Ithaca College has opened entries to high school and college students in the U.S. for the second annual CellFlix Festival. The contest challenges filmmakers with camera phones to create a 30-second film shot on a cell phone.

The 2007 CellFlix competition offers two $5,000 prizes. Judges consisting of Ithaca College alumni in media professions will blind judge the entries and determine the winner of one $5,000 Judges Prize; the second $5,000 prize sponsored by Texas Instruments Incorporated will go to the “Fan Favorite” CellFlix.

“Last year we were delighted that 178 students figured out how to shoot a cell-phone film; this time around, we expect thousands of fledgling directors from around the U.S. to pick up their camera phones and get creative,” said creator of the CellFlix Festival Dianne Lynch, dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College.

For inspiration, you can check out last years’ top ten.

“CellFlix was the first student film festival in the world for movies shot on cell phones. A year ago, that was revolutionary. Today, it’s just how things work,” said Lynch.

Entry deadline is April 1, 2007.

Sony has introduced seven high-definition televisions that will be compatible with the company’s recently announced BRAVIA Internet Video Link module.

The Internet Video Link module allows for direct television access to Internet video content, including high-definition programming, from providers like AOL, Yahoo! and Grouper, as well as Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony BMG Music.

The module mounts on the back of the compatible Sony televisions announced today, and connects to the Internet via an existing broadband Ethernet connection without the use of a computer. It provides access to such content as Internet video programs, music videos, movie trailers, user generated videos and RSS feeds – all without any additional charges.

“The new BRAVIA models will soon expand the world of home entertainment with the touch of a button,” said Randy Waynick, senior vice president of the Home Products Division at Sony Electronics. “We are going to be opening a whole new avenue of programming to American consumers, which has been by and large constrained to the PC.”

The HD 1080p (progressive) V-series models include 46- and 40-inch screen sizes, while 720p models include the S-series 26-, 40-, 46-inch models (all measured diagonally) and 32-inch class (31.5 inches measured diagonally). Also new is the 32-inch class (31.5 inches measured diagonally) KDL-32XBR4 set.

The University of Indianapolis and the Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA) are opening a unique media analysis laboratory, the world’s first permanent facility for training criminal investigators in processing and managing large quantities of video evidence.

The new Digital Multimedia Evidence Processing Lab at UIndy is designed to function as an international training site, and could be made available as an investigative center for video analysis during times of crisis. The lab will provide training for people from four new regional forensic video labs being established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

“There are more than 12 million video surveillance systems operating in the U.S. today,” notes LEVA’s lead instructor, Grant Fredericks. “Video clearly is the most prolific evidence collection resource available to law enforcement. In fact, acquisition of video evidence has been listed as a priority by the federal government in the event of a terrorist attack.”

While most recent coverage of YouTube has focused on the controversy over users publishing corporate copyrighted material, a new report suggest that YouTube users prefer homemade videos over ripped mainstream content.

According to research company HitWise, user generated media is more popular on the service. Hitwise general manager of global research Bill Tancer said in a statement: “If you look at the search terms driving traffic to YouTube, it turns out a lot of the content people are seeking is user generated.”Tancer added in the report: “I know everyone is up in arms about the Google announcement that they will have to put some copyright controls in place. But, our data is telling us that may not impact YouTube visits as much as people think it will.”

Hitwise further claimed that during the week of February third, online traffic to YouTube was greater than that to all television network websites combined!

While user-generated content may rule at YouTube, a quick look at the top YouTube videos of all time shows that at least half of the videos are either content ripped from television or videos that contain traditionally-copyrighted music.

Verizon FiOS TV and consumer broadband customers will soon have access to premium user-generated video content from Revver, a marketplace for viral videos. Revver content will launch on Verizon’s Surround broadband entertainment portal by the end of the first quarter and on FiOS TV later this year, and it will be free to Verizon FiOS TV and broadband subscribers.

Verizon customers will now be able to stream premium Revver videos whether they’re in their living rooms, on their computers or on the go. Through a separate agreement, Verizon Wireless already makes Revver videos available to Verizon Wireless customers with V CAST-enabled handsets.

“We’re joining with Revver to bring the user-generated video phenomenon to the TV set,” said Marilyn O’Connell, Verizon senior vice president of video solutions. “Backed by Verizon’s technology, we’ll make it easy for our FiOS TV and broadband customers to enjoy the best of the cutting-edge videos that Revver is known for. This is just another way that FiOS continues to distinguish itself from old-fashioned TV.” (more…)