Philips partners with Ridley Scott Associates to bring cinema to your living room
Source/Type:  LIGHTimes Online - Press Releases - As issued by company

August 18, 2010... Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Today, Philips announces a collaboration with renowned film producers, Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) - founded by Sir Ridley Scott, director of Hollywood blockbusters including Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982) and Gladiator (2000).

The project, entitled 'Parallel Lines', is part of a new, global campaign to promote the unique cinematic viewing experience offered by Philips’ range of TVs and is a follow up to the internationally acclaimed and award winning Carousel short film developed for the launch of the Philips Cinema 21:9 TV.

For the project, Philips selected a single unifying theme and challenged RSA's directors to submit treatments for a short film in a genre of the director's choice. Forty-five treatments were received in total from which Philips selected five it believed were most ground-breaking. The films explore the most popular genres of filmmaking including drama, action, animation, sci-fi and thriller, and were shot on location in Uruguay, London, Moscow, China and South Africa.

"My production company receives hundreds of ideas every day, but this was something unique. The idea created a massive amount of enthusiasm from RSA directors around the world" commented director and founding partner of RSA, Sir Ridley Scott.

The campaign demonstrates Philips commitment to bringing the cinema experience home. Philips understands that creating compelling cinematic content is the best way to offer consumers the chance to experience the immersive cinematic capabilities of its TVs.

"Seeing is believing. We want to show that people can enjoy the experience of the cinema at home and that’s why we're delighted to be working with such talented directors on this exciting project", commented Gary Raucher, Vice President and Head of Integrated Communications, Philips Consumer Lifestyle. "The stunning films we've developed with RSA will give people the chance to experience first-hand how Ambilight, picture quality and sound quality of Philips TVs bring cinema home."

It is the third year that Philips has been involved in ground-breaking film projects. In 2009, the arrestingly surreal and technically brilliant short film, Carousel, directed by Adam Berg, was awarded the Cannes-Lions 2009 Film GRAND PRIX amongst others. With five films due to be released in April, this year's venture aims to push the boundaries even further.

The objective of the campaign is to engage film fans and drive awareness of Philips TVs' cinematic viewing experience proposition through its unique 'Ambiplayer' media player. Parallel Lines will be promoted via an interactive though-the-line campaign with a strong focus on social media. The agency team includes DDB, Tribal DDB, Unit 9, Carat and Omnicom's OneVoice consortium of agencies for PR.

Commenting on the scope of the 2010 project, Neil Dawson, Chief Creative Officer at DDB Worldwide for Philips said: "Philips demonstrated its ability to create memorable cinematic viewing experiences with the successful Carousel film developed for the launch of its Cinema 21:9 TV. A pale sequel would have been a mistake. This year, the task was to take a bold step forward with a through-the-line idea to showcase Philips' credentials across their whole range".

The five films will be released online at www.philips.com/cinema on 8th April 2010. The films will be shown using the Philips' 'Ambiplayer' – a special online media player which recreates the effect of Philips' unique Ambilight technology, plus picture quality and sound quality of Philips TVs. Exclusively at www.philips.com/cinema, the Ambiplayer will have special interactive features allowing users to interact with the immersive light, picture and sound experience.

At the heart of the campaign, a dedicated Facebook site has been launched (www.facebook.com/philipscinema) featuring director interviews, stills, behind-the-scenes clips, and other cinematic viewing experiences. One of the directors, Jake Scott, contributed to the Facebook page with an exclusive blog from the Sundance Film Festival, and will also be blogging direct from the Berlin Film Festival.

A trailer for the films is due to be released via the Facebook page on 26th February. On, 7th April (one day prior to the release of the films), Philips has bought a Facebook 'reach block' across 10 global markets whereby all users in those markets will see the trailer on their personal homepage. Those who click through and become a fan of Parallel Lines will be rewarded by being offered the chance to preview a film the day before their official release.

In a world first, Parallel Lines’ digital integration includes a YouTube homepage masthead in widescreen 21:9 cinematic format which will appear in seven markets on launch day, 8th April. It will direct consumers to a Philips Cinema channel where they can watch the Parallel Lines trailer in HD quality on Philips widescreen 21:9 Ambiplayer. It will be the first time a 21:9 cinematic format media player has ever been used on YouTube.

The five RSA directors involved in the Parallel Lines project are:

Greg Fay
A former associate editor at both iD and The Face magazines, Fay has directed music videos for acts including Lilly Allen, Oasis, and The Streets and worked for commercial clients including Reebok, Orange, British Airways and Yellow Pages. In 2005 he wrote and directed his first short Last Trip to Cardiff on the back of which he was signed (as one half of directing partnership Ben & Greg) to Partizan Films. He joined RSA as a director in his own right in 2008 and has shot numerous commercials for the likes of The Guardian, Asda and Vodafone, amongst others. In February 2010 Greg will shoot a pilot for a BBC Wales comedy series called Dappers.


Johnny Hardstaff
His most notable works to date remain the politically provocative shorts films, History of Gaming and Future of Gaming, which have now been inducted into the National Film Archive. Hardstaff also famously created the experimental music video Like Spinning Plates for Radiohead, and is responsible for a raft of innovative, contemporary, design based commercials for leading brands.


Carl Erik Rinsch
At just 14 years old, Rinsch had his first film shown at both the New York and Tulleride Film Festivals. Since then he has worked as a photojournalist for Rolling Stone magazine, and now as a director has received accolades including the D&AD/Campaign Screen Award for Best New director. He was fortunate to have been included in the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors’ Showcase at Cannes. Rinsch’s work includes visually stunning and memorable commercials for the likes of BMW, Earthlink, Sprite and the SciFi Channel.


Jake Scott
Scott gained early directorial prominence with REM’s Everybody Hurts which won multiple MTV awards, a Grammy nomination and was inducted into the MVPA Hall of Fame in 2005. He has also directed videos for U2, No Doubt, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, The Strokes and George Michael, and has two videos in the MTV 100 best videos of all time. In 2003, Scott won an Emmy for Best Commercial, three AICP awards and an Andy for his work on Nike’s Move. In 2005, Scott won a Silver Lion awards in Cannes for his work on Adidas in addition to winning two CLiOs for the same brand spot. Scott was nominated for a Grammy for direction of George Michael’s Flawless for Best Music Video and received three AICP awards for his work with Nike’s Magnet. In 2008, his work on HBO’s Voyeur won him a Grand Prix and a Cyber Lion at Cannes, Scott has recently completed his second film, Welcome to the Rileys starring Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini and Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo, which has just screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.


Hi-Sim
The pseudonym of directing duo Chris Hawkes and Cheun Hung Tsang, their work consists of live action and computer generated imagery. They were recently featured in Boards magazine as one of the top 20 directors to watch out for. They have directed many commercial projects for brands including Adidas, Stella McCartney, Bacardi and Investec Specialist Bank.


Philips LED Series TVs use patented Ambilight Spectra technology which enhances viewing by projecting glowing light from the screen onto surrounding surfaces to create a more immersive viewing experience similar to that found in cinemas. Through the immersive power of Ambilight, brilliantly sharp picture quality and powerful sound, Philips TVs are designed to make movies come to life in your living room.

For more information, please contact:

Wander Bruijel
Senior Manager, Global Product Public Relations
Philips Consumer Lifestyle
Tel: +31 (0)20 5978847
Mob: +31 (0)6 12337779


About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of "sense and simplicity". Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 116,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 26 billion in 2008, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

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