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For Immediate Release
February 21, 2001
Integrated Media: Project Greenlight teams up with Avid®
Tewksbury, MA (February 21, 2001) - Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced that it is collaborating with LivePlanet, Inc., the integrated media entertainment company founded by Oscar® -winners Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and producers Chris Moore and Sean Bailey. LivePlanet will be using a range of Avid products and services to Make, Manage and Move Media™ through most phases of Project Greenlight, the company's joint venture with Miramax and HBO.
Project Greenlight is a first-of-its-kind venture that blends traditional-media, new media, and the physical world to produce original content for television, film and the Internet. Avid, which was honored with an Oscar® in 1999 for its pioneering development of the Film Composer® digital film editing system, is LivePlanet's exclusive choice for nonlinear postproduction solutions on Project Greenlight.
"LivePlanet creates 'integrated media' - entertainment that breaks down the barriers between traditional media, new media, and the physical world," said Ben Affleck. "In addition to being the professional standard for digital editing systems, Avid shares LivePlanet's vision of the future, where entertainment concepts live across multiple media platforms, and where the content must move easily and freely from one medium-such as television or film-to another, like the Internet, and from analog to digital systems."
"LivePlanet's approach to integrated media is an excellent match with Avid's vision of Make, Manage and Move Media. We seamlessly link the postproduction workflow to create, manage and distribute media for film and television or streaming media for the Web," said David Krall, Avid's president and CEO. "Project Greenlight provides an ideal showcase for the full-range of Avid solutions, from entry-level editing to moving media to the Internet."
Project Greenlight is an integrated media concept that includes an online community, a film and a television documentary. The online community (www.projectgreenlight.com) holds a contest where one amateur-written screenplay will be selected and produced for the big screen-the first Project Greenlight contest saw more than 7,000 entries submitted via the Internet. Miramax Films will produce the winning screenplay, with a minimum $1 million budget and guaranteed distribution in theaters, and will hire the winning contestant or team to direct the Project Greenlight film, which will be executive produced by Damon, Affleck and Moore. At the same time, Miramax Television will chronicle the making of the movie in a 13-episode documentary series that gives the audience an insider's look at the movie-making process. The series is slated to air on HBO in January 2002, and the Miramax film is slated for release in April 2002. The winning screenplay and writer/director will be selected and announced to the public on or about March 1, 2001.
LivePlanet co-founder and CEO Chris Moore said, "Avid's technology will help make this project a success. Our aspiring filmmakers will have postproduction tools used by the most experienced directors and editors, and having the best tools for the job can only help them make a better movie. Avid's technology should also improve efficiencies in the postproduction process as the LivePlanet and Miramax teams create the HBO documentary series."
Earlier this month, Avid awarded each of Project Greenlight's ten finalists an Independent Filmmaker's prize package valued at more than $8,000, including Avid Xpress® DV editing software. The 10 contestants will use Avid Xpress DV to produce a three-minute scene from their screenplay as part of the final stages of the competition-these 10 scenes will be screened for entertainment industry executives and the media on February 26, 2000, in Los Angeles, and can be viewed on www.projectgreenlight.com after that screening. The contest winner will use an Avid Film Composer® system as well for the film's postproduction. In addition, Project Greenlight will use an array of the latest Avid tools for creating the 13-episode HBO documentary, including an Avid Unity™ system for local-network media management and Avid's ProEncodeTM product for easily preparing media for the Web.
About Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid Technology, Inc. delivers the solutions that Make, Manage and Move MediaTM. As a recognized digital standard for professionals who Make the world's media-from video, audio and film to animation, special effects and streaming media-Avid's products are used to make more television and news shows, commercials, music videos and CDs, corporate/industrial productions and major motion pictures combined than any other nonlinear editing manufacturer in the world. Now, building on its Oscar, Grammy® and Emmy® award-winning heritage in creating content, Avid is extending its reach by redefining how digital media is shared, stored and distributed. To Manage today's increasingly rich collection of dynamic media, Avid provides powerful servers, networks and media tools to help customers search files, share media and collaborate on new productions, both locally and globally. Avid's solutions also empower users to easily Move media, whether on air, over cable or satellite or through the Internet. Like no other media company today, Avid's end-to-end solutions span the continuum of media creation, management and distribution. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Tewksbury, MA. More information about the company is available at www.avid.com.
About Project Greenlight
Project Greenlight, a joint venture between Miramax Films and TV and LivePlanet, combines traditional media (film and television) new media (the internet) and the real world activities (screenwriting and film oriented events). The online community (www.projectgreenlight.com) is the world's largest screenwriting community, and holds a screenplay contest where the winning writer gets to make their film with a guaranteed $1 million budget and distribution in theaters by Miramax Films. Miramax Television produces a television series for HBO that documents the entire process, from the contest, through production, to the film's release. All of this is designed to create an entertainment experience for everyone who likes movies and the creative process-it shows the audience more than they have ever seen, allows them to be more involved than ever before, and provides highly entertaining content for them to enjoy.
About LivePlanet, Inc.
LivePlanet, Inc. creates entertainment experiences that break down the barriers between traditional media, new media, and the physical world. LivePlanet calls these new entertainment experiences "integrated media." Integrated media gives the audience a richer, more enjoyable entertainment experience that allows them to become more involved and to have access to content where, when and how they want. Integrated media also provides a closer connection between marketers and their audience. LivePlanet was founded by Ben Affleck, Sean Bailey, Matt Damon and Chris Moore in early 2000. LivePlanet properties slated for release in 2001 are "Runner"(ABC) and "Project Greenlight"(HBO & Miramax). LivePlanet has a pipeline of additional properties in development.
© 2001 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Avid, Film Composer and Avid Xpress are registered trademarks, and Avid Unity, ProEncode and Make, Manage and Move Media are trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. Oscar is a registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Grammy is a registered trademark of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. Emmy is a registered trademark of ATAS/NATAS. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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