TeleChimp | TV Journalism

Radio and entertainment personality, Kofi Okyere Darko is known as the entertainment industry as Kod, said he anticipates appear in more films after the inclusion of the role of Shirley Frimpong – Manso latest work, Adams apple.

Myjoyonline In an interview with the prolific presenter expressed his joy at appearing in his first film, indicating that it is more eager to star in such productions.

“I have had a long term experience with Shirley Frimpong-Manso, working together at Radio Gold, living in the same house for about three years. When she was putting together the script for this one, there was a particular scene that she thought I would be the best person for it,” he revealed.

He said, “This is my first time,” reiterating his interest in acting, “if it’s with Shirley or someone as serious as she is, maybe I will go for it.”

He explained that the reason why is choosy in terms of who he will like to feature for is that, “Shirley is a perfectionist, very critical of what she does, she gets it right all the time. I know what she does in terms of inputs before the final production is out. I would want to work with someone who would make me look good.”

In Adams Apples, KOD plays the role of a fashion designer, which he is in real life, who was approached by an advertising agency to do an advert for a drink called Barima.

Whiles he admits that most of our movies today are not up to scratch, he gave credit to the likes of Shirley and Abdul Salam, “…Shirley, she’s got it going, I give props to Abdul Salam and a few good guys but most of them are still doing crap.”

He said some of the directors are churning out good movies in recent times and must be applauded but “Our major problem over the years has been that of finance but we are getting it done, we are getting there.”

He revealed that the producer and director, Abdul Salam Mumuni also approached him and expressed his desire to appear also in one of his films.

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Brazilian director Carlos Saldanha only has reintroduced the world to Rio de Janeiro. And without knowing it, his animated film “Rio” could decline as the equivalent of landing on the Moon Hollywood.

This time, a Brazilian made a move around Brazilians (e.g., animals of Brazil, at least) that in Brazilian issues in Brazil, animal trafficking and street children in Rio is even an apparition. As Neil Armstrong is a small step for man, what is really Saldanha Hollywood release of a unique history of Brazil may well be other studios and investors to do the same to make movies about Brazil?

The relationship between the Brazilian and US filmed entertainment industry has been a one way street. Brazilian directors and actors are coming to Hollywood to make Hollywood movies. José Padilha, 44, garnered success in Brazil’s first-ever crime drama franchise “Elite Squad” (Tropa de Elite). Now he’s going to be shooting a new version of “Robocop.” Fernando Meirelles was allegedly hired to do a movie about the Onassis family, based on the book “Nemesis” by Peter Evans. His favorite screenwriter, Brazilian Braulio Mantovani, is supposed to be writing it, according to the Vulture blog of New York Magazine. Wagner Moura, the lead actor in “Elite Squad”, will have his Hollywood debut in “Elysium” produced by Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.

The number of Brazilians heading to La La land to make US films is small, but rising as the industry takes notice of the talent based there. It will raise more when the market really looks at what Saldanha did with “Rio”. If Saldanha’s claim to fame in the US was the wildly popular “Ice Age” franchise, then “Rio” could make him another important link between US studios and talent agencies, and Brazil’s burgeoning filmed entertainment industry.

Here’s what that market looks like. In 2009, 112.7 million Brazilians went to the movies compared to 89.1 million in 2008 and 89.3 million in 2007, according to Rio de Janeiro based industry Research Company, Filme B. Revenue potential is greater than ever. Brazilians spent R$970 million ($570 million) at the box office in 2009, up from R$727 million in 2008 and R$712.7 million in 2007. It’s more than double the R$357 million the Brazilian box office brought in 10 years ago, according to Filme B.

Some investment firms in São Paulo like Grupo Lacan are setting up new investment products called Funcines, devised in response to a six year old federal, audiovisual law, that open up the possibilities of corporate and private investors acquiring stakes in Brazilian movies. BNY Mellon underwrote a $29 million cinema fund late last year. By the end of 2010, R$130 million ($76.5 million) was raised to invest in Brazil’s filmed entertainment business, 30% more than was raised 2009. In fact, 2010 was a record breaking year for private capital being made available to the industry.

Last year, Argentinian film company Costa Films, owned by real-estate magnate turned film maker Eduardo Constantini, acquired independent Brazilian film studio Bananeira Films to form Costa Films Brazil. Its first movie was “Lula, the Son of Brazil,” a feature about the life and times of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Constantini is arguably one of the region’s most ambitious young producers. He joined forces with Mexican financier Alex Garcia and The Weinstein Company in New York to set up a Latin American Film fund. Its first co-production was “Elite Squad” and later “Elite Squad II”. Talk about a home run. More investments like this should be taking place.

