Toys, Games & Product Licensing
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Generally referred to as âlicensing and merchandisingâ, this area of the entertainment industry provides lucrative additional revenue to a project over a long period. It is well known that most music concert tours make more money from merchandising than from ticket sales as the price of the ticket usually covers the cost of the venue and publicity required to attract a large audience. Applied to a television program or feature film, this area can show a tremendous overall profit even where a theatrical release or television premier has not done that well. There are many segments to the pre-teen 4 - 12 year old young consumer market that reportedly influence over U.S.$75 billion in buying power.
The so-called “Brat Market” dictates the product you should buy, the package it is in and how you should dispose of the empty container. These influences deal with brand image, ethics and environmental issues, all things that kids have learned from TV or school and are imprinted at an early impressionable age. In this respect, children have come a long way from the childhood days of their parents. These influences spill over into many areas of buying power, particularly entertainment. Cartoon licensing for example, represented a U.S.$30 billion segment of the “brat” market. A percentage of merchandise can be sold via the Internet as well as through conventional distribution channels. If a product captures youngstersâ imagination and buying influence, it can mean hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues and royalties for the creator, manufacturers and producers of the product.
âNinja Turtlesâ for example has realized over U.S.$6 billion in the sale of licensed products and âNinjaâ films were grossing $30,000,000 a week in box office revenues when first introduced. The success of the Pokemon television series generated a series of films, the first of which grossed over $100,000,000 in box office and video sales. Trading cards based on this property have generated huge profits for the company and sales of Pokemon products were expected exceed $10.0B by the close of the year 2000. One toy company’s sales of “Ninja” products represented U.S.$150,000,000 in 1990 alone. G.I Joe products have sold over U.S.$3.0 billion since the doll was introduced. GI Joe figures have now achieved over 400 million unit sales.
Products sales for both these properties jumped dramatically when the characters were exposed to the market through an animated television series. The four day Hong Kong Toy and Game Fair, which is held in the third week of January, each year, posts over $120.0 million (US) in orders and participants expect a steady growth in the years tom come. A wide array of new licenses perked up the toy industry in the nineties. This new line of licenses came from new television productions, childrenâs films, comic books, video games and other ancillary products. These properties lend themselves easily to the electronic media subsequently fueling consumer demand for video and computer game versions of these productions. Royalty payments for electronics surpassed those from toys in the late 1990âs. Will the video and games market continue to show outstanding growth? Sales In Action LLC is a sales and marketing business development firm comprised of entertainment industry veterans with over 15 years experience, says “yes”. According to SiA founder and president, Howard Horowitz, “given the predicted and past growth of the North American interactive entertainment market â probably somewhere around 18 Billion USD in 2004 for will grow to attract foreign publishers, developers, and distributors and will add 40% or more to their gross revenue by getting in this market.”
Toy manufacturers are now tending to obtain licensing agreements for TV and film based toys well prior to the release of a production in anticipation of box office and small screen successes. The computer animated film “SHREK” for example had licensing contracts with 35 companies, including Hasbro, for action figures and vehicles well prior to the production being completed. The same opportunity exists with most children’s productions, the latest on the market being Greanwold at www.greanwold.com
Michael Trigg
http://www.articlesbase.com/international-marketing-articles/toys-games-product-licensing-750575.html
Ten Important Necessities In Hot Weather
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If you have packed your suitcases and are ready to take off for your summer vacation, consider vacationing on a sunny beach. Although it is a great idea, many are absolutely clueless about how to plan for all the necessities that are to be carried along to enjoy a beach holiday. Given below are a few tips that will make the job easier.
Summer is the all-time favorite tourist season and hence, you should make sure that you have made hotel reservations in advance. In fact some of the destinations are so popular for summer holidays that they are overbooked months before summer arrives. Also, advance reservations will get you better rates.
The second and one of the most important points to keep in mind is, always make it a point to set a budget. It is always better to carry traveler’s checks rather than cash, as they can be replaced. Or, if you are not used to handling and traveling with traveler’s checks, you could consider using credit cards. Most reputed resorts accept cards and you will also have the records of every transaction.
You should also make sure that the kids are being properly taken care of. People who have kids often spend the most part of their vacation time chasing their kids around. Therefore, make sure that if the children are traveling with you, the resort has adequate play area and a day care center. Many resorts also have separate activities planned for kids.
