digital hollywood spring 2015 - overall review & new vr gaming & tidal launch flop debate - david l....

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DIGITAL HOLLYWOOD (2015) OVERALL REVIEW - NEW VR

& AR GAMING & TIDAL LAUCH FLOP DEBATE 5-10-2015

5-10-2015 - Written By: David L. $Money Train$ Watts Journalist/Film Reviewer

FuTurXTV & HHBMedia.com Howard Hobson Funk Gumbo Radio Cameramen

Auggie Cavanagh Raymond C. Reed Global Media Village & David Velo Stewart

Editor - LeTisha Tucker Photographer - HHBMedia.com www.hiphopbattle.com

So I went to three out of four days of Digital Hollywood Spring 2015 at the

Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey and I can say that were two overwhelming

themes and that was Virtual Reality Products or VR Gaming is about to

explode and the launch of Jay-Zs new Tidal was the one of the worst tech

launches ever. Those two facts were the most dominate aspects of DH Spring.

And before I even get into a breakdown of the panels and dinners that I went

to I gotta first breakdown my experiences with Digital Hollywood Spring

exhibitor Sixense, www.sixense.com, and their full body immersion in virtual

reality Oculus Rift powered STEM System for gaming and retail sales. It was

the monster hit among all DH Spring attendees who tried the STEM demo.

The STEM System is a wireless, motion tracking platform for video games, virtual reality

(VR), and more. It enables players to interact naturally and intuitively with games by tracking

full position and orientation at all times, whether at the desktop or throughout the entire living

roomThis is the next big step in Sixense motion tracking technology with advancements

including longer range, wireless operation, and better tracking performance at all ranges. The

STEM System will support up to five wireless motion trackers, or STEMs, for full position and

orientation tracking of the head and hands, the entire body, or other

configurations.www.sixense.com

David L. $Money Train$ Watts FuTurXTV HHBMedia.com [email protected] www.hhbmedia.com David Velo Stewart
http://www.sixense.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.hhbmedia.com/

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When I first tried Oculus Rift almost a year ago at E3 2014 I gotta admit that

I was really blown away by the VR experience playing one of their shooter

games where I was dodging bullets being shot by a series of VR generated

assassins. But lets fast forward to me walking by the Sixense exhibitor booth

at DH Spring 2015 and I see a Star Wars dual light saber VR game demo and

I am blown away. Just watching the game as bystander was fun as you see

people wearing the Oculus Rift headset with Sixenses patented STEM system.

The Sixense demo has one on a deck of the Death Star as a floating droid fires

lasers at you and you get use two realistic looking light sabers to block the

lasers or attack the droid. When I tried the Sixense demo myself I was super

charged with excitement because this was the first time using VR that I truly

felt lost in a new or another dimension. I could see and hear the attack droid

and I really thought I was holding two real light sabers. The feel of the blue or

red lightsabers from the STEM system was what put the gaming experience

over the top for me. One could literally scratch your name onto the floor of

the Death Star with the lightsabers. There was also portion of the demos when

one can actually experience a mild sense of vertigo as you try to walk off the

Death Star platform and stare at the bottom of a long spiral descent into

darkness. Gaming is going to change ASAP now because I was so immersed in

the Sixense demo that I could easily see one using it as a cardio device with a

Fitbit or Apple Watch to burn off some pounds. I was really jumping around

back and forth and waving my arms non-stop as I fought that attack droid.

mailto:[email protected]://www.hhbmedia.com/

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Sixense also showcased how its highly realistic VR experience could be

applied to retail shoppers as well. They had another demo where one could go

in a virtual store and examine shoes and clothes with your hands like you

were right there. I did not get a chance to tryout the retail VR, but from what

I could film and observe at the Sixense booth that this will be a big winner,

too. And I had to ask Steve Hamsted, Sixenses Community Manager, about

the serious possibility of creating a licensed Star Wars VR video game. Steve

did confirm to me that Sixense has already had some preliminary talks with

Walt Disney Studios about launching an official Star Wars VR game to

coincide with the release of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens in

December. Steve also let me know that at E3 2015, which is only a few weeks

away, he will have a two player lightsaber VR demo. So one could actually

have a realistic Sith vs. Jedi VR battle with the STEM system. That would be

so awesome and I dont care how long the line would be to try that demo out.

