We are well underway now with Australia’s (and possibly the world’s) first Multi Platform Content Graduate Certificate. AFTRS is also offering the same, even more turbo charged course for the 2nd half of this year (16 weeks part time starting July 12). This post looks at the course thus far with some student example, gives links in how to apply and more detail from the main AFTRS site at the bottom.

Note: This post was cross posted from the course’s Transmedia Design blog

Tell me about the current course

This course was created out of strong demand from both industry and students internally wanting to develop beyond traditional linear and learn about cross media design and production. Starting in February of this year it was the first time AFTRS has run such a dedicated transmedia design award course and it has borrowed a lot of learning from the 5 year presence of the LAMP initiative in the school for the content.

Without burying too deep in the detail here are some high level snapshots of what the nine students half way through the first course have been doing on Mon and Weds evenings (6.15-9.30pm) and (once every 3 weeks or so) a weekend incubator:

• Face to face expert seminars, workshops and one-to-one training across business, service design & production, communities, distribution and storytelling techniques, technical insights, mobile/arg/virtual worlds/open social/TV/brand extensions – the list goes on.
• Completing a range of challenging and detailed assignments including: audience research and analysis, design and service trends, story with linked business concepts, funding submissions, cross briefing of campaign ideas, game concepts etc:
• Immersing themselves in three weekend incubators individually and in teams developing a) A multi platform, social media advertising campaign b) A transmedia TV extension or wrapper (more below) c) A technical prototype of a brand new game or social media mashup (more below)
• Planning their main production for the course and learning about the treatment, functional and design spec and business planning behind their unique, individually original project which will be investor/funding presentation ready.

Who has taught so far on this Course?

Amazingly in the first three months they have been instructed and lectured to by some of Australia’s top multi platform producers and thinkers:

• Sam Doust – Senior Producer, ABC Innovation, teaching service design and tech. Leader at the ABCTV innovation team
• Kelly Chapman – Transmedia Producer and Director of KCDC productions, teaching about the business and production of transmedia content. Producer of Spooks, Emmerdale and Lost property extensions as well as feature films
• Jennifer Wilson - Director of The Project Factory & Chair Mobile Industry Australia, specialising in mobile, client and business and industry trends thinking
• Martin Walsh – Head of Digital Marketing IBM, teaching about self distribution, measurement and monitoring and social media. Previously Head of Digital at Microsoft and keynote speaker recently at SPAA
• Jim Shomos - Forgettherules.com on episodic storytelling, generating business, creating at the edge
• Laurel Papworth – Social Network Strategist & Marketing Magazine’s Head of Social Media Industry Australia, teaching online communities and social media campaigns
• Lisa Gray - Head of Multi Platform Content at The Feds, about client relationships, creative briefs and marketing
• Katherine Blashki - Director of Research and Education at AFTRS, about transmedia storytelling
• Catherine Gleeson - Head of Platform09 Design and AFTRS Foundation, showing case studies in transmedia design process
• Nathan Anderson – MD of Envelop Entertainment and AFTRS Masters Candidate in Transmedia, new forms of storytelling and game theory
• Gary Hayes - CCO of MUVEDesign and Course Coordinator / Lecturer Multi Platform at AFTRS, teaching almost everything but focus on transmedia design, virtual worlds, augmented reality, trends and social media. Previously 8 yrs Senior Dev Producer at BBC, Director of LAMP@AFTRS and Head Virtual Worlds at The Project Factory

“AFTRS is looking for creative people who want to extend their skills to producing 360 degree entertainment. A multi platform strategy is now an essential part of any pitch to broadcasters, funding bodies or investors and this course will give you the tools you need to do this. If you have skills as a content creator in the broadcast industries or are a filmmaker, writer or producer this course is designed to leverage your skills into the multi platform world.”

Why do this Course?

• Learn about the key technologies used to facilitate multi platform content and where it is going in the future
• Initiate, document, pitch and prototype an innovative multi platform project
• Extend professional skills in audience focused content creation
• Study in an engaging environment that is responsive to student needs
• Learn about technical specifications, information architecture and how to work productively with developers and designers
• Enhance your opportunities to work in the industry as a member of the core creative team
• Explore the potential to extend story across platforms using new entertainment formats
• Design participatory services that provide a role for audience to play
• Learn about new business models, Web 2.0, social networking and emerging multi platform entertainment formats

Something from the students?

All students have set-up word press blogs and other CMS’s as well as simple html sites and even create a simple game world in Unity – most came with basic web skills but have hopefully been given the confidence to take control of the distribution of their ideas and implement much more of the backend themselves. A few students are blogging openly about the course and here is Monica and Luci on two recent pieces of AFTRS Multi Platform work.

Monica is capturing some of the work she is doing on her external blogspot site “Notes on Multi Platform“. She is tracking some of the evening sessions with myself and guest lecturers such as a great post on “Finding Your Audience“- based on Kelly Chapman’s talk as part of Multi Platform Business. The last weekend incubator was to actually realise a small prototype as part of a much bigger proposition. So we had great examples & concepts of locative and marker augmented reality, drupal communities, flash games, wordpress blogs etc: Monica and her team member Tali decided to go a slightly tricky route (for non programmers) and try a mashup. Although aware of the issues of coding multiple services together using APIs – Monica and Tali focused on the key need for the service then built a simple live on the web prototype. Monica writes on her World Wise post:

For you to be able to imagine our application we developed some bits: an RSS to search only in specific feeds, TweetBlender: a WordPress plugin, a Flicker widget, etc. The idea is for this application to be used in a searchable interactive interface which will allow citizens, journalists and activists, to find relevant human rights information in ways in which they can contribute, either by becoming more informed or more involved and able to donate time, energy and money to a cause. The result is here http://transmediadesign.org/hera/ but I don’t know for how long, so I took a few screenshots:

Luci is capturing some of her ideas on her existing blogspot site which itself is a great resource for DIY filmmakers “Yet Another Struggling Writer (& Indie Filmmaker)” – her recent post was on the second incubator project that the students teamed up for which was to design a localised TV transmedia project for the show “V”. Jennifer Wilson and I made sure that all students really thought hard about the reasons for the service and of course how to grow ‘relevant’ community and audience. In other incubators they developed completely original ideas but for this one it is important they develop their ‘multi platform’ adaptation skills and other students looked at transmedia extensions to existing linear properties including Madmen, East West 101, Being Erica & ABC News. Read Luci’s in-depth service design post here and as an intro she writes

