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Tag: Anupam Sharma.

  • Stage gets Clear on PFT’s AI-powered content management solution

    Stage gets Clear on PFT’s AI-powered content management solution

    MUMBAI:  Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the muscle behind indigenous tech Clear and a global maven in AI-led media solutions, has inked a long-term pact with Stage —the homegrown OTT star championing regional India. The goal? To supercharge Stage’s content operations and serve up smart entertainment with a tech twist.

    With this tie-up, Stage will plug into PFT’s Clear media asset management (Mam) and Clear AI suite. Expect an overhaul of workflows, from AI-assisted post-production to intelligent tagging, slick compliance, natural language search, and turbo-charged team collaboration. In short: more brains, less brawn.

    “As our content library continues to grow, adopting a forward-looking Mam platform became crucial,” said  Stage co-founder Shashank Vaishnav. “With Clear and its integrated AI features, we gain the scalability and intelligence to enhance operational efficiency, improve metadata quality, and ensure quick access to the right content. We’re looking forward to the innovation and impact this partnership will bring.”

    PFT SVP & head of APAC Anupam Sharma added: “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Stage on this transformative journey/This agreement underscores the increasing demand for intelligent Mam systems that go beyond asset management—unlocking insights, accelerating workflows, and driving monetization through AI.”

    This alliance marks another feather in PFT’s APAC cap and underscores its growing grip on the media-tech landscape across borders.

    (Featured in the picture above Stage co-founder Shashank Vaishnav)

  • Vidnet Summit 2024: How technology is driving the customer streaming experience

    Vidnet Summit 2024: How technology is driving the customer streaming experience

    Mumbai: The OTT business in India is buzzing with new streamers, niche, and language offerings. However, early players are struggling as heavy content spending isn’t matching revenues, and India-specific low pricing hasn’t spurred subscriptions. Growth has plateaued as consumers return to post-COVID normalcy, preferring to binge occasionally.

    Adding to the churn is the shift towards AVOD by giants like JioCinema, offering premium events like cricket for free, with Disney+Hotstar following suit. This has strained streaming bottom lines. The rise of FAST channels is also causing industry jitters. Vidnet explored the future of the streaming ecosystem.

    The session head for this panel was Publicis Groupe India managing partner & head of Publicis Commerce India Anshul Garg along with other panelists: travelxp CEO Tanay Chothani, Planetcast COO – Digital Venugopal Iyengar and Prime Focus Technologies senior VP, Sales & BD-APAC Anupam Sharma.

    Garg discussed technological advancements in the OTT industry, also opening the session to the panelist on how improvements in video streaming, such as high-definition video, low-latency streaming, and adaptive bitrate streaming, significantly enhance the quality and reliability of the customer streaming experience.

    Sharma noted the nature of localisation. He noted that language localisation enhances content accessibility, with AI playing a crucial role in text localisation while experiments continue for voice localisation.

    Chothani said the importance of delivering substantial value swiftly, is driven by decreasing customer attention spans and rapid innovation.

    Lastly, Iyengar highlighted the rapid advancements in viewer experience. He pointed out that platforms like Amazon are at the forefront, leveraging innovations such as multicam views and second-screen interactions to enhance viewer engagement.

  • Brett Lee all set for his new innings

    Brett Lee all set for his new innings

    MUMBAI: After a legendary inning in cricket, Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is all set to star in his first lead role as an actor in an Indo-Australian romantic comedy.

     

    Titled UnIndian, the movie is the first feature to be produced by the recently established Australia India Film Fund (AIFF). Lee will share screen space with Indian actress Tannishtha Chatterjee.

     

    The announcement about the upcoming film was done by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indian cricket’s living legend Sachin Tendulkar during their meet at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.

     

    Written by Thushy Saathi and to be directed by Anupam Sharma, the movie will be shot primarily in Sydney. Sharma and Lisa Duff are co-producing the film while Chandru Tolani is the executive producer.

     

    After being part of a Bollywood film and music video, former Australia cricketer Brett Lee is all set to become a full-time actor in an Indo-Australian romantic comedy, aptly titled ‘UnIndian’.

     

    “I’m honoured to have been cast as a lead in the first AIFF film, privileged to be working with Anupam Sharma and humbled to be working with an actress of the calibre of Tannishtha Chatterjee,” Lee said in a statement.

     

    Lee plays the role of a happy-go-lucky man who falls in love with divorcee and single mother, Meera (Chatterjee). The movie is set to go into production in October and expected to hit the theatres in March 2015.

     

    While this is not Lee’s first stint with movies, he has earlier done a cameo in Hindi film Victory starring Harman Baweja and has also featured in a music video with Asha Bhosle,  Chatterjee is best known for her role in Brick Lane (2007), a British film.

     

    AIFF was established in 2013 to invest in Australian films with Indian themes for a global audience.

     

    The 37-year-old pacer, announced his retirement from international cricket in 2012, however, the cricketer still plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Big Bash League.

  • Dev Patel to star in film on honour killings in India

    Dev Patel to star in film on honour killings in India

    MUMBAI: Dev Patel, who came to the limelight with Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, has been signed to play the lead role in Bill Bennett directed thriller Defiant, based on the true story of double honour killings in India.

    Based on true events and set in India, the film tells the story of two young lovers from different backgrounds on the run from their parents who want to kill them as inter caste and inter-religion marriages are considered taboo in India.

    The 22-year-old actor will star opposite Toni Colette in the film in which he will play one of the lovers on the run.

    Colette, an Emmy-winning journalist, follows them for a story but ends up risking her life to save the young lovers.

    The film is being produced by Bennett and Australia-based Anupam Sharma. The shooting of the film will begin in North India by late October.

    The Little Film Company, which is handling the international sales of the movie, will introduce the project to foreign buyers for the first time in Cannes next month.

    The film will be Patel‘s third project based on an Indian story after Slumdog Millionaire and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.