Apple TV+

Cool Stuff Found

Executive Producer of ‘Earth at Night in Color’ Talks on Podcast

Andrew Orr ·

Alex Williamson, executive producer of “Earth At Night In Color” on Apple TV+ spoke with Ben Consoli on the Go Creative Show podcast. Topics include filming the series, using special low-light cameras, discovering new animal behaviors, the benefits of using infrared light, the impact of using lights in nature, finding a narrator for the show, and how the pandemic affected production. It’s an hour-long show and you can listen by clicking the link below.

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The Streaming Wars Are Only Going to Intensify in 2021

Charlotte Henry ·

2020 was, you may have noticed, a big year in the streaming wars. However, Input thinks things are going to escalate even further in 2021. Looking at the amount of content on the way, it’s hard to disagree.

Aside from Netflix, which had more than a year’s worth of content on hand before lockdowns began, every major service experienced significant delays, pushing back their original slates of programming. With Hollywood productions back up and running for 2021, this will be the year the streaming wars begin in earnest. Even when just looking at the smaller services, the year ahead should prove exciting. Apple TV+ is gearing up to release Foundation, its next flagship prestige series, along with new seasons of shows the service launched with. CBS All-Access will be rebranding to Paramount+, an effort to reflect the more diverse content offering outside the kind of shows geared to the, er, typical CBS audience. Amazon Prime will drop the first season of its incredibly expensive Lord of the Rings adaptation. Oh, and Funimation bought Crunchyroll, bringing the bulk of anime licenses into one place for the first time.

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In a Year of Minuses, Streaming Services Are All About the Plus

Charlotte Henry ·

Everyone knows that you can’t have a streaming service and not call it Something+. (You even need to use a ‘+’ if you launch a podcast that discusses streaming services.) The LA Times looked into how, and why, this came to be.

Steve Kazanjian, president and chief executive of Promax, the trade association for marketing companies serving the entertainment industries, said the repeated use of the arithmetic symbol has made it an efficient tool to create awareness of the new services. “There is a stake in the ground that’s around ‘plus’ right now,” he said. “It’s in the consumer lexicon. It owns a bit of emotional equity in your brain already, which is really powerful.” Discovery found that was the case when it conducted surveys and focus groups with consumers on possible names for its service. The company considered dozens of original monikers — testing Latin words and new-fangled creations that came from combined words — a route that Jeffrey Katzenberg’s short-lived streaming service took when it melded “quick bites” into Quibi.

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Barack Obama Names Apple TV’s ‘Boys State’ Among Favorite Movies

Andrew Orr ·

Former President Barack Obama has shared his favorite movies and TV shows of 2020, and one of them is “Boys State” from Apple TV+.

Like everyone else, we were stuck inside a lot this year, and with streaming further blurring the lines between theatrical movies and television features, I’ve expanded the list to include visual storytelling that I’ve enjoyed this year, regardless of format.

Cool Stuff Found

Apple Shares First Look Featurette of ‘Dickinson’ Season 2

Andrew Orr ·

Apple shared a first look featurette for “Dickinson” season two on YouTube which premieres January 8. Dickinson is a half-hour comedy series starring Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld. Dickinson audaciously explores the constraints of society, gender, and family from the perspective of rebellious young poet Emily Dickinson. Created, written, and executive produced by Alena Smith and executive produced by Hailee Steinfeld, “Dickinson” stars Hailee Steinfeld, Jane Krakowski, Toby Huss, Anna Baryshnikov, Ella Hunt, and Adrian Blake Enscoe. Wiz Khalifa guest stars.

Podcast

AirPods Max, Irish Streaming Law, Replacing iPhone Camera Lenses, with Jeff Gamet - ACM 539

Bryan Chaffin · · 1 Comment

Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet talk about Apple’s new AirPods Max over-the-ear headphones. They also discuss a proposed law from Ireland that would require 30% of all streaming content to be made in Europe, something that could radically affect Apple TV+. And, Jeff Gamet explains how he broke his iPhone’s camera lens cover and how he replaced it.