In June I attended the nextMEDIA conference in Banff, Canada. It was my first time attending this digital media event that precedes the BANFF Television Music Festival and I’m glad I was able to attend as media.
I decided to make my trip adventurous by taking the Greyhound bus each way. I had 14 hours of fun as I chatted with cool people and made friends for life or until one of us deletes the other on FB :P.
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
The Fairmont Banff Springs is a beautiful hotel where the event was held and I really enjoyed spending my nights at the HI-Banff Hostel - definitely one of the finest hostelling international places in North America.
Kay Gruenwoldt - Nokia
Kris Krüg shooting Megan Cole interview of Jim Louderback, Revision3
Boris Wertz - Nexopia.com
Jeff Barr - Amazon.com
Maria Hale - TELUS
Jeremy Wright - b5media
Gavin McGarry, Deborah Day, Matt Toner, Keith Clarkson, & Jacqueline Nuwame
Megan Cole & Biren Ghose
Brian Traynor - N95 winner for having oldest mobile phone at nextMEDIA
Relevance: A fun opportunity to learn from and meet digital media movers and shakers
It was a fun experience and I enjoyed seeing my Late Fragment friends again that I had met at VIDFEST when I saw Late Fragment for the first time. Thanks to Ana Serrano for blogging about my photos that night.
Ellen, Louise & Marine
Joleen, Jenna, & Sandy
Mateo Guez - writer/director - Late Fragment
Jessie Bennett
Brandon Jay McLaren & Jeff Parazzo - actor - Late Fragment
Thanks to Jacqueline Nuwame (we chilled at nextMEDIA), I was able to video interview Jeff Parazzo who plays the character of Théo and Mateo Guez who was the writer/director for that storyline.
On July 8th, the distributor, Mongrel Media released the Launch Party DVD across Canada as North America’s first interactive dramatic feature film.
Co-produced by the Canadian Film Centre’s (CFC) Media Lab and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Late Fragment is a critically-acclaimed work that boldly pushes storytelling into the realm of digital interactivity. Based on an interface model developed by acclaimed director Lars von Trier, this unique film allows the viewer to control the flow of the story with the click of a button.
Now audiences at home can discover Late Fragment’s multi-plot, non-linear and interactive narrative stories of three strangers. A young mother grappling with loss, a man reconnecting with his troubled son, and a male stripper facing his past — Faye (Krista Bridges), Kevin (Michael Healy) and Theo (Jeff Parazzo) are drawn together as participants in a restorative justice process, where victims and offenders share their stories. Written and directed by three directors (Anita Doron, Daryl Cloran, and Mateo Guez), the stories intertwine according to the viewer’s guidance, on a path to redemption, reconciliation, or revenge.
Relevance: A great opportunity to meet and interact with people interested in film and digital media
Tonight I will be attending the DVD Release Party of Late Fragment at Republic. I attended the film screening in May at VIDFEST and blogged about it.
Faye, Kevin and Théo – three troubled strangers, three lives fractured by thoughts and acts of violence. In the interactive feature film Late Fragment, their narratives interlock in a unique cinematic experience in which you play a creative and interactive role. Navigating through the movie, you uncover their stories, and their secrets, at will, controlling the flow and direction of the elaborate sequencing with a simple click.
I am look forwarding to meeting some of the people associated with the film again. In attendance will be Jeff Parazzo, the actor who plays Théo (below) and Mateo Guez, one of the three writer/directors (Théo storyline).
On June 3rd I attended an announcement by the Canadian Research Knowledge Network at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences (Congress 2008) to present the results of a project. Through funding from the government of Canada, $47 million was invested in new digital scholarly content for research and innovation, primarily for the humanities and social sciences.
According to the media release:
Thanks to a joint $47 million investment by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), eight provinces and 67 universities, nearly 900,000 researchers, scholars and students in Canadian universities will gain desktop access to an extensive body of national and international material.
With the click of a button, researchers and students in Canada will be able to access, search, sort and consult a rich digital collection of scholarly content, ranging from books, letters and historical documents to music scores, maps, artworks and visual materials. Many of these were not previously accessible to Canadians, or were only offered with limited access in print version.
This investment is the work of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), a consortium of universities dedicated to expanding digital content in support of the academic research enterprise in Canada.
