PoliceOne.com is a website for cops and a terrific resource for writers.   Real Cops with Real Input on the Job.    So if you're writing about police and investigation - and who doesn't in either novels, film or TV - then it's a great resource to use for inspiration and real life situations.

The world of Media, Money and Magic (at least from a Technical POV) continue to grow together and align.

In a recent article on Deadline.com, we have the integration of a well-known talent agency, United Talent Agency (UTA), together with the engineering program at USC.  Add in a major dash of money from famed Kleiner Perkins investment fund and you get "Viterbi Startup Garage".   Among its recent pushes into Tech-Media-Money are:

Among its initiatives, the agency recently incubated ShopHers, an e-commerce business focused on high-end designer fashion brands, and it also has equity stakes in and has provided advisory services for companies like AwesomenessTV, Andover Games, Playcast, Gold Run, Media Morph and Kevita.

The strategy inside the agency is to focus on these entrepreneurial ideas that add lustre to the tech and mediacentric worlds.

“We have been proudly advising technology startups for many years, and the Startup Garage will give us an opportunity to be even more hands-on with inspiring entrepreneurs who are working on groundbreaking ideas,” said Brent Weinstein, Head of Digital Media, UTA. “So many early-stage companies are media-focused or media-adjacent, that we feel Los Angeles is the ideal place to launch an accelerator in partnership with world class partners like USC and KPCB.”

A very interesting collision of partnerships indeed.

Kickstarter.com is one of the most well-known crowdfunding sites along with Indiegogo.com.    The creator, Rob Thomas, and lead actress, Kristen Bell, of the popular series, "Veronica Mars", went to Warner Brothers with a proposition:  If we can prove that the fanbase for Veronica Mars can justify making a movie, will you do it?  Warner Brothers said 'yes'.   After all, other than an escalating level of prizes to reward 'backers', the money is not 'Equity' in a movie, required the funds to be paid back nor does it require a revenue stream.

In a little over four hours, the Kickstarter.com "Veronica Mars" project had hit $1 million.  Within 10 hours, the sum raised was almost $2.2 Million.    As of this morning, about 24 hours after the start of the campaign, the amount raised was $2.7 million.

A number of questions come to mind:  How will this change studio funding of movies which aren't their usual blockbuster films of $200, but still have a significant and loyal fanbase?

My guess is that studios bees are buzzing around their archives at this very minute, seeking to exploit properties that they own but aren't doing anything with.  If producers are willing to take on the properties and get them funded or partially funded through Kickstarter and other crowdfunding sites, then a number of movies may come out of it.   At some point, the fans are going to realizes that the guerilla nature of Kickstarter is unique and authentic control, rather than the control (mostly not creative) of the studios which will twist and turn a unique directorial vision into an unrecognizable morass to fit the marketing quadrant.

The film and media industries are 'Show Business' where there is entertainment mixed with business.  It's become mostly business with vast, interconnected revenue streams.  However, the guerilla sensibilities of Kickstarter defy the conventional distribution model.  But can clearly connect to a huge fanbase.   My guess is that the Studios will try to exploit Kickstarter for supplemental finance - and discredit its original intent for unique projects.  Time will tell.

The Transmedia world is one where a show works on two platforms.  In this case, the SyFy channel and on a multiplatform game systems.  In the article from Indiewire, "Kevin Murphy Talks Syfy's TV Series/Transmedia Project 'Defiance,' Mythology Coordinators and the Second Season That's Already in the Works", you can read about this fascinating development to appeal to both Passive viewers and Active gamers.   Some bullet points I noted:

•"Well, one IP is not iterative of the other. Both worlds have a shared mythology that are developed concurrently -- it’s been this way since the beginning. As this goes forward, when we are talking about season two of the TV show we are also talking abut season two of the game. We will continue to try to tighten the relationship and crossover elements."

And the show Creators have to serve multiple audiences with one more detailed oriented and one more 'Completist'. Viewers want other elements which, even if not on the screen, give them a sense of a new world

•Sci-fi as a genre has a legacy of fans who are detail-oriented, but with TV in general now people are more completist, making their way through back-catalogues of shows that are now more accessible.

It's interesting that you brought that up because that’s something that we have discovered recently. It’s almost like a third portal has begun to crop up. We are getting very complex with a lot of our mythology material as far as documents released on Tumblr. We have a mythology coordinator and I go through him, and Bill and Nick from the game vet everything, but basically one of the ideas I have is that there is this communicade between two of the characters on the show that talks in great depth about one of the big mysteries that we are putting out on Tumblr. However, because of a military thing, it has been redacted -- and the idea here is that when you achieve things in the game you will get a code that will un-redact things in the document. That’s one of the things that we are trying to work out.

Read the article for yourself here.

The Film Industry is going through massive changes - digital technology, the rise of national film industries, increased unions costs, financial crises in major territories like Spain and Italy.  Even Germany's ARD studios eliminated their film purchases, showing that Germany is going into a recession.   In this change, we have the need to capture exciting footage cheaper, better and faster than ever.  The two cameras capturing action footage are the famed Go Pro and the Countour.

Here is the original article and their comparison chart between the Contour and the GoPro

Summary Compare All Contour Go Pro
GoPro vs. Contour Review Summary
We tested five cameras: ContourROAM, GoPro HD Surf Hero HD, Contour GPS, GoPro Surf Hero2 and the Contour+. Base prices range from $199 - $499.

Our Favorite: Contour GPS
For all around fun, personal tracking and anything competition based (i.e. racing), we use the Contour GPS. With 2 gadgets in one, it just does the most and is the easiest to use.
Best Video Value: GoPro Hero2
When our film-maker persona kicks in and we want serious high quality footage, we'll swap out for the GoPro HD Hero2 every time. It gives the best video quality bang for your buck.

Bottom Line If pure video quality and ease of editing (file type) is your game, then we feel GoPro's have the edge. But, if ergonomics, ease of use, and mounting are important, you should highly consider a Contour HD video camera.

Contour’s are ruggedized (without a housing), a bit more stylish, easier to operate while “in-action,” and their out-of-the-way mounts are more convenient as well. Go Pro’s allow “on the fly” settings adjustments, are smaller sized when compared to the Contour’s water housing, and have a few more accessories available to enhance your experience.

If you simply want a great Basic Camera, it’s a toss-up between the Contour ROAM and GoPro HD Surf Hero 1. Even though the Contour ROAM's base price is less, with similar options (i.e.include  water housing), they cost the same.

Or, if you're looking for a One-For-All Gadget, the Contour GPS is a must. It's currently the only camera offering both HD video, and built-in GPS to track your route, distance and speed (Contour calls it Video Mapping). It's best for logging personal treks and earning bragging rights. Or, for any race style competition.
Now, if you want the most Professional HD Video Camera available, the Contour+ is top Choice. EvenCnet.com gave it the ultimate “Editor’s Choice” award. But, it will cost you $500. That’s why we feel the Go Pro HD Hero2 comes in strongly at second. It offers similar professionalism, at a little less cost (once you add in all the accessories that come standard with the Contour+).

Video launched its own Revenue Share for video content creators on a 90/10 basis.  Surely a better split that most of the other services.   And they announced it at the famed Austin Based SouthBySouthWest Film Festival.

From Deadline.com

Today at the SXSW Film + Interactive Conference, online video platform Vimeo launched its Vimeo On Demandprogram, a new distribution feature that will allow content creators to sell films and webisodes directly to viewers.