1. Amazon Studios: Stepping up its original series tug-of-war with Netflix, Amazon Studios has greenlit production of three new comedy pilots. The half-hour pilots include “Mozart in the Jungle,” written by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Alex Timbers, “The Outlaws” written by Jeremy Garelick and Jon Weinbach and finally “Transparent,” written by Jill Soloway. Read more about the projects here.
2. 4K Film Competition: Sharp, along with THX and RED, have teamed for the “Art of Amazing 4K Film Competition.” The three companies are inviting filmmakers to create a short, a film of four minutes or less that captures the art of an amazing 4K entertainment experience through “energy, light, and scale.” Read more about the competition here. Did we mention the winner receives Sharp’s THX Certified AQUOS 4K Ultra HD LED TV and a trip to the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas?
3. Indiecade: Independent video games are in the spotlight this week at Indiecade, an annual event which “The New York Times” has called “the Sundance of games.” Around 5,000 game producers and fans are expected to attend the convention, now in its seventh year. Indiecade features a juried competition in various categories, such as digital video games, art installations, tabletop games and games that involve physical play. The games are competing for 10 Red Carpet Awards tonight and three final awards on Sunday, the last day of Indiecade.
4. Social TV: When you’re online and want to “chat” about your favorite show, which is your first destination: Facebook or Twitter? The two social networks are both vying for the title of top “social TV” destination.
“Facebook and Twitter both see the social conversation around television as a way to increase use of their sites and win a bigger piece of advertisers’ spending, which eMarketer estimates will be $171 billion across all types of media this year in the United States. In recent months, they have engaged in an escalating battle — publicly and behind the scenes — to claim the title of the nation’s digital water cooler as they woo networks and advertisers,” according to The New York Times. About half of Americans visit social networks while watching TV, and one in six Americans posts comments about shows during their broadcasts, according to a coming report by eMarketer, The New York Times reports.
5. Gravity: When “Gravity” is released nationwide tomorrow, the film will be released in 3-D, 2-D and IMAX versions. In some theaters, the film will also feature Dolby Atmos, the next generation of Dolby sound. It’s not the first film to use Dolby Atmos, but it might be the highest profile one. Atmos, which was introduced by Dolby Laboratories in 2012, allows filmmakers to “move” specific sounds anywhere in the theater. “Just as 3D offers added visual dimension, Dolby Atmos creates a virtual reality of sound, which fully immerses the audience in the aural journey. There is no sound in space, so we incorporated music as an integral element of the movie,” “Gravity” director Alfonso Cuaron said in a statement.
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