Another interactive story-telling consortium has been unveiled, this time with a call for people to join an "Open Community" to help define the project's software authoring tools for interactive storytelling.
The ultimate aim of the project is to release commercial software so only time will tell how this pans out. Participants include RealViz, Immersion and ICNM.
INSCAPE storytelling website
Intel completes a proof-of-concept delivery of a feature film (Rise) to its audience via wireless.
Another industry secret is out. A Spanish company, Polyphonic HMI, has been flogging Hit Song Science (HSS) to major record labels to perform statistical analysis on their acts. Despite only working on previous trends (with no ability to determine new popular forms), HSS analyses mathematical patterns in music such as melody, pitch and tempo and compares against known hits.
No word on when the movie industry equivalent is due out.
http://www.hitsongscience.com/
This should be a boon for execs who aren't interested personally in the media they sell. "Just get A&R to run the numbers"...
Sony have tested a whole-body interface approach using the EyeToy webcam device. This means that instead of seeing yourself onscreen, you see only your character, being controlled in puppet-like fashion.
GamerFeed : News : Sony : Interview: EyeToy: AntiGrav: Part 1
The reviews suggest that the experience is still ahead of its time. They all seem to dwell on the flaws.
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/sports/eyetoyantigrav/review.html
The ABC miniseries project - commissioning episodic "adventures" for mobile phone will be out later this year.
Business Week reports on the emerging trend of video blogging which will accelerate the demand for video on-demand services and effective video searching techniques.
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec2004/nf20041229_0845_db016.htm
How to make film-making and the cinema experience more sustainable. The Blackspot community (part of Ad Busters) give their views: