On 13 October 2014, Civolution, a provider of technology and solutions for identifying, managing and monetising content, and Bleiberg Entertainment, a Beverly Hills-based film production company, announced their partnership on i-LIVED, the first American feature film to be supported by a synchronised second-screen application for use in the cinema and at home.
i-LIVED is a tech-based thriller about an online app reviewer whose latest assignment mysteriously improves his life beyond anything he imagined, but just as quickly starts to tear him apart. The feature film was produced from the outset with second-screen integration in mind. Civolution’s SyncNow Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology powers the app’s real-time interaction and content triggering in complete synchronisation with the on-screen action.
“As the world of entertainment continues to become increasingly connected and interactive, there’s one glaring arena ripe for digitization: the movie theatre,’ said Alex Terpstra, CEO, Civolution. “We are thrilled that Bleiberg Entertainment shares our vision of intertwining feature films with mobile devices, and look forward to building on this historic step in filmmaking to push the boundary of the format forward in years to come.’
“In order to bridge the gap between concept and realisation, we needed a technology provider that could handle the diversity of devices modern movie-goers carry, with the world-wide variation in theatre equipment,’ stated Bleiberg Entertainment CEO Ehud Bleiberg. “Civolution’s experience in creating revolutionary second-screen activations for both television and live-event audiences made their SyncNow technology the clear choice, and we couldn’t be more excited to share the results with both movie and technology buffs.’
Building upon Civolution’s previous successes, i-LIVED is a coordinated film production in concert with technology production as a means of deepening the viewer engagement with the on-screen characters and plot.
“Using this technology, the audience becomes even more connected to our main character,’ said i-LIVED director Franck Khalfoun, whose last feature, the Elijah Wood-starring Maniac, opened to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival. “Rather than distracting from their experience, the app really immerses viewers into the story. It’s unlike anything else out there.’
Bleiberg Entertainment will handle worldwide sales of the film and will unveil the completed film and app to distributors in November 2014 at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, CA.