My team (myself, Jane Arandelovic and Alex Bathur) identified a common problem for the local TV networks that screen overseas content here in Australia after the US air date. The audience most likely to become fans tend to seek these shows out online or on DVD prior to the Australian broadcast. For networks, such as Channel Nine, the problem of securing audience loyalty to their channel, when the same content is available online through someone else, is similar to the question of how filmmakers can turn file-sharers into loyal purchasers. We used the television show “V” as an example. This is a sci-fi series that began screening episodes in the US last November, while it wasn’t till March 2010 that it broadcast in Australia. Our goal was to increase ratings of the show on Channel Nine despite the delayed broadcast. We took the position that we were standing in late 2009 trying to work out how to win over viewers (rather than mid way through the series as it is now).

Wanna Apply?

So if you are Sydney based and want to be instructed by some of the top professionals in this neck of the woods, develop your own transmedia ideas and be ready for the industry as it moves towards multi platform, multi screen, multi form distribution, then sign up for the course.

There are a range of pages about the course on the main AFTRS site but to get lots more info, express interest and provisionally apply here are some links:

1. To apply straight away, register on the AFTRS portal first by going here
2. To see more high level stuff about the course go to Graduate Certificate in Multi Platform Content
3. To read a more detailed page that lists course structure, outcomes and modules etc: go to Multi Platform Content Award Course Detail

If you would like more personalised information about this course please email Peter Giles as your first port of call

Related posts

• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• Mentors Finalised for LAMP VII: Story of the Future (0)
• Speaking Transmedian – Kelly Chapman at SPAA (3)
• Open Source, Social Collaboration Tools – Next State of Play Seminar (0)

At the 8th LAMP residential, an international event with three New Zealand teams, held in Marysville, Victoria several excellent projects surfaced. Originally called “Touched by the Road Toll” it was led by Sandra Cook (Producer/Creator), Kerry Sunderland (Online Producer/Designer) and Tamsin Smyth (Designer) with Laurel Papworth a ‘guardian’ mentor. Since then the Sandra and Kerry have worked hard to get this very worth project off the ground and launched. So it was fabulous to find out a few weeks ago that Journey Beyond Road Trauma has launched and is doing extremely well in activating and bonding a community affected by road tragedies.

Sandra contacted LAMP and told us all about the project and it’s journey over the past two years and sent us some more background as to the purpose of the community site.

Sandra Cook and Kerry Sunderland are the co-founders of Journey Beyond Road Trauma. Kerry and Sandra joined forces in late 2007 after working together on a documentary called ‘The Burning Season’. In Feb 2008, they formed a new company called Online Story Exchange to oversee production of the first stage of the project.

Sandra recently said “Since the launch of our testing site four weeks ago, people from all over Australia have joined the community in an overwhelming show of support for each other. People have set up profiles, created memory spaces, connected with each other, told their story and marked the scene of a collision on Google Maps.”

A lot more about the project below:

Behind every fatality and serious injury statistic there are thousands of stories. Tell your story to educate others about the impact of careless driving. A community site for collective healing, remembrance and positive action Journey Beyond Road Trauma is an online social network for all those affected by road trauma. The site is a space where you can find a network of support, a way to connect, a place to remember and tools to be positive and pro-active.

Whether the crash was yesterday or 15 years ago, the site can be used as an intimate place of sharing with family or friends, or can be used to engage with a broader online community. The community is also a resource for the all Australians, particularly those with an interest in road safety as well as those who are affected by road trauma in their workplace (emergency services, lawyers, health workers and so on).

When you join the community you will be able to:

• Set up a profile
• Connect with others affected by road trauma
• Tell your story with blogs and video
• Watch short documentaries.
• Mark the scene of the collision (a virtual roadside memorial mark) on a Google Map

In Australia there are about 1600 deaths on our roads every year. Alarmingly, another 140 people are seriously injured each day. The site provides a contact point for people to access counselling services, legal services, victims of crime support, road safety education programs and disability carers. Under the guidance of road safety experts, the community can channel their grief into positive action by collectively campaigning for road safety. The online space can also be used as an educational resource to complement already existing road safety campaigns.

Where did the concept for this project come from and why did you do this?

In Adelaide, at 7:15am on Thursday the 11th of March 2004, Sandra’s father was critically injured on a suburban road when driving to work. He didn’t die at the scene. He was taken to hospital and died 11 days later when the family made the agonising decision to turn off his life support. Exactly one year after the crash, as a way of coping, Sandra decided to start filming her family. She wanted to document not only her family’s grief and shock, but primarily their search for justice as the cogs turned ever more slowly in what seemed to be an endless, impersonal and ineffective legal system. Her family had no idea what caused the accident. The driver who caused the crash was charged with ‘Causing death by dangerous driving’, but it would be over two and a half years before the family sat in a courtroom and began to piece together the story of that fateful day. All they knew was that a woman on her way home from working night duty as a nurse crossed the median strip from the other side of the road and hit her father’s car head on. At the trial they learnt that the driver suffered from chronic knee pain and as a result was taking more than 1200mg of morphine a day, which is a bigger dose than what is typically prescribed to a terminally ill cancer patient. As the story unfolded, the family’s relationship with the driver became complicated and disappointing when verbal promises that were made in a Restorative Justice conference were not honored. Sandra stopped filming; the documentary became a story she didn’t want to tell. She didn’t have a happy ending so she put all the tapes in a carton and stashed her vision in the back of a cupboard. But, over time, Sandra recognised that the art form of documentary filmmaking is changing rapidly, with the single approach of a ‘one-hour documentary for television’ becoming a notion of the past.

As digital media platforms converge, documentary makers need to tell stories in innovative ways, engaging the wider web audience.

