Apple’s haphazard app review process has led to a string of recent head-scratchers industry-wide.

Apple in early June censored an iPad graphic novel adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” and then reversed its decision.

Apple did the same with a comic adaptation of the James Joyce classic novel “Ulyssess” for the iPad, blocking the app for some graphic panels, and then undoing its decision after finding the product had artistic merit.

“Apple is in the power seat, serving as judge, jury and censor on the one hand, and on the other hand they’re hit-makers,” said Catherine Warren, president of Vancouver-based FanTrust Entertainment Strategies, an entertainment industry business developer.

“They’re in a position to prevent, delay or fast-track distribution. But if distribution is prevented or delayed, that hurts producers and fans who want the content,” Warren adds.

Excerpted from the Hollywood Reporter article by Etan Vlessing. You can view the full article here.

From the producers of the world’s most watched gay and lesbian travel series and Canada’s most successful gay TV show export, comes a spunky new multimedia app series for smart phones: Bump! Travel Guides.

Download a Bump! Travel Guide and you’re good to go to any one of 12 gay-friendly destinations: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Miami, Montreal, Mykonos, Paris, Puerto Vallarts, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney. The Guides feature saucy videos, top travel tips and big pride events, all packaged in a sleek and sexy design for BlackBerry, iPhone and iPod Touch.

“Our mobile guides stand out because they offer a visually rich experience, are wickedly fun and can get you into all sorts of trouble, if that’s what you’re looking for,” says Les Tomlin, Executive Producer of Bumper2Bumper Media, a FanTrust client and the company behind the Bump! television series and mobile guides.

Packed with multimedia, Bump! Travel Guides offer video clips from Bump! TV, pictures, GPS maps, one-click phone numbers and links for the best places to eat, shop and party, average temperature and currency info – and a “Play” feature for more fun. The apps will also provide contests, promotions, prizes and sponsorship opportunities. Bump! Travel Guides are powered by Metranome, a leading mobile media solutions company and FanTrust partner company.

“These guides let travelers build community on-the-go, sharing experiences, rating local hot-spots and exchanging tips,” said Catherine Warren, president of FanTrust Entertainment Strategies. “Fans will also help keep the content timely and vibrant, while benefiting from the portability, features and cheeky TV entertainment.”

For more about the Bump! Travel Guides and the free Antwerp app, check out PR Newswire.

Highlights from the year include:

• $11.6M invested in the production of 68 cross-platform television and interactive digital projects
• $674K invested in the early stage development of 16 projects
• $100K invested in 22 professional development activities
• Launch of a new Low Budget Program for interactive projects with budgets less than $100,000
• Publication of The Bell Fund bliki (a combination blog and wiki), providing extensive business model advice on how to make money with cross-platform productions

Canada’s largest private fund for convergence broadcasting, The Bell Fund is made possible through annual contributions from Bell TV. With $81M-plus invested in digital media for television since its inception in 1997, the Fund continues to position Canadian companies for leadership in a vanguard marketplace. “Projects financed by the Bell Fund have reached international audiences and won significant recognition, including Emmy Awards,” said FanTrust President Catherine Warren, who has served on the Bell Fund Board for a decade.

To view the report in either English or French and to explore the funded projects go to www.bellfund.ca or www.fondsbell.ca and click on “Publications.”

“Celebrating the best in digital media in the context of the Gemini Awards is a critical step in uniting the twin worlds of television and interactive entertainment, which are increasingly intertwined from the audience’s perspective,” said Catherine Warren, President of FanTrust Entertainment Strategies and a member of the Academy’s advisory board for digital media. “And with two new awards for programs designed to first reach audiences on channels other than TV, the Gemini’s demonstrate a new level in industry leadership and fan awareness.”

When the envelopes are ultimately opened, winners will receive their coveted statues in the following categories:

Best Cross-Platform Project – Fiction
Best Cross-Platform Project – Non-Fiction
Best Cross-Platform Project – Children’s and Youth
Best Original Program or Series produced for Digital Media – Fiction
Best Original Program or Series produced for Digital Media – Non-Fiction

The deadline for submitting entries for this year’s competition is May 18, 2010.

