Europe allows for the possibility that a single piece of technology might launch as both a walled garden (US) and open plain (Europe) offering. It will be worth watching if that happens.
As Apple continues to roll out consumer electronics products that plug into its distribution network, its take on walled gardens and open plains will affect many of us content producers.