I also was very impressed with the NextVR booth as they showed me their VR

demo of watching from a courtside seat of a NBA game of the Warriors vs. the

Mavericks. NextVR is uses Samsungs Gear VR headset and it was a very

smooth experience using this Oculus Rift powered device. I immediately felt

that I could see and feel that the Warriors game was more interactive with my

senses than when I watched games on a large screen HD set. And I tried the

VR demo for Specular Theory of a nightclub concert and it was also a very

realistic and a unique experience that feels more like an enhanced 3-D film.

Googles Cardboard is a cheap and innovative platform that lets one wrap

any cardboard viewer around a smartphone to get an instant VR experience. I

tried Miradas VR simulation room and it felt like more like a game than real.


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Despite being highly impressed with all the VR and AR exhibitors and panels

at DH Spring 2015 the only other dominant theme I encountered was the total

disdain, disrespect or dismissal of Jay Zs new over-hyped Tidal HD music

streaming service. I went to several Music Next panels at Digital Hollywood

Spring and it did not matter whether I asked the question or it came on its

own amongst the panelists there was always a consensus that Tidal sucks and

its launch was an absolute failure. Now the reasons for Tidals troubles were

too numerous for me to list. But Ill start with Ian Roberts, Cofounder &

CEO, Hive who was greatly upset that Jay-Z was trying to sell a $20 high

fidelity sound quality offering lossless (non-compressed) audio/music. Ian said

it was absolute bullshit that the average young music consumer ever care or

could easily distinguish with their crappy earbuds between listening to Tidals

premium sounding service and their more expensive HiFi one. My personal

opinion is that Tidal should have started with the regular 320 kbps AAC

sounding service and then later let its subscribers upgrade to a supposedly

better sounding one. Also, is Tidal HiFi really worth another $10 bucks.

There seems to be a serious tension or suspicion from Silicon Beach or Silicon

Valley digital music experts that Jay-Z is trying to bully or BS his way into

their world without paying any dues like Spotify or Pandora. I read an article

at DH that Jay-Z blamed the lackluster response to Tidal record Industry

conspiracy. And Hova blamed Tidal dropping out of the top 750 apps on the

Apple App store to Apple intentionally sabotaging how it worked on iPhones

and iPads. So by what I heard at DH Spring Tidal is DOA and Jay-Z has

started a PR tech war against geeks with Tidal that I do not think he can win.


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Digital Hollywood Spring 2015 Exhibitors & Attendee Photos:


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Digital Hollywood Spring 2015 Highlights & Photos Of My

Favorite Gaming, Music & Technology Panels I Attended:

The Strategic Sessions - Let's Get Started!

Monday, April 27th

12 Noon 1:00 PM - Marina Vista Room Live Webcast from this Room

Artists in Hollywood - Actors - Writers - Performers - Directors - Producers

Summit

The DealMaking Process: Producers, Showrunners, Actors, Directors, Agents, Lawyers -

Whos in Charge Here!

Steven Hein, Vice President, Fox Digital Entertainment, Fox Digital Studios

Adam Reed, EVP, Thinkfactory Media

Jesse Sisgold, COO, Skydance Productions

Harrison Kordestani, President, Main Street Films

Harold Brook, founder, The Point Media, Entertainment Law

Darrell Miller, Partner/Chair, Entertainment Department, Fox Rothschild LLP

Melisse Lewis, Entertainment Attorney, Moderator


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1:00 PM - 2:15 PM - Track III: Poolside Tent II

Viral and Social Media Experiences in Entertainment, Media and

Advertising: Creativity & Monetization Challenges

Lia Navarro, Sales Director, Entertainment Strategy, reddit, Inc.

