< PreviousCanon Middle East has launched the EOS C300 mark III – its next generation cinema EOS system camera with a new Super 35mm 4K CMOS DGO (Dual Gain Output) sensor, modular design and the ability to record in multiple formats. Canon has also taken wraps off the reveals the CN10X25 IAS S – an 8K- capable 25mm-250mm 10x power zoom CINE-SERVO lens with exceptionally broad focal length range and capabilities to extend up to 375mm using its built-in 1.5x optical extender. The C300 III will be available from June and the CN10X25 IAS S available from July. The mark III is a successor to the 2015-launched EOS C300 Mark II. Binoj Nair, marketing director B2C business unit, Canon Middle East said: “The EOS C300 range has always been a successful off ering to the cinematic industry. We pride ourselves in listening to the fl oating demands, concerns and needs of the fi lmmakers, and thus, not CANON LAUNCHES C300 III CINE CAMERA CAMERA FEATURES DGO SENSOR — AND A BROADCAST / CINEMA HYBRID CINE-SERVO LENS NETFLIX’S DRAMATIC STORY OF CAROLE BASKIN AND JOE EXOTIC CONTINUES AS A CRIME INVESTIGATION TOLD EXCLUSIVELY ON INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY ID TO PREMIERE TIGER KING SEQUEL IN 2020 In a matter of weeks, Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage has cemented his claim to the throne as the one and only Tiger King. But if ever there was a rival to Joe Exotic, it’s the world’s now most talked about woman, Carole Baskin, the equally indisputable tiger queen. Investigation Discovery’s (ID) sequel, Investigating The Strange World Of Joe Exotic, delves into the biggest mystery in true crime today, helmed by the biggest character in the world: Joe Exotic, himself. only implementing but exceeding their expectations. This camera along with the lens provides a dynamic range with a superb image sensor technology, a combination that it is set to be a true game changer for creative fi lmmaking.” The DGO sensor, which enhances HDR output exceeding 16-stops of dynamic range, is similar to that of the EOS C500 Mark II launched last year. The C300 III can record internally in Canon XF-AVC at 4K DCI and UHD at 4:2:2 10-bit, as well as 2K and Full HD. For non-RAW recording in XF-AVC, professionals can select ALL-I or Long GOP to fi lm with high compression for effi cient workfl ow and longer recording times. “Viewers are understandably riveted by Netfl ix’s Tiger King, but the millions of true crime fans around the world were left wanting more,” said Henry Schleiff , group president ID, travel channel, American Heroes Channel and Destination America. “ID is the perfect place to fi nd the inevitable sequel to this drama – featuring a missing husband, a hit man, and the illegal business of exotic animals. It’s time to let the cat out of the bag and address the lingering questions that viewers demand be answered.” FOR-A has made a range of FT-ONE variable frame rate cameras available to deliver action in super slow motion. Recent advances now allow playback of 4K video at up to 1,000 frames per sec- ond to provide incredible detail for live broadcast applications. “Sports continue to be a driving factor in the need for high frame rate cameras, and nobody delivers instant replays like FOR-A. Our FT-ONE special purpose cameras are designed for super-slo-mo 4K acquisition of sports and other live event footage, and can be combined with other FOR-A tools to deliver unprecedented replay fl exibility,” said Ken Truong, President of FOR-A Corporation of America FOR-A CAMERA CAN CAP- TURE 4K AT 1,000 FPS FOR LIVE PRODUCTION Tiger King threw a spotlight on an important issue. The investigation will reveal the secrets only Joe knows, and exclusive footage that has never been shown. Investigating The Strange World Of Joe Exotic is being produced by Conveyor Media with Theresa McKeown and Colin Whelan as executive producers and Rebecca Sirmons as co-executive producer. ID airs in the Middle East on OSN channel 505. NEWS UPDATE www.digitalstudiome.com10 / JUNE-AUGUST 2020New research has revealed there are 5.1 million regular podcast listeners in Saudi Arabia, with one in four women (21%) listening to podcasts every week. That’s according to new statistics released by Markettiers MENA, and supported by global podcasting consultancy 4DC for a fi rst-of-its-kind study into the podcast landscape in Saudi Arabia. The results reveal a nation that values the story-telling nature of the podcast medium above all else, with nearly a quarter (23%) of the adult population having listened to a podcast and 15% of the adult population tuning in regularly, at least once a week. The report puts Saudi Arabia on a similar par with the UAE, with 16% (1.3 million) of the adult population tuning in at least once a week to a podcast. When it comes to those trailblazing Streaming giants Netfl ix has cre- ated a $100m fund for workers left unemployed and unable to receive an income amid the coronavirus pandemic. Ted Sarandos, chief content offi cer for the streaming service, said: “The Covid-19 crisis is devastating for many industries, including the creative community. Almost all television and fi lm production has now ceased globally — leaving hundreds of thousands of crew and cast without jobs.” “These include electricians, carpen- ters and drivers, many of whom are paid hourly wages and work on a project- to-project basis. This community has supported Netfl ix through the good PODCASTS