Zoo Digital Share Discussion Threads

[opaldouglas] 30/9/2013 22:02

A must read for anyone interested in ZOO. Certainly bodes well for further grants this year, a real success storey.



Published : Mon, 30 Sep 2013

The potential nightmare of the complex data attached to the making of every TV programme and cinema film has been turned into a sweet dream for a young British software company.

Not only has ZOO Digital of Sheffield achieved its targets for a brand new data management system – it has accidentally invented a workflow model that nobody had thought of before.

Both ZOO and the Technology Strategy Board had realised that metadata is the key to allow the different components of a media asset to be tracked and managed. By working on this ZOO also realised that by designing it into the workflow, the workflow itself is improved.

'It's brilliant – a real eureka moment – and it was all made possible by Technology Strategy Board funding and support – it is because they believed in us,' said Stuart Green, Chief Executive Officer of ZOO Digital.

'We had the idea, but needed extra technical skills and a better understanding of the marketplace in order to develop a successful product. Our involvement with the Technology Strategy Board didn't just involve cash - it caused us to pull together partnerships to make this happen – and now they have a success on their hands,' he added.

It's brilliant – a real eureka moment – and it was all made possible by Technology Strategy Board funding and support – it is because they believed in us - Stuart Green, Chief Executive Officer of ZOO Digital
Smooth journey for media files
Over the years, ZOO Digital has developed a suite of programs that help make the creative and production processes more efficient.

'We support collaboration and automate production, enabling organisations to co-ordinate and manage their resources, their media files, round the world. We've become very accomplished at understanding the dynamics and politics of this process,' says Stuart.

'When movies and TV series are being prepared for a worldwide market their data files can be massive with multiple variants. You might have 50 or 60 different language editions, each with different versions - then there could be a range of formats such as DVD, Blu-ray - and iTunes packages to buy online. Video files would be
separate from audio, which in turn could be stereo or surround sound.

We had the idea, but needed extra technical skills and a better understanding of the marketplace in order to develop a successful product. Our involvement with the Technology Strategy Board didn't just involve cash - it caused us to pull together partnerships to make this happen – and now they have a success on their hands - Stuart Green
'All sorts of individuals and organisations may be involved in the production process, including product managers, marketeers, translators, graphic designers and subtitle writers.

'And all the marketing and product packaging has to be localised for versions round the world in an ever decreasing time frame - ensuring everyone has the latest edition and version with so many permutations is a potential nightmare,' explained Stuart.

ZOO Digital focuses on smoothing this process, and ensuring that, for example, a Blu-ray disk bound for Brazil has the Brazilian Portuguese rather than European Portuguese, or that a film for Europe has British English subtitles rather than American English ones.

'It's not just films. For other creative material, too, particularly when people need to give their feedback and opinions, or review material and mark it up, you need a strict process to ensure people's voices are heard and can inform decision-making.

'There are many parties in the value chain, including studios, post production facilities, authoring houses and electronic retailers,' explained Stuart.

'And the one thing they all have in common – and the reason for the existence of ZOO Digital – is metadata – data about data. Metadata could be information about a movie, title, characters, actors, director, date released, film classification, synopsis of story, version number, and which audio file it goes with.

We knew that even if we could plug the skills gap we couldn't definitely say there was an opportunity; just because we could see the problem and solution that didn't necessarily mean we had a viable product commercially - Stuart Green
Keeping track of targets with ZOO
'The metadata tells you all you need to know about the file. We realised that we could use it to let companies track all their media files and immediately alert users if they did not have the latest version. It could also check that the media files were compatible. In other words, ensure that the soundtrack was the right one for the video, or that the format was correct for that reviewer.

'And now, thanks to the Technology Strategy Board, ZOO Digital is turning these ideas into reality,' he said.

However, ZOO Digital recognised that it didn't have all the necessary skills to develop this product for market.

Then in 2010, Stuart spotted a call from the Technology Strategy Board for projects for 'metadata, and increasing the value of digital content'.

'We realised this could be the ideal way to gain funding, find the partners needed to complete the research, and minimise the risk to ZOO Digital.' Stuart had applied for grants before and knew the first challenge was finding the right combination of participants.

'First we needed a prototype that we could demonstrate to potential customers, which required expertise we don't have in the company. We knew we would need to find a specialist,' said Stuart.

