5 Daily Tech Stories That Filmmakers (and Film Fans) Must Read: A New Online Network for Filmmakers, IFP Gets Web Series and More
1. Facebook Buys Oculus VR: ICYMI, big news for Facebook. The social network has acquired Oculus VR, Inc., the immersive virtual reality
technology company, for a total of approximately $2 billion with the
potential for an addition $300 million based on hitting certain
milestones, the two companies announced yesterday. Until now, virtual reality technology has generally been limited to
gaming, but Facebook said it had plans to expand the technology into
communications, media and entertainment and other areas.
2. Web Series: Good news for narrative web series creators, For the first time ever, IFP will be accepting applications for narrative web series at all stages of development, production, and post-production. Read more about the news here.
3. Creative District: Creative District, a new online professional network for filmmakers and
other creative professionals to connect and potentially collaborate,
display, and develop projects, launches today. Backed by Technicolor,
the venture provides a networking experience similar to LinkedIn but
tailored for creatives, in which professional relationships can be
established and cultivated online. Users can access the network to hire a
team, gain feedback on a project, or find the right tools or location
for a shoot. Read more about Creative District here.
4. Print the Legend: Netflix has acquired the
rights to “Print The Legend,” the documentary about 3D printing that was the the 2014 SXSW Film
Festival recipient of the Special Jury Recognition Award for Editing
& Storytelling in the Documentary Feature Competition. Netflix will premiere exclusively
on Netflix in this year and it will be available to stream in all territories
where Netflix is available. Read more about the news here.
5. Streaming Content: Over at The New York Times, Personal Tech columnist Farhad Manjoo vents about the limitations of movie streaming services and bemoans the fact that Popcorn Time, the movie pirating service that recently started up and then quickly shut down, was too good to be true. “Instead of a single comprehensive service, the future of digital TV and
movies is destined to be fragmented across several services, at least
for the next few years. We’ll all face a complex decision tree when
choosing what to watch, and we’ll have to settle for something less than
ideal,” Manjoo writes. Read his full story here.
