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Medialine MX Brings Multiangle Tech to Concert Videos SAN FRANCISCO -- Local startup MX Entertainment is out to capitalize on music video DVD's explosive growth with a suite of technologies designed to help bands create more engaging video and interactive DVD experiences. MX's Multiangle technology makes its latest appearance on Colorado jam band the String Cheese Incident's documentary DVD, "Waiting for the Snow to Fall," released by the group's own label and distributed through Image Entertainment. During live performances of two songs, viewers use their remotes' arrow keys to switch between four video streams of different stage angles, presented as full-motion thumbnails below the main video screen. "There is so much happening onstage at any moment," said Kevin Morris, president, SCI Fidelity Records, of the band's live set. The Multiangle feature "gives our fans valuable control over the visuals on the disc and the ability to focus in on their favorite performers at any given time without disrupting the flow of the show." To record the footage, MX Entertainment used its proprietary remote camera system to follow the band's 2002 Winter Carnival tour in Colorado. MX Remote uses up to 18 low-profile, broadcast-quality remote control cameras that keep camera people off-stage and out of the way for both the artists and audience. The company then edited and produced all of the DVD's concert video at its post production studio in San Francisco. A full-length String Cheese Incident concert DVD using MX Multiangle is slated for release later this year. Founded in 2001, MX Entertainment is the result of a meeting between Jeff Braun, co-founder of SimCity creator Maxis Software, and Zane Vella, former president of entertainment firm SmashTV. The pair set out to help record labels and artists add value to their DVD products, while creating a more user-friendly interface for some of the DVD specification's more sophisticated features. "People didn't know when a multiangle segment was available; they didn't know what it was; and they didn't know how to get to it," remarked Vella about many earlier music DVD releases. "We tried to solve those problems by showing them what's available, showing them when it is, and letting them get to it with the buttons that they know already." MX Entertainment has licensed Technicolor's Burbank facility to provide Multiangle encoding and authoring services. The company also markets MX ROM, an Enhanced CD- and DVD-ROM technology that can provide fan-base tracking, statistics and content updates like tour information, artist interviews and ticket pre-sales. The technology was first used (along with MX Multiangle) on a Herbie Hancock concert DVD released last year by Sony. "We're trying to do the heavy-lifting for artists and labels around these new technologies," said Vella, who serves as the company's president. "Everyone understands how they can be used, and how they can be exciting, but people need a technical partner that takes all the questions out of them." |
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