Not only does the film embrace the mobile as the core piece of its release pattern - a pattern which also includes simultaneous launches on DVD and the web - it embraces the mobile platform as a way to tell the story, too. Instead of offering up a large video download, Rage was released in seven parts throughout the week through the streaming media application, Babelgum, which has now climbed to #16 on the list of top free Entertainment-based iPhone apps.

The film's style is also well suited to the mobile with a minimalist look and feel where the story is told through exclusively through close-up interviews of fourteen people who witnessed an event at a New York fashion show. There are no nuanced details or special effects here - it's a perfect fit for a mobile audience who often half-watches videos while killing time or driving to work.

According to filmmaker Potter, this experimental distribution for her new movie is actually an attempt to fight the digital piracy problem faced by the movie industry today. And yes, she's doing it by by offering up her film for free...albeit in a way that ensures the film can only be viewed, not recorded. However, after watching the iPhone release, those interested in owning the movie can immediately purchase a DVD which includes 21 unused scenes by way of the film's online site for $24.95. That, too, represents, a major change to the usual release pattern for films. Typically, the movie-DVD release window involves several months of waiting where the only way to watch the movie is through illegal means such as using the peer-to-peer technology known as BitTorrent. 

Will this rethinking of movie distribution pay off? It's too soon to tell, but industry insiders are watching with deep curiosity. Jim Shomos, an Australian writer-producer known for mobile video series, for example, thinks using the mobile platform is a more direct way of getting the film to the target market - that is, people under 35.

Others are more skeptical. After all, does anyone really want to watch a full-length film on their mobile phone? Oh that's right, they do. Apple's iTunes store is proof of that. Now if we could only get studios to release really good films this way...

Sharing Flash Apps on Mobile Devices

On the mobile side, Adobe and Gigya will give users the ability to share content on a wide variety of phones, including Windows Mobile and Symbian phones. Users who want to install a sharable application on their mobile phones will simply receive an SMS message with a link to the application. The service will automatically detect the type of device and deliver the right version to the user. Developers can also give their users the ability to share iPhone versions of their applications - though obviously those have to be native iPhone applications, as the iPhone doesn't support Flash.

Developers will be able to track the success of their applications through and Adobe AIR app that will allow them to measure distribution and customer usage. In partnership with Gigya, Adobe will also give developers the ability to assure installs through paid promotions and to monetize apps through cross-promotions.

Coming Soon: Easier Integration with Social Networks

Adobe also announced that it will launch another Flash Platform Service later this year that will allow developers to easily connect Flash applications written on top of Adobe's platforms with a number of social networks such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. Developers won't have to worry about the idiosyncrasies of a service's API, but will be able to write their applications on top of Adobe's social platform instead.

The iPhone apps still have to go through Apple's approval process, which can take a while, but the Android apps will be available today and the Nokia apps should be available in about one week.

Pixelpipe's App Factory

As Butterfield told us, the company has automated most of the app development process, so whenever Pixelpipe adds a new service, a new mobile app can also be created with very little effort.

App Store SEO

Overall, this seems like a very smart move. The company started to experiment with co-branded Android apps for a few services like Facebook, Twitter, and Photobucket a few days ago. As these apps actually include the name of the service in their titles ("Twitter for Pixelpipe"), they are much easier to find for consumers who would otherwise never have heard of Pixelpipe. After all, as we pointed out earlier today, most users rely on Top 10 lists and browsing through categories to find interesting new mobile apps.

As Pixelpipe told us, these apps are already outselling the company's own app by a significant margin and Pixelpipe has heard from a number of services who would like to partner with the company and promote the apps.

We think this is an interesting story, as it points out some of the problems developers face when trying to market their apps. Also, while social media mavens love the fact that Pixelpipe Pro can send documents, audio, video, and pictures to 100 other social media services, for most users, this is simply overkill and just generates confusion.

In an extensive guest post on TorrentFreak, a well known BitTorrent blog, Dan Morrill told his experience with offering his latest eBook, 'Selling Books On Amazon, Tips and Secrets' on popular BitTorrent tracker Mininova. Dan explains that his initial reason for releasing his eBook using BitTorrent was not for marketing purposes, but "to control the release and gather good stats on the process." We don't think he could've picked a better service. Within the first 24 hours, Morrill's eBook had been downloaded close to 700 times.