You should check out the nightlife possible too, if you are an extrovert. Some of the best nightclubs are in Key West (favorite of Ernest Hemingway), Miami (home of Gloria Estefan), Honolulu and San Diego.
You could consider vacation destinations with comedy clubs close at hand. There is nothing better than winding up a leisure day with a hearty laugh, if you enjoy slap-stick comedy and magic shows.
You should also consider destinations where you could pursue water sports in summer. You could go snorkeling, scuba diving or just plain swimming if you love the water. You could indulge in hand gliding or parasailing if you are adventurous. Many locations also offer deep-sea fishing. In Florida you can attempt fishing in inland lakes for the Trophy Bass.
Another important point to consider is to attempt learning the local language of the place you intend to visit or, visit a place where English is widely spoken. Jamaica, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Tahiti and the Dominican Republic are just some of the attractive vacation options.
You should make sure that the transportation facilities in and out of the chosen holiday destination are efficient and flexible.
Shopping is one activity without which, no vacation can be complete. Hence, you should make sure that the vacation spot has adequate shopping facilities.
And finally, indulge in a holiday to a destination of your dreams. Trying out new locations and venturing further, adds to the thrill and adventure that can make the holiday a truly memorable one. You should not forget to carry your camera to capture all the sweet memories of the vacation.
Rob Carlton
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/ten-important-necessities-in-hot-weather-135621.html
Getting Into the Movies - Get the Look
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Although most women use cosmetics in their everyday life, they are lamentably ignorant of the principles of make-up. For example, not one woman in a hundred knows that she should never rouge her face until she has put on her hat, since the shadow and line of the hat changes the whole color and composition of her face.
The average man’s knowledge of the subject is limited to the use of powder after shaving. And yet thousands of men and women secure work in the mob and ensemble scenes in the movies and find themselves expected to make up for the camera, the most difficult task of all, with no previous instruction whatsoever. No wonder they are discouraged when they see themselves peering out from the crowd scene with a face they hardly recognize themselves.
Nevertheless, almost all the stars of today Norma Talmadge, Constance Talmadge, Mary Pickford, and dozens of others have risen from these mob scenes. Their faces, even when seen among hundreds of others, attracted instant attention. Perhaps it was natural beauty. Perhaps, too, they had, by accident or design, solved at the start the great problem which confronts all movie actors, that of finding the correct make-up.
Movie make-up strives only for a photographic 17 effect and has no relation to street or stage make-up.
Almost every face contains numerous imperfections which are invisible to the eye, yet which, when enlarged many times on the screen, are very obvious. There are fundamental rules of make-up, but the only way to perfect your technique is by constantly viewing your own “stills” and movies, and changing your make-up to the best advantage. Red photographs black, and for this reason rouge is little used in the studios, except for special effects. Rouge on the cheeks gives the illusion of dark shadows and makes the face look hollow; it deepens the eyes, and is sometimes used on the eyelids for this reason. Light carmen may be used on the lips.
To start your make-up you will need cold cream, special yellow film powder, film grease paint, and a soft towel. Massage your face with cold cream and then remove it with the towel, so that the surface is absolutely clean. Then apply your grease paint with the fingers, and cover every bit of the face from the collar-line to the hair.
When you have a smooth, even surface of grease paint, spread special film powder upon it and pat it in lightly with a powder puff. There are a number of shades of grease paint and by changing the grease tint before applying the powder you can darken or lighten your complexion in accordance with your part. Before going further, make sure there are no blotches on your make-up’s surface and that the grease has left no sheen.
The eyes are the most important and expressive features. The make-up which relates to them is all important. First you must ascertain by actual test the correct color with which to line your eyes. Almost every color is used, for the effect seems to vary with different faces. Black, blue, green, brown and red are all used in varying proportions and mixtures by different actors. Naturally, you should try to find the color which makes your eyes look deepest and most luminous.
The edge of the upper eyelid is clearly lined. Then the shade is worked back toward the eyebrow, getting constantly lighter, until it finally blends with the grease paint of the face. The process is reversed for the lower lid, which is darkest at the edge and grows lighter as you work down.
Your eyelids should be lined with black cosmetic. Do not bead them. This shows clearly in close-ups and looks rather ridiculous. The slapstick comedy people sometimes use beaded eyelids to burlesque the “baby-doll” expression. The corners of the eyes are shadowed with brown or red. It is this shadowing that gives most of the character to the eyes ; but at the same time it is apt to age the whole face. For this reason it must be done in conjunction with actual tests.
