ITV

Category: Post Production

  • IFTPC urges producers to follow Covid2019 guidelines to check spread

    IFTPC urges producers to follow Covid2019 guidelines to check spread

    MUMBAI: India on Thursday recorded its highest single-day addition of Covid2019 cases in 2021 so far — total cases rose by 35,871, which is the highest daily rise since 6 December 2020. On the other hand Maharashtra, on the same day, reported 25,833 new Covid2019 cases, the hightest one-day spike since last March when the first Sars-Cov-2 infection was detected. Various stakeholders of the Indian entertainment industry have taken measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

    In view of the epidemic spread of Covid0919 virus throughout the world, including India, an urgent meeting by IFTPC held on 18 March 2021 had advised all production houses to strictly abide by all the Covid2019 protocols.

    IFTPC CEO Suresh Amin said in a letter addressed to all the producers: “Last year exactly on this date the industry had ceased shootings unilaterally as a precaution against the Covid2019. Today the industry is functioning to near capacity. Unfortunately, fatigue and carelessness has crept into our system rather exponentially which needs to be rectified immediately.”

    He further mentioned that the growing cases recently are not only worrisome, but have pushed the state government on the back foot and there is talk in the administration to take some drastic measures to hold back the spread of the virus. Amin feared that the media and entertainment industry will be the first target.

    To thwart the possibility of a crackdown, IFTPC at a producers meeting held yesterday has decided to start a special drive to implement the government guidelines with renewed vigour. It is advised that all the producers should personally visit their sets and ensure that SOPs are implemented meticulously.

    Below are the guidelines:

    a.       Please avoid outdoor shoots immediately

    b.       Restrict the number of junior artists and avoid shooting scenes requiring large crowds.

    c.       Do not fall to pressures of the creative team to include extravagant scenes

    d.       Producer shall visit the sets personally in the next two days and send photographs of the set to IFTPC

    e.       Follow the SOP meticulously without making any exceptions

    f.        Ensure that all crew members are insured as directed earlier.

    g.       Restrict the crew size to 33 per cent as prevailing in July 2020.

    Amin shared, “Today we are at the September 2020 situation and the wrath of the virus continues. We urge you to kindly ensure the implementation of the above in right earnest and oblige.”

  • Industry veteran Sudesh Iyer picks up strategic equity stake in Vistas Media Capital

    Industry veteran Sudesh Iyer picks up strategic equity stake in Vistas Media Capital

    MUMBAI: Media tycoon and ex co-founder of Sony Entertainment Television (SET Satellite Singapore) Sudesh Iyer has picked up a strategic equity stake in Vistas Media Capital (VMC) for an undisclosed amount.

     Iyer, based in Singapore, is an industry veteran with stakes in multiple businesses in the media and entertainment space across the region. He ran a successful advertising and an ad-film production company which he started in 1980. In the early 90s during the Gulf War, Iyer along with his friend Sushil Shergill set up a television network called ACE TV and they later entered into a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment to set up Sony Television Network. Being the original founders of Sony Entertainment Television, Iyer ran the content arm of the network, producing more than 10,000 hours of content. A serial entrepreneur, Sudesh Iyer has incubated several start-ups in the health care, information technology, manufacturing and logistics sectors.

    The strategic equity stake in VMC by Sudesh Iyer creates winning synergies across multiple axes for the company, which has big plans to increase its investments into India in the media and entertainment space while it continues to diversify into North America and Middle East. Together, they intend to launch a movie fund which will invest into both receivable financing as well as gap funding of projects. The fund will initially have an India focus and will expand into southeast Asia.

    Vistas Media Capital is headquartered in Singapore and led by Abhayanand Singh – NRI banker turned media entrepreneur and has amongst other media stalwarts, the likes of former Viacom18 CEO Raj Nayak, on its advisory board.

    VMC most recently announced the merger of its NASDAQ listed SPAC Vistas Media Acquisition Company (VMAC) with Abu Dhabi based leading music streaming platform Anghami on Nasdaq in a deal valued at approximately $220 million. Sudesh Iyer was a part of VMAC from the very beginning.

    Spotify competitor Anghami is the largest music streaming platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with over 70 million registered users and 57 million songs. Anghami has become the first Arab tech company to list on NASDAQ and VMC is a trailblazer in the red-hot SPAC space in South East Asia.

    VMC through its wholly owned subsidiary Golden Ratio Films currently holds investments and IPs in over 14 films and series in India and Hollywood. VMC’s content pipeline, presently at different stages of production spans across 25+ films and web series IPs cutting across Bollywood, Hollywood, and Indian regional cinema, which will form the company’s slate for the next three years.

