ITV Interview: Aimee Viles, Director of Creative Production, Ensequence

Aimee Viles served as line producer for the WWE prototype that was developed as part of the American Film Institute Digital Content Lab's Q3, 2005 production cycle. She recently spoke to [itvt]'s Tracy Swedlow about the design and business model of the prototype, about Ensequence's reasons for participating in the Digital Content Lab, about what Ensequence learned from its work on the prototype, and more.

For a video clip of this prototype provided by Ensequence, please click here: http://www.ensequence.com/download/wwe_prototype_afi.wmv

[itvt]: What were WWE's overall goals for the prototype?

Viles: At the outset of the project, WWE was looking to increase the "replayability" of their premier pay-per-view events by including a form of linked video content in the post-event coverage. Over the course of the project, this concept morphed into how to increase uptake of the premier event by offering a simple, on-air ordering mechanism where viewers could place an order through their remote control. The project then concentrated on how to use the linked video concept as a pre- and post-event driver for the WWE 24/7 on-demand service. As a "free" add-on for those viewers who order through their remote control, WWE wanted to provide additional related video clips of the wrestlers involved in the upcoming match, including historical footage, funny outtakes, movie trailers, and other segments that viewers generally don't get to see: the linked content area would sit with their existing WWE 24/7 SVOD product. After getting a limited taste of the type of content available, viewers could then upgrade to the full 24/7 service. Post-event, the area would be available, possibly for up to seven days, with clips that focused on additional footage from the event, match-ups that would soon occur in WWE cable television programs, and other content available on the 24/7 service.

[itvt]: What were Ensequence's goals for its participation in the Digital Content Lab and in the WWE project in particular?

Viles: The AFI DCL provides all mentors the opportunity to work with brands and with other mentors and partners. This is the third year that Ensequence has participated in the DCL and our main focus has always been to participate in creating and developing projects which are forward-thinking, but also deployable in today's market--with elements that address future deployments.

The combination of working with 1) WWE on their existing on- demand, linear TV and pay-per-view products, and 2) with Cox on deployment provided an environment where we could really explore the blurring of those three types of television content in a way which makes sense for the viewer in terms of experiencing WWE content. And, most importantly, it allowed us to do this in a way that makes business sense for each of the parties involved. So many times, great projects are beautiful and have well-thought-through user experiences, but fall short on identifying how a business model may be achieved. With this project, we concentrated on both elements: the user experience and the business model.

[itvt]: Could you describe the prototype you developed in a little more detail?

Viles: Conceptually the application consists of three phases, a pre-event, a live-event and a post-event experience. We concentrated solely on the pre-event experience for the prototype. The team felt that the live experience concepts were already being done well in the marketplace today, so people didn't necessarily need another example; and the pre- and post-event closely resemble each other. Having seen the pre-event experience, people could visualize the post.

The pre-event experience consists of two parts: the pre-provisioning element and the linked content video element. The pre-provisioning element is a simple, easy-to-use PPV ordering mechanism that would be presented to the viewer when they were watching an on-air promo. A small on-screen prompt appears, inviting the viewer to "order now" by pressing select on their remote control. To reinforce the message, the audio track for the on-air promo also informs the viewer on how to order via the remote control.

After pressing select, the viewer is taken to a VOD area where a secondary video stream (of one of the WWE wrestlers) tells him or her again how to order and about the exciting interactive TV experiences offered with this PPV. After ordering, the viewer can then choose to set a record/reminder for the PPV, showing how operator set-top box capabilities can be offered contextually.

On the "thank you for ordering screen," the viewer can choose to return to live TV or can select "Take the Road to Wrestlemania." This is the linked content area where the viewer can explore a range of video highlights of the key wrestlers in the event and related clips. The screen is designed so the viewer doesn't have to go anywhere else: they can navigate through the screen by selecting the various thumbnails of the videos, and can then decide whether to play that clip now, next (after the current clip has ended), or to play all. "Play all" will either play all of the related clips for the wrestler or play all of the clips sequentially--one after another. There is a full-screen mode available, if the viewer would like to go from the default three-quarter screen version to a larger video window.

[itvt]: Could you talk a little about the technologies that were used for the prototype?

Viles: The prototype was developed completely using the Ensequence on-Q Create suite for the OCAP platform. This allowed us to develop the prototype quickly and really push the limits of what WWE wanted to accomplish. By using our on-Q Viewer tool, we sped up the review and approval process. We focused on creating production efficiencies throughout the process and continually kept WWE looped into the process. The prototype was broadcast using the on-Q Air suite with a Softel MediaSphere streamer. The set-top box we used was an ADB set-top running an Osmosys OCAP stack. The VOD element was supported during the demo using software emulation.

[itvt]: Were there any complications during the development phase?

Viles: There weren't any complications. Feedback we received at the mid-term review mainly focused on the messages contained in the video promos and how much we were trying to tell the viewer about in 30 seconds--hence the two videos in the final version.

[itvt]: What do you think makes this prototype innovative?

Viles: This application starts to change the way video content is offered on a VOD platform. It lets the viewer completely control their viewing experience. Viewers can select from a larger amount of smaller video clips, all related to each other so the entertainment value is not diminished. You are starting to see similar models for news, but less so for entertainment.

[itvt]: What is the business model for the app, and is it commercially viable now?

Viles: Since the business model builds on the existing business relationship between WWE and Cox, it is commercially viable now. Increasing PPV sales benefits both parties in this case, so there is a real incentive to make the pre-provisioning element work. The same applies for the linked content and the WWE 24/7 on-demand service. That service is an existing subscription service. Increasing participation is good for everyone.

[itvt]: What did you learn in the process of participating in this project, and would you do it again and why?

Viles: With each AFI project Ensequence has been involved with, we've learned a little more about the industry, about the challenges faced by the content community, and about how to solve them. This project in particular provided further insight into the process for rolling out new technologies, such as OCAP, and into how to help both the operator and the programmer make choices that help facilitate deployment. It's also always interesting to find the different strengths in a team and watch how the team dynamics come together and grow over time. We will consider participating again next year. Each year, we have been part of a team which has created industry-leading projects, and we have been privileged to work with some fantastic individuals and companies.

URL: http://www.ensequence.com

and the

http://blog.itvt.com/my_weblog/2006/01/_announcing_the.html

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