ARE GROWING EXPONENTIALLY IN SAUDI ARABIA NETFLIX CREATES $100M CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND FOR UNEMPLOYED WORKERS NEW REPORT REVEALS THE KINGDOM HAS 5.1 MILLION REGULAR PODCAST LISTENERS 120,000 PROFESSIONALS IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY HAVE FOUND THEMSELVES WITHOUT WORK FOLLOWING PRODUCTIONS BEING HALTED IN THE WAKE OF CORONAVIRUS. are listening, what they’re listening to and why. Following the success of our UAE podcast report, we are excited to launch the fi rst ever study into podcast consumption in Saudi Arabia. “The full results which will be released shortly highlight the huge rela- tively untapped opportunity that exists for brands to engage with connected audiences in a powerful way. Now more than ever in the current climate, the time is now for podcasts.” the Actors Fund Emergency Assistance in the U.S., the Motion Picture & Televi- sion Fund as well as $1 million between the AFC and Fondation des Artistes. Netflix also plans to bring relief efforts to Asia, Europe and Latin America, where many of their pro- grams are filmed. the podcast trend, almost twice as many women (21%) defi ne themselves as regular podcast listeners compared to 11% of men. The reasons women value podcasts so much is that they provide dedicated content to cater to their specifi c interests (69%), they can listen whilst doing other things (61%) and they value the storytelling nature (49%) of the medium. The research, carried out during the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak can- vassed the thoughts of more than 2,000 adults in Saudi Arabia and revealed that nine in 10 (93%) of those surveyed trust podcasts more than any other medium. Cheryl King, managing director, Markettiers MENA commented: “We’ve long known that there has been a bur- geoning podcast community in Saudi Arabia, but there has been little data un- til now to identify just how many people times, and we want to help them through these hard times, especially while governments are still fi guring out what economic support they will provide.” Sarandos’ announcement provides some respite to the entertainment industry in the US as a reported 120,000 professionals have lost their jobs as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic contin- ues to halt TV and fi lm productions. $15 million of the Netfl ix fund is set to go to third parties and non-profi ts that off er emergency relief to out-of-work crew and cast members in countries with large productions, Variety said. Netfl ix will also donate $1m each to the SAG-AFTRA COVID-19 Disaster Fund, Ted Sarandos The global popularity of podcasts has increased over the last few years. Pic: Jonathan Velasquez NEWS UPDATE www.digitalstudiome.comJUNE-AUGUST 2020 / 11 SN has witnessed a revival of sorts. Over the last quarter the Middle East’s largest direct- broadcast satellite provider has made key personnel appointments, crucial additions to its content library and rebranding its services to compete with its global counterparts. LEADERSHIP The broadcaster announced three key additions to its personnel on a senior level. Zahra Zayat has joined the company as senior vice president — Telco and OTT; Sonia Lekhal as chief marketing offi cer and Peter Riz as chief technology offi cer. ACE UP ITS SLEEVE O Having encountered a diffi cult few years, with reported entrenchments and struggles from within, OSN seems to be pulling itself back up with a slew of major announcements indicating good times ahead. Zayat packs extensive experience in both regional Pay TV and OTT and will lead OSN’s strategy on the digital and streaming business in addition to business development and partnerships with major telecommunication players in the region. In previous Zayat was vice president head of YuppTV in the MENA region, where she played a vital role in launching YuppTV service and driving subscriber growth in the Middle East and North Africa. Lekhal brings over 20 years of marketing experience having worked for some of the fastest-growing consumer brands across the world. In her new role Lekhal is now responsible for OSN’s brand communication As part of its expansion, OSN signed a multi-year agreement with Intigral, the media arm of Saudi’s STC, for its fl agship home and OTT service, Jawwy TV. and marketing strategy and plays an educational and supporting role in the digital transformation of the overall business. A former vice president, corporate communications at Emirates Airlines, Lekhal restructured the digital marketing strategy, helping to elevate the brand. Peter Riz has over 20 years of television and OTT experience within the Middle East and Europe, with a focus in digital transformation. Riz takes the role of chief technology offi cer, where he leads both the broadcasting and streaming technology strategy for OSN. Prior to this, Riz was CTO at Intigral in the Middle East, where he played a key role in driving the company’s digital transformation. He also spent www.digitalstudiome.com12 / JUNE-AUGUST 2020 NEWS: ANALYSIS over 12 years with HBO Europe where he was the SVP — technology. Under his leadership at HBO, he was responsible for transforming its OTT platform in Europe branded as HBO GO. WHERE’S DISNEY AND WAVO? In short both are closer than you think. Disney+, a standalone OTT streaming service, launched across several markets globally from November last year. The service continued to be rolled