CLEANING UP THE MOVIES (PART 2)

BY KIETH MERRILL / April 16, 2006
Meridian Magazine

Hollywood loves money. Greenback blood is the sustaining life force of the good, the bad and the ugly. But even Hollywood is puzzled by people willing to pay TWICE as much for a movie all "cleaned up".

To be honest, so am I. But as discussed in Part 1, a remarkable number of conservative consumers sustain an equally surprising number of companies that "re-edit" customer's videos and DVDs. The buyer pays twice. Once to buy the movie. Twice to have the "bad stuff" taken out.

Some circumvent the double pay proposition with "membership rentals". It's a good service but the economics are essentially ths same. The consumer pays a premium, only it comes in the form of membership. There are lots of issues. The technical tap dances the re-editors go through may ultimately not be enough to rescue their controversial chorus line of copyright questions from the alligator-invested swamp where they are dancing - no wait, those smiling jagged jaws are Hollywood attorneys.

Some argue that Hollywood has missed the boat. The DVD technology that enables Hollywood to put "all that other stuff" on the disc also allows them to include alternative versions. They could - if they wanted - include a ratings reduced version so you could watch Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List , Patriot and even Training Day ( R-rated one and all) with your kids and mother-in-law, Laverkin. Hollywood could easily give you PG versions of their R-rated films. Remarkably they don't. Technically it is easy. Politically it is practically impossible.

"Impossible" for an industry as complex and cumbersome as Hollywood spells "o p p o r t u n I t y" for the unfettered and nimble entrepreneur. Two small companies have created a "clean up the movies" alternative to the "Re-editing" services.

As promised, I am talking about "DIGITAL FILTERING". DF is more complex and technically sophisticated than simple digital editing, the technique now used by most of the re-editing services . The current limitation is that it only works with DVD. These are not red flags of warning but banners of celebration. Digital Filtering offers significantly more control and ultimately promises a more enduring and cost-effective solution.

What? You say. Digital filtering only works with DVD?

If there is anyone out there who has not switched to DVD -- clinging somehow to the notion that VHS video cassettes will survive -- I would like to sell you my vast laser disc collection. Technology changes. Some change with it. Some people still shoot hi-8 video, own vinyl records and listen to the Beach Boys on 8-track tape players.

The truth is that DVDs are chasing video tape off the retail shelves. Circuit City has announced that it is dropping movie videos in VHS format. Frank Ahrens and Dina ElBoghdady writing in the Washington Post call it "the death knell for videotape and the VCR which has been the dominant form of home video entertainment for almost two decades." [Ahrens, Frank, ElBoghdady, Dina, Dvds Are Pushing Videotapes Off Retailers' Shelves, The Washington Post, June 21, 2002.]

Blockbuster is spending $365 million to replace 25% of videotape rental inventory with DVD movies and games. DVD rentals jumped 176% in one year at the nation's largest video rental store. Despite that 95 % of Americans have a VCR sitting on the top of their TV, they are headed for obsolescence. It is a slow death but inevitable extinction. When VCRs were introduced in 1978, they cost $800.00 Today you can buy a VRC for $60.00. [but only if you hurry and go somewhere besides Circuit City.]

The digital revolution in home entertainment is not a fad. DVD is here to stay - at least until the inevitable new technology comes along. According to Ahrens and ElBoghdady , "The slow extinction of VCRs could at least temporarily leave viewers with fewer entertainment options and wedge them between two warring titans - electronics makers and Hollywood studios,"

There is a war going on. In the midst of the battle, a few entrepreneurs move stealthily among titanic enemies taking technical and tactical advantage of what each seems willing to neglect-- a vast population of conservative consumers who would like to clean up the movies.

Those bright people with the technical talent to tap into the digital domain promise an amazing future of consumer control.

When you watch a movie, the last thing you care about is how in the heck those beautiful images and incredible sound got from that flimsy little disc called DVD [Digital Versatile Disc.] and onto your screen OR how they got on the DVD in the fist place.

Suffice it to say the movie, originally shot on 35 mm motion picture film -- unless it was Attack of the Clones -- was converted to digital code at a lab in Hollywood and compressed into something called MPEG 2 then burned onto a DVD - a million DVDs. Your computer or DVD player comes with software that can read - decode - the compressed digital information and translate it into moving pictures and dynamic sound. Understanding decoders and DVD drivers is important to understanding the process and control of quality.

