SEMINAR SECOND SCREENS REPORT 2012

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32Cinekid for Professionals 2012

/SEMINAR SECOND SCREENSThe revolution is waiting for the broadcasters

There’s no question the presence of the second screen is massive. During this year’s Superbowl finale and UK Olympics it was used to generate additional advertisement revenue and estimates on usage claim more than fifty per cent of viewers have a second screen nearby when watching TV, be they tablets or smart phones or laptops. That begs the question what the 2nd screen has to of-fer children’s media? Leading content producers set out their views on the medium’s future at the 2nd Screens Seminar.

The question’s not if but rather how and how fast. Another question: Is it really the 2nd screen or is it actually the first screen, moderator and Children’s Media Conference Editorial Director Greg Childs put before his guests. ‘That doesn’t mean TV isn’t a phe-nomenally powerful medium. But TV has always been passive. Now we have an inter-active screen. If there’s no direct connection between the different screens, it’s no wonder people leave the TV screen.’ Ironically, it’s the broadcasters who are hesitant to use 2nd screen technology. It’s them who have to be persuaded to push ahead with investments.

Zodiak Media’s Alex Moore – whose presen-tation was delivered by Ipdipskyblue TV’s Marc Goodchild and Greg Childs – collected some examples of 2nd screen applications.

- Zeebox is an app for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android phones and the web. In fact it’s a virtual couch. It’s social, connecting the viewer with others but mainly, it identi-fies hat you’re watching and delivers context data. The app’s got ‘some good stuff’ accord-ing to Goodchild, ‘but it’s designed for an adult world and doesn’t offer a rich emotion-al experience’.

- Xtra Factor app for X Factor Rate perfor-mances, interact with fans and get backstage access. When you're not watching and vot-ing for your favourite contestants, explore on-demand video, news, bios and more. Goodchild: ‘The plus side of this app is that

it keeps it simple. You can either boo or clap and it plays on the enthusiasm of the show. Always connect to the core editorial of the show. And create a simple user interface.’

- Other examples http://pinterest.com/chad-israd/the-2nd-screen/

Marc Goodchild, Alex Moore, François-Xavier Cardon and moderator Greg Childs

Horrible Histories: Gory Games‘How can we bring the emotional experience to the 2nd screen’, asked Goodchild when conceptualising and developing an applica-tion to go with BBC’s Horrible Histories: Gory Games show. ‘First we took the pro-gram apart. We observed children watching the show and we noticed there were no inter-action moments during the first five min-utes of the show. We noticed when they were nodding off, when they were getting bored. And what we realised was that we needed a lot more interaction happening to make it worthwhile having the app open. So now the kids can see the inner voice of the presenter on the 2nd screen, just in the form of text bubbles. We tried doing it in video but we found that it completely contradicted what you were seeing in the main screen. So again simplicity turned out to be what they liked.’At the BBC they were very suspicious that we could add interaction on the 2nd screen without unpicking the narrative of the show on TV. But we showed it’s possible. There were enough moments in the show to add in extra questions on the 2nd screen.

The result is an app that synchronises with the TV show and through which kids at home play the same show as children in the studio. They can compete with other children using the app creating a live experience to go with a pre-recorded show. Goodchild is now trying to persuade the BBC not to just use the 2nd medium just for individual shows in the pro-gramming schedule but to create a block of shows all offering 2nd screen interaction. ‘So it becomes your interactive hour. Becomes part of the routine of the channel.’

Les ImbattablesVirdual’s Francois-Xavier Cardon went even

further. They recently sold their Les Imbat-tables interactive program to Swiss broad-caster RTS who will air it on December 17th on Arte Switzerland. Developed in collabora-tion with Virdual, Backup Productions and French TV, this new program, targeting 6 to 12 year olds, will include a synchronized app on tablets and computers to go with the show.Les Imbattables is an interactive game in which two pairs of contestants compete by testing their general knowledge in the stu-dio. Children at home can use the app to create an avatar and – in the weeks before the actual TV show – compete against other avatars. The best are selected to appear in the TV show – virtually (!) – and compete against live players in the studio. All the other avatars can sit in the audience. The avatars can be made to look like the actual person and their mouths move in accordance with the text spoken by kids behind the app through use of the microphone. ‘But this is just the beginning’, said Cardon. ‘This is level 2 and we can go to level 10. But we have to go step by step. Otherwise the broadcasters won’t go with it. RTS is making a major step forward now.’

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/COLOPHON

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Cinekid for Professionals 2012Head Cinekid for Professionals: Fleur WintersSenior Producer Junior Co-production Market: Allison CodyHead of the Guest Department: Mirte EngelhardConference Co-ordinator & Producer CfP: Cathelijne BerghouwerScreeningClub Co-ordinator: Fred de HaasProducer ScreeningClub: Lotte van den BergJunior Producer: Patrick EvertseJunior Producer: Sanne ScholingCo-ordinator Expert Meeting: Jenny BoomsProduction Manager: Cro LampeGuest Desk: Amber NefkensCar service: Sanne Bais

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Cinekid for Professionals 2012 is supported by:The Dutch Film Fund and the MEDIA Pro-gramme of the European Union.

Cinekid for Professionals 2012has been made possible by:Bernard van Leer Foundation, Wim Pel Produc-tions, IJsfontein, NTR, Virtueel Platform, Eye International, Zapp, NTR, DDG, Lloyd Hotel, Netwerk Scenarioschrijvers, Norwegian Film Institute, ACE, The Children’s Media Confer-ence, Power to the Pixel, EAVE, Mijn Kind On-line, AIM, Primehouse.

Conference reporttext: Ronald Roversphotography and DTP: Cathelijne Berghouwer

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