Energy Datapalooza: Unleashing the Power of Open Data to Advance our Energy Future
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Imagine it is a scorching hot summer day, and your smart phone beeps, asking if you’d like it to raise your home thermostat a degree or two to save money. Or, envision an easy-to-use software package that lets a building owner perform virtual energy audits at a fraction of the cost of in-person audits, so real savings are calculated instantly, building upgrades launched sooner, and construction jobs created faster.
These are the kinds of advances that are on display today at the White House as more than 150 of America’s entrepreneurs, software developers, energy experts, and policy makers come together for an Energy Datapalooza. The gathering is a chance to celebrate new products, services, and apps that are advancing a secure, clean energy future—all built with freely available data from the government and other sources. The event includes demonstrations of mobile apps and web-based services that are available to families and businesses today, as well as previews of future inventions. In addition, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu will honor the winners of the Department of Energy’s inaugural “Apps for Energy” challenge, whose inventions include innovative applications such as: Leafully, which uses creative comparisons to help consumers understand how their actions impact the world and their wallet; Melon Power, which helps building owners easily calculate their Energy Star score; and VELOBill, which makes it easy to visualize energy usage data, compare it to peers, and make a plan to save energy. The day includes several exciting announcements. The Energy Department is launching a new “Vehicles Data Challenge” aimed at spurring technologies that can increase fuel efficiency and protect against distracted driving. And utilities and software companies are announcing the launch of “Green Button Connect My Data” in California and the Mid-Atlantic. Green Button Connect My Data enables energy customers to securely and automatically transfer their own energy data to authorized third parties, if they choose to do so. It builds on previous commitments under the Green Button Initiative to help consumers download their own energy data to their desktops. The Energy Datapalooza will demonstrate how private-sector entrepreneurs are creating jobs and helping Americans save money, using open data as their fuel. To keep the momentum going, the Energy Department is announcing the release of 20 new datasets, three new application programing interfaces to make data easily accessible by software developers, and hundreds of qualified data links in the Energy.Data.Gov community. Posted by Secretary Steven Chu, Todd Park, and Nancy Sutley on October 01, 2012 at 08:03 AM EDT on http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog |
ENERGY DATAPALOOZA FACT SHEET
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Avatar, Titantic film Director James Cameron Announces Global 3D Strategy at NAB Show
NAB Show
Submitted by Brad Turner
James Cameron and Vince Pace announced their new Technology Venture at the NAB Show promoting their 3D acquisition technology. Their system will be used by producers and directors to accelerate worldwide growth of 3D across all entertainment platforms including features, episodic and live television, sports, advertising, and consumer products.
Legendary filmmaker James Cameron and fellow 3-D pioneer Vince Pace delivered the keynote address April 11 at the 2011 National Association of Broadcasters NAB Show in Las Vegas. The world’s largest electronic media show covered filmed entertainment and the development, management and delivery of content across all mediums with nearly 93,000 attendees from 151 countries, 1,500 exhibitors, and 1,314 media attendees. Cameron and Pace discussed 3-D technology integration into broadcast mediums and announced the launch of their joint venture Cameron-Pace Group (CPG), to accelerate global growth of 3-D across all entertainment platforms including features, episodic and live television, sports, advertising and consumer products, and development of powerful, easy-to-use camera systems and other next-generation filmmaking creative tools.
Cameron and Pace challenged attendees to continue integration of 3-D technology into their businesses, plans and platforms. Broadcasters worldwide are continuing to increase and acquire technology to produce and broadcast 3-D content and engage the 3-D audiences. CPG has identified a 3-D “content gap” that needs growth to facilitate further expansion of 3-D integration. “Our expanded reach and new generation of 3-D solutions will deliver an advanced creative tool such as SLATE-2-SCREEN™ 3-D production services, and educational workshops for industry professionals in FUSION 3-D and FUSION 3-D Mobile Workflow Units that support end-to-end solutions for live and recorded production environments,” said Cameron. The team of respected worldwide innovators in 3D technology developed the FUSION 3-D, which is now the most utilized 3-D workflow system available.
