THE VINCENT PROJECT
Introduction - Art, Music, Films, Video Tours
I began working
on Vincent (i.e. The Vincent Project) in 2003. The United
States of America was in the period of digital transition and
many people and companies were looking for new and innovative
ways to serve the consumer media market, a market at the time
valued at $1.9 trillion dollars.
At the time, I was living in Malibu, California in a beautiful apartment overlooking the sparkling ocean above Zuma Beach, having just completed a visit to Eric Clapton's Antigua "resort"
Crossroads Centre.
Previously I had also spent some time in a Malibu home where I had time to ponder what I might do with myself--perhaps finding a career working in television, music or movies, marketing, internet, etc.
I was inspired by Malibu and the excitement of living in an area with so many opportunities and accomplished artists, actors, moguls, etc.
Though I had never worked for the FCC, Disney, Sony, or any major
record company of the other big media companies, I was conscious
of the basic issues and opportunities the digital transition created
for these areas of entertainment. Piracy (free file sharing of
copyrighted media), file download quality, consumer experience,
etcetera, were creating both challenges and opportunities to
stakeholders and the consumer at large.
And I wanted to create something great.
Having come from a small
business background selling products to a wide range of vertical markets
ranging from banks and law firms to advertising agencies and tech
companies, I had a basic knowledge of many different types of businesses
ranging from sole proprietorships to Fortune 50 corporations.
Over the years I developed a first-hand understanding of the personalities and workings of many businesses and knew that the new "media on demand" industry had the ability to help both businesses and consumers.
As an independent artist and business person, fortunately blessed with some extra money and free-time, I decided to use my gift to create what I believed would be a unique and beneficial system and service that could benefit my country and perhaps, in time, a good part of the world.
My plan was to "paint a picture" using a mac and desktop publishing software that would be suitable to present to people interested in media such as Ms. Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, David Geffen, Cher, and other artists as well as members of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, with all due respect to existing media distribution channels and design it as great consumer experience--unencumbered by, but conscious of, strict loyalty to any one public or private media company or network association.
I invested approximately $300,000 of my own money into a "Vincent" DVD reel, research documents, meetings and seminars, sample video tours, presentation equipment and time.
My hope was to introduce the concept I had to Oprah or Bill Gates and raise the capital to make a beta-test device as well as refine the presentation of what the system would ideally offer. The device would be an add-on to existing television and internet offering--not interfering with existing products and services--but would offer plenty of opportunity for new types of media including video and live stream tours of businesses and other areas including government and education.
What's more, the service was designed to offer special gallery theater showrooms where people can come in and experience a new style of media enjoyment/education, focussing primarily on the art, beauty and culture of countries and nations across the globe.
One of the key features of Vincent is the virtual tour of businesses where you get to see and understand some of the style and personality of the individuals and perhaps processes of companies like Microsoft, Apple, Disney or even a local shoe store in your neighborhood.
cultures across the world. I looked at it as creating sort of a Woodstock vibe for the 21st century and beyond, using media to foster peace and understanding and
For as little as $15 a month, people would have a new window of media, education and entertainment focussing on the richness of different businesses and celebration of a beautiful planet striving for well-being and peace among nations.
Vincent, which translates to "ultimately successful" and "conquering" and evokes the memory of Vincent Van Gogh as well as Vincent Atenassoff--the father of digital computing-- whose ideas were adapted by companies such as IBM,--will ultimately be successful.
Perhaps other services and experiences will come along in the future such as Harold, or Bruce or whomever--however Vincent, I'm sure, will serve our planet well.
The key mission and purposes of the service is to promote international
world peace through the appreciation of different nations art, beauty
and culture-particularly through music, film and video.
I. The beginning
One day in Malibu
I was sitting quietly imagining a futuristic flat- screen TV that
would interact with the user in a simple and straightforward manner.
I chose the name Vincent, at first, because of my appreciation for the
art and life story of Vincent VanGogh. Later I found out that Vincent was
also the first name of the gentleman who many consider the father of the
digital computer--Vincent Atenesoff.
I wanted the simple ability to interact with the screen with simple
commands such as:
"Hey Vincent"
"Bring me Monet"
And with that the screen would display all the known works of artist
Claude Monet from which I could choose...
"Spring Gardens of Giverny"
At which the screen would fill with the selected painting.
I could then say
"Save This To My Gallery"
Then say
"Show Me My Gallery"
Which would show me all previously saved artworks from previous requests.
I then would say
"Bring Me my favorite Warhol"
Which would likely show me Andy Warhol's silkscreen rendition of Marilyn Monroe.
I would follow with:
"Save This to The Gift Shop"
At which point the system would take the image and superimpose
it on a selection of gift shop products ranging from T-shirts to
clock faces to frisbees, lunch boxes, etc. With the cost of any
selected gift item billed (along with any royalty for use of the
image) to my monthly Vincent invoice.(See cafe press.com for example)
II. "Bring Me The Beatles"
Within a fraction of
a second all the Beatles albums appear on the screen. Simply name
one for it to play. Vincent will be a brilliant new music service
that will create an interesting new world platform for musicians
from around the world to create what hopefully will be a "Peace Train" vibe.