    Vistas Media Capital group CEO Abhayanand Singh said, “We are very excited to have Sudesh Iyer as a part of our company as it validates our vision which he has bought into and at the same time he brings in many decades of experience and network in media amongst multiple other winning attributes. His presence on the advisory board and mentorship will surely help the company expedite its growth in this dynamic space.”

    In 2021, VMC will be launching a regional indian language over-the-top (OTT) super app, starting with Marathi language, which will be a one stop platform for films, series, music, live streaming, theatre, literature and podcast. This will be further expanded to other languages such as Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Bengali, and Punjabi in due course.

    VMC co-owns with Motion Content Group (a GroupM company) and Film Critics Guild of India, two prestigious award IPs – Critics’ Choice Film Awards and Critics’ Choice Short & Series Awards.  

    The South Asian Film Market (SAFM) and Singapore’s South Asian International Film Festival (Sg.SAIFF), which is in its fourth edition, are also part of the VMC portfolio.

    Iyer added, “I am very excited to join a group of young entrepreneurs who are trying to bridge the gap between creativity and finance. They have a vision which is very well articulated through their recent developments and they are an agile team which is tracking the evolution of the merger of media and technology.”

  • Vuulr accelerates online buying & selling of content with new tool

    Vuulr accelerates online buying & selling of content with new tool

    MUMBAI: Global online content marketplace Vuulr has launched Brandable Screening Rooms, a new tool featuring the largest collection of screening rooms to facilitate buying and selling of film and television show rights.

    Brandable Screening Rooms will start off with showing over 1,100 films and TV shows from more than 250 rights holders, including Gaumont, Legendary Television, SPI, TVCO, Insight TV, Globo, One Animation, Toonz Media, Indiacast, GMA, CNN and Vision Film.

    For no-cost, studios, distributors, production houses, and indie content makers can now feature their content in their own Screening Rooms, which can be branded with logos, company descriptions, and URLs, making it easy for rights holders to promote their unique Screening Rooms.

    Vuulr’s Screening Rooms are designed to improve deal closing by reducing friction and streamlining the acquisition journey. An interested buyer, having watched a screener, can instantly check avails, and make an acquisition offer.

     

    “I believe that Screenings should be a part of an unbroken journey that translates interest from a Buyer into an offer and then into a deal,” said Vuulr founder & CEO Ian McKee. “By integrating Screening Room functionality to the Vuulr marketplace, screenings become a part of an unbroken content discovery journey. We’re laser-focused on making content acquisition quicker and easier, and this is a natural next step.”

    Vuulr is free to use for buyers; for sellers, there are no upfront costs and commission fees are only paid on success.

    To date, content sellers from around the globe have listed 135,000 hours of content in more than 60 genres and 70 languages on Vuulr. Nearly 1,400 licensing deals were completed in the last 14 months, with over 5,000 buyers and 10,000 registered users accessing the Vuulr platform. The content listed on Vuulr spans animated shorts to multi-season dramas from nearly 100 different territories. The unique platform provides buyers the opportunity to discover film and television content of all genres and varying lengths, appealing to audiences’ global appetite. The online marketplace has, for example, enabled Spanish animation to be sold to Mongolia and Bollywood content to be picked up in Taiwan.

    Sellers on the online entertainment content marketplace include Sony, Legendary Television, Gaumont, Televisa, Viacom 18, CNN, Caracol, and many more including both indies and larger studios. Registered buyers include The Walt Disney Company, Viacom International Media Networks, Turner International Asia Pacific, BBC, Super RTL, Public Media Co Vietnam, Astro, MX Player, UKTV, SBS and many more from around the world.

  • Zen Digital Media launches creative platforms -‘Broadcoasters’ & ‘Beach And You (B.A.Y)’

    Zen Digital Media launches creative platforms -‘Broadcoasters’ & ‘Beach And You (B.A.Y)’

    MUMBAI: Zen Digital Media, a digital-first, Make In India startup, has introduced Broadcoasters & Beach And You (B.A.Y.), two platforms for brands and creative artists to experience seamless interactions bringing in a new age of story-telling.

    ‘Broadcoasters’

    Broadcoasters is the first, and the only LED screens on waters in India. With massive and dynamic screens on customized vessels, it is an unmissable medium of messaging, aimed towards every niche of audience.

