Anil Ambani group, Spielberg to set up $1.5 billion studio

India's Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and celebrated filmmaker Steven Spielberg are setting up a new studio in Los Angeles under a $1.5-billion project that will make films for global audiences, sources familiar with the negotiations said Saturday. The mega deal - which will help Spielberg break away from DreamWorks, now owned by Viacom's Paramount Pictures - will be funded by a mix of equity and debt, and also involve leading investment banker JP Morgan Chase, the sources added. As a combination, Spielberg and Snider are regarded as the most successful filmmaking duo in history. DreamWorks was formed with much fanfare in 1994. But after an uneven run, it was sold to Viacom'a Paramount in 2006 for $1.6 billion. Since then, Spielberg and his team were eager to part ways with Paramount. According to sources, the Anil Ambani group and Spielberg decided to join hands both for the financial stability of their new venture and convergence of their ideas for the world of media and entertainment. Ambani's Reliance Big Entertainment had announced in Cannes in May that it would make a major foray into Hollywood and develop projects in partnership with some best-known actors like Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey and George Clooney. This marked the biggest foray of an Indian entity in Hollywood's motion picture industry. Thirty films are likely to emanate from Reliance's co-financing and 10 will go into production soon, company officials had said. The entertainment business of the Anil Ambani group has interests in movies, FM radio, music, sports, gaming, Internet and mobile portals, direct-to-home TV, Internet TV and Mobile TV. The group, which also has a major presence in mobile telecom, financial services and energy sectors, had acquired in 2005 Adlabs Films Ltd, one of India's the largest entertainment companies with interests in film processing, production, exhibition and digital cinema. The group recently acquired 250 screens in US and 51 screens in Malaysia. Paramount, meanwhile, said it will not delay matters for Spielberg and his team, including DreamWorks partner David Geffen and chief executive Snider, in forging the pact with the Indian group.

A unique 360 degree video entertainment portal

Mypopkorn.com, launched by Essel Group’s Digital Media Convergence Ltd, hosts webisodes (encapsulated TV episodes) of television programmes drawn from leading TV channels. Impressed by the novel concept channels like Zee, Sony, Star, Eros entertainment, Subhash Gai and others have joined hands with DMCL to present webisodes, each one being a three minute version of a 30-minute episode, related to drama, romance, comedy, fiction, or soap, reality, lifestyle, movie clips, soap operas, sports, and news. By tracking the visitor’s surfing pattern, mypopkorn.com can help customise content and features that are best suited to an individual. He or she can also interact with people with similar preferences, integrate on all devices and post their opinion on the webisodes. Another great feature of this website is MyStage — a platform provided for users to showcase their talent. Instant fame is just a click away if you aspire to become a singer, actor, reporter, spiritual guru, or a DJ. All you need to do is to upload your videos to the site. You can get even paid for it, and this would depend on the number of times the video gets viewed. A recent success story at MyStage is that of Ms Indira Naik whose upload helped her to launch her music video, successfully. According to Alexa Ranking mypopkorn.com, launched barely two months ago, is ranked among the top 12,000 websites and its viewership is around two lakhs, a day.

Zoom, the lifestyle & entertainment channel

Zoom, the lifestyle and entertainment channel has re-launched its website http://www.zoomtv.in/. The channel known for its glamour and lifestyle programming will now make its show offerings available through the website and content packages through mobile platforms.The revamped website will carry Bollywood news, gossip, celebrities, and events. It is designed to cater to the global demand for Indian entertainment, glamour and lifestyle content from India.The website will also offer video library, celebrity interviews, industry news, movie reviews and more. The design of the website is in sync with the visual appearance of the channel. Zoom has also been running its official channel on

Youtube.com/ZoomDekho

The portal will allow its users to connect with each other via the Zoom Club and offer a range of value added services. Zoom is already available on mobile via IdeaTV. The channel is currently preparing to roll out its mobile content services and further scale its web offerings to reach its audience.

