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VES Selects SynCast to Deliver Nominated Material

SyncCast has been selected by the Visual Effects Society (VES) to host and stream the nominated content for voting by its members of the material from many of the box office hits of 2004.

For the first time in the VES Awards' history, final viewing and voting will take place online via the VES Website from Jan. 31 to Feb. 12. This groundbreaking method will allow VES members worldwide to view encrypted clips of the nominees' work and vote in a safe and secure online environment. Only VES members may vote and a special password is required to view and vote online.

"The role of SyncCast in providing access to the material nominated for voting by the membership has been significant. For the first time everyone has an opportunity to view the nominated clips on their computers wherever they are in the world thus assuring a vote of the entire membership," stated Eric Roth, executive director, Visual Effects Society.

The 3rd Annual VES Awards recognizing outstanding visual effects in 19 categories of film, television, commercials, music videos and games. Nominees were chosen by a panel of more than 60 visual effects professionals (all VES members) that viewed hundreds of entry submissions. Some categories include: Outstanding Visual Effect in a Visual Effect Driven Motion Picture, Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture, Best Single Visual Effect of the Year. Similar awards are given in categories covering broadcast series, commercials, music videos and games.

Nominated material comes from several prominent films of 2004, such as HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, SPIDER-MAN 2 and THE AVIATOR.

"Using SyncCast's Digital Rights Management, the clips are secured as per the studio's request while DVD quality content is reliably downloaded using the SyncCast Download Network technology," stated Roth.

"We're especially pleased the VES selected SyncCast's technologies to protect and deliver content to its members for review and voting," said David Nichols, SyncCast's vp, sales and marketing.

Winners will be announced at the 3rd Annual VES Awards gala on Feb. 16at the Hollywood Palladium. Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis will receive the VES Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented to him by Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks (THE POLAR EXPRESS, CAST AWAY and FORREST GUMP).

A complete list of all nominees is available on the VES Awards Website at www.vesawards.com.

The Visual Effects Society, founded in 1997, is comprised of distinguished visual effects artists and technologists who are professionally committed to the specialized industry of visual effects. The society provides its members with a platform for communication, education and recognition of the current and future state of the visual effects industry. Society headquarters are located in Los Angeles, with approximately 1,000 global members. For more information about VES, visit www.visualeffectssociety.com or call (310) 822-9181.

SyncCast (www.synccast.com) is a privately held company that provides solutions for secure delivery of digital media and related data via the Internet and other media (DVDs, CDs, etc.). SyncCast is also a leading Content Delivery Network (CDN), globally load balanced, utilizing multiple tier-1 Internet backbones. The company offers XML/SQL based tools for managing, ingesting, integrating and delivering digital media to various systems of any enterprise. SyncCast applications are built using Microsoft .NET technology, C++ and C#. SyncCast clients include: EMI Music Group, Universal Music Group, Billboard Radio, Microsoft, Lions Gate Films, Warner Bros. Studios, Forbes.com, American Film Institute, CinemaNow and others.

Bill Desowitz's picture

Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.

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