A year or so after Sandra officially quit, she began to contemplate how the project could work online and engage the thousands of other people affected by road trauma. It was at this point, about three days before Christmas in 2007 that Sandra teamed up with multi-platform documentary writer/producer Kerry Sunderland who she had met while working on ‘The Burning Season’. Fortunately, soon after, Sandra and Kerry were accepted into the Australian Film Television and Radio School’s Laboratory of Advanced Media Production (LAMP). It was the best thing that could have happened for the project. In February 2008 Kerry and Sandra travelled to the beautiful town of Marysville, Victoria to attend LAMP. At LAMP, under the mentorship of Australian and International digital media experts, they developed and workshopped the project with the most bright, witty, clever and creative minds. The live-in workshop was almost a year to the date before the tragic Black Saturday fires. After LAMP Sandra and Kerry set out to research how the project could be an effective tool in road safety education.

When Journey Beyond Road Trauma was in the very early stages of development it was accepted into the Australian Film Television and Radio School’s Laboratory of Advanced Media Production (LAMP). In February 2008 Kerry and Sandra travelled to Marysville Victoria to attend LAMP. At LAMP, under the mentorship of Australian and international digital media experts including Gary Hayes, Anthony Eden, Laurel Papworth and Matt Costello, they developed and produced an Electronic Proof of Concept (EPOC) for the web site. It was this EPOC that enabled Sandra Cook and Kerry Sunderland to secure development funding from the South Australian Film Corporation. Kerry and Sandra subsequently received a $100,000 grant through Screen Australia’s Cross-Platform Digital Media Production Fund. The project is also sponsored by the Royal Automobile Association (RAA) and has received a grant from the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation foundation.

Kerry and Sandra spent a year researching and meeting with some of Australia’s pre-eminent road safety experts to learn how this project could be effective in road safety education. Those experts include:

• Lachlan McIntosh AM, Asia Pacific Director of the International Road Assessment Program (iRap) and Chairman of the Australasian College of Road Safety
• John Goldsworthy, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
• Professor Barry Watson, Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q).

Follow the team and find out more on:

Facebook - myspace - Twitter

CONTACT

• Sandra Cook – Director / Producer p: 0413 146 013 e: sandracook@onlinestoryexchange.com
• Michelle Kelly – Online Marketing Co-ordinator p: 0431 011 050 e: michellekelly@onlinestoryexchange.com

Related posts

• Mentors Finalised for LAMP VII: Story of the Future (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)
• The Social Media Campaign: Seminar & Workshop (6)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)

As we ended the last decade we were collating/archiving assets from the LAMP site and think it important to recognise the people that made LAMP the Australian icon in effective emerging media development.

Many of the mentors and participants were beginning their own journey on these workshops and residentials and are now leading the industry in Australia and abroad. We hope these ‘retrospective’ posts serve as a record for that which follows LAMP.

LAMP 2005-2009 was:

A selection of the more than 50 mentors from the past four years (in first name alphabetical)

Andrew Apostola	Anthony Eden	Catherine Gleeson	Christy Dena
David Court	David Gurney	David Jensen	Duane Varan
Gary Hayes	Jackie Turnure	Jennifer Wilson	Jim Shomos
John Banks	John Buchanan	Jonathan Marshall	Keren Flavell
Laurel Papworth	Lisa Romano	Malcolm Long	Marc Walker
Mark Meadows	Mark Pesce	Matt Costello	Paul Bennun
Peter Giles	Rachel Dixon	Raffi Krikorian	Ric Holland
Shiralee Saul	Sohail Dahdal	Tony Walsh	William Cooper

Some of the residential participants attached to over seventy 6 day – 6 month projects

A selection of key speakers who presented at ‘non-project based’ LAMP run seminars

Over 150 high level industry guests visited LAMP residentials

Related posts

• Seminar & Workshop: THE VIRTUAL STORY (0)
• Mentors Finalised for LAMP VII: Story of the Future (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Spooky!…Sydney LAMP Insight seminar registration closes Friday 13th June (0)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)

Australia’s leading screen conference, run by SPAA, is in Sydney this week and many multi-platform folk associated with LAMP & AFTRS in the past are in force with a record number of panels and sessions. The heavily featured 360 Media (and by implication Social Media) track sits nicely in the theme of this years conference ‘Reaching Your Audience’. LAMP’s Gary Hayes is listed as a key advisor to this years event and the following are a taste of some of the great sessions worth checking out. Lots more detail on the downloadable PDF on the SPAA Conference site.

The sessions below are the LAMP best 360, multi platform picks for the 3 days

Weds 18 th Nov

10:30–11:45 am BREAKOUT Grand Ballroom 4

Reaching a niche or diverse audience is increasingly a producer’s mandate (not just the distributor’s). We are experiencing a moment of radical change across technology, consumer behaviour, distribution and marketing with seismic shifts in the way that entertainment is conceived, produced, distributed and consumed. Social Media, User Generated Content, Digitaland Mobile Channels, Convergence and Diversity are a fact of life. Successful producers are those who can realize the potential of a single extraordinary story across the widest range of platforms. How can we define, validate, inspire, energise and leverage the interactive participation of today’s audiences? What are the insights, trends and innovations that will shape our creative and marketing capacities as filmmakers? How can producers optimise their distribution plan to ensure their film successfully reaches an audience against an increasing competition for screens and changing consumer behaviour? A group of successful entertainment marketers will come together to help you gain a more comprehensive understanding of targeted movie marketing, divulge inside tricks, techniques and trends, outline how and where audiences are consuming content and provide an essential perspective that will help reorient your approach to storytelling, distribution & marketing.

Session Producer:

• Martin Walsh, Digital Marketing, Director, Microsoft & Producer, Red Dune Films

Speakers:

• Stephanie Bohn, Director of Worldwide Marketing, Digital Distribution, Warner Brothers, US
• Travis Johnson, Managing Director, Universal McCann Sydney
• Gordon Paddison, Founder & Principal, Stradella Road, US

1:45–3:00 pm BREAKOUT Meeting Room 4

Come on people—let’s switch on! We get an international perspective from the guru himself Ken Faier of Nerd Corps Entertainment, Canada and hear about all the ultra cool kinds of  ‘360’ programming you could be doing.