III. "Bring Me Beatles Movies" -
The same quick response. Simply name one for it to play.
I figured if the
system were to readily bring me digitized quality art why not
"bring me" to different cities or neighborhoods to go shopping
or at least have a look at what stores, shops, boutiques.
"Hey Vincent"
"Let's Go Shopping in New York City"
Vincent then offers me a selection of different areas of
New York such as Soho, Greenwich Village, 5th Avenue, etc.
"Let's Go Shopping in SoHo"
Suddenly a screen full of company names and logos fills the screen
from which I choose "Ellen's Shoe Boutique"
The screen then opens with a video on command tour of Ellen's:
"Hi. I'm Ellen and welcome to Vincent's tour of my shop located
at 75 West Broadway in Soho, New York. Come in and take look at
the beautiful selection of shoes we offer and meet some of my
co-workers dedicated to serving you!"
Each Vincent tour might take 1 to 4 minutes (thereabouts) and
ideally be professionally produce at a cost shared by the individual
business and Vincent Digital Media Corporation.
This feature offers Vincent subscribers with a unique look at the
ambience and personality of any given business.
Of course it will take time and money to gather a substantial
number of shops but the effort will, in the long run, be most
definitely worth it as more and more subscribers ability to visit.
Vincent Tours
Vincent will feature tours of businesses
and the best examples of the style we plan on projecting may be found
in the following examples:
- The Stickley Story.
- The Ferrari Factory Tour Maranello Italy
- The World of Fair Trade-10000 villages Canada
Business Model
Vincent partners
with Professional Video/Film production companies to produce
Vincent quality video tours. Cost is production plus 15%.
Production crew gives 10% discount to Vincent. Video is posted
to the service free of charge for one year or longer. Site is
promoted online and in print
Plan is to distribute invitation DVD to NY ad agencies to show
their clients a new advertising platform to reach and educate
their customer. A whole new way of quality advertising. A brand
new market. Vincent will connect the agency with the production
team if they want to use it.
IV. As far as music is concerned...
One of the primary
reasons for creating Vincent is my belief that music is one of the
surest ways to lift the human spirit. With so many circumstances
challenging the music business in the age of digital file sharing
Vincent provides a whole new spectrum of music service--presenting
to artist not only a way to protect their valuable artistic treasures
-- but it also presents the opportunity to create a 21st century
"peace train" vibe. New content, new artists, international peace
promotion. Quite nice. One other nice feature is the electronic
bouquets users may send to their favorite artist supporting the
artists chosen charity ($10.00-$100.00). Our music service will
be tied to Vincents AngelLine feature: Spotify online music service
has 191 million subscribers. When Vincent reaches 100 million
subscribers Vincent will use .25 cents of every members daily
subscription and create a fund of $25,000,000 - the money then
is to be distributed to 50 needy families in The United States.
The individuals will then be asked to be video-documentaries to
see how the money has changed their lives.
V. Discover the best!
With so much information
available to consumers today, Vincent will serve to offer the best,
most interesting, beautiful and educational content available anywhere.
Our exciting Gallery Showrooms will be like fine theaters where people
can come in and take a look at classic as well as new styles of media.
In it you may find display cases of handmade products or object des arts
from small villages or remote cultures along with a theater screen showing
the products being made by village artisans.
There you will also learn about many other benefits of being a Vincent
subscriber and customer.
VI. Do I really need another service?
Whose to say? It
depends if you want to be part of something above and beyond
your average television or internet experience.
Our goal is to make the service so affordable that it may
actually reward members for being members.
For instance, Vincent's V-mail service will actually reward
you for viewing a product or service promotion. Yes, you may
actually "get paid" for watching a specific minute or so
promotion specifically delivered to your Vincent V-mail box.
Either way, you will likely receive a lot more benefits, both
social and financial, than the estimated $15 dollar per month
subscription charge.
VII. Printed Directories
Pixels are great.
Paper is tangible. Vincent will provide annual directories of
music, art, films, etc. In addition, a quarterly directory will
feature interesting and new. We also hope to create guides for
specific content creators such as Disney, Fox, SONY, etc. Our hope
is that by providing such service we may help the owners of great
media increase their sales up to 15% of what they are currently realizing.
VIII. Website first / Vincent Media Port Streamer-Server.
The design of the Vincent
device and it's portable player device (Little Vinny) are fantastic.
Why I will choose IBM as our partner: They've been around the
longest. They're respectable. They are experienced, knowledgable,
capable and here for the long haul.
Our DVD reel shows more about our plan for the service along
with some of the people involved. Get in touch with us if this
project appeals to you and you think you can bring something to the table.
Thanks,
Chris Vincent Interactive Media
