Posts Tagged ‘films’
With New Face-Scanning Technology, Movies Will Soon Watch You While You Watch Them
The cameras will illuminate the audience with infrared and create 3-D stereoscopic images of the audience. Using facial recognition technology, they will know which way you’re facing, if you’re surprised or just bored, even if you came to the movie with friends or solo. Advertisers will use the data to determine if they’re getting through to you or not, and adjust accordingly. The technology could also be a boon to movie studios running test screenings – why ask how you felt about the film if they can just see for themselves?
James Cameron Sending 3-D Cameras to Mars with Next NASA Rover
New zoom mast cameras could allow the Curiosity rover to take cinematic video sequences in 3-D
Cameron approached NASA administrator Charles Bolden about including the 3-D camera in January, according to the . NASA had originally cut the 3-D camera and zoom lens options back in 2007, for budgetary reasons.
But Cameron's argument that a high-res 3-D camera would boost public interest swayed Bolden to his side. The U.S. space agency recently funded completion of the 3-D and zoom-capable cameras by Malin Space Science Systems, Inc, the company which developed the Mastcams.
Restoring the zoom is not a science issue, although there will be some science benefits," said Michael Malin, principal investigator for the Mastcam. "The fixed focal length Mastcams we just delivered will do almost all of the science we originally proposed. But they cannot provide a wide field of view with comparable eye stereo."
That has led to a scramble to build and test the zoom lens cameras before the MSL rover commences final testing in early 2011. The two Mastcams under development would have 15:1 zoom lenses which can image from telephoto (100mm focal length) down to wide-angle (6.5mm focal length).
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover is slated to carry four science cameras mounted on a remote sensing mast, where they can pan or tilt to take images all around the rover out to the horizon. All of the cameras currently have fixed focal lengths.
By contrast, the zoom lenses would allow for "cinematic video sequences in 3-D on the surface of Mars," Malin noted. Given our of Hubble 3D, it's safe to say that we're crossing our fingers for Cameron to get his in time for blastoff to Mars.
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Twitter Buzz Predicts Box-Office Success Better Than Hollywood Stock Exchange
Social media predictive power might also extend beyond box office success
Sitaram Asur and Bernardo Huberman of HP Labs kept track of movie mentions on among 2.9 million tweets from 1.2 million users for three months. Their sample focus included 24 movies such as and Twilight: New Moon.
For opening weekend, their computer model monitored the rate of tweets near a movie's release date and also factored in the number of theaters showing the flick. That allowed the model to predict the opening weekend revenues with 97.3 percent accuracy, compared to the Hollywood Stock Exchange's 96.5 percent accuracy.
For the second weekend, the model examined both tweet rates and the ratio of positive to negative tweets. That different approach reflects second-weekend performance success based on word-of-mouth, rather than opening-weekend performance buzz. Again, the model delivered quite splendidly with 94 percent accuracy.
There's a few caveats to keep in mind, such as the fact that the Twitterati represents a certain self-selecting slice of society. One expert told Fast Company that he suspected Twitter might do better for predicting "upmarket" films aimed at somewhat older audiences, given the social media service's user base.
But there's an exciting possibility for extending Twitter's predictive power beyond movies, the researchers say. A similar model could apply for any number of commercial products beyond Hollywood fare, and might work especially well for products or trends that lack prediction markets such as the Hollywood Stock exchange. Presidential , anyone?
Twitter might even go beyond a mere forecasting service for commercial success. suggested that the social media service could also allow marketers to directly influence the success of their product by boosting tweet rates -- although we assume that strategy would require more savvy than using obvious Twitter bots.
There's also a good opportunity here for savvy prediction market players, if they can apply a bit of Twitter analysis to how they play the Hollywood Stock Exchange. We hear that HSX has recently transitioned to real money.
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