Session Chair:

• Dan Fill, Partner, Chocolate Liberation Front

Speaker:

• Ken Faier, President, Nerd Corps, CA

1:45–3:00 pm BREAKOUT Grand Ballroom 4

Part 2 of this session will take you through today’s film audience behaviour and how to translate this insight into practical strategies and tactics.Case studies include District 9, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Lord of the Rings, The Watchmen, Snakes on a Plane and Sex and the City and will illustrate how important understanding your audience is, how filmmakers can successfully tap into today’s digitally wired consumers, integrate across platforms and optimise their distribution opportunities accordingly.

Session Producer:

• Martin Walsh, Digital Marketing Director, Microsoft

& Producer, Red Dune Films

Speakers:

• Stephanie Bohn, Director of Worldwide Marketing, Digital Distribution, Warner Brothers, US
• Graham Cassidy, Senior Adviser, Cato Counsel
• Travis Johnson, Managing Director, Universal McCann Sydney
• Christopher Mapp, Managing Director, Omnilab
• Gordon Paddison, Founder & Principal, Stradella Road, US

1:45–3:00 pm BREAKOUT Barnet Room

Christopher Sandberg, is CEO of new media production company  The company P. He is dedicated to the exploration of human interaction and audience involvement in modern entertainment. With over a decade of experience in start-ups as CEO/ExecutiveProducer/Producer in television, online and mobile, ranging from drama to social applications and games, Sandberg executive produced the participatory drama The Truth About Marika (produced with SVT). Sandberg is currently involved as CEO and Executive producer in one international participation drama with VRT and SVT, several AFP internationally and numerous ARG marketing campaigns and online and computer games for clients of The company P. He holds advisory trustee positions,notably in the creative team for the mediasummit SIME. Sandberg is creator and Executive Producer forthe national DTV channel “Mediteve”, Scandinavia’s first participatory television channel, integrating SMS based chat and formats rangingfrom game shows to drama (now re-launchedas TV400, with TV4).

Session Producer:

• Courtney Gibson, Director of Programmes, Southern Star Entertainment

3:00–4:45 pm BREAKOUT Grand Ballroom 3

What do producers need to know and do tomake money from emerging content channels?We will consider the costs to produce in new formats or make additional content including long and short form episodes, downloads, social media tools and websites—against the financing and revenue mix of traditional and digital delivery channels, government funding and producer offset, distributor advances and brand-related revenue. We will also dissect the lexicon of Next-Gen television to find out what you do and don’t need to understand about targeted distribution, expanded reach, precise metrics, increased loyalty, contextual sponsorship, e-commerce,VOD and IPTV.

Session Producer:

• Debra Allanson, Managing Director, Ish Media

Speakers:

• Matt Houltham, Digital Partner, Zenithoptimedia
• Ben Liebmann, Vice President, Licensing— FremantleMedia Enterprises
• Katherine Rossetti, Director, Freshwater Media
• Angelo Tilocca, Manager, Content Licensing, ABC Commercial

THURSDAY 19th November

9:00–10:00 am PLENARY Grand Ballroom 1

Major corporations once completely controlled the holy media trinity of technology, distribution,and content. No more. Whether its fan fiction finding its way into Showtime Network’s The LWord, Susan Boyle’s appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, mobile phone video and photos of a bubbling revolution in Iran or the collaboration of fans on recording artist Imogen Heap’s new album Ellipse, a technology enabled sea change has occurred in the production,distribution, and consumption of content. From participation television, locative and alternate reality gaming and a world of mobile phone apps to high quality user generated production and the tech steroid power of social media applications the audience is surgingforward. And yet, good storytelling will always beat the core of great content. But, what does this revolution mean to the both traditional and new creators, producers and distributors of content.Brian Seth Hurst, CEO of The Opportunity Management Company will escort you intothe revolutionary battlefield to survey the developing media landscape, its casualties and its opportunities. Brought to you by Screen Australia

SPAA acknowledges the financial assistance of Screen Australia

10:30–11:45 am BREAKOUT Grand Ballroom 3

TV is in major transition where it is evolving from just scheduled broadcast to being always-on, participatory and social. Its traditional audience is now fully engaged with Social Media and here they effectively become ‘programme’ and content makers for each other but, in the backchannel, they still drive conversation around traditional, compelling broadcast content. This is what we currently label, Social TV. There are many challenges ahead and this session will look at innovations across broad band and IPTV, latest business models, new advertising models and latest video web 2.0 mash-ups. We will also try to answer questions such as, is IPTV a valid platform for video producers? Where are the opportunities across on-demand platforms and is the old advertising model really broken? Is audience contributed online content sustainable at scale and what are the challenges of broadcasting and delivering on-demand? Is there a role for a public service broadcaster in a commercially driven IPTV landscape. IPTV used to stand for ‘Internet Protocol TV’ but in today’s Social Media world perhaps it really means Interactive and Personal TV.

Session Producer:

• Gary Hayes, Director of LAMP, AFTRS & CCO of MUVEDesign

Speakers:

• Arul Baskaran, Acting Head of Multiplatform Production, ABC
• Courtney Gibson, Dir. of Programmes, Southern Star Entertainment
• Lisa Gray, Head of Content, The Feds
• Marshall Heald, Head of Online, SBS
• Siobhan Mulholland, Creative Director, Dubz.tv, UK

1:15–2:30 pm BREAKOUT Grand Ballroom 1

Traditional advertising models are underpressure, challenging the content-distribution ecosystem to adapt in response to empowered consumers. Brands are enthusiastically pursuing opportunities ushered in by digital television and interactive media. Savvy brands are now creating original programming. What do advertisers need from program partners? How can brand interactivity better engage viewers with traditional shows? What role do programmers play in brand-generated shows? Where do brands fit into direct-to-web distribution and user-generated content? Learn from teams that have ‘been there, done that’ as we speak to various content owners and related advertisers on their recent collaborations.

