The Vitec Group has acquired the business of Paralinx, a California company known for its high-quality wireless video systems. Paralinx will be incorporated into the Vitec Group's Videocom Division, complementing its existing brands.
On the occasion of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival the European Audiovisual Observatory released its first estimates for European cinema attendance in 2014. The Observatory estimates that total admissions in the European Union increased marginally by 0.6 percent to 911 million tickets sold, around 5.4 million more than in 2013 (906 million). The small increase was primarily ensured by a strong year-on-year performance in France and Spain, which kept EU admissions from continuing their downward trend of recent years.
Digital Vision’s management team consisting of Kelvin Bolah, Greg Holland and Claes Westerlund has acquired the company.
Laika and Focus Features, the two companies behind the hit animated feature The Boxtrolls, will continue their partnership on Laika’s next three projects.
Cinedigm has acquired U.S. rights to City of Peace’s faith and family-friendly film The Identical, featuring Ashley Judd, Amanda Crew, Seth Green, Joe Pantoliano and Ray Liotta. The film is being released theatrically on September 5th on a targeted 1,200 screens. The home entertainment rollout, including physical, digital, television and non-theatrical rights, is set to launch January 2015.
Cinedigm and Cinema Management Group announced that they have entered into a multi-year home entertainment distribution deal for the award-winning Moriah Films’ documentary film collection of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Located in Los Angeles, Moriah Films has twice won Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature, including Genocide in 1981 and The Long Way Home in 1997. The deal covers home video, digital, television and non-theatrical rights in the US and all digital rights in Canada.
The grand opening of Carmike Cinemas newest complex, the West Melbourne 12 in West Melbourne, Florida will be held on August 13. The theatre officially opens at Noon that day.
Christie today announced the formal launch of Christie Global Professional Services, a new group that consolidates Christie’s long-standing Managed Services’ offerings to a single, full-service delivery function capable of supporting diverse visual and experiential digital installations globally.
[Editor’s Note: This article is excerpted from the Digital Cinema Society eNewsletter, July 2014, and is published with the author’s permission.]
The world is abuzz with talk of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and in order to avoid conjuring up images of CIA missile strikes, or NSA spying, I’ll avoid using their more common name – drone. The technological and commercial promise of this mode of aviation seems boundless. Amazon talks of delivering packages this way someday soon. Someday you might order a pizza and a UAV will make a beeline navigating by GPS over traffic right to your door. But as things stand today, professional filmmakers in the United States are not allowed to use UAVs on a movie shoot.
Tony Miceli has joined Electrosonic as executive consultant working with the entertainment sales and the design consulting teams. He will be based in Electrosonic’s Orlando office.