JR Griffin Vice President of Digital Brand Partnerships, FremantleMedia North America

Bladimiar Norman, SVP of Marketing, Skydance Productions

Adam Wilensky, Executive Director, Mobile, Fox Digital Entertainment

Kirstin Benson, Editorial Director, WhoSay

John Montgomery, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Threshold Interactive

Alan Wolk, Senior Analyst, tdg the diffusion group, Moderator

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM - Marina Vista Room - Webcasting Live from this Room

Packaging, Funding and Distributing: From Reality TV & Specials to Web

Series and Indie Film Making

Mark Ordesky, Executive Producer, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Jane Fleming, Producer/Executive Producer, The Quest (TV), The Frozen Ground

Hayley Dickson, Vice President, Television Acquisitions & Development - Global Content

at FremantleMedia International


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Uri Fleming, Partner, Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo

Craig Ross Jr., Director (NCIS, Bones, Blue Hill Ave)

Gary Goldberger, Law Offices, Gary G. Goldberger, Moderator

Artists in Hollywood - Actors - Writers - Performers - Directors - Producers Summit

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM - Track IV: Marina Vista Room Live Webcast from this

Room

The TV/Film/Video - Developing Strategies and Partnerships - Developing

Hollywood Content as Brand and Franchise

Troy Byer, director/writer/executive producer, "I Really Hate My Ex," writer, B*A*P*S*

Mike Rotman, New Media Producer, TV Writer, South Park, The Simple Life,

Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher

Courtney B. Vance, Actor, State of Affairs, Masters of Sex, Revenge, Law &

Order

Charles Como, CEO, Underground Network

Gary Benz, founder, GRB Entertainment (Princes of Malibu, Alter-Eco with Adrian

Grenier, A&Es Intervention

Brandon Schultz, President, Street Legends Ink

Kimberly King-Burns, Partner, convergenz/solutions, Moderator


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6:15 PM 8:30 PM - Ballroom Terrace, Live Webcast From T his Room

An Evening Honoring the Leaders in Health Media and Technology: An

Industry With Purpose: Technology and Media that Save Lives

Dr. Bruce Hensel, Chief Health, Medical and Science Editor/Correspondent for NBC4

Southern California, Moderator

Kate Langrall Folb, Director, Hollywood, Health & Society, USC Annenberg Norman Lear

Center

Matt Paxton, A&Es Hoarders

Sandra de Castro Buffington, Founding Director, Global Media Center for Social Impact,

UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health

Patrick Vogt, CEO and Director, HealthiNation

What was interesting the most about this Digital Health dinner was learning the whole

backstory of how Matt Paxton had hit rock bottom doing drugs and alcohol after losing his

dad, step-dad and grand dads in one year. Matt was so desperate he had to clean houses of

disturbed people who he later realized were Hoarders. Matt soon created A&Es hit reality

TV show Hoarders which not only helped people, but also helped cities and mental health

experts realize Hoarding was legitimate mental disease. Matt had accidently created an

entertaining reality show also helps Hoarders deal with their personal problems and issues.


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Tuesday, April 28th

9:00 AM - 10:15 AM - ThinkTank I, Poolside Tent I

Silicon Beach Strategies: Accelerate, Incubate, Crowdfunding, Start-ups &

Angels

Brian Mac Mahon, Chief Community Officer, Pay it Forward Labs & Expert DOJO

Andrew Heckler, founder and CEO, Hone nb

John Shiple, founder, FreelanceCTO.com

Addison McCaleb, Founder and CEO, MediaHound

Andrs Diana, Managing Director, SeedInvest Los Angeles

Victoria Silchenko, Ph.D., Chair of Global LAVA, Los Angeles Venture Association,

Moderator

10:45 AM Noon, Live Webcast from this Room - The MusicNext Forum

Track: Marina Vista Room

Moneyball, Music & Commerce Digging into the Stats: What Facebook,

Mobile Technology, YouTube, Spotify, Twitter, Pandora, Rdio, Social Media,

Charting, Ticketing and other Stats Mean


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Marc Ruxin, CMO. Rdio

Jason Feinberg, Head of Artist Marketing, Pandora

Ethan Kaplan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Music, Gracenote