Session Producer:

• Tim Flattery, Executive Producer— Branded Entertainment, Carat

Speakers:

• Damien Bray, CEO, Brand New Media Entertainment
• Michael Cook, Executive Producer, The Feds
• Matthew Hunt, Managing Director, RedLever

1:15–2:30 pm BREAKOUT Meeting Room 4

How to find, engage and retain audiences through social networks such as Bebo, Twitter, branded microcommunities and Facebook/MySpace widgets and iPhone applications. Specifically for those in the industry of providing ‘real time, experiential marketing’ social media assets (content) and distribution (networks) are pulled together to provide both campaign and long term strategies for building brand in the social media space. Laurel Papworth is a Power150 media blogger and in the top 5 media bloggers for Australia.She has been teaching for 20 years, mostly in the area of online communities and virtual communications.Laurel is the senior social media strategist in Australia, consulting to companies in Australia, Asia and Middle East including Fairfax: RSVP Dating Community, Sony Corporation, Universal McCann EricksonWorldWide and Channel Ten.

Session Producer:

• Laurel Papworth, Social Networks Strategist

3:00–4:15 pm BREAKOUT Meeting Room 4

Kelly Chapman and Sarah-Jane Woulahan will walk you through various examples of branded entertainment produced in Australia and internationally—from small, independent scale projects to huge global productions.Through case studies they’ll demonstrate approaches to creating immersive entertainment experiences that incorporate commercial partners, and explain how audience-centriccontent creation lends itself to meeting the needs of brands.

Session Producer:

• Kelly Chapman, Producer, KCDC

Speaker:

• Sarah-Jane Woulahan, Director, Portable

FRIDAY 20th NOVEMBER

12.00-1.15om Breakout: Meeting Room 2

This is an opportunity for producers to get a general update on the digital media landscape in Australia, meet those who are active in the space and develop relationships with potential partners including broadcasters, digital content distributors, digital studios, telcos, government agencies and branded entertainment media agencies. Producers will meet people who can assist with developing an efficient digital strategy and learn more about their requirements. Pitching is only allowed at the discretion of the executives. Pre-bookings essential. Please see Cynthia at the Roundtables Booking Desk on Level 4 for availability.

Executives include:

• Debra Allanson, Managing Director, Studio Ish
• Arul Baskaran, A/Head of Multiplatform Production, ABC
• Mike Cowap, Development Manager, Innovation, Screen Australia
• Dan Fill, Partner, Chocolate Liberation Front
• Tim Flattery, Executive Producer—Branded Entertainment, Carat
• Jason Franklin, General Manager, Branded Entertainment, Endemol Southern Star
• Marcus Gillezeau, Producer, Firelight
• James Grant Hay, Senior Brand Strategist, RedLever
• Marshall Heald, Head of Online, SBS
• Mike Kerry, Business Development Director, MySpace Video, Australia and New Zealand
• Sally Nelson, Group Manager Movies & Video, Telstra Media
• Christopher Smyth, Product Manager Video, Ninemsn
• Jennifer Wilson, Director, The Project Factory

International Guests

• Kay Benbow, Head of CBeebies Production, Animation & Acquisitions, BBC, UK
• Andrew Bohn, Partner, Fluent Entertainment, US
• Stephanie Bohn, Director of Worldwide Marketing, Digital Distribution, Warner Bros, US
• Jules Borkent, SVP, Global Acquisitions & International Programming, Nickelodeon, US
• Ken Faier, President, Nerd Corps, CA
• Bob Higgins, Head of Creative, Wildbrain, US
• Samantha Horley, Managing Director, Salt, UK
• Brian Seth Hurst, CEO, The Opportunity Management Company, US
• Ian Hutchinson, Partner, Silver Reel, UK
• Heather Kenyon, VP Project Development & Sales, Starz Animation and Film Roman, US
• Annmarie Lesiuk, Managing Director, Minds Eye International, US
• Sharon Menzies, Managing Director, Fulcrum Media, NZ
• Charlotte Mickie, Executive Vice-President International Film Sales e1 Entertainment, CA
• Annie Miles, Executive Producer, UK
• Siobhan Mulholland, Creative Director, Dubz.tv, UK
• Gordon Paddison, Founder & Principal, Stradella Road, US
• Isaac Palmer, MD, MESA Global, US
• Antonio Salas, Sales Executive, Bankside Films, UK
• Christopher Sandberg, CEO and Founder, The company P, SE
• Sander Schwartz, EVP, Head of Children and Family Entertainment, FremantleMedia, UK
• Christopher Skala, Senior VP, Programming & New Content Development, HiT, UK
• Adrian Ward, Senior Vice President—Entertainment, Sports & Media Department, Bank of California, US
• Michael Werner, Co-Chairman of Fortissimo Films, HK
• Matthew Weiner, Series Creator/Executive Producer/Writer, US
• Nick Wilson, Director of Children’s Programmes, Five, UK
• Michael Wrenn, Curious Film Distribution, NZ

Related posts

• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Multiplatform Content Seminars & Workshops (2)
• Mentors Finalised for LAMP VII: Story of the Future (0)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)

LAMP’s Gary Hayes created, posted & paged (on his top 5 Australian AdAge blog, Personalizemedia) this simple flash app a few weeks ago to demonstrate the tsunami of content, communication and commercial activity across Social Media, Mobile and Games. The widget, embedded below, rather ironically went viral itself as it is was linked to from Wired, Guardian, other major sites and was re-tweeted over 2000 times which generated a reach around 15 million! It is now embedded in over 450 sites (over 150 shown in the video below the counter) and Gary is keeping it constantly updated with the latest stats across the 40+ metrics.

Related posts

• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• Turning the lights off on the way out (7)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)

Australians now spend an average of 16.1 hours on the internet each week, 12.9 hours watching TV, 8.8 hours listening to the radio, 3.7 hours on a mobile phone and 2.8 hours reading newspapers according to The Nielsen Online Internet and Technology Report quoted in The Australian earlier this year. With internet use now eclipsing TV viewing Australian broadcasters are in for a bumpy ride over the next few years. In this environment, how well prepared are our content producers for a world of participatory media, social networking and transmedia storytelling?

AFTRS are running a new post graduate course in 2010 which has been designed for content producers of all persuasions to combine the practical skills of traditional media with those of the online world. What’s clear is there is a huge appetite by global audiences for rich media content and we need skilled producers to start the conversations.

More information about this groundbreaking new course is available here and applications close on November 1, 2009

The course has been developed utilising the knowledge and experience gained through LAMP workshops, seminars and residentials and the pool of national and international experts who have contributed to its success. To get an idea of the calibre of our industry speakers here is a list of links to some of the most pertinent LAMP podcasts, vodcasts and slideshares about Multi Platform Content innovation. And finally, some of our industry testimonials and more stats to help you ponder your future.