Social sciences and humanities researchers and students at 67 Canadian universities will have access to the new content by Fall 2008.
About CRKN: The Canadian Research Knowledge Network is a partnership of Canadian universities, dedicated to expanding digital content for the academic research enterprise in Canada. Through the coordinated leadership of librarians, researchers and administrators, CRKN undertakes large-scale content acquisition and licensing initiatives in order to build knowledge infrastructure and research capacity in Canada’s universities. For more information on CRKN visit our website at www.ResearchKnowledge.ca.
I interviewed Dr. Noreen Golfman, President of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, about what this announcement means for Canadian students. Below is her response.
Dr. Noreen Golfman
Deb deBruijn, CRKN Executive Director, opens the DCI event
Distinguished Speakers: Dr. Mona Nemer, Dr. Eliot Phillipson, Mr. Brent Sauder, Dr.Noreen Golfman and Dr. Ron Rensink
Dr. Mona Nemer, University of Ottawa VP Research & CRKN Board Member
Dr. Eliot Phillipson, President and CEO, Canada Foundation for Innovation
Mr. Brent Sauder, Assistant Deputy Minister, Research Technology & Innovation Division, Ministry of Advanced Education, Province of British Columbia
Dr. Ronald Rensink, Professor of Computer Science and Psychology, Visual Analytics research, University of British Columbia
Mike Baida - Micromedia/ ProQuest & Kim Isaac - University College of the Fraser Valley
Erik Moore - University of New Brunswick & Michael Eberle-Sinatra - President of Synergies
Martin Dee - Photographer, Public Affairs, University of British Columbia. (photography on right)
Waiting for the reception
Relevance: An example of what Canada is doing to remain current in the areas of digital media and innovative research through partnerships between governments (federal/provincial) and our university system.
At VIDFEST 2008, Dr. Eric McLuhan, son of Marshall McLuhan was interviewed by Michael Tippett, the founder and CEO of NowPublic. I really liked the relaxed yet informative interview style of Michael Tippett. I have been to the NowPublic offices back when they shared space with Bryght (before their merger with Raincity Studios). I also enjoyed the changing slides behind them as they talked. I didn’t find it distracting, but rather found the imagery effective in enhancing their message.
Living in a digital world has created a new culture of the nomad, one of metaphysical hunters of information. The old hunter-gatherer used a spear and arrow, the new version uses a laptop and wifi - to much greater effect. Join this renowned scholar and son of Marshall McLuhan as he discusses digital media and their impact on today’s communication.
The event was liveblogged by Jarrett Martineau of NowPublic. The text attributed to Dr Eric McLuhan is from there.
Dr. Eric McLuhan - Medium used to be understood as an intermediary, a communion with spirits, not as my father and I understood it.
Dr. Eric McLuhan - Every new medium reconstrues the audience, by providing them with a new way of imagining things
Dr. Eric McLuhan - Media is only understandable as a form of metaphysics. Bodies are no longer relevant. Electronically we are simultaneously in many places at once.
Relevance: What does the proliferation of digital media and mobile technology mean for the ability to transit and share news information instantly via friendfeed, flickr, or twitter?
On the Friday of VIDFEST, I attended the Creative Exchange Conference in which a variety of speakers in diverse areas of social media, crowdsourcing, alternate reality games, digital media, and social action among others presented. It was an all-day affair held at the Arts Club on Granville Island.
The opening keynote was by Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Wired Magazine. His presentation was entitled The Economy of ‘Free’. (see NowPublic for liveblogging by Jarrett Martineau.
Best-selling author of The Long Tail, Chris Anderson is one of the most knowledgeable, insightful and articulate voices at the center of the new economy. Join him at VIDFEST as he talks about the new economy of ‘free.’ As the marginal cost of digital information approaches zero, practically everything on the Web heads toward ‘free.’ How do you thrive when free has emerged as a full-fledged economy? Hear how Chris describes the new directions the economy is taking, names the central phenomenon, and gives you handles for the business opportunities they represent.
Chris Anderson - “Everything that can become digital will become digital. Everything that is digital will become free”
He gave a fascinating presentation beginning with King Gillette - “the patron saint of the free” who invented the disposable blade safety razor and developed a strategy in which he gave way razors for free knowing that people would need to purchase the disposable blades.