Michael Drexler, Executive Director, Business Development, Digital Licensing & Strategic

Development, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)

Cheryl Lucanegro, Vice President of Advertising Strategy and Sales, SoundHound

Dean Serletic, Head of Marketing and Licensing, Zya, Moderato

12:30 PM - 1:45 PM - Track III: The Plaza Room

Investment, Funding Strategies and Deal Flow: Digital Media Venture,

Investment and Funding: New Business Models in Entertainment, Media and

Technology - From Funds to Crowdfunding

David O. Higley, Managing Partner, Bond Lane Merchant Bank

Jonathan Skogmo, Founder and CEO, Jukin Media

Greg Akselrud, Partner, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP

Muizz Kheraj, Director, FocalPoint Partners, LLC

Sun Jen Yung, Managing Director, Headwaters MB

Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc., Moderator

2:15 PM 3:30 PM, Live Webcast -The MusicNext Forum Track: Marina

Vista Room


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Music Programming Concepts TV to Mobile From the Vision, to the

Brand Relations to the Cross Platform Dealmaking

Danielle Salzedo, Vice President of Music, MTV

Keith Clinkscales, CEO, REVOLT Media

Kelly G. Griffin, Senior Director of Programming, Black Entertainment Television

Tim Quirk, Founder and CEO. Freeform

Brent Imai, Executive Director of Content Development for U-verse, AT&T

Ayiko Broyard, VP/Group Account Director, Walton Isaacson

Kelli Richards, President & CEO, The All Access Group, LLC, Moderato

This panel had a lot of heat between BETs Kelly G. Griffin and Tim Quirk of Freeform as

they debated whether music consumers need less choices and more curation/programming

that Kelly strongly advocated or Tims view that fans need a wide variety of choices and

automated curation can accurately predict music people want to hear. Ayiko Broyard of

Walton Isaacson talked about how McDonalds used Justin Timberlake to push their Im

Lovin It theme music, but Justin just hummed it and never had to say Im Lovin It in

his music because the McDonalds theme music brand identity was so strong. She said But

that could have happened with any artist if that had been correctly by a numeric brand

well enough in advance to make that connection between the personality of the brand and

the personality of the song or the artist. Keith Clinkscale, CEO of Revolt, then said, We

find in our situation that music is one of the best ways to express authenticity. Thats the

beauty of music. So if youre able to work with brands. And pay attention to their brand

values. A lot of time they will come a long for the ride because you are working with artists

that want to do the same thing. They want to go ahead and get their message out. And if

you work with them theyll do things for you sometimes that they wouldnt do for you if

they were just working for the paycheck. A lot of time they have a project they want to get

out and they have ways they want to make things happen. And it does not take a lot of

math to see how much a well-played commercial will give their song airplay and awareness.


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Later on Keith greatly expanded his thoughts and smoothly broke down how music was

still a big influencer on todays TV: If you look at this show on SpikeLip Sync Battle.

Took that show and made it into a virtual reality show. Uh, you see it like all these stars

like The Rock and Terry Crews signing songs. Its creating engagement and experiences.

Weve been through the American Idol and Voice and you see how great that

programming isAnd the biggest show of the year Empire is a music show. And that

Drip Drop song I still dont have the answer to it. And then I got to hear it across all

different type of platforms. Download it and things like that. I think youre gonna see more

opportunities with evocative music working as part of a medium or working in tandem of

it. And I think you have to pay attention to this Millennial audience. Because this audience

does not work on genres. What I learned the hard way from doing Revolt. Genres! Thats

not them. They set their own goals. And they like doing that. Because they have the control,

the power, the intellect and they have the insight to do so. And thats what they are doing.

