Two exciting announcements for cinephiles from the tech world today. First off, Netflix has added iPhone and iPod Touch compatibility to its widely used iPad application. I use the iPad app all the time, mostly for catching up on television series, and the iPhone is a welcome addition. Certainly, people will complain about the size of the screen and break out the ever popular David Lynch YouTube video, but I think it’s a big step in the right direction. The more screens available for content, the more opportunities filmmakers have of reaching audience.

Secondly, early this morning Boxee rolled out a new version of their Boxee Beta. The main improvement is what they are now calling the “Movie Library”, a collection of streaming films from around the web all in one place. Providers EZTakes, Indie Movies Online, MUBI and Openfilm join Hulu, Netflix and YouTube to make for the most full featured, comprehensive library on the web. Read on…

While there is no train advancing towards the screen in Me at the zoo, from user “jawed,” there is something hidden and more meaningful behind the seemingly unimpressive events in this video. The protagonist, if one can call him such, enacts common uses of film/video language: he narrates through direct address and directs our attention through gesture while the camera composes him quite squarely within a mise-en-scene, which also conveys action and depth via the distant elephant and receding wall to the camera’s left, which visually recalls the depiction of depth within the documented arrival of a train at La Ciotat Station. While neither works are the first visual documents of their medium, they both imply greater value at work. Read on…

Last week, Google announced a new product called GoogleTV, a software platform that lets you watch video from the web on your big shiny television in the living room. This is something I’ve been doing since late 2008 by plugging my laptop into my TV and launching Boxee, a free piece of software that does almost exactly what GoogleTV purports to do. This past February I had a great chat with Andrew Kippen of Boxee about their software and the future of media delivery. As I digested Google’s announcement, I couldn’t help but wonder what Boxee was thinking about this. So I emailed Andrew, and this is what he had to say:

We obviously followed the [GoogleTV] announcement and the demo. We think that it would be great to see an open OS such as Android gain market share in the living room. It would enable users to download Boxee on their TV (we will be building an Android-based App) and start using it without the hassle of connecting their computer to the TV.

We have somewhat of a different view of browsing the web on TV. While it was a big part of the Google Demo we believe browsing the web as-is makes more sense on laptops and mobile devices (due to their personal nature, the screen size and the input device) than it does on TV. We look forward to playing with the TV and working with them to bringing Boxee to Android devices.

I wanted to make sure I read that correctly. I’ve heard they are working on an Android remote app similar to the one they have on the iPhone, but this sounds like something different:

You read correctly.  if there’s a TV platform running on TVs that can deliver a great Boxee experience then we want to be there. That means we’re looking at developing an Android App version of Boxee for the upcoming Google TV. [emphasis added]

Whoa. That’s kind of a big surprise, and an exciting one for both consumers and content makers. Google announced partnerships with Dish, Sony, Adobe, Logitech, Intel and Best Buy, so it may seem as though Boxee is facing an insurmountable foe. However it is important to remember the company’s history. The software gained prominence once it found its way onto the AppleTV, which at first was a questionable install (it is still only supported by a third party). Boxee essentially beat Apple, one of the most powerful and litigious tech companies around, at its own game by bringing internet video to the television set. Andrew’s assurance that they will bring the software to the Android platform is an indication that history will repeat itself. Boxee will be anywhere where software can run and consumers will be able to choose how they want to view content. Now that I know that, I am far more excited for this new platform.

(Graphic in this post is a combination of Google’s Andorid Logo and Boxee’s Logo)

If you travel in meme circles, then you’ve probably heard of Parry Gripp. If not, then let me fill you in. Gripp is a singer and songwriter who, before 2008 at least, is known for starting the band Nerf Herder, whose music was featured as the theme song for Joss Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. On January 1, 2008, he launched a website, Parry Gripp Song of the Week, whose purpose is self explanatory. Since then, he has kept true to his promise, uploading at least one song every week. He has also written jingles that go along with some of the most popular Youtube videos, which in turn become even more popular Youtube videos. As such he has become something of a web phenom, most recently with his iPad/Nachos song and video featured below. I recently had a chat with Parry about his career, the oddities of internet-creation, and some of the darker legal corridors that come with trying to have a good time online. It’s worth a listen and features some of his silliest work.