Finally, apply light carmen to your lips and make sure you do not overdo it. There are numerous special recipes for producing pallor, scars, bruises, and the like. Blackface make-up is done most successfully with charred cork dust mixed with water to produce a heavy paste. Tom Wilson, the best known player of negro parts in the movies, who played in “The Birth of a Nation,” and more recently in our own special production, “Red Hot Romance,” advises amateurs to use this recipe and, further, to highlight the natural lines of their faces by scraping off the cork with a sharp stick, wherever a line is to show, and letting the natural white of the skin appear.
Highlighting for most character parts is a special art. Such characters as Indian faces or the weather-beaten and wrinkled countenance of an old sea captain may be done in brown with white highlights. You should ask your cameraman to help you with highlighting, as it is very difficult.
There are tricks of make-up which alter the entire character of the face. For example, by shading the outline of the face with red you can make it appear much thinner. In this case the grease paint is slightly reddened or, if you desire, darkened near the ear-line. If you desire to make your face rounder and fuller reverse the process and lighten the grease paint at its outer edge.
If your eyebrows and hair are dark, you can tinge them gray by rubbing the hair with mascaro and then combing. If they are light, white and black grease paint, applied alternately and then combed, will do the trick. Beards and bushy eyebrows are made of crepe hair and glued on with spirit gum.
Finally, lest you be left in the position of the man who starts his first ride on a motorcycle without knowing how to shut the power off, we may add that all this nasty mess of grease paint and powder and gum and hair will come off in an instant when cold cream is applied. It is hard to feel natural in make-up at first; but presently you will forget that you have it on at all.
All of the necessary cosmetics may be secured through any drug store or theatrical costumer. If you want to find out how you will look in the movies, it is not necessary to have a film test made. Just buy some make-up and have someone take a few “close-ups” of your head with an ordinary camera. But do not retouch the negatives for movies are not retouched, you know.
Look for imperfections of every sort in pose and expression. Then try to find a make-up which will eradicate them. If you solve your make-up problem before you go to the studio you will be well repaid. Among the dozens of flat, uninteresting countenances a well made-up face stands out and attracts the attention of the director at once.
Malcolm Blake
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/getting-into-the-movies-get-the-look-387115.html
Cork is a Great City for Festivals
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The second city of the Republic of Ireland is Cork, first is Dublin.
It is built on an island, the two channels of the River Lee embracing it either side while nineteenth century suburbs sprawl up the surrounding hills. This gives the city centre a compactness and sharp definition.
The city Cork origins in the seventh century when St Finbarre founded an abbey and school on the site where the impressive nineteenth century Gothic St Finbarres Cathedral stands today. A settlement grew up around the monastic foundation, overlooking a marshy swamp where the city centre now stands. More recently, Cork saw much violence and suffered greatly during the Anglo Irish and Civil wars, the cities part in Republican history is well documented in the local museum.
As part of the Republic, Cork has continued to develop as a port, a university city and a cultural centre and to assert its independence from Dublin. In 2005 it will be the European City of Culture and a major new art gallery is due to open at the university, probably in early 2004.
One of the joys of Cork is the fact that its scale is human most of what it has to offer can be explored on foot.
Cork is a great city for festivals, the biggest and most prestigious of which are the film festival in early October and the jazz festival over one of the last two weekends in October. Theres also an international choral festival in early May, a folk festival during September and a fringe festival of drama and dance in late October.
All round venues for entertainment and the arts. The hub of alternative artistic activity is the Triskel Arts Centre. It has changing exhibitions of contemporary art, a cinema showing art house films and a continuous programme of gigs, DJ nights, comedy, drama, performance art and poetry readings.
The leading mainstream theatre is Cork Opera House in Emmet Place which puts on high quality drama, jazz and pop concerts, dance, opera and comedy; the attached Half Moon Theatre has a more eclectic programme of drama, comedy and music, and among a largely uninspiring selection of mainstream discos, is the cities most interesting club venue, with a wildly varied weekly roster of DJs and live acts.
The Granary, offers a range of small scale drama productions, while the Firkin Crane Theatre at the Institute for Choreography and Dance, O Connell Square, Shandon is the best spot to catch classical and contemporary dance. Classical concerts are held at the School of Music, on Union Quay and the City Hall.
There are plenty of good watering holes in the city and if all you want is a drink, you wont need a guide to find somewhere though a couple of the citys older pubs are worth seeking out for their atmosphere. Many bars have music, traditional or otherwise. Wherever you end up, this is not a difficult town in which to enjoy yourself.
