Using a Single Photo, iStage Maps Each User’s Facial Structure to Produce a Recognizable Big Stage @ctor for Insertion in Personalized Mobile Media Campaigns
LOS ANGELES, CA – March 16, 2009 – Big Stage Entertainment, Inc., a media technology company that lets consumers project themselves photo-realistically into digital life, has unveiled its new iStage application that offers the company’s 3-D facial modeling and personalization system for branded mobile campaigns and games on the iPhone.
Big Stage Entertainment’s proprietary 3-D facial modeling system has been specially adapted for the iStage application. iStage automatically maps the contours of the face from a single photo taken with the iPhone to produce a realistic, animated 3-D model in minutes, which is automatically inserted into branded content as part of the iStage experience. All iStage applications include built-in share tools to email personalized images and clips to friends and family. Recipients can also post media to Facebook and MySpace via a share link on the content page accessible through the email.
“With our new iStage application, Big Stage Entertainment is extending the personalization of interactive entertainment to mobile marketers who want to connect with consumers on the go,” said Phil Ressler, Big Stage Entertainment CEO. “With more than 17 million iPhones sold to date and a recent study concluding that iPhone users are more likely to respond to mobile ads, we’ve created a new approach for marketers and advertisers to engage with consumers in a way that leverages the mobile medium and delivers an entertaining brand experience to target audiences.”
iStage can be customized into branded applications for third party use. To overcome the challenges of processing complex 3-D graphics on a mobile device, iStage employs server-based rendering that processes the data in a photo of the user to develop a highly accurate and animated personal digital clone, called an @ctor. The @ctor is then seamlessly placed into videos, photos and more, which are downloaded to the user’s iPhone within minutes. Big Stage Entertainment’s first mobile campaign was with Lionsgate for the December 2008 release of “The Spirit” movie. Campaigns like “The Spirit”, which featured multiple scenes, allow the user to view a next scene at any time by shaking their iPhone.
Participants can get into iStage content in four easy steps. First, users download the app from the Apple Store. Next, they take a single photo using the iPhone camera and upload the image. Big Stage servers then create your 3-D photorealistic @ctor and insert it into the campaign’s selected media. Users can leave the application while this is occurring. When the server process is completed, the user receives an email to inform them that they can log in to the iPhone application to receive their personalized clips and images for viewing.
About Big Stage Entertainment, Inc.
Big Stage Entertainment, Inc. is a media technology company that enables the projection of self into digital life. With Big Stage Entertainment products and services, consumers can create a fully photorealistic, 3-D, animated @ctor of themselves to insert into digital media, including video games, video clips and still images, as well as to represent themselves in online communities. Through its PortableYou program, Big Stage Entertainment offers its proprietary 3-D facial modeling system to third parties for seamless integration into video games, virtual worlds, Web sites, mobile apps, kiosk-based systems and more, to offer a consumer experience that enhances everything from entertainment to communications and retail. At BigStage.com, anyone can generate a free, animated 3-D @ctor from a few digital photos. Headquartered in South Pasadena, CA, Big Stage Entertainment investors include Mission Ventures, Selby Ventures and Tech Coast Angels. For more information, please visit www.bigstage.com.
Legal Disclaimer: @ctor, BackStage, iStage and PortableYou are trademarks or registered trademarks of Big Stage Entertainment, Inc. All other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
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