 
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Read on…

Now that the dust has finally settled on NBC’s “Tonight Show” débâcle, with Jay Leno returning as host of the program, speculators can’t help but predict a landing place for the now jobless Conan O’Brien. It’s assumed that he’ll go to Fox, the only network without a late night talk show currently. However, over at the New York Times’ Bits Blog, writer Nick Bilton has a different, more ethereal outlet for the ginger haired comic: The Internet!

“So here’s my advice to Mr. O’Brien:” Mr. Bilton offers up, “After he leaves NBC and spends a few months healing his wounds and pulling the troops back together, he should come back and make the Internet his time slot.” The rest of the piece doesn’t say all that much about how to achieve such an end, but does revolve around buzzwords like “Leno!” “Conan!” and “Internet!” proving that even the New York Times isn’t above link-baiting. But there is a story to pull from Bilton’s piece: that the logic behind his Internet Time Slot reflects the outdated viewpoint of the web that still runs rampant among popular thought. Read on…

You may not have heard about AnyClip yet, but you should definitely prick up your ears and listen to this interview with their VP of Product, Nate Westheimer. This tenacious tech startup’s plans for video search have been causing a lot of buzz in the tech community ever since they won the Audience Choice Award at TechCrunch50 (think American Idol for tech companies). The short of their idea: cataloguing every clip ever. Their flagship site, anyclip.com, is currently in private beta, but if you land an invite it is definitely a lot of fun to poke around. You can search through moments in their growing collection of films using simple terminology, just like any other search engine. Nate describes it better in our conversation (and on the anyclip blog), so you really ought to download the audio below.

 
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A cooking, blogging biopic is about the least interesting way I could imagine spending a muggy summer afternoon. And yet, there I found myself, utterly mystified by Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia, the story of two women who are seemingly redeemed through the power of food alchemy. Featuring the second delightful pairing of Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci, the film is a phenomenal take on the art of writing. In terms of scope, Ms. Ephron has pulled off a monumental feet by taking the most boring thing in the world, sitting down and putting pen to paper, mouse to blog, and pulling together a solid narrative with thought-provoking implications.

Let’s start with those memorable performances. Mr. Tucci has long been regarded as one of the finest (and fewest) character actors working today. Consistently winning over our hearts with whatever minutes of screen-time he can steal, the secret to his success is his embrace of being a bridesmaid, never a bride. Here, he plays Paul Child the, loving, caring, pencil-thin mustachioed husband to the as-yet famous Julia Child. That role is filled in by Ms. Streep who crackles with energy. Long regarded as one of the finest leading ladies in the biz, another dying breed, the actress seems to wish to be demoted to the status Mr. Tucci enjoys. Her character work is ultimately superb, in many ways out-sizing her front-and-center roles. Though she is technically a lead here, I would argue that she is filling out a supporting role with incredible finesse; Mrs. Child is ultimately a MacGuffin for the modern blogger Julie Powell’s personal redemption. Read on…

Last week, Google announced an upcoming product called Wave which the tech giant refers to as “what e-mail would look like if it were invented today”. By that they mean a communications system with all of the acquired knowledge of the 21^st century without the hangups of the 20^th. For detailed info you should really check out the official Google Wave site, but I’ll try to keep the pre-required knowledge to a minimum here.

This isn’t a tech site, it’s a film site. So what on earth does this have to do with cinema? Google is inventing this to revolutionize communication and productivity which has essentially been stagnant for decades if not longer. E-mail, as one example, is sent back and forth between one or more people just as the letter or the memorandum was before before it. Wave basically breaks that wide open, offering contextual live editing of a single communiqué. Now, while this can certainly help in producing a film just like it could help any general office task, the overall Wave concepts could be applied on a grander scale for filmmakers. Read on…