Based on the stats he received from Mininova, Morrill was also able to pinpoint the countries in which the eBook was being downloaded the most. Africa ranked high on the list, which is understandable because of the relatively large amount of e-commerce businesses that are set-up in Africa. Morrill was surprised to see India contributing to 5.2% of the overall downloads.

Operation BitTorrent a Success

Morrill rated his overall experience as highly satisfying and recommends using BitTorrent as a great content distribution channel for those that don't mind. The expansion of the BitTorrent network will only increase in the next few years. In doing so, we think this may be a tool that publishers will eventually start taking a lot more seriously than they do now. It's undeniable that BitTorrent can prove to be an effective marketing tool for a cheap price when used correctly. Nine Inch Nails concluded the same in March of this year when they uploaded part 1 of their 4 part album Ghosts I-IV to numerous BitTorrent sites. It became the #1 most downloaded album on The Pirate Bay, which helped to increase their sales tremendously for the rest of the album.

We can only wonder when others will catch on to the effectiveness of using BitTorrent sites to market and distribute content. You can download Dan Morrill's eBook 'Selling Books On Amazon, Tips and Secrets' here.

Steam's technology would definitely be a good fit for Google, which, thanks to YouTube and other ventures, is getting more and more invovled in the content distribution business. On the other hand, though, while pushing out 30,000 Mbit of data is surely no easy feat, we can't help but wonder about why Google would need to acquire them. After all, if anybody has a lot of experience in distributing massive amounts of data, it would be Google itself.

Overall, even though the Inquirer cites "well placed sources," we can't help but wonder if this rumor will pan out to be true. Maybe Google will only take over the Steam part of Valve's business, or the two will announce some form of partnership.

However, if Google really wanted to get into the game distribution business, buying Valve would make perfect sense. Games are not only a growing business (though PC games, which Valve focuses on, are suffering greatly from piracy), but also a growing advertising platform. Having control over the distribution mechanism for these Games might just make sense for Google.

What Will Google Do?

If this rumor turns out to be true, do you think Google is going to keep the Steam storefront open? Also, given Google's record of acquiring technology and then having it linger in the back of a server farm for years (think GrandCentral or Jaiku), do you think Google is actually going to make much use of this technology?

Affordable Film Distribution On Any Site, Any Social Network

MeDeploy is a new digital media distribution platform that just launched last week at DEMO. With this solution in place, any filmmaker, whether a big Hollywood studio or small indie artist, can get access to all the tools needed to manage and distribute their content to any web site, social network, or mobile device. The platform offers features like media transcoding, content management, media storage, delivery, anti-piracy tools, and secure credit card processing. Films can be sold as digital rentals, download-to-own videos, or video-on-demand sales.

Instead of offering pre-made templates or store-widgets, MeDeploy offers a white label solution for sales, marketing, and distribution on any web site anywhere on the web. It provides the necessary tools for doing so in the form of widgetized bits of code. These aren't just simple "blog widgets" functioning as ads, either. The site provides cut-and-paste code for several different types of functions from "add to cart" to "watch trailer" to something called a "balloon widget," which pops up additional info about a title when you hover your mouse over an item, like an image for example.

A Balloon Widget In Action:

The code samples can be pasted into any web site, blog, or social network, including Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Imeem, and other networks on the OpenSocial platform.

Why This Matters

Although some filmmakers may be technical, they shouldn't have to be advanced web developers in order to market their movies on their own sites or social network pages. (Of course, if they are technical, the developer API and documentation are available). By offering a white label solution, customers don't have to leave their current location in order to buy or view the films - the media can come to them instead, no matter which site or social network they're on at the time.

A Social Network Widget for Brain Damage Films

Who knows how many indie films are sitting out there unseen and unknown simply because the filmmakers can't afford to market them. Similar to how blogging CMS platforms leveled the playing field for online publishing, tools like this one from MeDeploy can do the same for filmmakers.

