Formula One™ Helps Hollywood Software, Inc. in 'Reel'-World Application
Tidestone Technologies(™) Leading Spreadsheet Technology
Powers Sophisticated Software Used by Film Studios,
Distributors to Manage Theatrical Releases
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., /PRNewswire/ -- The business of film distribution can be uniquely humbling. Over 17,000 active theaters in North America house more than 37,000 screens. In any given year, a film studio or distributor will have between five and 25 theatrical films in release, on an average of 3,500 different screens in 2,000 or more movie houses. Play schedules run between 3 and 15 weeks, comprising hundreds of separate showings at each theater.
Totally accurate and real-time accounting of these performances is essential, since financial success at the box office largely determines pricing for a film in secondary overseas, television, and video markets. Finally, the film prints themselves-expensive to manufacture and track-must be constantly monitored.
These were the challenges facing the software specialists at Hollywood Software, Inc. when they developed TDS2000, a sophisticated application designed specifically for the theatrical film distribution industry. TDS2000, the only vendor-supported solution on the market, supports every business process required to distribute films, including bookings, box office grosses, settlements, receivables and more.
In developing TDS2000, Hollywood Software required an extremely powerful spreadsheet technology with a robust Application Programming Interface (API) that would format reports, tabulate data, support selection lists, and drive automatic formulas.
Even more, it had to support two kinds of platforms: client/server deployments at major film studios, as well as an Application Service Provider (ASP) version made available via Internet or VPN (Virtual Private Network) to smaller customers such as independent film companies.
Hollywood Software's answer was to choose Tidestone Technologies' Formula One. ``Several of our team members had used Formula One before, and recommended it for TDS2000,'' said Robert Jackovich, President of Hollywood Software and Vice President of Application Architecture. ``The programmability far exceeded the other technologies we evaluated. We've found it to be a very robust tool.''
Formula One Plays Starring Role
Designed specifically for distributed processing environments, Formula One is API-driven spreadsheet technology that can be embedded into any host application. Imagine Microsoft Excel's robust calculating, formatting and charting abilities, combined with point-and-click access available from anywhere via a Web browser or LAN, and you begin to understand Formula One's advantages.
Formula One is available as a JavaBean for building JSP, servlets, applets, and other Java-based solutions on the Web, and as an ActiveX component for building Windows and Internet-based applications. Hollywood Software uses the ActiveX version, which supports Excel-style formula syntax, Excel worksheet functions, and reads and writes to any Excel 95/97/2000 file without relying on Excel. ``Formula One's File-Save-As feature is useful for our users so they can save into Excel format,'' said Jackovich.
Hollywood Software uses Formula One anywhere a spreadsheet-based rows and columns interface is desirable. ``There's nothing you can't do through the object layer,'' Jackovich said. ``This was really important to us when building our class libraries.''
Scalable and Full-Featured
As an essential part of TDS2000, Formula One powers everything from co-op advertising reports to percentage gain/loss information by theater. Whenever possible and depending on the type of information displayed, Hollywood Software set TDS2000 to skip database sorts, doing them instead in Formula One. ``SQL Server can't really compete with Formula One for sort speed, especially when result sets get to the three hundred to three thousand instance level,'' says Jackovich.
Hollywood Software uses Formula One ActiveX exclusively both for its client/server and ASP products. Formula One also interfaces perfectly with the EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) capability of TDS2000, which Hollywood Software has currently established with 15 of the major theatrical exhibitors.
A Film Industry Mega-Hit
Today, TDS2000 is used by many of the largest film studios and distributors in the world, including Paramount, Universal, 20th Century Fox, and Artisan. It has proven itself with numerous major film releases, including two of the highest grossing films of 1999-``Star Wars: The Phantom Menace,'' and ``The Blair Witch Project.''
Response has been exceptional, both by major customers and by smaller independents using TDS2000 in its ASP alternative. ``The TDS2000 theatrical distribution system has become the industry standard,'' says Jackovich. ``We are the platform of choice for filmmakers and distributors both large and small, and using Formula One has helped us achieve that success.''
About Formula One
Formula One is an API-driven tool that provides developers a lightweight, cross-platform component for building spreadsheet-driven reporting, analysis, calculations, and data manipulation into eBusiness applications. Available as a JavaBean and ActiveX component, Formula One provides native database connectivity methods, a full-featured spreadsheet engine for manipulating data and many of the same formula, function, calculation, data formatting and charting options as Excel, including the ability to read and write Excel files. But as opposed to standalone applications, Formula One was built as a developer's tool with a small, cross-platform deployment footprint and complete property, method, and event model for building custom applications for the Web. Live demos and free trials of Formula One are available at the Tidestone Web site at www.tidestone.com or by calling the Tidestone sales department at 913-851-2200 or 800-884-8665.
About Tidestone Technologies, Inc.
Tidestone Technologies is a privately held corporation committed to being the leader in supplying robust analysis and reporting tools for developers who build eBusiness applications encompassing networks and servers, Internet, intranet, client-server, cross-platform, and distributed environments. Its flagship product, Formula One, provides Java and Windows developers with an API-driven, Excel-compatible reporting and analysis tool based on a familiar spreadsheet paradigm. Tidestone locates its headquarters in Overland Park, KS, and has office locations in New York and the United Kingdom. The company can be reached by phone at 800-885-8665 or 913-851-2200, by email at sales@tidestone.com, and on the World Wide Web at http://www.tidestone.com.
About Hollywood Software, Inc.
Hollywood Software, Inc. specializes in business and strategic applications for the entertainment industry. The company's management team has extensive experience in management consulting, systems development, and strategic planning for the entertainment industry. The company's premier product, TDS2000, is the only vendor-supported fully integrated client-server theatrical distribution system containing all key elements to manage film distribution. Its second product, RightsMart.com, is a powerful, proactive tool that facilitates the acquisition and distribution of global media rights over the Internet.
This year, the company will also introduce a backoffice component of RightsMart.com, which will handle traditional rights licensing business requirements, such as legal rights management, contract administration, sub-distribution reporting, accounts receivable, revenue recognition, and other functions associated with rights ownership, distribution and licensing. TDS2000 and RightsMart.com are components of Hollywood Software's Digital Studio System (DSS), a fully integrated suite of applications being developed to address convergence and the emergence of digital production and distribution within the entertainment industry.
For additional information, please contact Hollywood Software, Inc., 1604 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Suite 115, Hollywood, CA 90028. Phone: (323) 463-2144. FAX: (323) 463-1319. Email: info@hollywoodsoftware.com or david_gajda@hollywoodsoftware.com. Web sites: www.hollywoodsoftware.com, www.theatricaldistribution.com, and www.Rightsmart.com.
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