Chris Anderson - “In a competitive market price falls to the marginal cost”
He discussed the webmail dichotomy of gmail vs. yahoo, the freemium models that exist in video games (e.g. providing limited demos), and how YouTube emerged because steaming video is almost free, resulting in internet famous people like lonelygirl15.
Chris Anderson - “For the first time in history, complexity is free”
Relevance: I was interested in this presentation as I participate in this free culture by downloading the free single offered each week on iTunes or accepting free samples at Starbucks. It is a part of our culture. What I do wonder is when geographic restrictions will be lifted on the flow of free content online so that I can watch Heroes on NBC.com or live streaming of the Olympics on the BBC website.
At Convergence 2008 this year, I attended the presentation by Sebastian Seithoff, Global Marketing Director - Young Adults, McDonald’s.
As I am a player of The Lost Ring alternate reality game, I was interested to hear Sebastian speak. Not only is McDonald’s the main sponsor, but it is their first foray into the genre of alternate reality games. The Lost Ring, which is linked to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, kicked off in March as 50 bloggers receiving packages with an Olympic-themed poster and a clue pointing them to a website with a unique trailer.
My mystery package
Alternate reality games are part of a genre (e.g. I love Bees ) that mix online and offline realities through clues and activities that focus on the abilities of players to solve puzzles through collaborative means. For example, players of The Lost Ring have collaborated with local participants through The Lost Ring forums to construct city training missions, which may be shared via YouTube, Flickr, and blogs in order to compare times and techniques. The activity of players and characters on different social media platforms can be monitored on an online map.
Characters use a variety of social media tools such as twitter, YouTube, and Flickr to broadcast information relevant for players of the game. The Lost Ring is developed by AKQA, a marketing agency based in San Francisco and Jane McGonigal.
Sebastian Siethoff - McDonald’s
His presentation began with a focus on youth - how they are using social networks and how they are developing an awareness of their global environment and tapping into the increased interest worldwide in the social media culture.
Sebastian Siethoff - McDonald’s
He then provided a background on The Lost Ring for the audience before discussing the unique, less-overt, branding approach McDonald’s is using in relation to the game in order to strengthen ties with the global youth culture.
Sebastian Siethoff - McDonald’s
My complete flickr set from Convergence 2008 is here.
Relevance:
Although advertising has been linked to video games [see the recent design week article] this type of marketing by McDonald’s tied to an alternate reality game is still novel (see Donna’s marketing blog for her analysis after a presentation by Neil Golden, CMO, McDonald’s USA about their sponsorship. Will this lead to other companies seeing value in similar ventures and what are the metrics upon which this relationship will be considered successful?
The first speaker was Grant McCracken, the author of Culture and Consumption who was introduced by Sandy Fleischer.
Sandy Fleischer - Fjord Interactive Marketing
Dr. Grant McCracken is a professor of MIT whose work has been reviewed by media ranging from The New York Times to The Oprah Winfrey Show. As a cultural anthropologist, McCracken examnes where culture and commerce, anthropology and economics meet most often: marketing in general, branding in particular, popular culture, Hollywood, advertising, television, magazines, and new media.
Grant McCracken - author of Culture and Consumption
I enjoyed Grant’s presentation (he is a Canadian born in Vancouver) as he explained some of the existing technologies I use such as twitter from an ethnographic perspective. As a student, I identified with his discussions on how students are always online (I know my friends still love facebook). Afterwards I thought of how companies may see digital media as a potential platform for marketing products to youth.
Grant McCracken - Culture and Consumption - Convergence 2008
During the lunch hour I interviewed Grant McCracken about his presentation entitled: Digital Cultures: Markets, Meaning and Brand Management, which I uploaded to YouTube below.
From May 21-24, 2008, I attended the Vancouver International Digital Festival (VIDFEST) on media credentials.
VIDFEST is eleven events over four days, including conferences, an awards gala, an international partnering forum, a pitch fest, an interactive film screening, and a recruiting fair.
Phillip Jeffrey
On May 21st the Opening Reception at the Vancouver Art Gallery which is currently showcasing the KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art exhibit took place.