Pricing

Prior to MeDeploy, the only options for distributing paid video content like movie downloads were very expensive enterprise digital solutions that only large studios and TV networks could afford.

MeDeploy's Dashboard

Although MeDeploy was designed to help the indie filmmaker, that's not to say that it can't cater to the large studios, too. The company offers two pricing tiers: MeDeploy Indie ($19.95/mo) and MeDeploy Professional ($199.95/mo). With the Indie account, a filmmaker has everything needed to get started with online distribution. When their catalog and distribution needs change, they can then upgrade to Professional, which is a more customizable and scalable solution ideal for larger distributors, studios, and broadcast networks.

Any filmmakers out there who want to test the waters prior to signing up can get started with a free 30-day trial: just visit www.medeploy.com.

For more information, check out their presentation from DEMO, embedded below:

Jane: I was born and bred in Singapore but had always wanted to go abroad. My chance came when I won a scholarship to go to Japan as an exchange student in my third year of University. I've always had an affinity for Japan since I was young and after coming to Tokyo I felt at home and settled down very quickly. After returning back home to finish up my final year, I returned again with another scholarship to do a one year language and two years Masters program in Japan. Back then, I had passed the highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test already so I was bored to tears in language school. I took up all kinds of jobs to keep myself sane while I was going through the language school, and I built up a network and gained experience which would prepare me for my future business venture. After one year of graduate school and three months of graduate school in Sophia University, I found work to be more satisfying and stimulating than school so I gave up my scholarship and student life to start up my own business. I never regretted the decision. In fact, I wished I had quit school earlier.

How did you get involved in the web?

I was always interested in business although I can't remember when and how I got interested in IT. I was never formally trained but I listened to some web 2.0 related podcasts and read up a bit here and there. I also got to know many entrepreneurs in Japan through friends and got most of my knowledge from conversations with CEOs of IT companies. The more I learned, the more interested I became. Through those conversations, I realized that there is a big gap between Japan and the US and I thought how much faster the world could advance if this information were to be shared and disseminated more rapidly. What the world needs now is more communication and better information transfer between countries, I don't know how this can be done but this is one thing I hope to achieve via GI JANE.

Although I wasn't an expert in web or IT, I kept up with the latest in IT through the internet and shared what I knew with my Japanese business friends and this information proved useful because they had no access to it. One of them hired me to assist him with his overseas expansion. It was a web analytics company so I was very much into analytics for a while. Later on I was involved in media and I guess it was just a natural progression for me to start up a web media. I wanted to change the world and what better tool other than the Internet which connects the world together?

What kinds of work do you do now on the web?

I stopped watching TV for a long time so my greatest wish is to be able to watch TV on my laptop. The internet is facing a piracy problem for a long time, DVD sales are falling, content holders want to stream their content online but there are no proper platform on the internet that allow them to monetize their content. To be exact, the world wants anime but anime companies are hesitant to release their content online so easily. To solve this problem, you need lots of money, the right business model, a cultural mediator and a proposal that these big Japanese companies can swallow without feeling defeated (because they are proud of their own works and won't let it go so easily or cheaply).

With that in mind and with limited resources, I came up with a grand plan for GI JANE and have managed to actualize a part of what I have set out to achieve at the beginning - but there is still a long more way to go. I observed that most web businesses started with the end consumer in mind which is great but eventually to monetize it you need a strong B2B arm or at least have the B2B clients in mind when setting up the business. For a web business to be stable, a strong offline presence is required. Akibanana is a web media with a focus on Akihabara, the otaku holyland with an online guide about the town as well as news and features about anime, manga, games and otaku culture. Offline, we have an actual tour in Akihabara and we are currently preparing an English map to be distributed around Akihabara. On the B2B side, we have plans to help local shops and businesses have a more intimate relationship with their patrons online.

Eventually, we hope to help Japanese companies expand overseas and foreign companies enter the Japanese market. Akibanana would be a useful tool when we start doing that. Via Akibanana, we can do market research, help do promotions and actual sales both online and offline. The synergy between the offline and online arm as well as the B2C and B2B connections will make this business model stable and strong.