A new “Special Award – Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in Digital Media” may also be presented to honour a recent, worthy Canadian innovation, based on nominations received by July 15, 2010.

Application forms are available online at www.geminiawards.ca

Virtual Revolution, an open source documentary inviting users to collaborate in the making of a series about how the Internet has transformed society, won for Non-Fiction. New Zealand made history by winning its first International Emmy. It took the Digital Program: Children & Young People category with Reservoir Hill, an interactive web series that follows 16-year-old Beth Connolly as she is forced to solve a mystery when she moves to a creepy suburb. Primeval Evolved, an online project that extends the stories, world and characters of the television show Primeval, won for Fiction.

The Pioneer Prize was presented to Heroes Creator and Executive Producer Tim Kring, for his innovative contributions to the field of digital entertainment with Heroes Evolutions.

“This year’s winners have masterfully demonstrated how to enhance the viewers’ multiplatform experience,” said Bruce L. Paisner, President & CEO of The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

The awards ceremony was attended by over 200 international executives from the television, broadband and mobile industries and sponsored by Nokia and Ooyala.

Click here for more information on the Digital Emmy Awards

FanTrust President Catherine Warren, who judged the Emmy category for non-fiction, celebrates the winning 2010 cross-platform program “Virtual Revolution” with BBC executive Nick Cohen, who accepted the top award.

Jury member Catherine Warren, President of FanTrust Entertainment Strategies, quizzed them on the business case which underpinned their concept.

For the full article click here:

http://pvevent1.immanens.com/en/pvPage2.asp?nu=4&skin=MIPTV+2009&puc=002341&pa=10

“As founder and president of Vancouver-based FanTrust Entertainment Strategies, [Catherine] Warren spends the bulk of her time helping entertainment companies, including some big-name clients such as broadcaster CBC, build audiences in the digital space (or in some cases, reconnect with audiences that have migrated there). Her primary tools are broadband video, social media, games and mobile apps.

‘Let’s say you’re a broadcaster. There’s an increasing expectation that our clients who are producers will show up not just with a TV pitch but with a whole 360-degree pitch: here’s what our show is going to look like on air, online, via mobile; here’s how we’re going to monetize it through e-commerce; here’s the game; here’s how all these things roll out,’ says Warren, who has consulted with entertainment companies throughout North America and Europe, is a judge for the Interactive Emmys and sits as a board member of the World Summit Award, a UN partnership project recognizing “new media for a better world.”

Warren often matches her big media charges with small, digitally conversant innovators, the startups, to access the online market. She says that larger companies, while not exactly the dinosaurs identified by Paul Kedrosky [senior fellow at the US-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation specializing in innovation, entrepreneurship and the future of risk capital], are increasingly reliant on nimble innovators for their survival; EA, she notes, acquired London-based social gaming company Playfish, a 200-person outfit, for about $400 million the same month it laid off 1,500 people. In Warren’s opinion, the shift we’re seeing is not the death of traditional media but a kind of democratization of the industry, where there’s room for both big and small companies to access and profit from the same market. And with the increasing availability of startup financing –  [such as] VanEdge Capital Inc., a new $100-million venture capital fund administered by former EA executives Paul Lee, Glenn Entis and Jason Chein – that market is well positioned to grow.”

Excerpted from an April 2010 article by journalist Jessica Barrett; to read more about digital innovation or for the full story by Barrett visit: http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/2010/innovation

Winners Events: Creative young people meet UN Leaders

It is planned to present the results of WSYA 2010 and winning youth projects at the UN Summit in September (20-11, 2010) where the leaders of the world will meet in New York to take stock and chart a new course on the MDGs.

The WSYA Winners Events in New York will be orchestrated as a four-day experience (Sept. 18-22, 2010) with workshops, exhibitions, projects presentations and interactive sessions to bring winners, partners, boards, business leaders and experts from all over the world together.