Innovations in Multi Platform Content Seminar

With speakers including Anthony Mullins and Jackie Turnure from Hoodlum (Prime Time Emmy Award Winners), Social Media Strategist Laurel Papworth, Senior Vice President of Animal Logic Interactive Giancarlo A. Mori and Multi Platform producer Jim Shomos

Television 2.0: Social TV Seminar

Featuring Acting Head of ABC Multi Platform Arul Baskaran, Director of AFTRS LAMP Gary Hayes, Head of informitv William Cooper and Head of Strategic Development at ABC Innovation Chris Winter.

The Social Media Campaign

Featuring Social Media Strategist Laurel Papworth, Multi Platform Producer Martin Walsh, Geoffrey Emmerson, CEO of The Prosperity, Gary Hayes Director of AFTRS LAMP and Danielle Warby Online Marketing Director, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Sydney

Industry Testimonials

The screen industry is rapidly evolving and now more than ever there is a need for skilled multi platform specialists. Practical knowledge and learning in this area with the AFTRS has helped to transform the way we produce and deliver our projects.

Marcus Gillezeau and Ellenor Cox, 2009 International Digital Emmy Award winners

To reach our audiences, we need to cleverly create and adapt screen content, so that it is engaging on multiple platforms. Screen NSW is keen to support talented practitioners with well thought out multiple platform projects, as the future and relevance of our industry depends upon them. Take this course and extend your skills and your industry opportunities.

Tania Chambers, Chief Executive, Screen NSW

Fifteen years ago when I talked about multi platform content I was talking about new innovative ways that we will use to tell our stories in the future. That future is now, these days it’s a given in the screen content industry that you have an in-depth understanding of how to multi platform your content. It’s very exciting that AFTRS is presenting a national course specific to multi platform storytelling.

Sohail Dahdal, Emerging Media Producer (First Australians, Long Journeys Young Lives)

Audiences are consuming content across multiple screens and are increasingly expecting this as standard.  This presents an enormous opportunity for a new generation of storytellers to meet this expectation.  AFTRS has pioneered education in this important new sector of the media, and this course consolidates the varied skills required into one place

Guy Gadney, The Project Factory

Emerging Media Statistics

“Three out of four Americans use social technology”

Forrester, The Growth of Social Media Adoption, 2008

“Two thirds of the global internet population visit social networks” - Nielsen, Global Faces and Networked Places, 2009

“Visiting social sites is now the fourth most popular online activity, ahead of personal email.” - Nielsen, Global Faces and Networked Places, 2009

“If Facebook were a country it would be the 8^th most populated in the world, just ahead of Japan” - Mark Zuckerberg, Jan 2009

“Worldwide production of over 1 billion mobile phones per year is driving both innovation and adoption of ever more capable portable devices.” - Australia and New Zealand Horizon Report, 2008

A new survey by the Conference Board reports that almost 25% of U.S. households watch TV shows 
online as opposed to 20% just one year ago. Of these viewers, 43% watch news shows, 35% sitcoms, 
comedies and dramas, around 20% watch reality programming and 18% sports. - Conference Board report quoted in the LA Times, September 2009

Related posts

• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)
• Surviving the Forest of Kellor (2)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• Multiplatform Content Seminars & Workshops (2)

Huge poisonous spiders lie ready to pounce as you carefully traverse a forest lit only by moonlight. This is one of the initiation rights you will face in One Night, a new game that has been prototyped by AFTRS lecturer Ian Brown using Unity3D software. He recently gave a presentation of the project at Gamejam09, the games pitch and demo event initiated by LAMP in 2008.

It took Ian about a month to create a level of One Night including the design of all the assets from scratch. He did modelling and texturing in Mudbox software, the animation in Maya and it was exported to Unity3D where all the gameplay was scripted in Javascript. Unity 3D is a multi platform tool and its relatively easy to create games for Mac, PC, web or iPhone.  There is a rapidly growing list of great games being created in Unity3D which you can find here.

You can see a gameplay capture of the One Night on our YouTube channel AFTRSgames or you can play through the prototype by downloading a zipped executable for Mac OSX or Windows.

For those interested in creating their own games like One Night,  AFTRS are running a Graduate Certificate in Games and Virtual Worlds in 2010 and we’re looking for visionaries who can create innovative games and rich immersive social virtual worlds.  Applications for the course close on November 1 2009 and more information is available here.

This is what some leading industry players are saying about AFTRS Games and Virtual Worlds courses:

In today’s world of games, the creation of new IP – that magical blend of story, gameplay, and killer concept – has never been more important. As the game business continues to grow offering new opportunities worldwide, the need for an exciting course on game design such at that offered by AFTRS is incredibly strong and clear. As a seedbed for creativity, innovation and the understanding of where we are and where we can go in the worlds of consoles, online and beyond, it’s an irreplaceable experience.   Matt Costello (Games writer Doom3, Pirates of the Carribean, The 7^th Guest)

‘Games are becoming more cinematic while Film, TV & Radio campaigns comprise more engaging & interactive story elements. The twin arts of gameplay and storytelling grow more intertwined in the broader field of ‘experience design’. AFTRS offers unique insight into this bigger picture, with the opportunity to study and focus creativity at the intersection between play, storytelling, and virtual social worlds.’ Dan Graf – Dr D Studios, IGDA Sydney Chapter

Being “emergent systems” by their very nature, Games and Virtual Worlds are ever-growing industries – with new opportunities and challenges (even new Art Forms) for creative people emerging every day. A course like this will put you at the front of that curve. Joe Velikovsky Game Designer: JUMPER: Griffin’s Story, Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal, IKON

Related posts

• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• GameJam 09 – Come Play Talk Pitch Listen Invent (0)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• Seminar: Massively Multi-Storyteller Worlds – LAMP ‘State of Play’ (6)

AFTRS & LAMP’ers have been fortunate to know Kelly Chapman for a few years now. She is one of a handful of producers and creatives who actually walk-the-talk by ‘making’ & realising transmedia properties. From her work at Hoodlum on accessible web adventures, BBC Spooks, Emmerdale and Lost through to her own, slightly more spreadable, organic and social transmedia efforts Kelly carefully bridges the technical and creative banks of the complex white water, multi platform, rapids.

