By Marc Saltzman
Special
to The LA Times
In "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," the young wizard and
his schoolmate chums face off against a mysterious force bent on terrorizing
the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Viewers are then instructed to
use their voice to navigate through supernatural worlds to create spells, print
magic trading cards, play computer games and access an animated Harry Potter
timeline with video clips from the films.
What's that? Don't recall the latter? You won't if you watched the film in a
movie theater or in your video or DVD player. These interactive extras are only
accessible when watching the disc on a PC.
From digital comic books in "Spider-Man" to a morphing studio in
"Terminator 2" to printable school assignments in "Bowling for
Columbine," hundreds of DVD movies feature compelling DVD-ROM content -
extras made exclusively for computers - though most consumers aren't even aware
they exist.
In fact, a recent report from consumer research firm Centris claims just 15% to
20% of those who buy or rent a DVD movie will access exclusive DVD-ROM features
- even though 23 of the 25 bestselling DVD movies released last year included
these PC-only extras.
"What makes a difference is how this extra content is advertised on the
packaging or presented on the menu screen," says Chris Brown, founder and
executive creative director at InterActual Technologies, a company that
develops exclusive DVD-ROM content for movie studios. "But the trend is
growing as consumers are beginning to see what they've been missing, not to
mention more and more households have access to PCs with DVD-ROM drives,"
Brown adds.
The following are a few examples of DVD-ROM content to be found on many of
today's (and yesterday's) DVD movies:
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" - There is certainly no
shortage of magical extras on this disc. The "Extra Credit" portion
lets users command the DVD-ROM features using their voice (PC microphone
required), which includes a screen-saver, printable mazes, folding posters and
cutouts, jigsaw puzzles, trivia contests, a Hogwarts timeline, a photo hunt and
a playable game-demo for Electronic Arts' latest "Harry Potter"
adventure.
"T2: Extreme DVD" - His platform for fixing
"Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" - DVD-ROM-only extras include a "DVD
Online Challenge" that combines the film and a video game together;
players must complete various tasks at specific points in the movie to rack up
as many points as possible. Other features include an extensive timeline of the
franchise (beginning in 1995 with the conception of the first video game), a
video game demo for Eidos' "Tomb Raider: Chronicles," the archived
Tomb Raider Web site, and an extended IPIX gallery.
"Die Another Day" - The second DVD in this set offers exclusive
material that would even make Q proud. This includes a secret entrance to a
James Bond Web page, 16 exclusive photos, trailers and TV spots, a
behind-the-scenes video clip titled "Inside 'Die Another Day' " and a
first look at the upcoming Electronic Arts video game, "007: Everything or
Nothing."
"Spider-Man" - A handful of DVD-ROM-only extras can be found here,
such as three complete Marvel Dot.Comics, a Spider-Man screen-saver, a demo for
Activision's "Spider-Man" PC game, Web links that include a sneak
peak at "Spider-Man 2" (due next July 2) and Windows software that
lets Spider-Man move to MP3 music on a computer.
"Stuart Little 2" - The DVD-ROM content includes a Read-Along
Storybook feature so users can listen to narrated stories such as "Soccer
Season" or record and e-mail their own voice reading this tale. Moreover,
the disc contains a ReVoice Studio to record voice-overs to classic moments in
the film, links to online content and a playable demo of Infogrames/Atari's
"Stuart Little 2: Roof Skate" Windows game.
"Men in Black II" - Pop the second DVD into the PC and click the
words "Drop Into MIB Headquarters." Fans of the film can play around
with the "Nanospace In-flight Entertainment System" to retrieve a handful
of goodies including a full script to the film, two dozen conceptual drawings
of space-age vehicles (with descriptions), an "MIB II" screen-saver
and a demo for a "MIB Crossfire" computer game (Windows only).
"Final
"Scooby-Doo": Zoinks! - The DVD for this TV-turned-movie franchise
includes voice-activated commands to navigate through features such as a
printable "Scooby Snacks" wrapper for a cookie box and a
"Mystery Machine" van cutout, seven games including
"Rarades" (charades) and "Belch in Tune" (help Scooby
create a song by clicking on cans of soda), screen-savers and more.
"Bowling for Columbine" - A clever 22-part "Teacher's
Guide" is included on the DVD-ROM to help promote classroom discussion,
research topics and specific programs for students, all related to the issues
and themes raised in the film. It can be read on the disc or printed via PDF
files. One selection is "Mike's Action Guide," which includes
information on how to get involved in the fight against gun violence in
Want more? Here's a few PC-only features to look forward to this fall.
New Line Cinema's "Willard" will include a DVD-ROM trivia game;
players who score high enough will unlock an exclusive screensaver.
Universal Studios' "
Fox has squeezed a 300MB DVD-ROM computer game on its upcoming "X-Files
Season 8" DVD set called "Existence." Players become an agent
working with the FBI, assigned to help find Agent Mulder (who was abducted at
the end of Season 7).