Smart Screen Exclusive

By Dan Ochiva

Will the launch of Syfy Sync during tonight’s season three premiere of special effects competition series “Face Off” prove to viewers and advertisers alike that the second screen has arrived?

Syfy Network sure hopes so. A division of NBCUniversal, Syfy is employing software from Gloto and Watchwith — as well as integrated social apps Facebook, Twitter, and GetGlue — to deliver a constant stream of custom second screen material to viewers using iPads and Android tablets. (A newer version of the app delivers in a week that allows viewing re-broadcasts of the show).

“We’re seeing this as a brand,” says Matthew Chiavelli, Syfy’s VP of Emerging Platforms. “’Face Off’ is the first show we’re doing (Sync) inside of, but we’ll be rolling this out in more shows in the coming months.” Syfy already has a history of interacting with its audience, with shows like “Ghost Hunters” employing concurrent web playout offering camera feeds that show viewers wouldn’t see on the live broadcast.

With Syfy Sync, viewers will experience a more intimate feel for the show since they have a number of elements to involve them, from unique shots and clips not included in the broadcast, as well as polls, details of contestants’ sketches, contests, and integrated social media. Advertisers, of course, love the buy-in from involved viewers.

A constant stream of interactivity, of course, isn’t appropriate for every show.

“‘Face Off’’s format of competition-based reality lends itself to this so well,” says Chiavelli. “These are the sorts of shows people are already hopping on social networks to discuss. It’s a challenge, however, to figure out how to use Sync on a scripted show, without being distracting and pulling the viewer out of it.”

Working with a fine cut of the show, Syfy’s production team relies on Watchwith’s Mac-based Showrunner, a time-based metadata editor for creating and syncing a metadata layer with video assets.

“It looks like a simple version of Final Cut Pro that allows you to add an event to the (show’s) timeline,” says Zane Vella, CEO of Watchwith.

Syfy’s Platform Manager Matt Romano gathers second screen elements during production, but his team needs to wait until they receive a show’s final cut from the show’s production company, San Francisco-based Mission Control Media.

“We have to wait for the locked show to make sure nothing has changed so that the timecode events still line up,” says Chiavelli. “We’ll probably get faster as we get more experienced, but right now there’s a 24-hour window from the time we finish (working on the locked show) to air.”

The next version of Gloto’s Apple/Android app will use audio from the program audio to trigger content recognition, allowing use during re-broadcasts, or when playing back from a DVR.

“It’s really easy to see Sync as a new box of crayons, one that makes you want to use every color all the time,” says Chiavelli. “However, we see (using a second screen) as fans would. We’re careful about not pulling people out of the experience or giving them something that’s not additive to their experience.”