We introduced her to SPAA and she did a great keynote up at the Foxtel studios last week, edited highlights below. More on Kelly’s work here http://kcdc.com.au/ and on her investigative blog here http://kellychapman.wordpress.com/. Enjoy

Kelly Chapman keynote SPAA Fringe 2009 from KCDC on Vimeo.

Kelly is an experienced producer of transmedia entertainment. She walks participants of SPAA Fringe through the various formats transmedia takes, and step by step through how she’s applied her knowledge to creating effective transmedia strategies for her own projects.

Related posts

• Multi Platform Content Course Apply Before 19 May (3)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• Seminar: Innovations in Multi-Platform Content (1)

Jim Shomos, innovative Australian writer/producer and also LAMP mentor, is about to launch his latest collaboration Mordy Koots, on an unsuspecting public.

Gary blogged about the project last month & prior to their shoot in a post entitled Thumbs-up for Aussie innovation live action film-in-game looking at Mordy as a new genre, other examples and what it may mean for indie producers. globally.  Jim just sent us this press release which details the screen launches in November, the production process and a teaser of some cool guest appearances…

Australia‟s most famous brothers, the Jacobson‟s, this week wrapped shooting for their groundbreaking new comedy series, Mordy Koots which will be launched on November 16 at Sydney‟s Popcorn Taxi. The 10×3 minute series will be available to download for free from ninemsn. Popcorn Taxi will screen all 10 episodes followed by a Q&A with Clayton and Shane Jacobson.

Created, written and directed by Clayton Jacobson (Kenny) and starring Shane Jacobson (Kenny, Charlie & Boots). Mordy Koots is a character driven comedy series that follows the comedic adventures of Mordy, an American WW2 air force pilot who has a high opinion of himself as a hero, but in reality mostly stumbles through the war – any success he has is usually by accident rather than talent. Each episode features guest appearances, including Damian Walsh-Howling (Secret Life of Us, Underbelly), Rob Carlton (Chandon Pictures), Rob Taylor (Matrix, Rogue), Fiona Harris (Comedy Inc, Skithouse), Jason Gann (Wilfred, The Wedge) and Terry Camilleri (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure).

Producer Jim Shomos said “it was a fun shoot and inspiring watching the way Clayton worked differently with every guest actor. He just knew how to get the best from each one of them… and they all delivered terrific performances. Shane carried a heavy load and was amazing. He‟s such a likeable guy; it‟s easy to forget what a talented actor he is.”

Mordy Koots delivers a unique look and original snack-sized entertainment built around the endearing – and soon to be legendary – Mordy Koots. Women all over the world fall for him, but Mordy loves his plane and the sound of his name: “soon, even the wind will know my name…” *Introducing the world’s first MOGIE (Movie over Game Integrated Entertainment). While there are many projects that feature animated characters within a game world (Machinima) no project has set „real actors‟ within the graphics of a game. The live action performances were shot against a green screen and will feature the graphics of Ubisoft console games Heroes over Europe and Blazing Angels.

Popcorn Taxi – Monday 16 November 7pm Venue: Event Cinemas Bondi Junction, NSW | Tickets: $18 / $16 | Info: popcorntaxi.com.au

Novadose – Thursday 26 November, 7pm Venue: Cinema Nova, Lygon Street Carlton, VIC | Tickets: $11 | Info: cinemanova.com.au

For more information and updates, check out www.mordykoots.com

Related posts

• Art & Craft of Machinima – Seminar & Interactive Workshop (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• Multi Platform Content Course Apply Before 19 May (3)
• 2008 Feb Residential Mentors (0)

LAMP has been an integral part of the interactive cross media & digital curriculum at AFTRS for the past four years. As well as its external facing activities works closely with all aspects of social and cross media in the Graduate Diploma for Directors & Production students, Foundation ‘Creating Experiences and Designing Worlds modules’ and MA specialist courses in Virtual Worlds, Social Media and Games.

Next year there are some great Graduate Certificate courses starting and LAMP will be very active in the Multiplatform and Games & Virtual Worlds offerings and recommend you to pass these around. More info here:

MULTIPLATFORM GRADUATE CERTIFICATE – This course provides a systematic and practical approach to multi platform content creation in order to provide emerging producers with skills to initiate and manage these projects. Students will learn to tailor content for emerging media platforms such as convergent television, broadband web and mobile devices and focus on alternate reality games, episodic social media and other emerging entertainment formats which utilise a combination of platforms to engage audiences. A comprehensive overview of media technologies, platforms and formats is provided in addition to real world exercises and briefs culminating in a final project that can be used by students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. More info here Multiplatform

The games and virtual worlds course is a great mix of social and goal orientated games design and incorporates much of what Ian Brown & Gary Hayes talked about recently in the Kotaku interviews. Again more information from the AFTRS MakeIt site:

GAME AND VIRTUAL WORLDS GRADUATE CERTIFICATE - This course concentrates on the development of original concepts for virtual stories, games, social worlds and innovative gameplay resulting in the creation of a working prototype by the end of the course. Designed for emerging games designers, writers and developers this creatively focused course utilises prototyping methods to rapidly generate ideas and concepts for innovative projects. The crossover between cinematic storytelling and virtual environments, particularly in the areas of cinematography, storytelling, character and environment design are investigated in real world exercises and briefs. More info here Games & Virtual Worlds

Both courses are postgraduate and part time (16 weeks / 1 semester – 2 evenings a week plus 1 weekend a month) so very doable for those working or involved in other activities. The course fee is only $5900.

Related posts

• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Surviving the Forest of Kellor (2)
• GameJam 09 – Come Play Talk Pitch Listen Invent (0)
• Multi Platform Content Course Apply Before 19 May (3)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)

The August LAMP State of Play evening seminar will be a joint event with the AFTRS Centre for Screen Business and Screenrights who will be launching Jennifer Wilson’s white paper:

‘The Digital Deadlock: how clearance and copyright issues are keeping Australian content offline’

Jennifer will present the case for reforming the copyright system so that content creators can make the most of the online opportunity. Creators are missing out, she says, because the copyright system has fallen behind: ‘It is failing the very people it is meant to encourage. Not only that, but the public is being denied access to the content it wants.’