Autodesk Technology heats up the big screen with Action, Adventure and Animation

Digital artists around the world relied on Autodesk Inc.'s (NASDAQ: ADSK) media and entertainment solutions to deliver this summer's blockbuster entertainment. Transformers, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Surf's Up, Pirates of the Caribbean: at World's End, Penelope and countless other feature films have been created using Autodesk technology.
Autodesk software offers creative solutions that help artists raise the bar, push boundaries and deliver visual masterpieces that make for a truly authentic movie experience each and every time, said Marc Petit, Autodesk Media & Entertainment senior vice president. This summer's blockbusters offer something for everyone, including surfing penguins, hammering llamas and transforming superheroes. We continue to support and applaud those artists who create magical images, transporting audiences to exhilarating new heights.
Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and his posse returned in the long-anticipated trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Post-production facility Asylum completed 315 shots with a visual effects pipeline that included the Autodesk Flame and Autodesk Toxik visual effects solutions, Autodesk Maya 3D animation software, and Autodesk Lustre digital color grading system.
In one scene shaped by Asylum using Flame, Sparrow is exiled to a desert purgatory where he begins to hallucinate and sees 20 clones of himself dressed as his crew. The Flame system was also used to create the climactic maelstrom backdrop along with computer-generated characters, mast extensions on miniature ships and track shots.
Toxik was used for compositing, color correction, and final tweaks.
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was the main visual effects house for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. ILM used Maya and Flame as part of its proprietary SABRE visual effects system to create computer-generated characters and Maelstrom sequence.
Michael Bay's summer powerhouse Transformers exploded onto the big screen as evil Decepticons re-wage war on heroic Autobots. ILM used Maya and Inferno as part of its proprietary SABRE visual effects system to complete 460 shots for the film. Maya was used for all character animation, including the challenging opening sequence in which a robot attacks an American military base in the Middle East.
Autodesk Inferno was used on two key compositing sequences, including the Bonecrusher scene where a destructive 30-foot rollerblading robot shreds through a moving bus. The robot's bones were created using Maya and imported into Inferno, and were animated and combined with flying and burning debris.
Mark Casey, ILM's SABRE/Inferno artist, explained: Creating and combining production plates, particle elements, computer-generated elements, practical pyrotechnics, and lens flares all in one shot can prove challenging and intimidating; knowing that all these elements can be tamed in Inferno is all the reassurance any artist needs.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer soared on the big screen, showcasing a battle between the powerful Silver Surfer and the planet-eating Galactus. The Orphanage completed approximately 120 shots on the film, with the majority of shots involving Maya 3D animation software.
"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer presented us with an ever-changing array of challenges, from superpowers to surfboards. Maya was there for us at every step, allowing us to develop complex new effects easily and quickly," explained Stu Maschwitz, VFX supervisor at The Orphanage.
Up-and-comer surfer extraordinaire, Cody Maverick (Shia Labeouf), takes audiences on an animated journey in Surf's Up, from Sony Pictures Imageworks. The wizards at Sony Pictures Imageworks used Autodesk Lustre color grading system for the film's final grade. Also, a combination of software was used to create the final water animation, with much of it completed using Maya. Maya is the core of the front-end pipeline at Imageworks, explains Mike Ford, character set-up supervisor. It is used for modeling, layout, animation, and some effects work.
By leveraging the power of Maya Embedded Language (MEL) Python and Maya's API scripting, the Sony Pictures Imageworks team customized the Maya software to overcome many of the film's challenges. Comments David Schaub, animation director at Sony Pictures Imageworks, We never have the question, Well, can the software do that? Because if it doesn't, the way Maya is built allows us to create a tool that will do the job.Modern-day fable Penelope is the story of pig-nosed Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci) and her family's secret curse. Double Negative turned to Maya to create the complicated computer-generated tree that helps tell the tale in the film's opening. The complex construction of the growing tree involved building the basic tree shape, including the trunk and main branch structure, using blend shapes to go from one small shape to one big shape, and using a combination of plug-ins to populate the smaller branches and leaves.
The Reaping, Are we Done Yet?, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, and Hairspray were films completed with EFILM using the EWORKS color grading system to complete the digital intermediate. The EWORKS system consists of a proprietary configuration of Autodesk Lustre and Autodesk Incinerator technology.
Other summer films created using Autodesk solutions include:
· Evan Almighty: Rhythm + Hues used Autodesk Maya to create computer-generated characters and CafeFX used Maya to model and animate sixty CG salt-water tropical fish
· 28 Weeks Later: Prime Focus London used Autodesk Flame, Inferno and Smoke to create all of the film's photorealistic 3D shots, including the napalm bombing sequence of London's Canary Wharf
· Live Free or Die Hard: Digital Dimension completed 182 shots using Autodesk 3ds Max to create 3D cars, 3D buildings, 3D crowds, 3D smoke and matte painting

Sony Online Entertainment announces a lineup of free online games

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), announced on 18 July ‘07 the redesigned company web site, www.station.com, will host more than twenty free games, a new look and improved functionality. Station.com is the user-friendly main portal for SOE’s games, communities and information. The newly revamped site will host free trials of the majority of SOE’s MMOs; casual games such as PopCap’s Bejeweled® 2, Jeopardy! ® and Wheel of Fortune®; and mobile games such as Q*Bert™, Snoop Dogg Cruisin’, and the recently released God of War™: Betrayal. In addition, the Station Pass has transitioned into a free online game service available to all players.

“As SOE continues to grow its business and acquire a wider variety of titles, it was only appropriate that the Station.com website be redesigned to offer a more user-friendly and immersive experience to our diverse player base,” said Torrie Dorrell, SVP Global Sales & Marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. “Players from around the world will be able to obtain news and information surrounding upcoming and live games, visit community sites, download a casual game or two and even check out SOE’s latest offerings for the PLAYSTATION® Store. The site is launching simultaneously in English, French, German and Japanese, with plans to role out more languages, services and games in the coming months.”

Players can obtain a Station.com account for free by simply registering on the homepage. From there they will have access to free online games and trials of SOE’s live games in addition to access to community discussion forums, podcasts and more.

Simultaneously, the Station Pass games have become free. The Station Pass consisted of the full versions of the three casual, online action-based strategy games: Tanarus®, Cosmic Rift™ Online and Infantry Online™. Each of these games has consistently maintained a steady fanbase for the more than five years they have been live, and this transition to a free service will allow new and current players to experience these titles.