3:50 - 5:00 PM, The ThinkTank, Poolside Tent I, MusicNext Forum

Investing and Funding in Music & Music Technology Looking at Venture

Capital, Private Equity and Crowdfunding

Fred Goldring, Co-Founder and Chairman, Aficionado Media

T. Hale Boggs, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Harry DeMott, General Partner, Raptor Ventures

Reza Rassool, CTO, Kwaai Oak

Dick Wingate. Principal/DEV Advisors, President/BHi Music Group, Moderator


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Wednesday, April 29th

9:00 AM - 10:15 AM - Track I: Salon II - Live Webcast from this Room

Innovation in Video Advertising: Enhancing Brand Experience - Maximizing

Revenue in Syndication, Ad Insertion and Live Streaming

Neerav Shah, Vice President & General Manager Multiscreen Video Infrastructure,

ARRIS

Steven Harnsberger, Vice President, Global Business Development and Strategic,

Partnerships, Imagine Communications

Alon Golan, Head of Strategic Accounts, Americas, INNERACTIVE

Ross McCray, co-founder and CEO, VideoAmp

Yuval Fisher, CTO MVPD, Imagine Communications

Lauren Cole, President, Cole Media, Moderator

10:45 AM - Noon, Live Webcast - The MusicNext Forum Track: Salon III

The Business of EDM Reaching Millennials The Power of Music and

Brand - The Power of Lifestyle


Gary Richards, CEO, HARD. Destructo, reknown DJ

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Jeff Shaw, Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances - Electronic Music Lead, Live Nation

Entertainment

Mac Clark, Head of Electronic Music, CAA

Richard Bishop, Manager, Electronic Division, Red Light Management

Senthil Chidambaram, Founder/CEO, Dancing Astronaut

John Boyle Chief Growth Officer, Interim CFO, Insomniac, Moderator

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM - Track III: Poolside Tent I

Venture Funding, Investment & Mergers - Leadership in the Entertainment

& Technology Space: Broadband, Social, Mobile

Steven Masur, Senior Partner, Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP

Pilar Stella Ingargiola, co-founder & Managing Partner, Alchemy P4 Fund

Renata RA Akhunova, Partner, Formula VC, Venture Fund

Juston Brommel, Founder, Advisor, CEO, CMTO, Free(dom) Agent

Monica Dodi, Managing Director, Women's Venture Capital Fund

Joey Tamer, President, S.O.S. Inc., Moderator


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3:50 PM 5:00 PM, Poolside Tent I - The MusicNext Forum Track

Music Apps, Social Media and Technology: The Explosive World of Music

Engagement

Brad Sphar, Vice President, Sony Music

Madeline Nelson, CEO/Managing Member, Heads Music

Heiko Schmidt, CEO, Parasongs

Rami Perlman, VP Music Talent & Influencers, theAudience

Anthony Shannon, Cofounder & CEO, TuneStars

Ian Roberts, Cofounder & CEO, Hive

Damian Hagger, co-founder and Marketing Director, SixString.com

Nick DeMartino, Principal, ND Consulting, Moderator

Rami Perlman, VP Music Talent & Influencers, theAudience, said One thing I will say is

that management companies. Uhm, are paying a lot more attention. So you have in whether

it is departments or people on teams that day to day who really need to know this stuff

backwards and forward. Whether you like it or not the way you may have heard that

world music track probably came from the Facebook page of that world music artist

whether you know it or not. And thats how your friend found it to listen to it on Spotify

and then to go to you to put it on your playlist. So at the end of the day it is all originating

from there [Facebook] its the most accessible platform. And to your point [points at Heiko

Schmidt, CEO, Parasongs] how many business people are artists. You know and there

arent that many...But Im just saying its something where you are totally right that

problem [discoverability] exists. But as an artist all they want to do is play on the main

stage at Coachella, but they are actually sitting in their room. They actually have the

opportunity whereas for me when I was growing up. Im a bit older. I gotta move to LA. I

gotta find my way into an event like this and me the right person. You know as opposed to

Im just gonna Tweet at that person and they might get back to meIts different access.


digital hollywood spring 2015 - overall review & new vr gaming & tidal launch flop debate - david l....

Documents

vr gaming

stem demo

vr experience

sixense demo

virtual reality vr

orientation tracking

gaming experience

sixenses patented stem