Highlight of the Events will be the unique ceremony to honour a group of young multimedia professionals who – through their highly motivated, creative and future oriented work – contribute significantly to the development of a quality information society, the bridging of digital divides and to reaching the UN Millennium Development Goals. Eighteen winning teams in six categories from all over the world will be presented and receive their certificate and trophy from dignitaries of government, the private sector and the United Nations.

To get involved in global UN initiated actions on the Information Society and MDGs and specially support the best youth to demonstrate their creativity at the Winners Evens of the WSYA, please ask for the respective sponsor invitation documents at wsya@icm.net.

FanTrust president Catherine Warren is an executive board member of the World Summit Awards for digital media, representing North America and Oceania. Now in its eighth year, the World Summit Award leads in selecting, showcasing and honouring the global best in creative digital content. The 2009 competition drew from more than 20,000 applications from 157 countries across all continents. A flagship program of the United Nations, the WSA recognizes global initiatives for outstanding digital content and innovative Information and Communication Technology applications.

www.wsis-award.org | www.youthaward.org

PARIS/NEW YORK, March 22,  2010  – Jason Priestley, best known for his role as Brandon Walsh on the hit series Beverly Hills 90210, will host The International Digital Emmy Awards on Monday,  April 12, at MIPTV in Cannes it was announced by The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

The event will recognize excellence in the areas of Digital Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s and other content categories for cross-platform programming.

The International Digital Emmy® Awards 2010 are sponsored by Nokia and Ooyala.

Read the full press release

In an ambitious and provocative new 4-part series exploring our global ocean, CBC’s THE NATURE OF THINGS with David Suzuki brings to audiences a unique, investigative look at the water that covers more than 70 percent of our planet.

With games, a pledge and more, cbc.ca/oneocean accompanies the series, airing on Thursdays through to March 25^th, further educating and entertaining audiences about the wonders and challenges facing our oceans.

The One Ocean Pledge is an open call to think resourcefully, reduce consumption and waste, and get involved in protecting aquatic ecosystems. Among the 50 pledge points addressing issues such as coral depletion, deadzones, overfishing and pollution, participants can pledge from a range of choices to change their actions. Examples range from activities such as supporting conservation organizations to refraining from de-icing sidewalks with salt.

Pledge activists can earn virtual eco-points making One Ocean commitments. These points can be used to play The Biosphere, an online 3D game that allows users to create their own marine reserve, play video games to help balance the health of their ecosystem, explore landscapes from deep ocean trenches to colourful coral reefs and swim virtually with prehistoric creatures.

“This combination of evocative television series, immersive game, action-oriented pledge and social networking represents the next generation of environmental education and entertainment,” said Catherine Warren, president of FanTrust Entertainment Strategies, which provides community-building strategies and tactics for One Ocean Interactive, produced by clients Merit Motion Pictures and Tactica Interactive.

The Biosphere is built using Unity, the innovative 3D social gaming engine, and will be available on Facebook as well as www.cbc.ca/oneocean

The One Ocean Pledge also makes use of Facebook Connect functionality, allowing participants to help spread the word about the importance of ocean conservation as well as what can be done to help.

Finally, Ocean Explorer takes users on guided tours of the ocean using Google Earth’s satellite and sonar imagery. Historical timelines, profiles of sea life, experts, and creators of the series and website are also available, along with new webisodes and podcasts.

Conservation partners currently promoting the One Ocean pledge include:

David Suzuki Foundation

Canadian Wildlife Foundation

Living Oceans Society

One Ocean is co-produced by CBC’s The Nature of Things and Merit Motion Pictures (The Science of the Senses, The Truth About Liars and The Secret World of Shoplifting), in association with National Geographic Channel, and with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, Manitoba Film & Music, the Government of Canada – Canadian Film and Video Production Tax Credit and the Government of Manitoba – Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit.

www.cbc.ca/oneocean is co-produced by Merit Motion Pictures and Tactica Interactive Communications, in association with CBC’s The Nature of Things, and with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, and the Government of Manitoba – Manitoba Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit.