Happy Friday! Welcome to Issue 20 of Rerun, your weekly digest of digital storytelling, interactive media and the future of TV curated by Axonista.
In this week's top pick, our own Lisa Byrne takes a look at the epic battle for fan engagement at Comic-Con, we have OTT headlines from Netflix, Verizon and Comcast and VR news from Oculus and Google Earth. We say goodbye and thank you to a gaming legend, we look at the power of music in advertising and we round up our favourite moments from Comic-Con 2015.
Iwata-sama, arigatĆ gozaimashita
Top Pick
The True Heroes of Comic-Con: Rerun Original
Rerunâs own comic book nerd and superhero super-fan, Lisa Byrne, examines how the battle for the hearts and minds of the cinema going audience has become centre stage at a conference for geeks and cosplayers get to meet the creators of their favorite universes.
Features
Thanks to Nintendoâs Satoru Iwata, Weâre All Gamers Now
Last week's untimely passing of Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata was met with an outpouring of grief and tributes from gaming fans and industry alike. Wired takes a look at his legacy, the greatest of which was his vision of breaking down the gamer stereotype and bringing the wonderful universe of Nintendo characters to everyone, male and female, young and old.
Future of TV
Netflix Soars to 65.6 Million Subscribers as New Shows Shine
There are many reasons to subscribe to Netflix. Three big ones for the Rerun team are House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Sense8. The successful reception of its original content by international audiences has propelled Netflix on its way to building the first global Internet TV channel with a worldwide rollout planned for completion by the end of 2016. Analysts project Netflix will surpass a jaw-dropping 100 million subscribers by 2020. Naysayers are quick to point to research predicting a fall in US market share by 2018, but remaining the clear leader in a continually expanding overall market is nothing for them to worry about.
Vice To Create Original Programming For Verizonâs OTT Service
Hot on the heels of its acquisition of AOL, an exciting multi year content deal with Vice positions Verizon firmly as an Internet content player. Watch this space.
TV Apps' Dirty Little Secret
On Monday Comcast announced a $15 per month streaming service called Stream targeted at cord cutters. Unfortunately, it's already gathering some harsh reviews before making it into the hands of consumers. Trevor Doerksen hits the nail on the head in his post about TV Apps' Dirty Little Secret - the one star review.
Storytelling
The Emotive Power of Music in Advertising
Music is part of the storytelling toolkit that can communicate with our emotions on a very primal level, used to great effect in film by masters of the craft like Michael Giacchino (Lost, Up, Jurassic World), John Williams (Star Wars, ET), and Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (The Social Network). In advertising, where storytellers have just 30 seconds to emotionally connect with their audience, it is an even more important tool that can be used to get the tone just right. This report by Nielsen looks at the effectiveness of more than 600 television advertisements, more than 500 of which included music, and found that music can have a varied effect on different categories of advertisements.
âThe Raccoonsâ Creator Eyes Possible Reboot 30 Years Later
In light of recent rumours of the return of The Raccoons, the creators behind the children's TV show are questioning how best to relaunch the show after 30 years off-air. Creator Kevin Gillis says heâd like to canvas fans for ideas, possibly through an interactive, online comic book for The Raccoons. While we all debate the new format for the show, Rerun recommends a glimpse at The Raccoons : An Animated Story.
Virtual Reality
Oculus acquires yet another VR hand-tracking company
Oculus has acquired Pebbles Interfaces, a 5-year-old Israeli company working on high-definition hand-tracking technology. This is the fourth company dedicated to mapping real-world objects that Oculus has bought since being acquired by Facebook in March 2014, indicating a plan to bring AR inside the VR world while at the same time ensuring that yet another innovative company doesnât fall into competitors' hands.
The first VR reality series for Samsung Gear VR has begun production
The team behind the Walking Dead comic books, is joining forces with the writer behind Ubisoft's Splinter Cell video game franchise to produce a VR suspense thriller called 'Gone' which will play on Samsung Gear VR headsets. Awesome.
Paired With AI and VR, Google Earth Will Change the Planet
Imagine taking part in a story that takes place in a 3D model of the back streets of a real-life city. It's not too far away. Google Earth is already building 3D models of places like Prague that you can visit from your desktop. Weâre looking forward to this experience moving into VR headsets, giving gamers and audiences the feeling that they're really there. Travel and nature programmes will never be the same again.
Mean Tweets: Conor McGregor
In a lighthearted social TV moment, the Notorious Conor McGregor engages fans through hitting back at his Twitter haters on BTSP ahead of UFC 189.