    Keeping in mind the paradigm shift in media consumption, Broadcoasters will offer creative media solutions that are highly interactive. With a focus on four E’s – engage, entice, excite, and educate, this platform offers to reach out to audience with the power of advertising and social messaging. Two of the many distinctive core features include Over-the-air (OTA) real time content updates and multiple creative changes and placements.

    The robust infrastructure is second to none. A bespoke self-propelled vessel with high resolution LED screens and auto-brightness sensors, it showcases various formats of eye-catching static and video content.

    Broadcoasters has chosen Mumbai – The media capital of India, for its first launch at two of the most exclusive locations; the first, anchored opposite Bandra-Worli Sea Link promenade and the second, plying between an approximate stretch of 4.5 kms across the beautiful coastline of Juhu-Versova Beach.

    ‘Beach And You’

    With a focus on community building and bringing about a social change, Beach And You is a unique concept that encourages people to connect with each other along the coasts of India. Partnering with multiple NGO’s, state and central government bodies this concept can bring about a greater good in the society.  

    It is an experience that facilitates every citizen to add value, create, collaborate, meet like-minded people, and interact with one another. Social events, fitness sessions, education and information, awareness and conservation drives, public welfare campaigns, CSR initiatives which are all the need of the hour, can be brought to life very effectively by this concept.

    With Broadcoasters as a platform, Beach And You becomes a medium to reach out to those who believe in bringing about a positive change in the world around them.

    Furthering the company’s commitment in fostering innovative and interactive solutions, the exceptional bespoke design structure will provide limitless opportunities to brands to nurture creativity through collaboration. “At Zen Digital Media, our endeavor is state-of-the-art technology and constant innovation, that will introduce a new pathbreaking medium every year”, says its co-founders, Payal Raval and Sanjay Raval. They dared to dream about this massive yet interactive and resourceful project and successfully brought it to life. We have just begun our illustrious journey and aim to tap into potentials that are waiting to be unlocked.

  • The Zoom Studios announces the new season of its popular web show, The Reunion

    The Zoom Studios announces the new season of its popular web show, The Reunion

    MUMBAI:  The Zoom Studios has announced the much-anticipated new season of its maiden show, The Reunion. Creating a record run with over 50 million views on YouTube and Facebook, the earlier season had received rave reviews for its refreshing storytelling and content.

    Infused with nostalgia, connecting back to the roots, the ten-part series of the new season walks down memory lane and captures the emotional roller coaster journey of the Pujari family, who have drifted apart over the years and are now living separate lives, only to be reunited under one roof. The content studio has also partnered Odisha Tourism, promising viewers a visual treat with a compelling story set against gorgeous landscapes, shot in various parts of Odisha including Shimilipal, Bhitarkanika, Konark-Puri, Chilka, Dhenkanal, Badmul, Daringbadi, Koraput, Debrigarh.

    The new season helmed by acclaimed director Danish Aslam has roped in an eclectic cast including Lillette Dubey, Veer Rajwant Singh, Devika Vatsa, Prabal Panjabi, Kashmira Irani and KK Raina.

    Times Network  COO and executive president Jagdish Mulchandani said, “The Reunion marked the foray of The Zoom Studios into original content and immediately catapulted to being the viewers favorite series. The series broke new ground, setting a solid path for us as we marched ahead in our content journey. We are excited to launch the new season of The Reunion and delighted to partner with Odisha Tourism in our journey. I am confident that with a powerful storyline, distinguished star cast, and an extremely talented director, the show will create another success story for us”.

    The show is slated to launch in April 2021.

  • Bob Iger confirms he will leave Disney by 2021 end

    Bob Iger confirms he will leave Disney by 2021 end

    NEW DELHI: The Walt Disney Company’s executive chairman and former CEO Robert A Iger, better known as Bob, has confirmed that he’ll be leaving the media and entertainment conglomerate by the year’s end. In fact, Tuesday’s annual meeting of shareholders was his last.

    Iger was a transformation CEO, overseeing acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. His 47-year tenure at the mouse house will end on 31 December 2021, when he’ll formally pass the torch to the company’s new CEO Bob Chapek.

    “I will leave at the end of December with a strong sense of pride and a deep sense of appreciation for the very special place Disney holds in the hearts of people all over the world,” he said during the investors call. He added glowing remarks for his successor, Chapek, saying he will lead with the same principles that helped shape Disney into the magical company that it is today.