Douglas Scott
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/cork-is-a-great-city-for-festivals-122157.html
Versace Acanto Black Round Box
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Elegant porcelain Rosenthal Versace miniature gold gilded coffee pot designed by Paul Wunderlich with the decoration designed by the late Gianni Versace. This item is probably a salesman sample or display piece. The Rosenthal pattern by Versace is “Les Tresors de la Mer” which translates to Treasures of the Sea. The shape is known as “Ikarus” and is part of the Rosenthal Studio Line.
The Versace porcelain designer, Paul Wunderlich, was born in Berlin in 1927. He gave up a successful career as a professor of art to pursue his own talents. Although he still lives and works in Hamburg, his exhibits and travels abroad have brought Wunderlich international acclaim. Wunderlich’s designs are influenced by mysticism and most are characterized by the use of precious metals and rare materials. He has been a designer for Rosenthal since 1978. His works show how light porcelain is and what shapes can be created by his steeply curved handles.
This excellent example has a wing detailed gold gilded finial. The shape created here seems well suited to the decoration which Gianni Versace designed. Ann Kerr wrote in her book, Rosenthal Excellence For All Times, Treasures of the Sea suggests Mediterranean waters, the scent of sea breezes, blue skies. Sea creatures, mythic and actual appear on different items as if cast up by the tides.
The Versace decoration is very Italian, very mysterious, very wonderful. Gianni Versace (original spelling), Italian by birth but internationally claimed by the fashion design and theatrical worlds brought luxury to the Rosenthal family of excellence. His details are sumptuous, intricate and involved, his colors so important, so clearly ones which he seemed to own. Colorful in life, Versace’s work remains so. There are no chips, cracks or damage to the wonderful design or gold gilding. Please purchase on online www.etabletop.com
prabakar
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/versace-acanto-black-round-box-428580.html
A Brief Summary About Disney Pleasure Island and Downtown Marketplace
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Disney Pleasure Island is the place where you can dance whole throughout the night under its colourful lights. Adults will definitely enjoy the party and the comedy shows. To get entry in Pleasure Island and to make non-stop fun, it is required to get Walt Disney World Tickets.
Mannequins Dance Palace and the Rock ânâ Roll Beach Club are the well known clubs for entertainment in Pleasure Island. Apart from the clubs, the Comedy Warehouse is the must see, you will definitely experience a great laughter by visiting this renowned Comedy Warehouse.
There are lots of shopping venues in Disney Pleasure Island. The unique shopping centers include Curl by Sammy Duvall, Changing Attitudes, Pleasure Island Orlando - Harley Davidson, Fuego by Sosa Cigars etc. And special events like Sweetheart Island, St. Patrick’s Party, Dance the Fright Away etc are the special attractions of Pleasure Island.
After experiencing the exciting new things in Pleasure Island, now itâs the real time to visit Downtown Marketplace where you can find a variety of shops from where you can fulfill your wishes for shopping.
You can have an easy access to reach Downtown Marketplace for all of the Walt Disney World resorts offer transportation to Downtown Disney. The shops like the Disneyâs Days of Christmas is a worth place for shopping. You can find a wide variety of Disney character ornaments, Santa hats and Christmas stockings here.
Likewise you will come across various shopping places like Disneyâs Pin Traders, Team Mickey Athletic Club etc .Other than these you can buy various toiletry items and natural skin care products like wonderful hand cut soaps, bath crystals and salts, shampoo bars, scented candles, etc in Downtown Marketplace.
This Marketplace of Downtown Disney also offers a good and numerous options for dinning. Capân Jackâs Oyster Bar is a restaurant which is located on the waterfront with windows overlooking the Village lake and it is the perfect restaurant for lunch and dinner. You can have seafood in this restaurant.
If you are looking for ice cream sundaes, malts and other refreshing items in the evening then Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop is the perfect place to step in.
Peter Fleming
http://www.articlesbase.com/destinations-articles/a-brief-summary-about-disney-pleasure-island-and-downtown-marketplace-471266.html
Film Review: the Breed (2006)
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Executive producer Wes (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream) Craven has been a good influence on this horror film about genetically engineered dogs that take over an isolated island and cause some vacationers serious trouble. Written by Robert Conte and Peter Martin Wortmann THE BREED is about a group of friends that head out to a vacation house to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life for just one weekend. Unbeknownst to them that they will have to use their whit to out think a bunch of intelligent dogs who refuse to let anyone else inhabit their island.