As a small busy business, we have enough to do already, and the idea of diverting attention with R&D that may come to nothing was difficult for us to justify. The grant offered a way to reduce the risk to a level we felt comfortable with - Stuart Green
Partnership challenges
'The technology partner we were looking for would need very specific expertise in the area of digital video analysis and processing, for example hiding data in video and extracting it. And they would need to have that knowledge already, because we would need it quickly for this project,' he added.

He researched UK universities and was delighted to find the one that most closely matched his requirements was just down the road at Sheffield University. 'They seemed good people to work with and were interested in this project, which was a new challenge for them and for the first time we felt we could create the prototype from a technical standpoint.

'We also needed to find an organisation that is familiar with the problem and had expertise on media asset management systems (MAM), which are widely used by companies to build inventories of content. 'Anything we produced would have to coexist and integrate with MAM systems, so we would need to incorporate compatibility with them in any commercial exploitation of our idea.

'For that we chose Integrated Broadcast Information Systems (IBIS), which specialises in this area; although we knew them we hadn't worked together.

'And we needed to find a guinea pig end-user that faces this problem but would be collaborative and supportive in developing a working product,' he said.

ZOO Digital found their answer in London-based CTVC London, an independent production company which produces video, radio and web content; they were interested and also not a customer. 'They were perfect,' said Stuart.

The difficulty had been in finding two suitable organisations that were not customers: 'By definition with research you don't know what you will find, and possibly we would decide not to take the idea forward and commercialise it, so there was a high risk of collaborating with a customer.'

The Technology Strategy Board call had been a tough one, encompassing not only technical development but also commercialisation challenges. And ZOO Digital would also need to test the prototype in a realistic environment: 'We knew that even if we could plug the skills gap we couldn't definitely say there was an opportunity; just because we could see the problem and solution that didn't necessarily mean we had a viable product commercially.

'As a small busy business, we have enough to do already, and the idea of diverting attention with R&D that may come to nothing was difficult for us to justify. The grant offered a way to reduce the risk to a level we felt comfortable with,' he explained.

'In the end, putting together the funding application was a last minute panic scoping out how much resources partners could commit to. But we were able to resolve this and the result was an award of £167,512 for us out of a total project funding of £338,754, where we had matched the grant. The project is called PARTEC, Persistent And Robust Tracking of Entertainment Content.

Three years on and we really do have a success on our hands; it has gone well, we have achieved all we set out to achieve, produced a demo, had feedback and are satisfied it is commercially viable. Our intention is to exploit it commercially - Stuart Green
Road to success
'Three years on and we really do have a success on our hands; it has gone well, we have achieved all we set out to achieve, produced a demo, had feedback and are satisfied it is commercially viable. Our intention is to exploit it commercially,' says Stuart.

Within the last few weeks, ZOO Digital has launched the first release of its new software. 'Commercialising further results of this project will take a bit longer as we need to file at least one patent, but what a good feeling that is going to be.

'One interesting thing that came up – well, fantastic actually - and which we hadn't anticipated, is to do with workflows which are usually for a specific function such as marketing.

'Our original idea was to make the ability to track workflow separate from the metadata, but during the project we realised that metadata and workflow are so closely linked we'd need to provide a generic workflow system that could be adapted for any creative media workflow.

'As we went along, we reshaped and re-planned what we were doing - the goals were the same, but the means by which they would be fulfilled changed during the project. It brought us clarity.

'It was a light bulb moment, really significant. The workflow is key. We have really made an amazing discovery here,' said Stuart.

ZOO Digital has now built a configurable workflow platform which has opened a substantial new opportunity which they are now very close to exploiting: 'This was a side of the project that we hadn't anticipated but the project revealed it and it has now had significant impact on our other products.'

The Technology Strategy Board project has enabled ZOO Digital to move forward and establish that its ideas could work in a way that would otherwise have been impossible - Stuart Green
From ideas to reality with the Technology Strategy Board
'The Technology Strategy Board project has enabled ZOO Digital to move forward and establish that its ideas could work in a way that would otherwise have been impossible.

'The funding has allowed us to turn our idea into a reality in a relatively short time, build a prototype and now turn it into a product which will enhance our portfolio and generate additional revenue.

