Los Angeles, CA—Feb 2, 2006
“Other Digital Stuff: Expanding the In-Theatre Experience” Launched By
Entertainment Technology Center at USC
Conference Examines New Forms of In-theatre Content Beyond Film
The first-ever conference dedicated to
in-theatre content beyond motion pictures was announced today by the
Entertainment Technology Center at University of Southern California (USC-ETC).
“Other Digital Stuff: Expanding the In-theatre Experience” will examine the new
forms of content enabled by digital cinema technologies, including pre-show ads
and entertainment, real-time sports and music, 3D trailers and lobby displays,
and more. It will feature demonstrations of the latest innovations; discussions
about technology and bottom-line issues; and a digital cinema overview. It will
also look at how to devise alternative content that appeals to audiences “Other
Digital Stuff” is free for qualified industry members and will take place March
10, 2006 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM in Hollywood at ETC-USC’s Digital Cinema Lab
theater.
“Other Digital Stuff” is designed for creators and distributors of content for
new in-theatre platforms; exhibitors seeking to build attendance and revenues
and who must negotiate new technologies and business issues; and marketers and
advertisers striving to maximize the big screen’s storytelling power along with
its new capabilities for targeted messages.
John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO),
will keynote along with Kurt Hall, president and CEO, National CineMedia and Bob
Lambert, senior vice president, Worldwide Technology Strategy, The Walt Disney
Company. Texas Instruments is sponsoring the day and providing technical and
program support, along with NATO.
Said Charles S. Swartz, executive director/CEO of ETC-USC, “Digital cinema
enables exciting new opportunities in in-theatre content, but making it work is
a complex process. Our goal for ‘Other Digital Stuff’ is to help major
stakeholders expand on the alternative content already in theatres and embark in
new directions.”
“Other Digital Stuff: Expanding the In-theatre Experience” is the first in what
will be a series of events presented by the ETC-USC tackling exhibition industry
issues.