Quote:
Grant gives 2007 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Winner 'Manda
Bala' resources to develop interactivity using Microsoft HDi and publish to
HD DVD and other digital delivery scenarios.
PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today at the 2008
Sundance Film Festival, Microsoft Corp., together with Sundance Institute
presented the Microsoft HDi Grant to director Jason Kohn and producer Jared
Goldman for their 2007 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winning
documentary "Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)." Worth an estimated $100,000, the
grant provides Kohn and Goldman with resources to author "Manda Bala" in
pristine high definition and develop immersive interactive experiences
using Microsoft's industry-leading HDi technology. HDi technology enables
filmmakers to complement their work with features such as
picture-in-picture director's commentary and character biographies that
enhance the home viewing experience. The grant also includes support for
production of the finished product on HD DVD along with other digital
delivery scenarios.
(Logo:
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"We put several years into making 'Manda Bala,' and this grant lets us
explore the digital canvas of HD DVD and HDi and express the work we've
done in entirely new ways," Kohn said. "Considering all the extra footage
we have to work with and the award-winning capabilities of HDi on HD DVD,
Jared and I are excited to get started."
HDi is Microsoft's implementation of the advanced interactive layer in
the HD DVD format. The technology has provided the foundation for HD DVD's
leadership in interactivity by taking advantage of mandatory features in
every HD DVD player (for example, a secondary video decoder, persistent
storage and an Internet connection) to enable in-movie experiences such as
picture-in-picture director's commentary, and Web-enabled features that
allow fans to discuss the movie during playback and enable a director or
producer to provide new content downloads in the future. Based on Web
standards, HDi easily and efficiently extends the benefits of Web
connectivity to the movie-watching experience and can be applied to both
optical and digitally distributed scenarios.
"We've always believed that the creative community behind filmmaking
would best define how HDi should be used, and this grant is meant to put
the technology in the hands of the people who will explore its full
potential," said Jordi Ribas, general manager of the HD DVD Group at
Microsoft. "Sundance Institute has long been an important part of
Microsoft's history with digital media technologies, and we look forward to
continuing to work together to advance the spirit of independent film."
Microsoft Continues Support of Independent Films
The HDi Grant further extends Microsoft's support of independent films,
which also includes the 1,000 HD DVD Indies Project announced earlier this
year with Amazon.com Inc.'s CreateSpace. Due to its heritage in DVD, as
well as the inherent authoring and disc replication efficiencies over other
optical formats, HD DVD can scale to support the independent film community
in a cost-effective way. The 1,000 HD DVD Indies Project was designed to
provide independent filmmakers with free access to HD DVD authoring and
on-demand replication. A number of Sundance films are already taking part
in this program, including the acclaimed comedy from David Wain, "The Ten"
(City Lights Home Entertainment); "Manda Bala" (City Lights Home
Entertainment); "We Are the Strange;" and the Sundance Channel original
series "Big Ideas for a Small Planet."
In addition, on Jan. 18, 2008, Microsoft began offering digital rentals
of Sundance Film Festival short films on Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points,
which can be purchased at retail or online. The Video Store on Xbox LIVE is
the leading provider of high-definition on-demand content, with the most
hours of high-definition content available, offering movies for video on
demand and TV shows and music videos for electronic sell-through. More
information about content being offered on Xbox LIVE Marketplace is
available at
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/marketplace/moviestv .
More information about Microsoft's support of independent film and how
HDi is transforming the way movies are made and experienced is available at
the Microsoft House at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival (301 Main St. in
Park City). More information about Microsoft HDi and HD DVD can also be
found at
http://www.thisishddvd.com .
