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Blink Digital Innovates for Blu-ray
Proprietary Tools + Creative Expertise = Making the Most of New Formats
The new generation of High Definition Blu-ray DVDs, opens the door to greatly enhanced picture and sound, as well as a host of revolutionary new features. “One of the things that’s most exciting to me, who’s worked in the documentary and DVD bonus space for years, is the new level of interactivity,” says Blink Digital executive producer of original programming Jeffrey Eagle. “Interactivity can be developed to suit a particular audience, demographic or level of interest. We’re able to cater to peoples’ key needs and wants.”
Blink Digital has already developed the tools and expertise to maximize the endless possibilities inherent in the Blu-ray formats. “A huge world of potential is just around the corner and we are already testing the features and informing our clients what’s possible,” says art director Dan Post. “We have answers to the questions that clients haven’t even asked yet.”
The Standard Definition DVD format remained technologically unchanged, notes Post, but the High Definition DVD has never stopped evolving. “Blu-ray started out with a basic package of some interactivity,” he says. “But the next generation is fully programmable.” This “version 2” software for Blu-ray, which is being introduced into the marketplace feature-by-feature, enables savvy DVD producers to create customizable interfaces, Flash media, plugged-in networks, an ability to save data and an all-round high level of interactivity. “The potential is limitless,” says Post, who likens the new interactive capabilities to those found on the Internet. “This can unify the medium of movies, games, and web pages.”
Setting standards in a constantly changing technological environment is a challenge: Everyone understood the Standard Def DVD, but they are all questioning what’s possible and how to get there with the new High Def DVDs. Blink Digital is ahead of the game, having devoted an immense amount of time and resources to R&D. “We’re developing proprietary tools to make production faster,” says Post. “We’ve developed the standards so we have solutions to make clients’ lives easy. We’re coming up with the answers faster than anyone else.”
As Blink Digital develops tools and procedures for efficient, seamless production, the company’s creatives are also on top of the myriad ways to develop content that makes the most of the Blu-ray formats. Eagle enumerates just a few of the creative possibilities. “There’s always picture-in-picture that allows you to feel like you’re visiting with the filmmaker while the movie is going along,” he says. “Or you can seamlessly branch to another layer or bonus feature. If you want the film facts, you can have them conveyed via the filmmaker or department head. You have stories of cast members. Then you have classical interfaces of interactive “pop-up graphics” that can be avatars.”
With the next generation Blu-ray, avatars can be designed to talk to each other, users can define their own chapter points, sub-titles can update, and viewers can even interact with others while watching the movie. For example, the opening screen can ask the age of the viewer, and then reconfigure the following features depending on whether that viewer is 4, 14 or 44. “It will all evolve on a case-by-case basis,” says Post. “We’re doing the research for any application imaginable.”
For animated features, animated elements can be leveraged as fun opportunities, for both menus and presentations, says Eagle. “Live-action creates a different set of opportunities,” he says. For example, an anime-inspired live-action film could use an actual anime avatar or other anime elements. “There are so many ways to slice the information pie into film facts, historical facts, facts about the actor, behind-the-scenes,” Eagle adds. “You can let your imagination run wild with ways of connecting your design organically to the subject matter and themes of the film.”
Right now, every motion picture studio has its own methods of producing High Definition DVDs and several companies are also in the process of branding their Blu-ray discs with a consistent menu template. Blink Digital has established standards that enable all studios, regardless of their unique procedure, to benefit from “best practices.” “And, at Blink, we as a company are actively participating in the templates,” he says. “We work in concert with the studios to design them.”
Eagle points out that Blink Digital can play the important role of educating clients as to what is possible, as the Blu-ray format continues to evolve. Blink Digital can also provide specific production tips, develop menu templates, and maximize innovation while avoiding potential production pitfalls. Most important of all, Blink Digital does a soup-to-nuts job, making for the highest level of accountability, consistency and excellence.
“As Blu-ray gets more established, it will drive innovation,” continues Eagle. “It’s our job to come up with the cool, wacky ideas to drive the consumers to these discs. Yes, there’s the movie, but there’s also peoples’ fascination with the stories behind moviemaking. The more of these stories we can tell and the cooler we can make it will hopefully see people embracing the new technology and buying the machines.”
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