out to other markets in the ensuing months. In the UAE, however, Disney decided it would be best to partner with an existing service provider, selecting OSN as its sole distributor. Amit Malhotra, regional lead, content sales and distribution, The Walt Disney Company said: “Given that we currently do not plan to launch Disney+ as a standalone service in the region in the near future, we are pleased to work with OSN to bring Disney+ Originals to viewers in the Middle East.” THE RESULTS A combination of the changes and additions as y ielded in a 900% spike in v iewership numbers since March 1, 2020. Much of this increase is attributed to the addition of Disney+ Originals content w ith more than 75% of the top family movies being watched were from Disney. It ’s interesting to note that content from Disney ma kes up more than 30% of the total content being viewed on the platform. It’s not just OSN Streaming receiving more screen time either, total TV consumption across OSN’s linear channels has increased by 35% with news channels specifically seeing a 250% increase in view time. “While increases in prime time hours are there, we also are seeing some interesting new peaks emerging along with this increase in viewing time, for example in the last six weeks (March-April) we have seen a 100% rise in viewing between the hours of 3am-6am,” Lekhal said. The arrival of Disney+ Originals adds exclusive movies and series from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, and National Geographic to its portfolio of exclusive rights from other major Hollywood studios. Disney+ Originals will be available to OSN TV subscribers, as well as on OSN’s new streaming service. Which brings us to Wavo, OSN’s erstwhile streaming service that it rebranded to OSN Streaming. The new streaming service launched on April 2 with a monthly subscription fee of $9.50. The service is available on osn. com, IOS and Android mobile apps, Apple TV, Android TV and Samsung and LG TVs. Along with its Disney+ partnership, OSN recently renewed its content partnerships with HBO, Universal, Paramount, Viacom and MGM claiming to achieve the quickest ‘first- to-air’ rights for blockbuster movies and same-time-as-US broadcast of series, such as Westworld, Killing Eve and Grey’s Anatomy. (L-R) Zahra Zayat, Peter Riz and Sonia Lekhal www.digitalstudiome.comJUNE-AUGUST 2020 / 13 NEWS: ANALYSISwww.digitalstudiome.com Using an e-commerce-style user interface Emirati fi lmmaker Hasan Kiyani has ventured into a new on-demand video production service AE national Hassan Kiyany has been woven into the fabric of the local fi lm industry. The fi lmmaker is a veteran of sorts in this part of the world evolving into a media entrepreneur having started off as an iPhone videographer at the start of the decade. Kiyani spent some time telling us about his new media venture EditVid. Here are excerpts of an interview. Tell us about EditVid and how you founded it? COVID -19 has changed the way we consume videos, and more need for consistent content has risen with a signifi cant focus on increased video consumption due to the lockdown. As someone working on commercial production for the past ten years as an editor / director and entrepreneur, I realised we have an opportunity at hand that can solve a signifi cant challenge. But this was not what I could do with Kiyany Media, so I needed a new identity, and Editvid was born. If you see traditional video creation is costly. It comes with its own set of prerequisites from cast and crew, time-consuming process, delay in delivery, and big budgets to support the production fl ow. Editvid comes in by bringing these creatives from the studios U comprising of producers and editors to bring that fi nished video to you at the comfort of a click. We already have video creation platforms like Adobe Spark to DIY platforms like Vimeo and Proom, to name a few where you as the user should create what you may be looking at to create in the video. But with Editvid, you share your brief, select the mood, music, duration, delivery time, and CTA with more options to personalise it and submit. Once you do this, all you need to do is pay for the service and expect the video in your email. We have considered the cost to be a signifi cant factor while deploying our solutions to help people market ONE VIDEO PLEASE Emirati media entrepreneur Hasan Kiyani (left) has started a new media venture that uses e-commerce methods for video production. 14 / JUNE-AUGUST 2020 INTERVIEWwww.digitalstudiome.com from AED249 with royalty-free music, professional edits, motion graphics, license for social media usage and all delivered within 72 hours. It helps meet your regular video demands for social media where the better and consistent video is all about your brand worth. We have video solution options for enterprises, social media agencies and individuals alike. To scale our business, we plan to implement further machine learning to ease the onboarding and expedite the delivery process to enhance the end-user experience. Editvid 2.0 will maximise AI running capabilities at the front end (UI & UX) and back end (processing) helping the end-user and creatives choose with options to make the video better. We are also in the midst of talking to investors as an external investment option, hopefully we will have some news to share in the near future. That’s really interesting, tell us more about the AI and technology aspects