BlinkBox, a new UK startup has launched allowing users to overlay a video clip taken from a movie or TV show with a personalised message at the beginning. Designed to go viral via a link, embed or mobile device, the resulting clip also prompts the recipient to buy or rent the movie/show. All the content is pre-approved for use by the rights-holders and is heavily DRM’d.
BlinkBox has already signed a number of studios to the site including Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Aardman Animations and Discovery Networks. The concept is similar to Slingbox’s Clip+Sling, which allows Slingbox users to create short content clips and share it with friends.
The site launches with clips from The Wizard of Oz, Vertigo, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Syriana, Superman Returns, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, The Matrix, Shaun of the Dead and A Clockwork Orange among others. It’s not working 100% for non-UK users at launch, but that shouldn’t matter as it’s staying in the UK market for now.
The site is being launched by an experienced team: the co-founders are Michael Comish (CEO), formerly managing director of 4 Services at Channel 4, and Adrian Letts (COO), formerly with the mobile content team for Vodafone.
I really don’t get it … you can add some text at the front of a few movie clips or some tat from TV?
Its charm is lost on me, I can’t see a use for it.
Maybe it’s not aimed at you. Maybe it’s aimed at kids who can’t be bothered to RIP a movie from a DVD, edit down the bit they want, place a ‘funny’ message at the front then send it to their friends. Maybe they just want to join a site, write a message, select a video and send, all legally and with about 50 times less hassle, and in a way which makes it pay for the rights holder. Maybe, just maybe.
maybe i’m missing something… but this site is a little pointless…
Andrew, it’s not pointless – misguided and non-functioning, perhaps but not pointless
The point is to sell more DVDs. The thinking is that you will shove stuff around and that a percentage of people who visit the site will also buy or rent a movie. Old-stylee attempt to get “consumers” to do the work of pimping your product for you. I gave it two attempts to send my first blink and it failed. I won’t try again without some serious incentive.
Shame, ‘cos I like the people involved.
Hi Mike, apologies for questioning your grammar but isn’t the use of a comma in lieu of ‘and’ in the title of this article something of an Americanism? I’ve never seen it used in newspapers this side of the pond before and it’s a style that I always find odd when reading US news sources.