Currently, while Akibanana is our main business, it is still a beta version and is at an early stage to bring in any revenue. Apart from building the business we have been providing some B2B services for overseas media coming into Japan. We have also already gone faster than planned to help companies in their cross-border expansions. On the side, I give advice and devise strategies for other web companies for fun.

Back to the original plan of bringing the TV to the computer; this would probably have to be achieved by a different plan. If I were a programmer, I would have been able to save much money by starting up the platform myself but I am not and I was fresh out of school, without any experience or money. I locked myself at home, and spent one week writing the business plan and spent months finding the right angels while supporting myself. I finally found seven and gathered enough to start off; the funds weren't enough to bring TV to the computer but enough to achieve what I intend for Akibanana so far. TV on computer problem must be solved by Plan B.

What do you think about the environment in Japan concerning innovation online? Is it supportive? Difficult? What do you wish was different? What do you like best?

The education system in Japan is much in want. Most companies pride themselves in on-the-job training and job rotation so people don't care what you specialize in at school; it won't be applied at work anyway. All they care is the University that you graduate from. This is a great pity. Most engineers in Japan today are not trained professionally, they either learn at work or from books. Having said that, the group-oriented Japanese have a great information-sharing culture because the "self-interest" logic doesn't apply here. In the West, information is withheld for fear of jeopardizing one's chances in climbing up the corporate ladder but here in Japan everyone helps each other to succeed as a team.

[Right: Japanese idols Stylish Heart perform their music and sell CDs on the streets of Akihabara.]

Another difference is that while roles tend to be compartmentalized in the US, with one person specializing in one task, in Japan one person can do everything. Being a generalist helps you to see things from various perspective and come up with ideas that the specialist may not be able to come up with.

The group-orientation and generalist-type workers make for a conducive environment to innovate and execute ideas but decision-making and politics slow things down and make change very difficult. Being used to stability and doing things perfectly, the Japanese need to get hold of every bit of information from A to Z before making a decision. Once they have got hold of the Z, the situation has changed and before they can act, they have to get hold of the new information from A to Z again. After getting hold of the information, you have to seek consensus so that you don't offend anyone. In a culture where being direct is abrupt and rude, people would rather say "maybe" if you ask them "yes or no". Gathering consensus as you can imagine is an intricate process. Most times, Japanese treasure relationships above everything else and those who fail to understand this would find business decisions illogical sometimes. If you understand the relationships between the players and your position in the game, half the battle is won. Politics is just as important as business in Japan. Very often, the decision-making process and politics are the biggest obstacles to innovation.

In the US, there are relatively few women in positions of leadership on the web. There are some for sure, but not as many as there are men. It appeared to me that this was even more true in Japan. Is that correct? What can you tell me about the gender related experiences you and other women have had in trying to innovate and take positions of leadership on the web in Japan?

In Japan, there used to be a glass ceiling at work because a woman's role as mother and wife was prized by society and a company would be less willing to groom an employee who would quit once she gets married. However, things are changing, especially for small and medium-sized companies there are no such barriers and it has become acceptable for women to work after marriage and child bearing. Unfortunately, this is still at an early stage so most people who make decisions in big companies are old men and men are more comfortable talking to men here. I was never conscious about myself being a woman or a foreigner or being very young but in Japan, these three makes the worst combination to succeed in business in terms of "reliability". Being Asian is also a double-edged sword; I blend in well because I look and speak Japanese but when I do or say something that is un-Japanese I don't really get the "Gaijin Privilege" or the privilege to be forgiven on the excuse of being a foreigner in Japan. Initially, especially when dealing with big companies, people may have been shocked to see me but later on as they got to know me better they could accept me. I think the barriers are sky high for foreigners if they don't know the culture and how the Japanese people think and work. Nevertheless, my understanding of the culture and language gave me a big advantage over other foreign entrepreneurs here. Being young, I can make friends more easily since people won't feel threatened or the need to be super formal as with an elder businessman. Being a woman, I stand out because many women are not interested in becoming an entrepreneur.

Most female entrepreneurs today are in their late thirties. Women of that generation are a little more aggressive for some reason. You need to have a lot of confidence in yourself to start up a business in Japan so most female entrepreneurs here that I know of come from rather elite backgrounds and they are brought up thinking that they are different from others so they are more willing to break the rules.

