Product/Service Description
Proprietary information pertaining to product proposals is available to investors upon signature of a Non-disclosure Agreement.
Our principle product, interactive multimedia software, currently includes The Lunacy of Ronald, Astral Gate I: No One Sleeps Here (MPC & Macintosh), and IMAGIN action: the Art of Storytelling.
Under production at this time is the sequel to Astral Gate, called Astral Gate II: Incubus. Also in production is an interactive cineplex theater called Gateways that will feature ten films, four of which have already garnered multiple awards including Best of Show, Best Narrative Film, and Best Other Film at the First Annual Quick Time Film Festival; Best of Show and Best Interactive at the Second Annual Quick Time Movie Festival; Best Narrative at the second Quick Time Film Festival, and an Award of Merit at the 1993 In Vision Multimedia Awards.
All of our current and future titles offer intelligent, stimulating entertainment for a mainstream audience prepared for something besides the traditional computer game.
Interactive movies work in many ways, but all allow the user to affect the movement and experience of the story/movie. Your choices ultimately determine the outcome of the story, or in Absolute Cinema, the reactions of the characters you encounter. This individual control is a capability unique to Virtual Cinema and is greatly enjoyed by our customers.
Current Products/Services
The Lunacy of Ronald Based on the story of a knight in the service of Charlemagne, this interactive novel is told through several different points of view through which the reader can move at will. Each character tells their own, often contradictory, version of the story. Ronald uses 256-color paintings, animation, Quick Time video, original music, professional "radio theatre" narration, hyper textual links and a complete soundtrack to transport you to the world of Charlemagne's France.
The Lunacy of Ronald is the winner of numerous awards including Top 50 CDROMs (#12) Mac User Magazine; Best Interactive, Quick Time Movie Festival, 1992; Best Interactive, Quick Time Film Festival, 1993; and Best of Show at the Dot. Pixel. Image National Graphic Design Contest, 1993.
Astral Gate 1: No One Sleeps Here In this interactive science fiction story world, the viewer assumes the perspective of Drew Griffin, a young medical student stationed on an alien planet. Earth's armed forces are there, at least officially, to protect a vital mission: to mine material needed to counteract terrible ecological damage, wrought by centuries of mankind's destructive use of technology. As Griffin, the viewer interacts with complex characters in situations that demand a search for truth far more sophisticated than virtual reality (VR) battle suits and seemingly dangerous aliens might suggest.
Astral Gate was named a Business Week Best Product of the Year the month it was released, and has gone on to win a silver medal for Best Interactive Movie at the 1994 In Vision Multimedia Awards, and a Multi Media World Reader's Choice Award for Best Interactive Movie.
IMAGIN action: the Art of Storytelling The first product developed by CineMedia Studios, features interactive fiction, art, political satire and music in a magazine format. Winner of numerous awards, including Editor's Choice for A+/In Cider Magazine and the Mac User Top 100. This product is on hiatus until resources can be devoted to its production needs, but will return as a formidable contender in the newly emerging interactive magazine format, where it was the first pioneer.
Work For Hire CineMedia now accepts work for hire on a project-by-project basis, as a way of expanding our horizons and bringing in additional funds. Our current project is "rockvideo monthly" for Warner Music Enterprises, a monthly CD-ROM that will ship in up to five different formats. CineMedia has planned the interactive interface design from the ground up, and will also perform the work each month on the CD-ROMs, which will be shipped to an installed base of CD-ROM owners for a nominal fee. CineMedia has already been approached by two other companies to perform similar tasks for them.
Pay Back
For most customers, our products pay for themselves immediately in terms of hours of sophisticated, exciting entertainment not previously available. Our software is robust, requiring minimum maintenance, and customers are beginning to see a brand name identity they can count on in CineMedia's titles, and are starting to anticipate a certain quality of product from us — an expectation we encourage.
Key Benefits of All Products/Services
The major benefit for customers of our Absolute Cinema products is entirely entertainment-based: complete immersion into the story worlds we create, while allowing the user freedom to experience the story in their own personal way. Our titles offer true interaction with filmic experiences that are world-class, entertaining and exciting.
Product/Service Life Cycle
Our products have been on the shelves for a relatively short period of time, but judging by the continued press coverage for Ronald, and its recent new distribution deal, the life cycle for our software is three to five years. This is mostly due to the fact that nothing else like it exists currently. Over the next few years, many other developers will attempt to produce products to compete with ours, so this shelf life may decrease.
In the meantime, we are developing at least four titles or ports by the end of the year, and we will continue to produce many new products each year to keep ahead of the competition. By bringing on a significant amount of capital by the end of the year, we anticipate being able to grow the company to achieve this level of commitment to the industry.
Planned Products
CineMedia Studios plans to continually develop new products and enhance existing products. New products currently being developed include Gateways and Astral Gate II: Incubus, plus ports of Astral Gate I and Gateways to other viable platforms. The Lunacy of Ronald has just been ported to the MPC platform, and the new, hybrid MPC/Mac version of the product will include Quick Time 2.0 for the Macintosh, complete with full-screen video and MIDI sound.
Concepts for our next generation of interactive products include a ghostly western, Western InSpecter; a swashbuckler, Barbary Coast; a "Three Musketeers" film, Sword & Saber; a hard-hitting modern action film called Mission; and a rock music flight simulator game called RockFlight. A complete listing of our more than seventy project ideas is available on request.
Technology Development & Acquisition