TWO DIGITAL FILTERING SOLUTIONS

I contacted both companies that lay claim to Digital Filtering solutions. They are ClearPlay and Movie Mask.

Mr. Bil Aho, CEO of ClearPlay, and Mr. Breck Rice, Founder and COO, of Trilogy Studio. creator of Movie Mask, were both extremely cooperative, candid and explicit about their companies and commitments. It is important for you to remember that I have relied on their comments, information and opinions about their respective companies and products and about each other. I am not an investigative reporter, software engineer nor clairvoyant. What they said is what you get. My comments are the Elmer's glue.

I wanted to test drive both ClearPlay and MovieMask. ClearPlay is the only company offering digital filtering that has been up, active and operating for any period of time. MovieMask has announced release of its masking software this month.

CLEAR PLAY

I started with ClearPlay. My first impression was very positive. The ClearPlay site is clean, crisp and appealing. I was struck by a quote by Michael Medved - who happens to be one of my heroes.

"Movie fans who have been worried about excesses in violence, sexuality, and language can now enjoy their favorite films with a sense of security and satisfaction." Michael Medved.

I signed up for the 30-day free trial and paid for an additional 30 days in the spirit of fair play. To my dismay, I discovered that ClearPlay does not support Macintosh.

MOVIE MASK

I went immediately to Movie Mask. I downloaded the Beta-test version of Movie Mask with the special password supplied by Mr. Rice. Dang it ! The Beta-test version of Movie Mask does not support Mac either.

My instinct was to forget about writing Cleaning Up the Movies Part 2 and write about something much more right brained. [And by the way I promise, no more "techy" articles, OK?]

With out the ability to actually "test drive" the sites, I felt a bit disadvantaged. But then it occurred to me that you can test drive both sites and send your feedback to Meridian or the respective companies. ( www.moviemask.com, www.clearplay.com,]

At one level, both companies do the same thing. They offer digital filters via the Internet called respectively, "ClearPlay Guides" or "Movie Masks". As of this writing, each company offers a product that essentially skips or mutes objectionable images or ideas.

The big difference in the companies seems to be where it is going and what is possible. Movie Mask has a vision of a more complex and sophisticated technology that will allow, among other things, digital replacement of images. ClearPlay does not even contemplate going there, or, as Aho stated, "he does not believes that such technology will exist in the near future." According to Movie Mask they are only months away and already have Alpha prototypes.

Neither product works with stand-alone DVD players. ClearPlay informed me that they are optimistic that by the end of the year the product will come installed on at least one -- and maybe 2 -- DVD consoles from major manufacturers. "In time for Christmas, we hope," Bill Aho told me. ClearPlay has not yet announced the specifics of the deal, but let's hope it happens. It is a huge step.

If ClearPlay is successfully bundled with existing DVD players it moves digital filtering to the next logical level - from the personal computer to the set top box. The difference in the numbers of people who watch movies on computers - even computers hooked to their television - and the hordes that watch movies on dedicated DVD players is enormous.

Breck Rice informed me that Movie Mask is also in negotiation with manufacturers of stand alone console DVD players to install the Movie Mask decoder as part of -- or in place of -- the current drivers.

MARKET FOR CLEAN MOVIES

According to Bill Aho, "There is a mountain of data confirming the desire for "cleaned-up" movies. Everyone knows that G and PG movies do better at the box office. That Hollywood doesn't seem to "get this" is one of the great mysteries of entertainment.
Great care is taken and thoughtful effort made at ClearPlay to ensure that although a scene or word is removed, the continuity of the story is maintained, and the presentation retains its entertainment value. Many say the end result is similar to an airline or television presentation of the movie.
ClearPlay has created "Guides" for over 250 titles. The list of titles on the website is impressive and growing rapidly, if the list of popular "new releases" is any indicator. It is pretty much the list of the movies you want to see. "Of the new major releases we try to do anything of substance at the box office. There are some movies that can't be cleaned up such as Eyes Wide Shut or American Pie. On the other hand not many of our customers have any interest in movies about teenage sex."

"We really don't make a call on what is offensive or appropriate," said Aho. "That's a matter of discretion, values, taste and age. What we do is create Guides according to a ClearPlay standard. Right now, that involves removing all profanity, nudity and graphic violence. You can go to the ClearPlay website and get a feel for what the theatrical version of the movie is like, and how the experience will be when it is ClearPlayed.

We have collectively set our standards. In the end, one of our editors makes the judgment and the executives of the company review it. The film, Patriot, as example takes out the scene of the boy being shot, but we don't remove all the blood. When it comes to violence it is difficult to specifically articulate . It depends on the level of carnage. "Graphic" is the key word. Customers can go to the web site and get information regarding the edits before and after."

Aho acknowledged that, "the ClearPlay market tends to skew to people with family values and sensitivities across the Midwest, Intermountain States and Bible Belt." He said that ClearPlay "is national for the most part, in about every state", but was unwilling to give me any statistics regarding numbers of subscribers, hits or other "confidential" market information.

One of the great challenges for anyone attempting to "clean up the movies" is that tastes and sensitivities can be vastly different, even among otherwise homogenous conservative demographics. ClearPlay offers only one "guide" per film. People more offended by sex than violence or not offended by language do not have options. Still, Aho reports that "Customer satisfaction is very high. In discussing the "one ClearPlay Guide standard", Aho told me, "in the future there will be customized ClearPlay filters."

Access to ClearPlay Guides is via a membership which costs $99.00 a year ($59.00 for Meridian readers) or $10.00 per month. The membership offers unlimited downloads of Guides to the over 250 titles. The steps are easy. 1. Join ClearPlay. 2. Buy a DVD. 3. Go on line and download all the current moves [250 plus titles]. 4. Put the movie into the DVD player on your computer. 5. ClearPlay interface comes up. 6. Press play. 7. Watch the "cleaned up" movie.

The edits created by the digital filters - the ClearPlay Guides-- are limited to skip and mute. There is no replacement of images or words. When the guide calls for mute, the sound track goes silent. Aho emphasized that the editors made an effort to go for the solution that cleans up the scene with the least disruption to the flow of the story.

A challenge faced by ClearPlay is that their 3rd party decoders are not always frame accurate. That means for all the care taken by the editor, a command to mute or skip a few frames may in fact end up skipping more. The editor's instructions in the ClearPlay Guide is only able to put the edit "the region" not always on the precise frame.

Because ClearPlay doesn't run on Mac - and I am unwilling to taint my fingers on a windows machine - I have not personally tested Clear Play.

Aho told me that ClearPlay was working on a frame accurate decoder product of its own due with the next release. Both ClearPlay and Movie Mask agree that there is a need for better accuracy in the decoder software. The first release of Movie Mask includes its own proprietary decoder that is perfectly frame accurate according to Move Mask engineers.

THE VISION OF MOVIE MASK

Movie Mask is a product of Trilogy Studios. The company grew out of the gaming industry when the founding partner and chief computer programmer, David Clayton, decided to use his vast knowledge of digital imaging to do something positive - like cleaning up the movies.

Movie Mask has been in development two years and has come to market just this month. You can access and test drive Version I at www.moviemask.com

"Movie Mask has been slow coming to market," Breck Rice explained, "because of the very complex programming behind the product and the technical sophistication of the Director Software used to create the Movie Masks.

"Movie Mask Version 1.0, released July 4, 2002, is a skip and mute program very similar to the product that ClearPlay has on the market but with a couple of important differences.

"For one thing, "explains Rice, " Movie Mask has its own frame accurate decoder that is being released with the product now. This allows a more finely tuned edit. In the opening of Saving Private Ryan, for example, we have 32 edits. They are frame accurate. It is more complex, but in the end allows us to take out the gore without being subject to the sloppy work of the standard decoders that might whack out 3 unexpected seconds."

Subsequent releases of Movie Mask, Rice explained, will include replacement of images and words without noticeable interruption in the sound tracks. Virtual clothing, lip manipulation and other special effects will be added as the product is enhanced.

The vigorously discussed and popular demonstration of future capability includes the infamous scene from Titanic where actress, Kate Winslet, poses nude for her artist boy friend, Leonardo DiCaprio. Remarkably, the movie was given a PG-13 rating, but because of full upper body nudity the scene remains controversial. Removing the scene [Skip] arguably interferes with the progression of their relationship. Movie Mask promises the ability to cover Kate with a modest corset -- or a blue GAP shirt it you want -- and it is this that the demonstration illustrates. (To see this demonstration you can contact Movie Mask through their website.)

Movie Mask is only one of the products coming from Trilogy Studios. Movie Mask Director, the sophisticated software developed to create the masks [digital filters] that not only skips and mutes but covers, augments and replaces, promises to be, according to Rice, "a graphics tool that combines the best features of programs like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro and After Effects into a single, simple to use program. And it does it on the fly."

Aho claims that he seen the demonstration for Movie Mask and argues that the "technology is a long ways away."

"Not so", insists Rice. "We are very, very close."

"While ClearPlay has only one filter per movie, -- a kind of one standard fits all approach -- " explains Rice, "Movie Mask allows the consumer many more options . Viewers can drop violence but keep the language or visa versa. "It will be possible to "dial in" the movie you want at precisely your own standard and tastes," explains Rice.

Access to Movie Mask is via the web. A consumer goes on line (www.moviemask.com) and downloads trilogy studio proprietary software which includes decoders and DVD player drivers. All of the existing mask files are included. Movie Mask has 150 titles prepared to date and expect 500 by the end of the summer.

Rice emphasized that each movie title has multiple mask versions so consumers can customize the movie to their own tastes and standards. Consumer can actually adjust - so the language, sex and violence can all be at different levels. -

Movie Masks has created its own rating system. The "G, PG, PG-13 and R" ratings guides used by the MPAA are copyrighted and fiercely protected. Movie Mask ratings are based on age and include, M-8, M-12, M-16, M-19. M=movie mask. The numbers are appropriate age..

Trilogy is very supportive of what ClearPlay is doing according to Rice. " Trilogy Studio is in full support of ClearPlay's solution. We hope they are wildly successful because they are educating and building a market for consumer choice in media and entertainment. Because of our different technologies and expanded options we don't really consider ClearPlay a direct competitor but look upon them as an ally in the market place."

Trilogy Studio is still open to select strategic and financial partners. Company credibility surged ahead a year ago when CNN host Larry King and his wife, Shawn, joined the Board of Directors and became outspoken supporters in promotional videos. Beloved entertainer and child advocate, Marie Osmond, is also a member of Trilogy Board of Directors.

Looking ahead Rice said, "We know our initial target markets - we are creating an entertainment application for the DVD ROM followed by the 16 million Next Generation DVD players [X-Box, Play Station 2 etc.]. We know our mid range objective. We have been commissioned by two Movie Studio executives to get Movie Mask drivers and software embedded into consumer electronic hardware."

Next month, as part of its broad vision of digital entertainment Trilogy will launch the Digital Media Institute at the Larry H. Miller Entrepreneurial Center. This new institute involves several universities in and outside of the United States. Trilogy hopes to create "the Juilliard of Digital Media, " says Rice.

I confronted Trilogy - Movie Mask founder, David Clayton, with the criticism that Movie Mask demos are "pie in the sky" and that the technology is "no where near". He smiled to himself. There is no lack of confidence here. Clayton agreed to leave his computer long enough for an interview.

"The hard stuff is done," Clayton said. "The root is there and we know it works and now it is about expanding that base and throwing a lot more people at it. The important thing is that from the beginning we have been doing it right. Designing the architecture. Building the base. Securing the framework. We are a company of vision. We can see where all of this is going. We don't see another solution. We have not focused on the quick or simple fix. Skip and Mute are crude first steps compared to where we are headed. We have been building strong and solid stepping stones to bigger and better things. We are patterning our software and company to win a war and not just a little battle - we are here for the long haul"

ClearPlay is here now. They are good people, doing the right thing for the right reason. They have a good product and a great web site. They have an expanding list of "cleaned up" titles and a growing consumer base nation-wide. Check them out at www.clearplay.com.

Movie Mask is the new kid on the block offering rudimentary skip and mute like ClearPlay in their Version 1.0. But mostly they exude confidence and enthusiasm about the next generation of consumer control with Movie Mask options that range from virtual clothing to buying a copy of Julia Robert's dress on line while watching Runaway Bride. Check them out at www.moviemask.com