Cameron and Pace concluded their keynote address by screening 3-D videos of their current and upcoming projects, including “Cirque du Soleil 3-D,” directed by Andrew Adamson, and highly anticipated 3-D films including Walt Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Rob Marshall and starring Johnny Depp, scheduled for release in early May, and Paramount Pictures 3-D feature film, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Michael Bay, and starring giant robot Transformers scheduled for release in late summer.
In the press room Q/A that followed, Investor Concepts had an exclusive interview with Cameron. We asked how his productions were able to achieve such varied 3-D effects as displayed in the “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” trailer, which subtly and gently guiding viewers into its three-dimensional juxtaposed against “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” which rapidly jolts into Saccade eye movement as viewers fixed on one point to quickly segue into a different three-dimensional visual field which appears multi layered as if travelling through a tunnel. We were curious to determine how much of those 3-D effects were created with 3-D technology and how much was influenced by the director's style of shooting. Cameron discussed the varying master and close-up shots with longer or wider lens directors use to capture images with 3-D technology granting them “new colors for them to paint with.” By “new colors” Cameron referred to various technologies available to achieve 3-D effects in films from shooting with state-of-the-art 3-D cameras to post production 3-D conversion technologies used to convert 2-D into 3-D and/or computer-generated imagery (CGI) applications of computer graphics to generate 3-D special effects. According to Cameron, “there is a right and wrong 3-D but there is no right or wrong aesthetic of 3-D.”
Our precious time with Cameron was limited, so precisely how much 3-D effect can be attributed to the director's style of shooting and how much is based upon available 3-D technologies available to the directors of this summer’s blockbuster 3-D releases will have to wait for the red carpet premieres. Whatever the case, 3-D definitely enhances the mystical journey of the viewers’ love affair with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise which has introduced mermaids and a Ponce de Leon treasure map into the storyline of their latest installment. While the latest installment of the Transformers franchise virtually launched us out of our seats with the 3D experience there is so much to see that watching it once is simply not enough!
Submitted by Brad Turner
James Cameron and Vince Pace announced their new Technology Venture at the NAB Show promoting their 3D acquisition technology. Their system will be used by producers and directors to accelerate worldwide growth of 3D across all entertainment platforms including features, episodic and live television, sports, advertising, and consumer products.
Legendary filmmaker James Cameron and fellow 3-D pioneer Vince Pace delivered the keynote address April 11 at the 2011 National Association of Broadcasters NAB Show in Las Vegas. The world’s largest electronic media show covered filmed entertainment and the development, management and delivery of content across all mediums with nearly 93,000 attendees from 151 countries, 1,500 exhibitors, and 1,314 media attendees. Cameron and Pace discussed 3-D technology integration into broadcast mediums and announced the launch of their joint venture Cameron-Pace Group (CPG), to accelerate global growth of 3-D across all entertainment platforms including features, episodic and live television, sports, advertising and consumer products, and development of powerful, easy-to-use camera systems and other next-generation filmmaking creative tools.
Cameron and Pace challenged attendees to continue integration of 3-D technology into their businesses, plans and platforms. Broadcasters worldwide are continuing to increase and acquire technology to produce and broadcast 3-D content and engage the 3-D audiences. CPG has identified a 3-D “content gap” that needs growth to facilitate further expansion of 3-D integration. “Our expanded reach and new generation of 3-D solutions will deliver an advanced creative tool such as SLATE-2-SCREEN™ 3-D production services, and educational workshops for industry professionals in FUSION 3-D and FUSION 3-D Mobile Workflow Units that support end-to-end solutions for live and recorded production environments,” said Cameron. The team of respected worldwide innovators in 3D technology developed the FUSION 3-D, which is now the most utilized 3-D workflow system available.
Cameron and Pace concluded their keynote address by screening 3-D videos of their current and upcoming projects, including “Cirque du Soleil 3-D,” directed by Andrew Adamson, and highly anticipated 3-D films including Walt Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Rob Marshall and starring Johnny Depp, scheduled for release in early May, and Paramount Pictures 3-D feature film, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Michael Bay, and starring giant robot Transformers scheduled for release in late summer.