The funding has allowed us to turn our idea into a reality in a relatively short time, build a prototype and now turn it into a product which will enhance our portfolio and generate additional revenue - Stuart Green
'It also meant we worked with great collaborators, which was very enjoyable. We learnt a lot from one another and will stay in touch – and there may be other opportunities for us to work together which we would thoroughly enjoy. We are also looking at applying for patents with Sheffield University,' explained Stuart.

'Overall, the project allowed us to feel that we had not only justified a public investment in R&D that will make our business more competitive on a world stage, but that the outcomes will be beneficial to our major customers, namely big Hollywood film studios.

We're just a small business in the UK but thanks to funding and support from the Technology Strategy Board our customers can see that we're progressive, innovative and take the initiative - Stuart Green
'It has been instrumental in enabling us to innovate in areas that are important to our customers and therefore strengthen their commitment to us.

'We're just a small business in the UK but thanks to funding and support from the Technology Strategy Board our customers can see that we're progressive, innovative and take the initiative.

'ZOO Digital is a story of a UK SME which now has something unique to offer in a global industry.'

ZOO DIGITAL FACT SHEET
ZOO Digital Group plc was founded in 2001 in Sheffield following the merger of two small internet companies
ZOO Digital are a software development company, creating products that are used in the creative media industries
ZOO Digital's products include ZOOcore workflow management system; ZOOsubs subtitling and captioning platform and ZOOpubs system to support conversion of titles to electronic books in the publishing industry
Their customers include major film studios, book publishers and marketing agencies
Over 20 patents have been granted
70 employees are working in their offices in Sheffield, London, Los Angeleles and Boston
Technology Strategy Board reference points for ZOO Digital
Thematic programme areas:
Digital economy
The Technology Strategy Board has identified 'Digital' as a core focus area for our current and future programmes. We define 'Digital' as the complex interaction of people, processes and technology that creates digital technologies – along with their socio-economic benefits.

Enabling technologies: Information and communication technology

The UK ICT sector includes more than 116,000 companies with revenues of more than £137bn in 2010 and contributes £66m GVA.

Our ICT programme seeks to stimulate innovation in software-intensive technologies, processes and systems. It has close connections with the electronics, sensors and photonics programme, which focuses on the hardware aspects of computing, and it underpins the digital programme, which focuses on the business challenges of ICT application in specific sectors.

Other opportunity areas - Creative industries

The creative industries form one of the UK's leading industrial sectors. Businesses ranging from advertising and crafts to performing arts and video games employ 1.4m people and contribute 5.3% of the country's output (GVA).

Innovative support tools:
(There are 13 Technology Strategy Board innovation support tools altogether)

Collaborative R&D

Collaborative R&D helps companies tackle specific technical or societal challenges by working collaboratively to create new products, processes and services. It encourages knowledge exchange, supply chain development and parallel working on complex system challenges. Collaborative R&D co-funds innovative projects involving partnerships between businesses, and between business and academia.

[buyn0w] 30/9/2013 21:35

Agree OD see the share price heading higher over coming days.

Hopefully some more interest from thestar article.

[opaldouglas] 30/9/2013 20:03

buynow - until market makers find a seller i can see this rise continuing. Given the fact ZOO was completely bombed out i imagine most investors have probably sold out or any legacy investors mostly have small holdings and aren't particularly interested here.

[opaldouglas] 30/9/2013 19:58

Entertainment industry software specialist ZOO Digital says things are looking up following a programme of investment and restructuring.

The Sheffield-based company, whose software is used by companies involved in film and TV, publishing and marketing, says improvements have continued and the business remains profitable.

ZOO says its Cloud-based film subtitling and management system, ZOOsubs, has now been adopted by three of the six major studios.

More than 70 per cent of feature films are localised for different markets around the world using subtitles because that costs a tenth of the price of dubbing the dialogue in a different language.

Chairman, Roger Jeynes, said: "This early success underlies our belief that this is an area of potential significant growth for the company.

"Good progress is being made against our strategic goals. We believe that the diversified range of products and services we have developed provides us with exciting new opportunities which are already bearing fruit.

"While we remain alert to wider economic uncertainties, we are confident for the year ahead."

ZOO Digital's clients include film companies like Paramount, Disney and Warner Brothers, the BBC and Nickelodeon, Warner and Universal's music businesses and book publishers Harper Collins, Hachette and MacMillan Education.

