Derek E. Baird is a leading kid culture expert, futurist, and author who helps brands, educators, and parents safely connect with kids and teens through culture, media, and technology.
Gen Z is the first generation that has had access to on-demand television content for a majority of their lives. Yet, questions still remain around how these digital natives actually consume content, as well as what their attitudes are towards video advertising in comparison to Generation X and Millennials. That is until now.
In a quest to better understand Generation Z, Hulu partnered with Tremor Video to survey over a thousand respondents ages 14-50 on their TV and SVOD consumption habits and digital video advertising preferences.
And, with the help of the Center of Generational Kinetics, the results provide a window into the variance in behaviors and preferences across three generations – Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.
From binge-watching, to using TV as a social capital, the future of TV is intertwined across a range of Gen Z preferences and behaviors.
70% of Gen Z respondents equate “watching TV” with watching via an online source.
Gen Z is less likely to actively avoid watching advertising and over 50% said they don’t mind or actually enjoy watching TV ads.
60% of Gen Z respondents prefer to “binge” a show, watching multiple episodes at a time – compared to only 40% of Gen X.
Gen Z is driven by a need to be “in the know” about TV in order to be part of the social conversation. 20% have posted about a show… without actually watching it!
Non-profit organization I AM THAT GIRL joins forces with 20-year old EP Entertainment/Def Jam Recordings global sensation Alessia Cara to create the “I AM YOU” empowerment campaign. The powerful message of Alessia’s new single “Scars To Your Beautiful” is the lynchpin behind her alliance with I AM THAT GIRL, the national movement that has been inspiring girls for the past six years to love, express, and be who they are through a global peer-to-peer community committed to creating a new norm for girl culture by raising the standard of how girls treat themselves.
“I AM YOU” launches with a short video directed by Kim Jacobs, which delivers the meaningful message of empowerment, strength and inclusivity using a striking visual. The piece, which is narrated by Alessia and features a musical soundbed from her powerful self-anthem, reinforces the message that while we have our own unique stories, we are all connected by the universal truths that make us human.
In the film, a rapid montage of girls of varied ages, sizes, and races flashes by, seamlessly composited together as if they are all speaking as one person, creating an extraordinary focal point for the singular voice that connects them all.
Jacobs shot around 50 young women over the course of one day, including a series of stills set to the playback track of the scripted voiceover. Most of the talent already were members of IATG chapters or volunteers, along with others who ended up taking the IATG pledge after wrapping the shoot.
“The stills were transcoded to feel like motion. Then the process of cutting between the faces required sensitivity, precision and a crazy amount of patience,” explains Jacobs. “Matching three girls blinking their eyes within a second of film is work for only warriors. We worked with the team at EXILE to fine-tune the edit until we finally struck the perfect balance of technique and humanity.”
“In any given second there are multiple faces cut to appear to be one person. I thought this would be a really strong and beautiful way to communicate the core ethos of I AM THAT GIRL,” says Kim Jacobs, who co-wrote the script with IATG Co-founder Emily Greener.
“It takes so many people to make something, especially in film, and all the people involved in every single part of the process were essential to the outcome. The I AM YOU film was generated from pure love.” - Kim Jacobs
“Scars To Your Beautiful” was not only used for the film, but also inspired IATG and Alessia to create an action-focused curriculum for young women everywhere, to shift girl culture and help them transform self-doubt to self-love. The conversation kit, which is downloadable at iamthatgirl.com/alessia, centers around five primary interactive meeting topics, each cued by a lyric from “Scars.”
How do you create a movie trailer about a fictional artificially enhanced human? You turn to the real thing - artificial intelligence.
Scientists at IBM Research have collaborated with 20th Century Fox to create the first-ever cognitive movie trailer for the movie Morgan.
Utilizing experimental Watson APIs and machine learning techniques, the IBM Research system analyzed hundreds of horror/thriller movie trailers.
After learning what keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, the AI system suggested the top 10 best candidate moments for a trailer from the movie Morgan, which an IBM filmmaker then edited and arranged together.
Check out the AI-Created trailer below to get ready for MORGAN in theaters this Friday, September 2!
I stumbled across this really terrific article on the life cycle of virtual reality in the kids education and entertainment market--well worth reading for anyone involved in the kid/tween/teen media and education worlds.
"Once the VR space takes hold, kids will ultimately become "world-smiths," as they create immersive social experiences utilizing powerful, easy-to-use tools found on 3D user-generated content platforms.
These platforms will empower children to create and distribute VR content for consumption by their peers."
Noah, a short film that debuted at the Toronto International FIlm Festival, illustrates the flitting attention span and lack of true connection in digital culture more clearly than anything else in recent memory. (Warning: NSFW)
"These words are probably unfurling inside one of many open tabs on your computer screen. Perhaps one tab is for work, one is for chatting, and another is for Twitter. You probably even have some others open for no particular reason.
This is the way we receive information and the way we communicate now: constantly, simultaneously, compulsively, endlessly, and more and more often, solitarily. This strange new mode of living--and its indelible effect on our humanity--is perfectly captured in a new short film that debuted this week at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The 17-minute, mildly NSFWNoah is unlike anything you've seen before in a movie--only because it is exactly like what many of us see on our computers all the time. Created by Canadian film students Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg, the film begins when our high school senior protagonist types in the password that opens up his laptop, and the narrative takes place entirely on his computer screen.