What directions would you like to take your business? What kinds of things would you like to do with it next? What are your goals?

The direction of my business is clear. I am having fun achieving the vision step by step. I would like to do more things involving other countries. I can speed things up with strategic alliances for Akibanana but I need to strengthen my base at the same time. My next challenge is to build a strong organization. I need to attract the right talents and then groom them to run the business together. I want a strong capable team that can think and operate on an international level.

We'd like to extend a big thanks to Jane for her time, her work and her interest in the types of innovation that many ReadWriteWeb readers are working for as well. We hope you'll visit and subscribe to her site Akibanana.

Warner is hoping for a few things from the DVD. First, to generate additional DVD revenue without much more cash put into production (now "Watchmen" can have an additional "ultimate" edition in witch both releases are edited together). Second, to help launch the movie project into a potential new franchise. "As television advertising becomes less effective because of declining TV viewership, movie studios need to reach a mass audience somehow, and having what amounts to ads sitting on store shelves is seen as a crucial antidote," writes the New York Times.

But it doesn't seem like it will work. If DVD sales are down -- off 3.2% last year, according to Adams Media Research -- why would more DVDs be the answer? Will an additional, direct-to-DVD release of a secondary storyline really help sell more DVDs four months later? Doubtful. Remember, Warner Brothers isn't putting the additional storyline on the "Watchmen" DVD as a value-add for fans, but instead asking people to shell out more money for additional content. It's an advertisement on store shelves, yeah, but one that you have to pay for.

The Reznor Blue Print

Speaking to the New York Times about the potential for a "megamovie" that edits together both "Watchmen" and the direct-to-DVD release, director Zack Snyder says, "The überfans of this property are going to go crazy for that." He's right. The überfans -- what Kevin Kelly might call "true fans" -- will buy anything related to the thing they're fans of. That was the concept behind the March release of the Nine Inch Nails album Ghosts I-IV.

NIN frontman Trent Reznor realized that in order to make money, he needed only to appeal to his true fans, his überfans. He gave the first part of his four part album away for free on the Internet, and then offered higher quality downloads, and "deluxe" physical packages for a price ranging from $5 to $300.

The result was that his true fans ate it up. Reznor pulled in $750,000 in three days from sales of music to his core fan base, and may have picked up a few new true fans along the way via the free downloads.

The movie studios could learn from Reznor's blue print. Clearly $750,000 is not enough to recoup the costs of a $100 million movie, but the movie studios don't have to give anything away for free. What they should do is offer users a low cost, legal alternative to BitTorrent where movies can be had cheaply at high quality and DRM free. Then for the überfans -- fans of the director, writer, actors, or movie itself -- sell additional downloadable content, and offer high priced, physical "deluxe" editions with value added features, as well as all the normal movie merchandising and promotional tie-ins.

Alternatively, maybe simultaneously producing a direct-to-DVD release is a good idea. But make it a direct-to-web release, and use it as a promotional vehicle for the movie. Break it up into small chunks (under 10 minutes each), and put it out on BitTorrent and YouTube in episodic format for free leading up to the full DVD/download release of the main feature. That's akin to what Reznor did by releasing the first part of the Ghosts for free, and asking fans to pay for the rest of the album.

Conclusion

Speaking of a direct-to-web release, in addition to the direct-to-DVD side movie, Warner is planning a series of a dozen 22-26 minute animated "webisodes" that will attempt to create buzz for the film and introduce viewers to its complicated plot (more precisely, they will be semi-animated story boards narrated by an actor). That's a step in the right direction, unfortunately 26 minutes might be too long for the web format -- especially for what amounts to a narrated slide show. That demonstrates that maybe Warner just doesn't yet understand the new medium of Internet video.

According to Snyder, the webisodes will eventually be combined as part of a later DVD release -- which is the type of value-add that those überfans will pay for. But if the goal is to build buzz for a potential franchise, then studios should seriously think about the Reznor distribution blue print. It may not be as profitable in the short term, but could work at scale and help to turn some casual fans into true fans for future releases in the franchise.