Age of Stupid - Live from the Solar Powered Cinema

World's biggest & greenest film premiere goes live from Northern Ireland Science Park

A Northern Ireland company is set to play the starring role in a world record attempt to create the biggest film premiere when major new Brit blockbuster ‘Age of Stupid’ premieres in Leicester Square this Sunday (March 15 2009).

As part of efforts to enter the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest film premiere, Belfast-based video streaming company Switch New Media – led by Diarmaid Lynch and Richard Jolly – will live stream the celebrity-packed pre- and post-premier party event to thousands of cinema goers via a high speed video connection  … and to an online audience that could exceed 100,000 viewers.

A major reason why the company was asked to come in as partner was the benefit of its location. Switch New Media’s headquarters at the Northern Ireland Science Park is connected to an Internet Backbone Exchange that guarantees continual access – and data transferral at a rate only marginally slower than the speed of light!

The ‘Age of Stupid’ is a new four-year epic from McLibel director Franny Armstrong. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: ‘why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?’  

Film director Franny Armstrong asked that no one should fly to this event - as it's an environmentally friendly film. So celebrities will be pulling up to the ‘green carpet’ in solar and electrically powered cars, and the event itself takes place in a solar powered cinema tent in the middle of Leicester Square – complete with pedal powered popcorn making machines!  

For those unable to make it via green transport, filmmakers asked Richard and Diarmaid to create a live video streaming  “virtual premier” that will see the glitz and glamour of the West End green (red) carpet relayed simultaneously to 60 cinemas across the UK and Ireland, and to the ‘Age of Stupid’ website as well. 

Operations Director Richard Jolly said: “We are extremely pleased to have been able to be a part of such a unique event. When you think of people like Danny Boyle, you could say that Northern Ireland always had the talent to make a big splash on the silver screen. But in addition to talent, Northern Ireland now has the right blend of technical know-how, government support and built infrastructure. The world-record attempt we’re going for on Sunday could not have been possible without the support of InvestNI and the high speed connectivity here at the Science Park.”  

Northern Ireland Science Park Director of Corporate Real Estate and Facilities, Mervyn Watley, congratulated Switch New Media, adding: “It’s great to see one of our up and coming businesses play such a key role with this world record attempt. For Switch New Media, connectivity was the key to winning this business and its second to none here in Belfast. With Project Kelvin coming online connectivity here will get faster, which I trust will prove to be a major benefit to other innovative businesses in the area.” 

Switch New Media Director Diarmaid said: “This is a great project to be involved in. To be asked to live stream the work of an Oscar-winning actor to over 15,000 cinema goers throughout the UK is very exciting. I hope it will be enough to get us into the Guinness Book of Records!” 

He added: “Thanks to NI Screen and Invest NI, this Queen’s Island location is making waves in the international film industry. For example, we’re streaming this event just next door to the famous Paint Hall studio where the City of Ember was filmed. It’s a great time to be involved in the ever growing digital sector here.” 

The live video feed from the event will be broadcast to Northern Ireland Science Park via Satellite from ITV Anglia in London. The video will then be digitally encoded and broadcast live to the Age of Stupid website - readers are invited to “Tune in” and watch the live stream this Sunday from 5:30pm via the Age of Stupid website:  www.ageofstupid.net

•Download the Word Doc Version Here >

For Further information contact:

Tel: +44(0)28 9073 7991 or 048 9073 7991 (ROI)
email: Diarmaid.Lynch@SwitchNewMedia.com

Photos Available:

Larger High Res. Version JPG available >>

 

Live Video Streaming, Webcasts or Webinars? Not sure where to start? Speak to a Live Streaming Specialist for more details.

 

© Switch New Media 2009
Northern Ireland Science Park, Innovation Centre,, Belfast, BT3 9DT
Tel: +44(0)28 9073 7991