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作者:綜合 来源:娛樂 浏览: 【大中小】 发布时间:2024-11-10 01:50:36 评论数:
ANAHEIM, California -- After standing in line for 20 minutes, it was finally Aimee Evans' turn to get her wand master training.
"Reparo!" she exclaimed, while waving her wand at a screen before her. One minute later, a video of the moment was sent to her phone.
But Evans wasn't channeling her inner witch at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The 21-year-old was among the 30,000 attendees who flocked to Anaheim for VidCon, an annual three-day conference dedicated to all things digital video.
This is Evans' fifth VidCon -- and this year, one thing in particular seemed different about the conference.
"VidCon's gone Hollywood," she told Mashable.
Sounds about right.
SEE ALSO:Hank Green's 5 tips for VidCon 2016Warner Bros., here to promote Fantastic Beasts, was just one of the many Hollywood players that turned out in full force for the conference.
.@wbpictures @FantasticBeasts master wand trainin. @aimeekaitlynn has been 5x, feels Vidcon had "gone hollywood" pic.twitter.com/yy4LrgIpZ5
— Saba Hamedy (@saba_h) June 23, 2016
Studios and networks -- some of which have been to VidCon before -- went big for this year's event, putting together lavish displays and activations to vie for young attendees' attention.
It's of course not new for the networks and studios to embrace the digital space.
Many in casting have been tapping influencers -- like Vine star Logan Paul -- to star in traditional TV and movie roles. Studios are also increasingly partnering with digital entertainment studios to release digital films, like Studio71 and Paramount Pictures' recent Be Somebody feature.
But their efforts to connect with younger generations have never been more obvious than at VidCon, where they dished out big bucks to set up booths alongside long-running digital giants (like Maker Studios and Fullscreen).
All this to try and get the mobile-first generation interested in going to movie and watching TV shows.
SEE ALSO:Your ultimate guide to VidCon 2016Some, like NBC, saw the value of getting to know the digital space and its fans early on.
“NBC was very focused on targeting millennial viewership as far back as 2012 when we doubled down on platforms such as Youtube," Rob Hayes, EVP Digital at NBC Entertainment, told Mashable. "VidCon seemed like a natural opportunity for the network to reach influencers that could help evangelize the NBC brand and our programming."
NBC first came to VidCon in 2014, when Jimmy Fallon officially took over as host of The Tonight Show. To promote it -- and bring general awareness to its existence -- the network installed a "Lip Sync Battle" station. It was one of the more popular floor displays.
"The results far exceeded our expectations and the excitement and buzz that we received at VidCon validated our decision that this was a great event for our network," Hayes added. "NBC has had a presence every year since then."
This year, NBC went even bigger: Bringing a two-course American Ninja Warrior challenge. Participants had to go over the Spinning Log and attempt to climb the infamous Warped Wall.
Nickelodeon brought back its popular casting booth for a second year. It also had a special Legends of the Hidden Temple promotion set up.
Others, like Netflix and Universal Pictures, felt this year was theyear to make their VidCon debut. Universal partnered up with Fullscreen to debut The Secret Life of Pets at Fullscreen's VidCon Movie Night.
Hollywood at #Vidcon continued: Universal photobooth for #SecretLifeOfPets movie. pic.twitter.com/vw7CLQoCV0
— Saba Hamedy (@saba_h) June 23, 2016
At its sizable lounge on the Expo Hall floor, Netflix had couches (for chilling), photobooths and various interactive floor sets up promoting their shows Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Fuller House, Gilmore Girls and of course Haters Back Off.
A look inside the Netflix Lounge.Credit: netflix"We are really interested in elevating the YA and family space in TV," Brian Wright, Director of Original Series for Family and Young Adult Programming, told Mashablein an email statement. "If you get it right, you don’t limit yourself to one demo -- you can get a broad cross section of kids, teens and adults."
The Los Gatos-based streaming giant is debuting YouTube star MirandaSings (Colleen Ballinger)'s show Haters Back Off on Oct. 14. A day ahead of VidCon, Netflix also announced an untitled unscripted series about Vine star Cameron Dallas.
"We knew Colleen was huge at VidCon, so we were like what better year to have it be our first year at VidCon? It was really perfect timing" Katie Urban, a Netflix publicist, told Mashable. "From that we wanted to highlight our other shows that cater to this audience."
But will Hollywood's efforts work? All the entertainment industry-centric booths were certainly packed throughout the conference, a seemingly solid indication that they are welcome additions to #TeamInternet.
"I feel like Netflix and Hollywood in general are really making an effort to reach our generation," said 16-year-old Sadaf Tehranian, who was hanging out at the Netflix lounge with friends. "It's great for us but also great for them because they get a chance to be a part of something like this."
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TopicsNBCNetflix