News and Story Idea: The National Film Board of Canada Launches First Film App for the Android
Good morning,
It’s Tamara from MAVERICK PR, contacting you on behalf of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). I was hoping I could take a moment of your time to share a story ideas with you.
Today, the NFB launched its app for the Android - Canada’s first film app for this mobile device…see press release below for additional information.
Now, for a bit of background…
When you think of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), companies such as Microsoft, Adobe and Communication Arts magazine probably don’t readily spring to mind. So what’s the connection? Bill Buxton, the lead designer of Microsoft and the president of each of the companies mentioned above have all taken an interest in what the NFB has been doing these past couple of years.
Why? In three years, the NFB, under leadership of Tom Perlmutter, has gone through a renaissance, underscored by its embrace of digital technology to renew its mission of telling Canadian stories. The creation of a new business model to fuel continued innovation and R&D partnerships paved the way for “The New NFB” in just few or 36 months.
The new brand is built around being interactive. And not just simply TV on the web. It’s something very different. Something no one else was doing. The NFB re-invented itself with the birth of NFB.ca – the first fully bilingual on-line video service.
The success has been tremendous:
· Ten million viewings of NFB works on digital platforms
· It’s iPhone app was the most downloaded app in the entertainment category the week it launched
· Listed on iTunes Canada as one of their top ten apps for 2009
· Has had more than 1 million viewings on the iPhone alone
· It’s June 2010 launch on the iPad met with immediate and similar success
· The NFB launched its app for the Android (TODAY)
· The NFB is currently working to develop an app for RIM
· Received recognition from the Webby Award, SXSW and a variety of top marketing and journalism awards
As mentioned, below, please find the release announcing the new app. If you are interested in speaking to someone at the NFB re: this announcement, please let me know. In addition, I’d be happy to put you in touch with Tom Perlmutter, Film Commissioner and Chair of the NFB, for a more lengthier discussion. He will be able to provide you with an update on the NFB – where it is, where it has come from, and where it is going. In addition, Tom will detail how the NFB has been able to become more accessible to Canadians through the digitization of the NFB collection and digital partnership with Apple, Hulu and YouTube. He’ll also be able to shed light on some of the latest innovative and interactive films coming out of the NFB that are pushing boundaries both creatively and technologically.
Looking forward to hearing from you.Tamara
Tamara Kaftalovich, Group Manager
MAVERICK Public Relations
37 Madison Ave. Toronto, Ontario. M5R 2S2
Office: (416) 640-5525 x234
Mobile: (416) 888-8536
Web: www.maverickpr.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tamkaf
Canada’s public producer unveils Canada’s first film application for the Android platform
National Film Board Launches Android App
Montreal, QC, March 14, 2011 – Its iPhone app was named one of the best apps of the year by iTunes Canada. Its interactive and cross-media productions have garnered Webby Awards—the Oscars of the Internet. In just over two years, its digital platforms have racked up ten million views and put Canadian cinema into the hands of audiences in every region of the country.
Now, the National Film Board of Canada is ready with another Canadian digital media breakthrough: this country’s first film app for the Android platform.
“We are passionately committed to serving Canadians in engaging and innovative ways; as Canadians change their viewing habits we must accompany them. Making the richness and depth of the NFB collection and our startling new works available on the most popular online and mobile platforms such as the Android ensures that Canadian works by Canadian creators representing Canadian points of view take pride of place in the vast globalized range of video consumed in the digital space,” said Tom Perlmutter, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson.
Just as Android emerges as the number one smartphone platform, Canada’s Oscar-winning public producer is ready with 1,500 NFB films that Android users can watch, free of charge. The new NFB Android app gives users the ability to search the entire collection of films available online at <NFB.ca>, explore films by thematic channels, create their own favourites list, and share films by e-mail, Twitter or Facebook—all from their mobile phone.
To download the NFB’s Android app, visit <nfb.ca/android> or the Entertainment category of the Android Market <market.android.com>.
The NFB’s latest app builds on the NFB’s successes with its iPhone and iPad applications. The NFB’s iPhone app was the third most downloaded application, ahead of such giants as Facebook and Skype, just two days after its launch on October 21, 2009. It was hailed by <cnet.com> as “ingenious” and “pure iPhone gold,” and selected as one of the best apps of 2009 by iTunes Canada. To date, there have been over one million views on the iPhone app alone.
On July 20, 2010, the NFB released its iPad application, optimizing its acclaimed iPhone app for iPad. The NFB is preparing to release a major upgrade of its iPad app this spring, with improved user experience and stability, and several new features.
Canada’s public film producer and distributor, the National Film Board of Canada creates social-issue documentaries, auteur animation, alternative drama and digital content that provide the world with a unique Canadian perspective. The NFB is expanding the vocabulary of 21st-century cinema and breaking new ground across a range of digital and cross-platform media, and focusing international attention on Canadian leadership and innovation in new media. Since the NFB’s founding in 1939, it has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. Its <NFB.ca> Screening Room features almost 2,000 productions online, including high-definition and 3D films, and its acclaimed mobile apps are bringing the experience of quality cinema to Canadians everywhere.
-30-