In the press room Q/A that followed, Investor Concepts had an exclusive interview with Cameron. We asked how his productions were able to achieve such varied 3-D effects as displayed in the “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” trailer, which subtly and gently guiding viewers into its three-dimensional juxtaposed against “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” which rapidly jolts into Saccade eye movement as viewers fixed on one point to quickly segue into a different three-dimensional visual field which appears multi layered as if travelling through a tunnel. We were curious to determine how much of those 3-D effects were created with 3-D technology and how much was influenced by the director's style of shooting. Cameron discussed the varying master and close-up shots with longer or wider lens directors use to capture images with 3-D technology granting them “new colors for them to paint with.” By “new colors” Cameron referred to various technologies available to achieve 3-D effects in films from shooting with state-of-the-art 3-D cameras to post production 3-D conversion technologies used to convert 2-D into 3-D and/or computer-generated imagery (CGI) applications of computer graphics to generate 3-D special effects. According to Cameron, “there is a right and wrong 3-D but there is no right or wrong aesthetic of 3-D.”
Our precious time with Cameron was limited, so precisely how much 3-D effect can be attributed to the director's style of shooting and how much is based upon available 3-D technologies available to the directors of this summer’s blockbuster 3-D releases will have to wait for the red carpet premieres. Whatever the case, 3-D definitely enhances the mystical journey of the viewers’ love affair with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise which has introduced mermaids and a Ponce de Leon treasure map into the storyline of their latest installment. While the latest installment of the Transformers franchise virtually launched us out of our seats with the 3D experience there is so much to see that watching it once is simply not enough!
Top Executives Gather at Variety Summit and Digital Hollywood to Discuss Content, Convergence, New Media and Distribution.
Digital Hollywood
Submitted by Brad Turner
An insightful conversation with Michael Eisner kicked off the Variety Entertainment & Technology Summit, at Loews Hotel in Santa Monica where entertainment, technology, old and new media and the digital platforms and players likely to serve it all up came together in a daylong conference on Oct 18th. Investor Concepts was there to cover this extraordinary event including Digital Hollywood, the premiere entertainment and technology conference, in the same location, featuring four consecutive days of panels, discussions, keynotes and seminars produced by techno show master and impresario Victor Harwood.
Hulu, Apple TV, Google TV, AT&T, Yahoo, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook along with hundreds of companies and fast growing ventures were on hand to guide Hollywood’s who’s who and corporate America on how and where to effectively develop, engage, finance and distribute content and new media. From internet browsers, iPads, SmartPhones, eReaders and set-top boxes to social media, web video, gaming and digital platforms, generating customers and revenues or risk losing brand loyalty, viewership and engagement to other forms of entertainment was the story of this convergence by the sea.
"Technology has opened up a new way to play, a new way to be entertained,” said Eisner, who recently launched The Tornate Company for producing web content and creating digital entertainment including a new social web game called Fame Town. With viral videos, reality TV, web series, and the explosion in video gaming, online viewers often outnumber broadcast television and cable network eyeballs, audiences and things to do, offering huge business opportunities.
Thus Steamboat Ventures, Disney’s private equity-funded startups, and hot acquisitions from coupon craze and location based technologies and coupon sites to premium distribution networks and video syndication platforms. This is the new reality, with new technologies, distribution and rules of engagement intertwined with the growing role of social media. “As the entertainment industry enters its next phase of production and distribution in which digital technologies take a stronger and more significant role, the basic relationship among today’s power players is likely to take new and unique forms,” said Mark Savoy, president of Zuma Beach Entertainment, Inc.
With different interpretations of value, opportunity and investment, the players in media, entertainment and finance will set the stage for the next step in growth, expansion content distribution and monetization. New business models are helping young companies successfully face the challenges of becoming leaders with early to mid-stage financing for technology-focused companies that are pursuing opportunities in emerging digital media and consumer technology markets. Although funding is often focused on technology or intellectual property, investments in other areas of broad strategic importance from digital platforms for content delivery to social and casual games are growing in importance – and revenues. Orange County, CA-based Little Orbit is one such company that is poised for stellar growth in the games marketplace.