Shannon Kaplun - Fundfindr interviews Lisa Bettany - Mostly Lisa
Darren Barefoot
Shannon Kaplun - Fundfindr interviews Rebecca Bollwitt - Miss 604
Relevance: A fun event to begin 4 days of digital media knowledge
On the final day of VIDFEST, I attended a screening of Late Fragment. This interactive film had been shown at SXSW 2008 as well it was part of the Future of Cinema Salon Series at the Cannes Film Festival 2008. Ana Serrano, Director of the Habitat new media lab at the Canadian Film Centre introduced the film and was kind enough to provide me with a press package due to my media credentials.
Ana Serrano, Director of the Habitat new media lab @ Canadian Film Centre
From the press package:
Late Fragment is an interactive film that lets audiences piece together, both literally and figuratively, the cinematic narrative in front of them. The physical experience is not unline channle surfing in front of the television, except imagine that each channel presents different scences from the same story. Late Fragment is the kind of film audiences will need to “play” over and over again, as they tease out the relationships between characters, between past and present, between right and wrong, and between old stories and the creation of new ones.
Faye, Kevin, and Théo - three troubled strangers, three lives fractured by thoughts and acts of violence. In the interacitve feature film Late Fragment, their narratives interlock in a unique cinematic experience in which you play a creative and interactive role. Navigating through the movie, you uncover their stories, and their secrets, at will, controllling the flow and direction of the elaborate sequencing with a simple click.
From the Fact Sheet
co-production of two national organizations, the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and is the first dramatic interactive feature film to come out in North America.
inspired by Switching, an interactive film directed by Morten Schjodt of Oncotype and produced by the Danish Film Institute.
an interactive film is an active vs. a passive viewing experience where audiences piece together, both literally and figuratively, the cinematic narrative in front of them. Late Fragment delivered via DVD-video lets audiences click “enter” on their remote control, and impact the way the story unfolds, sequencing the events of the story depending on when and how often they click “enter”
Before the film was shown, audience members that were interested in an active viewing experience sat in the front row so that the remote control could be shared between them. Ana Serrano first began the process by clicking the remote control. During the Q&A, she stated that she did that to get the process started as audiences tend to initially watch without clicking. As the story centres around a theme of restorative justice with perpetrators and victims being brought together in a room, if the remote control hasn’t been clicked by that time of that initial scene then the film enters a loop focusing on each of the faces of the 3 main characters until engaged.
I enjoyed the film although some of the more graphic scenes caused me to look down and focus on my Blackberry until they were passed. As someone watching an interactive film but without the power to control the interactivity as I sat in the back, throughout the film I wished I had that power. I would have used it to change the scenes that I found to be too intense for me. I didn’t have a problem following the three separate storylines of Faye, Kevin, and Théo. However in our sitting, the interactive process resulted in Kevin and Théo being shown the majority of the film and Faye only was shown a little bit. If we watched the film again though, the interactive process would be different, perhaps resulting in more Faye and Kevin, but less Théo.
The film reminded me of the interactive books I read as a child. I would follow the main character and be able to turn to one page if I want the character to do one thing and another page if I wanted the character to do something else. I don’t remember what the formal term was for these types of books.
During the Q&A, it was brought up that three writers-directors each was responsible for a story and had to develop scenes that could stand on their own as it would not be known what scene the audience was looking at previously. As noted on the Fest21.com blog: Daryl Cloran, wrote Kevin’s story; Anita Doron was responsible for Faye’s Story, and Mateo Guez developed Théo’s Story
This was a fascinating film even without its interactive feature and I look forward to seeing whether we have more interactive films in the future.
Below is my video interview of Ana Serrano about Late Fragment (click arrow).
Ana Serrano, Director of the Habitat new media lab @ CFC
Relevance: A novel approach to engaging one’s audience.
Why I took the Greyhound from Vancouver
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Kay Gruenwoldt - Nokia
Kris Krüg shooting Megan Cole interview of Jim Louderback, Revision3
Boris Wertz - Nexopia.com
Jeff Barr - Amazon.com
Maria Hale - TELUS
Jeremy Wright - b5media
Gavin McGarry, Deborah Day, Matt Toner, Keith Clarkson, & Jacqueline Nuwame
Megan Cole & Biren Ghose