Elite Squad is not Rio, of course. Elite Squad is a Brazilian movie, made for Brazilians, but one that can easily travel overseas in markets were subtitles are not the turn-off that they are in the US. The success of Elite Squad and other franchise hits like “Se Eu Fosse Você” (“If I Were You”) show the depth of Brazil storytelling, and potential for big returns. Not “Pirates of the Caribbean Returns”, but profitable nonetheless.

Some US investors are taking notice of the growth. Nicholas Bernstein, CEO of start-up Brazilian media venture Corisco Films, based in New York and Rio, says it has already has a slate of films ready to make in Brazil. And like “Rio”, Bernstein’s goal is to eventually make Brazilian-based movies for a global audience.

“Studios are realizing that local products are important investments for them if they want to increase the bottom line,” says Bernstein. “And Brazil and the stories that can come out of Brazil create a lot of opportunities that maybe do not exist in other markets.”

Corisco’s business plan caught the attention of a number of long-time LA-NY media makers. Old timers like Robert Greenhut (“Annie Hall”), Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (“The Departed”, “Sinatra”), and script writer/consultant Ronan Bennett (“Public Enemies”) make up part of the company’s board.

Rio Saldanha was a Hollywood movie by 20th Century Fox Animation’s Blue Sky Survey in Connecticut. But the fact is, it could have been written and designed in Brazil. Meanwhile, the international call. Although Brazil’s film industry seems more European than American, with government funding programs, there is a market approach is possible, “said Bernstein. And government money may be part of this approach.

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In anticipation of significant growth in mobile TV and online, reports Shaw Global Media Video App already available to the IPAD, is now available for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Global offers wireless access to the full-length television programs in prime time, the first of its kind in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

And, as Paul Burns, Director of Digital Media, says the company is ready to develop other portable media platforms.

“Along with other mobile development shops, we’re looking at Android, Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry,” Burns told Mediacaster Magazine. “The app game is a game of scale; who can we actually reach, from an audience perspective, with each device? As the devices get better, the options for content providers get better too,” he said. “The more devices that nail the user experience, the more attractive it is for developers.”

In the case of iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices, the potential reach is certainly a large group.

Offering full-length episodes of top TV shows won’t hurt.

“It is unique, yes – we are officially the first Canadian broadcaster to launch an iPhone iPod Touch version with full episodes like this, and we’re really proud of that,” he stated, adding that while the two apps offer that same content, the feature set and user experience were uniquely optimized for the iPad device or iPhone iPod touch.

Burns sees the app as an alternative way for users to keep connected to the content, not a replacement for TV viewing.

“We do not see these as something trying to take away from our audience, rather as a catch-up vehicle,” he said, explaining that the app allows users to stop and start viewing of a program on the same device, taking advantage of a built-in memory or history function.

Not only are complete shows and episodes available, in as high a quality as the device and the connection will support, the ad breaks are the same, for the most part, as on TV.

The app does includes sponsorship integration, which may appear on the start-up screen (while the application loads) and as a small icon on the left side of the control tab bar, the company describes, and video ads may play before, during, and after video playback.

Burns says that there is a “slightly lower ad load” for the mobile app now, as new and engaging ways to increase the ad exposure are developed.

“The knee-jerk response would be to flick the switch and have same ad parity,” he notes. “It seems good idea, until you learn that there’s some deterioration in the user experience. There needs to be a good balance between monetization and overall user experience. It’s an evolution; we love ads in the program, to keep the revenue churning, and we are looking at ways to make the experience more impactful for advertisers.”

He explains that geo-location and specific ad targeting is in the toolkit now, and the apps allow for such specificity and interactivity.

It’s that ‘lean forward, lean back’ metaphor for the engagement levels of home bound TV viewers, versus on the go mobile users and the degree of brand recall and product awareness that’s created with different ad valuations.

Nevertheless, Burns says that at the end of the day, it’s about content. “The app is a shell for superior content. Despite all the design, development testing and quality assurance work that went into the app, at the core, the content is everything, he underscores.

“We obsess over every pixel.”

Both the app and the web portal use an adaptive streaming technology to make the best use of available bandwidth, be it 3G or Wi-Fi.

All content is streamed; there is no option to save or store content locally.

The Global Video App offers access the network’s library of premium content, including full episodes of House, The Good Wife, NCIS: LA, The Office, Rookie Blue and Survivor along with previous broadcasts of Global National and 16:9:The Bigger Picture.

The content offering mirrors that of Global’s online offering with the exception of Fox content (including Glee, Bones and other Fox shows, due to international licensing agreements.

More content is anticipated as negotiations continue, and as usage grows.

As Peter Bissonnette, President of Shaw Communications, said: “To date, our Global Video App for the IPAD, users have seen more than one million panels in bringing our content to iPhone and iPod we extend our market reach. Make our extensive library of premium content available to more users across Canada. “

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