In one session, Alphabird outlined opportunities for advertisers to place content editorially in-page, offering what it calls higher levels of engagement of branded content, episodic programming, “elective messaging” and digitally driven advertising, for books, TV, films and of course global brands. Editorial syndication offered on a performance basis allows advertisers to pay for consumer engagement instead of “empty impressions,” from in-banner, rich media, and pre-roll media buys to branded content totally integrated into the medium.
Other highlights included a conversation on content monetization with AOL Media and Studios chief David Eun, a discussion with FX president John Landgraf on the state of broadcast, cable, IPTV and bundled entertainment, and panels featuring HardieTankersley of Fox Broadcasting and Showtime’s David Nevins. Linda Yaccarino of Turner Entertainment discussed the future of organic content where brands are expected to play a leading role, striking a balance between business and entertainment.
Submitted by Brad Turner
An insightful conversation with Michael Eisner kicked off the Variety Entertainment & Technology Summit, at Loews Hotel in Santa Monica where entertainment, technology, old and new media and the digital platforms and players likely to serve it all up came together in a daylong conference on Oct 18th. Investor Concepts was there to cover this extraordinary event including Digital Hollywood, the premiere entertainment and technology conference, in the same location, featuring four consecutive days of panels, discussions, keynotes and seminars produced by techno show master and impresario Victor Harwood.
Hulu, Apple TV, Google TV, AT&T, Yahoo, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook along with hundreds of companies and fast growing ventures were on hand to guide Hollywood’s who’s who and corporate America on how and where to effectively develop, engage, finance and distribute content and new media. From internet browsers, iPads, SmartPhones, eReaders and set-top boxes to social media, web video, gaming and digital platforms, generating customers and revenues or risk losing brand loyalty, viewership and engagement to other forms of entertainment was the story of this convergence by the sea.
"Technology has opened up a new way to play, a new way to be entertained,” said Eisner, who recently launched The Tornate Company for producing web content and creating digital entertainment including a new social web game called Fame Town. With viral videos, reality TV, web series, and the explosion in video gaming, online viewers often outnumber broadcast television and cable network eyeballs, audiences and things to do, offering huge business opportunities.
Thus Steamboat Ventures, Disney’s private equity-funded startups, and hot acquisitions from coupon craze and location based technologies and coupon sites to premium distribution networks and video syndication platforms. This is the new reality, with new technologies, distribution and rules of engagement intertwined with the growing role of social media. “As the entertainment industry enters its next phase of production and distribution in which digital technologies take a stronger and more significant role, the basic relationship among today’s power players is likely to take new and unique forms,” said Mark Savoy, president of Zuma Beach Entertainment, Inc.
With different interpretations of value, opportunity and investment, the players in media, entertainment and finance will set the stage for the next step in growth, expansion content distribution and monetization. New business models are helping young companies successfully face the challenges of becoming leaders with early to mid-stage financing for technology-focused companies that are pursuing opportunities in emerging digital media and consumer technology markets. Although funding is often focused on technology or intellectual property, investments in other areas of broad strategic importance from digital platforms for content delivery to social and casual games are growing in importance – and revenues. Orange County, CA-based Little Orbit is one such company that is poised for stellar growth in the games marketplace.
In one session, Alphabird outlined opportunities for advertisers to place content editorially in-page, offering what it calls higher levels of engagement of branded content, episodic programming, “elective messaging” and digitally driven advertising, for books, TV, films and of course global brands. Editorial syndication offered on a performance basis allows advertisers to pay for consumer engagement instead of “empty impressions,” from in-banner, rich media, and pre-roll media buys to branded content totally integrated into the medium.
Other highlights included a conversation on content monetization with AOL Media and Studios chief David Eun, a discussion with FX president John Landgraf on the state of broadcast, cable, IPTV and bundled entertainment, and panels featuring HardieTankersley of Fox Broadcasting and Showtime’s David Nevins. Linda Yaccarino of Turner Entertainment discussed the future of organic content where brands are expected to play a leading role, striking a balance between business and entertainment.
Location171 Pier Avenue #449
Santa Monica, CA 90405 |
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