    “It has been a very trying year. The most difficult we’ve had in recent memory, if ever,” noted Iger. However, he’ll be departing the company when it is in a stronger position than it was six months ago. Disney shares have surged over the past year driven by Disney+ and now what appears to be the cusp of a vaccine-driven economic revival. The shares are trading at about $195, well up from a $52-week low of $79. Its market cap is $354 billion.

    Chapek, speaking later at the event, expressed “how grateful I am for the opportunity he has given me and for his faith in me. Bob has led this company to amazing heights over the year and I look forward to continuing to build on his remarkable legacy.”

    Iger was named chief executive in 2005, replacing Michael Eisner. In February 2020, much to everyone’s surprise, he stepped down from his role as CEO, citing a proper time for transition. Iger’s exact plans after Disney are unknown, though he has stated in the past that he is interested in other endeavours.

  • YouNeedCharacter’s CricketPang comic animation signs Ajinkya Rahane as the brand ambassador

    YouNeedCharacter’s CricketPang comic animation signs Ajinkya Rahane as the brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: Global character creation and animation production company YouNeedCharacter (spearheaded by CEO Minsu Song) has recently signed Indian cricket player, Ajinkya Rahane as the brand ambassador for CricketPang. As a part of their promotion, marketing, and branding initiative, Ajinkya Rahane has been roped in as the ambassador for India for ‘CricketPang’ – The soon to be launched original animate series.

    YouNeedCharacter is a company that creates animation and educational content with its original characters and is currently planning and producing ‘CricketPang’, a tv animation based on Cricket. It is currently in the final production stage and as the first stage of the launch, the comic series will be aired in India. Followed by other major countries.

    CricketPang has signed with popular OTT platforms in India and is in talks with local companies to start its services in March 2021.

    “India is a country of cricket. It is the nation’s favorite sport and famous cricket players along with Bollywood actors are some of India’s most influential role models. Among the cricket players, Ajinkya is a top-class player who is loved and respected by the Indian audience. He has garnered around 7 million followers on Facebook. I am extremely happy and think it is very important that such an excellent and famous player has shown interest and has become the brand ambassador of CricketPang.” Said CEO of YouNeedCharacter CEO Minsu Song, “With Ajinkya, we not only plan to promote the CricketPang animation but also initiate activities keeping public interest in mind. Through these initiatives, we intend to support cricket by securing scholarships for promising young cricket players in India.” He added

    Rahane said. “An animation series on Cricket will be very interesting for children, especially when the narrative is interesting and the characters are cute. I feel an animated series like this will appeal to kids and it is a great way of promoting the sport. It is an interesting concept that convinced me to associate with the launch of CricketPang in the Indian market. I hope to have a long-standing association with the brand.”.

    The interest in the IP is high, considering the tremendous response that the recently launched CricketPang Kindergarten App (an educational app for kindergarten-age children) has received. Despite the pre-airing of the CricketPang animation, the app has exceeded 100,000 downloads in India. With CricketPang’s official YouTube channel, ‘CricketPang TV’ that launched in mid-January exceeding 18,000 subscribers and 4 million views, the scope for early childhood education platform business is quite promising. Most of the views are from countries that are passionate about cricket such as India, Bangladesh, and so on. The possibility for successful commercialization locally is becoming clearer.  Discussions with major Indian publishers to publish a series of CricketPang books are on the cards. The publication is to be expected soon. In addition, CricketPang has signed with Rooh Entertainment, a renowned brand marketing agency in India, for their brand marketing and licensing business. .Rutika Malaviya, Founder – Rooh Entertainment will be building and launching the CricketPang Brand Licensing Program in India, which we believe is something to look forward to.

    YouNeedCharacter plans to raise awareness in a short period of time by broadcasting the series through local media channels, conducting local marketing, and actively promoting partnerships with various local companies in India. In particular, the association with Ajinkya is expected to have a meaningful impact on the initial launch process. A collaboration of a cricket-themed animation and a star cricket player is expected to show interesting results.

  • Cosmos-Maya starts 2021 with new seasons of hit shows

    Cosmos-Maya starts 2021 with new seasons of hit shows

    MUMBAI: It’s just the second week of the new year, and animation studio Cosmos-Maya is already looking to outperform its own stellar run in 2020.

    By mid-2021, among a bevy of numerous upcoming projects, the studio plans to release second seasons of audience favourites Titoo, Gadget Guru Ganesha (GGG) and Bapu. The former two have reached this milestone merely six months into their preliminary release. Titoo has been a top performer on Turner-owned Pogo, consistently being in the top five viewed kids’ animated programs on Indian TV. Bapu and GGG are streaming on Indian OTT platform Zee5 and have been consistent top performers on TV as well, with GGG contributing strongly to gross channel viewership of Disney Channel India.

