Bitmax, a digital content management and distribution services firm based in Hollywood, has unveiled the Bitmax Asset Manager (BAM!), a service that allows clients to order customized reels via the Web.
Using proprietary software written by Bitmax CTO Richard Martin, BAM! functions as a password-protected virtual vault. Clients log on to the members portion of the company’s Web site (www.bitmax. net), where they can browse through their digitized assets, create and edit play lists and order master quality reels in various formats (fl-inch, VHS, etc.). The reels are then shipped to one or more addresses designated by the user. Eventually users will also be able to order DVD reels with BAM!, as well as review their digitized assets or a new play list online via a streaming media player, prior to placing an order.
Bitmax began developing BAM! about a year ago. After gathering feedback from clients and evaluating navigation and design elements of popular Web sites such as Amazon and Napster, the company launched a beta version of BAM! about a month ago (SHOOT’s "Street Talk," 3/16, p. 22). Since then, about a dozen Bitmax clients have tested the service, including bicoastal Coppos Films, Hollywood-based DNA, bicoastal HKM Productions, bicoastal HSI Productions, and Beverly Hills-based ICM. BAM! officially launches April 23.
"Ordering reels is something everyone in this business deals with and no one likes dealing with," said Bitmax director of operations Jay Friedman. "BAM! saves money, saves time, and is a better way of doing things. Most importantly, it allows our clients to focus more of their time on being creative."
Bitmax also manages reel requests via phone, fax and e-mail, but according to Bitmax VP of sales Marjorie Bach, BAM! will save clients 30 percent on costs. The online service runs $7 per spot with a maximum fee of $70 per play list, regardless of how many ads are on a reel. Comparatively, reel orders placed via phone, fax or e-mail run $10 per spot with a maximum fee of $100. (In addition, there is a per-copy fee; for instance, each fl-inch tape runs $13.)
Bach hopes the savings will encourage users to try the Web-based system—not only for economy and convenience, but also because BAM! is integrated into the company’s digital library, so reel compilations are automated, thus reducing the rate of human error.
Bitmax clients who spoke with SHOOT were keen on the service. "There’s a lot less paper work" with BAM!, noted Hilary Klarberg, vault manager at HKM and its sister company, The Directors Bureau, Hollywood. "You can track your orders and tell how much money you’re spending when you order reels. And usually if I order a reel in the morning, I get it in the afternoon."
"It’s a lot quicker," agreed Coppos Films vault manager Petra Cook, who in any given week will order between 20 and 60 reels. "And in cases where there’s a director’s cut of a spot in addition to the agency version, I don’t have to worry about the wrong one getting picked. It’s a great program to use, especially if you’re in a hurry."
Founded two years ago by Martin, Bach and president Nancy Bennett, Bitmax also provides Web design and hosting services. The company is currently in production on a Web/ DVD-based interactive distance learning series for a major studio, which Bennett is directing. Later this year, the firm plans to open an East Coast office, and also to expand into Europe and Asia.