It doesn't matter how far removed in age you are from the characters, if you are digitally savvy enough to be reading this, Noah will hit uncomfortably close to home."
This lesson, based on the documentary film Bridegroom, will help students better understand the issues concerning the disparity of civil rights extended to different communities in American society.
The film also addresses student strategies for coping with bullying and overcoming feelings of social isolation.
The lesson is also aligned to McREL learning standards, contains project based learning activities and a discussion guide for educators.
These learning materials have been released under a Creative Commons license and may be shared and downloaded for educational and non-profit use, with attribution.
LESSON MATERIALS
To complete this lesson, students will need access to the following:
A new online survey conducted by the website ParentPort reveals that, of those parents surveyed whose children watch films at home, 40% had allowed their children to watch a film classified above their age.
The survey of 1,800 respondents from the UK’s two largest online parenting communities –Mumsnet and Netmums – reveals the challenges and pressures parents face when it comes to keeping the media their children see age-appropriate.
Of those parents surveyed whose children play video games, a quarter (25%) had allowed their children to play games classified above their age.
Furthermore, 16% of parents surveyed said they had bought their children a device or gadget – such as a games console or MP3 player – which they themselves did not fully understand how to use.
Parental supervision
However, the parents surveyed did not just give into their children’s appetite for the media – many also closely supervise what their children see and use.
In fact, 82% of the parents surveyed claimed they always know what films and television programmes their children watch, and 77% said they always or usually know what websites their children visit.
Meanwhile, the survey also uncovers parents’ boundaries when it comes to media, with one in eight of the parents surveyed reporting concern that Christmas presents their child had received were inappropriate for their age.
Some reported being worried their youngsters would have unsupervised access to the internet through smartphones and laptops given as gifts. Others cited well-meaning friends and family overstepping the mark – with examples of pre-teens unwrapping presents of 18-rated video games, and under-tens receiving 12-rated DVDs.
Overall, the parents surveyed recognised the contribution the media makes to their children’s lives. Over half (52%) of the parents surveyed thought films and DVDs generally played a positive role in their children’s lives. Forty-nine per cent cited television as also having a positive effect, and 48% believed the internet also made a good contribution to their children’s lives. (via)
Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor.
Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story.
Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a new narrative experience that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. “Morris Lessmore” is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” is one of five animated short films that will be considered for outstanding film achievements of 2011 in the 84th Academy Awards ®.
Three guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films. A trip of a lifetime.
All six films—running between five and ten minutes and covering issues from public health to poverty—are now available to watch for free here.
The final film to be released, Youth Build: BuildingYouth, will also premiere at the first-ever Building a Grad Nation Summit in Washington D.C. this week.
Filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern created this film, drawn from a longer documentary which highlights Youth Build's innovative approach to supporting young under-served urban Americans as they work to graduate high school and continue their education.
Click here to read more about the Youth Build program, or watch the short film.
Here in SoCal, we have five seasons: Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall and Award Season. The grand finale of 'Award Season' are the Academy Awards.
This year the ceremony takes place on February 27, 2011 at the Kodak Theatre and will be hosted by Gen Y stars James Franco and Anne Hathaway.
It's been a rough couple years for the annual telecast with ratings taking a bit of a hit---especially among Millennials. However, last year the Academy Awards made a concerted effort to attract youth to the show and it paid off with a 14% boost to Oscar TV ratings among 18-49 year olds.
The 2010 Oscars youth strategy included a more social media experience, the inclusion of teen friendly stars like Miley Cyrus, Zac Effron and Taylor Lautner as presenters, two original Oscars web series (Behind the Dress & The Road to the Oscars), extra video features and live streaming of the Red Carpet arrivals.
This year The Academy of Motion Picture Art & Sciences is once again rolling out the red carpet in a bid to attract a more youthful and technically savvy demographic with a new interactive technology that gives online Oscar fans the ultimate insider's view of Hollywood's biggest night.
The new premium feature is called Oscar All Access, and gives fans an insider’s view of the evening from the Red Carpet all the way through the Governor’s Ball.
Members (signing up is $4.99) actually will have the ability to control their own experience using the groundbreaking “360 cam” technology to control multiple cameras along the Red Carpet, at the Awards show, and afterwards at the Governor’s Ball.
In addition to Oscar All Access experience, the Academy also has an official Backstage PassiPhone and iPad App that allow you to have a more interactive social entertainment experience with the Academy Awards show. Hopefully next year they will expand the Backstage Pass to include all types of Android mobile devices.
It's great to see The Academy embracing new media and providing fans with a more interactive experience. Last year was a step in the right direction and hopefully their social TV friendly approach will pay off in big ratings boost among younger and tech savvy demographic groups.
P.S. As long as I have your attention, if you haven't already--go see Oscar host James Franco in his Oscar nominated role for the film 127 Hours. The story, the acting, the cinematography are amazing. Go James! Go Danny Boyle!
Remember back a few years when Flickr introduced video and everyone freaked out and lamented the "YouTube-ization" of Flickr?
Well thankfully indie media artist and photographer Matthew Parsons ignored the weeping and wailing and got to work creating videos that prove short form video does indeed have a place on Flickr.
Matthew, who goes by Fanboy30 on Flickr, RedBubble and Twitter, has created a short film titled "Immersed" that is nothing short of amazing.
Lean forward and watch this mesmerizing bit of indie filmmaking.
Recent Comments