    The studio launched Titoo on Pogo in July 2020, a show about the eponymous schoolboy who likes to help people but always ends up causing trouble in the process. Bapu originally debuted in May 2020 and is a show about the Mahatma in a fun rendition of his social principles. Ganesh Chaturthi’20 saw the release of Gadget Guru Ganesha, a fantasy animated show about a group of orphans and their friendship with a little Ganesha who employs mystical gadgets to solve problems with them.

    Cosmos-Maya has unwaveringly adhered to strict production and release timelines in the past year, and it has reflected in the best way for the quality and performance of the eight shows they’ve released. The new announcements are just the beginning of a long line-up planned in 2021, with big names such as Dabangg and Tenali Rama also in the offering.

    Cosmos-Maya CEO Anish Mehta said the studio is creating new projects, and it's just the start of a great set of offerings lined up this year. 

    "Disney India and Turner (Warner Media) have played an integral part in our shows achieving the level of success that they see today. The domestic and international markets are opening up to a large cultural and creative diversity of animated content from every corner of the globe, and Indian homegrown kids’ content is here to make a mark deeper than ever. Our terrific creative heads Suhas Kadav (Bapu) and Dheeraj Berry (Titoo and Gadget Guru Ganesha) have helmed the projects with utmost ingenuity and have met the bar for success as with every Cosmos-Maya produced project. We have our finger on the pulse of audience demands and the media business landscape and 2021 will see the best of it,” added Mehta.

  • Tony Chambers to lead Disney’s theatrical distribution

    Tony Chambers to lead Disney’s theatrical distribution

    MUMBAI: Disney veteran Tony Chambers has been promoted to EVP of theatrical distribution. He’ll oversee both domestic and international film distribution as well as home entertainment.

    Chambers replaces Cathleen Taff, who took over global distribution when Dave Hollis left in 2018. Taff is still working with Disney as production services, franchise management and multicultural engagement president. The new reorganisation which Disney underwent months ago puts more focus on streaming services, with the distribution side figuring out the better route for a film’s release: theatrical or Disney+.

    Due to the Covid2019 pandemic Disney has already sent movie releases among others to its news streaming service. However, CEO Bob Chapek during the studio’s early December investor day indicated that Disney wasn’t going to turn its back on theatrical once things get back to normalcy; many of the big screen IP responsible for series being spawned on Disney+.

    Chambers will report to platform distribution president Justin Connolly. Connolly reports to Disney media & entertainment distribution chairman Kareem Daniel.

    He will oversee and integrate all distribution activities across theatrical and home entertainment, including domestic and international theatrical distribution of all films produced and released by Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Pixar Animation Studio, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Blue Sky Studios and Searchlight Pictures.

  • Josh Goldstine is new Warner Bros worldwide marketing president

    Josh Goldstine is new Warner Bros worldwide marketing president

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros has named Josh Goldstine president of worldwide marketing, replacing Blair Rich, who vacated the position in December.

    Goldstine will officially join the California-based studio later this month. He will report directly to Warner Bros Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich, and work with the division’s senior management team.

    Previously president of worldwide marketing for Universal, Goldstine will oversee the studio’s global theatrical release slate including all Warner Bros, New Line, DC, Warner Animation group and HBO Max original features. His oversight will include Warner Bros Pictures’ worldwide creative advertising, publicity, media, global digital, global promotions, worldwide research and multi-cultural groups.

    Emmerich lauded Goldstine as an “outstanding marketer” who led a broad range of movies to great success in both theatres and on streaming platforms.

    “He loves cinema, is a believer in the continued importance of the theatrical experience, and is incredibly deft at understanding and distilling filmmaker’s visions and intentions into attention-grabbing and results-delivering marketing campaigns,” said Emmerich. “He has a future-focused skill set that will help us strategically navigate our evolving business, launching both our theatrical films and HBO Max original movies. He is a great addition to the Pictures Group, and we can’t wait for him to get started.”

    Goldstine is a widely known marketer, who launched campaigns for Despicable Me, Jurassic World, and the Fast and Furious franchises. During his time seven-year stint at Universal, his team had more than 30 films reach No.1 at the US box office, including Snow White and the Huntsman, Ted, The Bourne Legacy, Mama, Oblivion, Fast & Furious 6, The Purge, Ride Along, Neighbors, Dumb and Dumber To and the Academy Award-winning Les Misérables.