of EditVid? We are currently using a combination of third-party tools that use AI to bring the edit together faster with semi- automated workfl ow. Our goal is to use AI to analyse the brief, detect — objects, tones of voice, and provide suggestions like edit structure to the creatives, i.e. their stories, starting at just AED249 for 10 seconds. Editvid saves clients the hassle of dealing with production houses, freelancers, automated or market platforms to get your consistent video content for your marketing needs powered by artifi cial intelligence and delivered by creatives. What sets your service apart from the rest of the competition, offering creative solutions? Editvid is not a DIY or template-based video creation platform. For DIY you need to spend your time and energy to create these videos and at times may have a steep learning curve, and for template-based videos after a point, it starts looking all the same. We are all about bringing a creative solution of producing video by integrating it with AI to help the creatives make quick and informed decisions. With Editvid, we aim to re- invent the content creation process. We sit in the middle of this process, where creative professionals like our producers and editors use the technology to deliver products for our clients. How do you justify your business case, and what are your plans for scaling up? Currently the Editvid BETA stage is live with on-demand videos that start editors as a starting point. In times like these, how do producers and content creators such as yourself survive? It’s indeed tricky times with lack of clarity where our industry is heading. This situation was compounded many years ago when a massive wave of creatives took over following the social media boom. Covid-19 and the global lockdown not only aff ected majority of freelancers and established production houses but also posed two signifi cant questions — how can we all survive? From a commercial content perspective, what will change besides budget shrinking? I have no doubt video demand will be even higher, as we have seen throughout the pandemic. It’s time for video creators to embrace, specialise, and monetise their original content through platforms like VOD, Youtube, Instagram, or Snapchat. Aside from EditVid, what other projects are you working on? At this moment in time we have a minimal commercial pipeline. Despite that we successfully published our first original documentary on Amazon Prime Marwan The Boxer, which won the Best Documentary at the Abu Dhabi Film festival. A winner of the Digital Studio Awards, Kiyani burst on the scene a decade ago as an iPhone videographer. JUNE-AUGUST 2020 / 15 INTERVIEW16 JUNE-AUGUST 2020 EDITOR’S COMMENT www.digitalstudiome.com he pandemic created several avenues of introspection. Reinforced by the time we had during the stay home quarantines, many of us sought to find answers to the question — how prepared were we for the Coronavirus pandemic? Zixi, a supplier in the live broadcast space, polled execs from 80 different media companies at the end of March to ask them just that. Interestingly, majority did not believe we are experiencing a one-time event and rather now believe that mov ing for ward, they w ill need a permanent capability to enable broadcast quality live streaming operations from remote locations such as the home. With many inf lexible hardware- based v ideo infrastructures, keeping employees safe and at home while the show still goes on has been difficult. Many companies are realising the benefits of IP-based infrastructures, shifts towards soft ware-based v irtualised work f lows and IP transmission have not happened fast enough for some. The announcement that T w itter and Square employees had the option to work from home forever sent shock waves not only in the media industr y, but the real-estate sector as well. It’s been almost three months since Coronavirus disrupted businesses, including several media and production houses in the UAE and the wider GCC. Employees have had to function as normal by working from home. The only challenge that I feel which needs overcoming is replicating playout and broadcast systems. Otherwise thanks to the internet, cloud and virtual softwares we have very well adopted to working and churning out content from our homes. If you are still seeking answers as to your state of preparedness to deal w ith a pandemic — don’t. There is no way we could predict that the pandemic would create pandemonium. If your business has been hit hard, don’t be disheartened, easier said than done — I know. Get your thinking caps on and adopt yourself and your company, however big or small, to fill in a new niche. I cannot wait to read the success stories that w ill come in the form of your nominations for next year ’s Digital Studio Awards. A s always feel free to get in touch by dropping me an email at nikhil. pereira@itp.com. PREPARING FOR A PANDEMIC NIKHIL PEREIRA TMMCOOMMMSMEA.COMwww.digitalstudiome.com WE SHALL OVERCOME Regional and international production houses tell of how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted operations and, more importantly, how they have turned a negative into a huge positive 18 / JUNE-AUGUST 2020 ANALYSIS www.digitalstudiome.com18 / JUNE-AUGUST 2020 Words Nikhil Pereira ANALYSISwww.digitalstudiome.comwww.digitalstudiome.comJUNE-AUGUST 2020 / 19 ANALYSIS www.digitalstudiome.comJUNE-AUGUST 2020 / 19 ANALYSISNext >