  |
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|
 |
||
       |
 |
PRESS |
|
||
|
Mediaware Making The World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll' DVD MX Covers All the Angles NEW YORK - Multi-angle is one of those sexy features of DVD that, outside of adult video releases, has mostly stayed out of sight and out of mind. "The big problem," says Zane Vella of MX Entertainment, "has been the user experience. It sounds easy, but people are intimidated by the remote control. Finding the angle button on the remote is an issue, because it is undefined in the DVD spec, so it's up to hardware makers to define it however they want. There's no consistency in interface and no comfort level." Vella and partner Jeff Braun formed MX in September 2001 to offer a "Multiview authoring process for immersive live concert DVDs." Two years later, their big break came in the form of The Rolling Stones Four Flicks DVD, for which they were asked to create Select-A-Stone multi-angle bonus features. The result is getting rave reviews. A Harvard alumnus with experience at the MIT Media Lab, Vella's background is in media production, having worked with clients including Apple, Disney and Viacom. Braun's claim to fame is creating landmark PC and video game The Sims. The MX Multiangle feature uses buttons in the DVD's sub-picture zone and subtitle menu. "We are not licensing a patent," says Vella, "but an integrated solution that includes the R&D and production expertise we bring to a project." He says making multi-angle a prominent feature of Four Flicks was the idea of the Stones and the band's management firm The Great Adventure (TGA). "[Metropolis president] David Anthony and I have a similar desire to raise the bar," says Vella, "and we exchange ideas." Learning curve pays off On a previous use of MX, "Rush in Rio," three of the concert songs on disc 1 are repeated on disc 2 with the multi-angle feature added. Vella says the learning curve benefited its work on Four Flicks, where the branded Select-A-Stone feature is "integrated in-line with the concert." With MX Multiangle, picture-in-picture images - up to nine at once are permitted in the DVD spec - appear on screen, allowing the viewer to choose which angle to activate, using the remote's arrow keys. The first release MX appeared on was jazzman Herbie Hancock's Future2Future Live. "Our objective is to have as many top production companies as possible offer MX Multiangle as a solution. " Vella says. The process is licensed to the DVD's rights holder, or publisher, and then MX works closely with the production facility to implement it. As part of the one-time licensing fee, MX, which employs six full time staffers, provides creative and technical direction, quality assurance through the authoring process, and rights to the MX logo (a la Dolby or DTS) for packaging and marketing. Vella explains it's highly preferable for his crew to be involved in the shoot and other parts of the production process: "After material has been shot, it's a harder job," he says. "It's much better to be involved well ahead of the production process." Beyond the music application for MX Multiangle, Vella is eager to enfranchise filmmakers. "We're working with a handful of A-list Hollywood directors, music video and concert directors who are primed to make better DVDs. We're a think tank, that's how we'll grow. We want to help directors identify remote, high-definition cameras to be sure they get the best material for multi-angle. It's also about servicing and being open to the developer community. I get on the DVD List all the time." Vella believes MX Multiangle will "hit its stride with the next generation of high-capacity blue- or red-laser discs. Storage is one of the biggest obstacles; the number of angles you can include is directly proportional to the bit budget. Encoding at a higher bit rate sacrifices multi-angle, so there's a lot of horse trading that goes on. "Four Flicks is a watershed project, so a lot of phone calls are coming from artists and producers who want to do it that way on their discs," Vella notes. "We're doing heavy lifting for labels and artists to make it cost effective. Our goal is to take music DVD to the next level." |
||
