The evidence provided by a new web video suggests ‘blockhead’ is no longer the insult it once was – not now that autonomously intelligent building blocks have been unleashed onto the market. Oh yes, and just in time for Christmas too! Oh no, wait...

Cubelets is the collective name for these wonder-bricks; rollin’, rovin’ li’l things that they are. And while it would be eminently feasible for this writer to provide a potted summary of the many and myriad functions that mark these 3D squares as magically more advanced than your regular run-of-the-mill block, to do so would be to deprive you the pleasure of learning about these things from their apparently Netherlands-based inventor, via his new web video…  

Cubelets, would you Adam-and-Eve-it, are not really made in a Dutch forest at all, but rather Mork’s adopted hometown of Boulder, Colorado – by tech firm Modular Robotics, the staff of whom may or may not have beguiling comb-overs and fire-red beards that look like ablaze rhododendrons. If you want to get your mitts on your own set, then they are $160 for a half-dozen and a little over $500 for 20.

Is 2012 the year you finally take the web video plunge and get that film produced for your company’s homepage? Why not check out our SpectreVids packages then, and see what we can offer you?        

 

We have been waiting a while for Netflix to premiere their first online video production, but after all the talk of a Kevin Spacey  “House Of Cards” remake we have in fact been offered up a Steven Van Zandt vehicle, in the form of “Lilyhammer”.

This is no cheap alternative though as the trailer shows off quite a glossy looking effort starring the former Sopranos wiseguy combining those comedic and dramatic elements that are the hallmark of most of the successful shows to come out on traditional networks.

Two very interesting points arise from this series; the first is that Netflix will be releasing eight episodes at once. This obviously bucks the trends of its new competitors in the television video production stakes, but could it get you hooked quicker? If you had access to every episode of Generation Kill would you have watched it in a row? These shows are made to be put in boxsets for mammoth viewing sessions, Netflix are providing that service right off the bat.

Secondly, now that the Netflix original content has been launched surely it has every right to compete with the mainstay channels like HBO, Showtime and BBC in competing for Globes, Emmys and Baftas. The concept of an online video series competing for the coveted awards certainly sounds bizarre but is surely the future in this multi platform age.

If you want to make a splash at awards season with your video production, why not get in touch.

The new 007.com has a tantalizing web video giving bond fans the smallest of glimpses of the set of Skyfall. We’re not even sure if it is Daniel Craig holding the gun in the shot, could it possibly be the new title sequence? There isn’t a girl swan-diving off a Lugar to be seen but the lighting sure does look like a good old fashioned sleazy Bond intro.

Hopefully we’ll learn a little more about the characters with these web video featurettes as apart from Javier Bardem being the baddie and Ralph Fiennes being an agent for the government we’re all very much on a need to know basis. Michael G Wilson, co-producer of the series will be on hand he assures us, over the coming months to distribute some knowledge about the 23^rd outing for Mr Bond.

Will there be leaks, virals and marketing hype of Dark Knight proportions? Probably not but Bond is a highly anticipated franchise and although Quantum was something of a damp squib hopefully Skyfall with its epic cast and director will make us fall in love with Bond again.

Oh and apparently Moneypenny might be in it.

If you want to make sure your video production gets all the right paludits why not get in touch.

 

Being transparent is one of the best ways a company can succeed when using web video, a ‘behind the scenes’ film will often help to increase trust and maintain interest which are two outcomes that any business would want to encourage from their online video.

Delta Airlines have opted to go behind the rubber curtains in their latest web video to advertise a brand new app that helps track your luggage as soon as it disappears up the conveyor belt.

The clip features a baggage item with 6 cameras installed, giving the viewer a bag’s eye perspective of the baggage handling area and the journey to your destination. Mercifully the footage has been cut together so the viewer doesn’t have to endure the 2-hour flight from Atlanta to New York just looking at other bags. With some mildly trippy music the film has a somewhat dreamy style, perhaps in an attempt to bring calm to one of the most stressful parts of air-travel.

Other than those who have seen Die Hard 2, the intricate inner workings behind the scenes at an airport are largely a mystery to most people. Showing a specific part of your business or brand that might not seem obvious to many is a great way to get noticed in the online video world, creating a series of such videos is the perfect way to get people hooked.

If you want to get noticed with your video production why not get in touch.

 

Film production is ever-amicable over at camp Marvel/Disney, as a vicious ruckus over the character rights concerning the Ghost Rider franchise almost cripples the release of its newest incarnation – Spirit of Vengeance. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily, when considering how truly dreadful the last movie was), the court has ruled in the favour of Marvel, and the film is back on the cards.

The film is due out in February, with Nicolas Cage reprising his role as Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle-wielding superhero whose head is, quite literally, a flaming skull of rage. Comic book writer Gary Friedrich attempted to sue Marvel, claiming copyright over the character, which he radically revised while working for the company as a freelancer in the 1970s.  

However, New York federal judge Katherine Forrest stomped the fires of hope for Friedrich on Wednesday, confirming Marvel as the copyright holder and ruling the company was well within its rights to licence 2007's Ghost Rider and the forthcoming sequel. Forrest said Friedrich signed two contracts in the 1970s which, together, ceded all rights to his employer.

Either of those contractual transfers would be sufficient to resolve the question of ownership," she wrote in a judgement. "Together, they provide redundancy to the answer that leaves no doubt as to its correctness."

Though Marvel/Disney have certainly won the battle over this particular film production, Friedrich still has the option of taking the case to a higher court. Whether he is dispirited by this defeat remains to be seen.