Trapped in the vacation house the friends have to get off the island by any means necessary but the pack of dogs have other plans as they are always one step ahead of the humans. Although the script is fairly straight forward and bland director Nicholas Mastandrea does a great job with presenting the action sequences, which keep the film rolling forward in the second half of the film. The first half of the film is the weak link in that it ebbs and flows very slowly as it sets up the rest of the film but this first half is so predictable and borrows so much from other horror films that came before it that it comes off as cliché.
Even with the cliché script it is the cast that shines in this film as they have put together a good ensemble with Michelle Rodriguez, Oliver Hudson, and Taryn Manning, to name a few. They are very well together and at times elevate the pedestrian script. Also of note is Giulio Biccariâs cinematography which make the film look bigger and better then it actually is and putting this film on par which such other theatrical films as TOURISTAS, WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (the remake), or JOYRIDE. THE BREED may not be as ground breaking as CUJO but it has its moments.
Kevin L. Powers
http://www.articlesbase.com/movies-articles/film-review-the-breed-2006-422797.html
Be Mentally Rich First!
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When I spotted an expensive watch that I like, I would have a series of thoughts. Firstly, I would have thought of the pleasure that I could derive by owning it. Secondly, I would think of ways to make or save enough money so that I could buy that watch. Thirdly, I would take actions to make or save money based on the ways that I had thought of. Finally, I would buy the watch when I had enough money.
Does this process sound familiar to you? It may not be an expensive watch but something else that you truly desired. When you truly desired for something, you will think of all ways and means to achieve it. In other words, you need to think about how to make or save enough money before you can buy it.
What I trying to point out here is that it is the same if I want to achieve great wealth. For example, if I truly desire to accumulate one million dollar in wealth, then I will need to think about how to achieve it. The thinking process must come first before I can actually achieve my goal in the real physical world.
Once I have understood that the thinking process must come first, I realized that my thinking process determines whether I can be wealth or rich. If I think like a poor man, then I will always be poor in my life. This is because I am likely to make poor financial decisions and investments based on my thoughts. If I think like a rich man, then I will likely to be rich in my life. This is because I likely to make good financial decisions and investments based on my rich man thinking process.
The rich man thinking process is what I have understood as a mentally rich mind. I gathered from the Rich Dad Series, one has to be mentally rich before one can be truly rich in real life. A mentally rich person can be materially poor at the moment, but he will definitely gain wealth given time.
Just to give you an idea what do I mean by a mentally rich mind. If you were to ask someone what if he were to loss everything today? If he answered that he would gain back everything in a matter of a few years, then he would be considered a mentally rich person. If he answered otherwise, then he is unlikely to be a mentally rich person.
How can I become a mentally rich person? Well, let us look at how our minds react to television programs series or movies. If I were to watch violence television programs continuously for a period of time, I realized that my mind would think about the violence television programs. My mind would go one step further to create new violence thoughts that are not related to the television programs at all.
Similarly, if I were to watch comedy programs, I realized that my mind would think about the comedy programs. Also, my mind would start generate new funny thoughts that are not related to the comedy programs.
In other words, our mind is very creative. If we feed our mind with violence, our mind will think and create violence thoughts. If we feed our mind with loving kindness, our mind will think and create loving kindness thoughts.
With this understanding of how my mind work, I realize that I can become a mentally rich person by exposing myself constantly to mentally rich ideas. What are the ways that I can expose myself to mentally rich ideas? Below are some ideas.
Firstly, I can read books on how to create wealth. I can get these books from the bookshops or borrow from the library. Also, I can borrow from my friends if they happen to have these books.
Secondly, I can attend seminars on creating wealth. If I find that attending live seminar is too expensive, I may look for a more affordable source. Maybe I will attend recorded online video seminars.
Thirdly, I can attend courses on creating wealth and meet minded people. If I find that attending live courses is too expensive, I may look at self-study course.
Next, I can join forums that discuss on how to create wealth. In this way, I will be exposed to many ideas on how to become rich.
By constantly immersing myself in an environment full of mentally rich idea, I believe I will slowly become a mentally rich person.
* DISCLAIMER *
The author, publisher and distributors particularly disclaim any liability, loss, or risk taken by individuals who directly or indirectly act on the information contained herein. All readers must accept full responsibility for their use of this material.
Max Ng
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/be-mentally-rich-first-92547.html