Clients use ZOO's integrated suite of cloud-based and desktop applications for adapting audio visual content and printed materials for distribution in different languages and different formats and delivery mechanisms, including as DVDs and Blu-ray discs, e-books and Internet downloads.

[buyn0w] 30/9/2013 15:53

Tick up.

Mms short of stock.

[opaldouglas] 28/9/2013 13:05

Hi Malcolm, it's a fair point. If things go to plan and products gain momentum as suggested by Stuart this week I suspect moving forward liquidity shouldn't be a problem. Certainly this week market makers have been caught short and until a seller is found I can see ZOO rerating to a fair value around the 20s, interims in November should give us an indication if 30p is achievable in my humble opinion.

The last few weeks do feel like a corner has been turned, both in terms of the business and the share price bouncing off an all time low. It's hardly surprising mm didn't want to take stock on over the last year and liquidity hasn't been great. For clarity whilst I regularly carry out dummy buys/sells (l2 is usually nonsense!) I intend to keep my holdings here as a see ZOO as a long term recovery play with exciting products and blue chip clients.

ZOO reminds me of MOGP, AKR & SEE which I've bought this year which were all bombed out with little volume. Initially liquidity was a problem, but with prospects rising and subsequently buyers arriving shares are traded with ease now.

Happy investing.

OD

[buyn0w] 28/9/2013 12:27

Maybe some new clients?

[buyn0w] 28/9/2013 12:24

100% buy on the bar chart.

SP will be alot higher in coming weeks as we await news regarding loan note extension, possible new contracts and then interims in november.

[malcolm caton] 28/9/2013 12:12

Hi Opal D,haven't bothered getting a quote as I'm not near my trimming point yet.bought at 6.8p.my point was a general observation even at the beginning of the month there were several days on no or minimal amounts of trades.and any exit has to be timed for days of above average volume or mms will take advantage.
I have dealt in this share on and off for more than 5 years and this has been my experience,things may have changed but I prefer to bank my profits when possible even if that means getting out to early.

[opaldouglas] 28/9/2013 08:49

Hi malcolm, which broker are you using? TDW quoted me 10.95 for 100,000 shares yesterday. This is .45 above the bid which suggests your broker may need a talking too.

What price were you quoted for 50k?

[malcolm caton] 27/9/2013 20:49

This share is very illiquid.some of you have said that its difficult to buy,it's even worse to ask,often cannot deal on line and brokers will quote a price at a substantial discount to quoted online price.it is not a sure to tie large amounts of money up in.
Fyi I hold a small holding 50k at present and over the years I've made and lost on my holdings.

[buyn0w] 27/9/2013 16:54

Good week. Lets hope this is the start of the recovery.

[buyn0w] 27/9/2013 14:33

Tick back up.

[buyn0w] 27/9/2013 10:12

mms bidding for stock looks like they got buy orders.

[opaldouglas] 27/9/2013 09:47

Can't buy any online via TDW or HL but can sell 100k well above bid price.

[buyn0w] 27/9/2013 09:35

Yes very hard to buy. Guess they will be closer to 30p by eoy.

[bains123] 27/9/2013 09:21

Still hard to buy here in decent qty I guess they need to spike up share price to get trading here!!!

[buyn0w] 27/9/2013 09:09

MCAP just over 3m. Still undervalued.

[bains123] 27/9/2013 08:51

A great turnaround story here, can see the share price going much higher soon!!!!!

[opaldouglas] 27/9/2013 08:51

Header updated with AGM presentation and Stocktube video. Stocktube video well worth a listen.

[opaldouglas] 27/9/2013 08:47

Small buys pushing ZOO higher this morn, if this continues i suspect we'll finish the day nicely ahead.

Short term i would like to see us motor beyond 13p resistance and hopefully interim's in seven weeks will give impetus to push towards broker forecasts of 30p.

[buyn0w] 27/9/2013 08:41

Lastly, given contract delay in H2 last year by a major client (which in hindsight was a blessing in disguise) - could this still come through?!? Stuart did state it was only "deferred".


Hope so OD.

Few buyers today.

[buyn0w] 26/9/2013 18:42

Sounds very positive opaldouglas.

Looking forward to the interims.

Btw very hard to buy today.