Jennifer, a partner at The Project Factory, an ex-LAMP mentor and former Head of Innovation at NineMSN, will outline her proposals for reform and answer questions from the audience.

Come along and receive your free copy of Jennifer’s paper together with her guide to navigating the digital landscape

‘Getting In The Digital Frame: a screen content producer’s guide to the digital landscape’.

Drinks will be hosted by Screenrights and AFTRS after the presentation.

When: 5.00pm Wednesday August 26

Where: Main Theatre, AFTRS, (directions) The Entertainment Quarter, 130 Bent St, Moore Park

RSVP: to Lois Robinson at lois.robinson@aftrs.edu.au by 19 August

We look forward to seeing you there!

Related posts

• State of Play – Building Creative Collaboration Online (1)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• Seminar: The Documentary Distribution Dilemma (1)
• Multi Platform Content Course Apply Before 19 May (3)
• Mentors Finalised for LAMP VII: Story of the Future (0)

STATE OF PLAY SEMINAR – Cinema 2.0: 3D, Big Screen & Participatory Futures

FREE – 29 July 2009 – AFTRS Theatre. 5.30 – 7pm

How will the traditionally passive cinema experience change in the next few years. Stereoscopic 3D films are becoming commonplace alongside specialised 3D Imax outings and in the past few months we have experienced Monsters vs Aliens, Up, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Coraline, My Bloody Valentine. Dreamworks have committed to producing all CG films in 3D and there are new releases planned over the next 6 months including Avatar, The Final Destination, re-release of Toy Story 1 & 2. A Christmas Carol & Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. But what about more interactive cinema with games or social applications particularly with YouTube recently delivering a full 3D capability? Where does the future lie for cinemas and other public screen spaces?

Speakers:

• Tim Baier (Animal Logic)
• Paul Nichola (Stereo Supervisor/VFX Supervisor – Cane Toads 2)
• Matt McGinity, UNSW iCinema
• and Peter Giles Director of Digital Division @ AFTRS

Cane Toad 3D shoot

LAMP ‘STATE OF PLAY’ SEMINARS

Profiling successful case studies, people and the latest techniques across multi platform media.

• FREE themed seminars running on the last Wednesday of ‘most’ months at 5.30pm – 7pm.
• No need to register just turn up to the main Theatre at AFTRS, Sydney (directions)

Trailer below from My Bloody Valentine in 3D

Related posts

• Seminar: Massively Multi-Storyteller Worlds – LAMP ‘State of Play’ (6)
• Open Source, Social Collaboration Tools – Next State of Play Seminar (0)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)

STUDY MULTIPLATFORM CONTENT PRODUCTION part time at AFTRS in 2010

All video and audio below recorded at the AFTRS Theatre July 2009. LAMP pod and vodcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon on the right if you have iTunes to subscribe now!

FIVE SEMINAR VIDEOS – Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

1. THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CAMPAIGN & COMMUNITY – 50m (slideshares here) © Laurel Papworth – Australia’s leading Social Network Strategist and communities manager
2. DIGITAL AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE MARKETING 35m © Martin Walsh – Head of Digital Marketing Microsoft & Independent Film Actor & Producer Red Dune Films (slideshare embedded here)
3. ANATOMY OF A BLOGGER OUTREACH CAMPAIGN -  16m © Geoffrey Emerson Managing Director The Prosperity Principal
4. (Seminar Intro) THE RISE AND RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA – 13m (slideshares here) © Gary Hayes Director LAMP @ AFTRS and CCO of MUVEDesign
5. UNIVERSITY MEET SOCIAL MEDIA -  16m (note: music error first few minutes) © Danielle Warby Online Marketing Coordinator for the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Sydney

Original seminar link – Social media has exploded over the last 3 years,  the scale of this phenomenon means no one can ignore it anymore. For example mid 2008 there were over 113 million blogs, 200 million active Facebook users & over 1.1 billion twitter messages. Today over 346 million read blogs and another 130 million watch YouTube videos, daily. But it is the time spent using social media that tell a more significant story. Facebook users logged 13.9 billion minutes on their site in April 09, MySpace 5 billion minutes and the new kid in town, Twitter logged 300 million minutes. According to a Nielsen study, total minutes spent on social networking sites has increased 83 percent year-over-year. Learn how to connect and be involved in this social revolution.

AUDIO ONLY VERSIONS OF 1-5 ABOVE – Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

ABOUT LAMP PODCASTS

This podcast presentation by LAMP @ AFTRS.

• Video & audio recorded by AFTRS Post-production & Digital Dept
• Pod and vodcast editing, encoding, tagging & publishing by Gary Hayes

Related posts

• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• The Social Media Campaign: Seminar & Workshop (6)
• Vodcasts – Open Social Collaboration Tools (0)
• Vodcasts – Television 2.0: Social TV (0)
• Vodcasts – Doco 2.0: Serious Games (0)

STUDY MULTIPLATFORM CONTENT PRODUCTION part time at AFTRS in 2010

All video and audio below recorded at the AFTRS Theatre March 2009. LAMP pod and vodcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon on the right if you have iTunes to subscribe now!

FOUR SEMINAR VIDEOS – Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

1. SOCIALIZED TV 2.0 – 17m © Gary Hayes Director LAMP @ AFTRS and CCO of MUVEDesign (slideshares here)
2. MULTIPLATFORM TV – 12m (abridged) – © ABCTV Arul Baskaran (Executive Producer ABC TV Multiplatform)
3. IPTV FUTURES – 20m © William Cooper Head of Informitv (live Skype video interview with Gary Hayes)
4. TV INNOVATION -15m (abridged) – Chris Winter (ABC Innovation)

Original seminar link – TV is in major transition. Where are the opportunities across on-demand platforms? Is the old advertising model broken? Will broadband to set top box comfortably co-exist with video on the web? Help prepare you for big changes just on the horizon. Innovations across broadband TV and IPTV. New advertising models and latest video web 2.0 mashups. Is IPTV a valid platform for video producers? The evolving role of public service broadcaster and online video distribution ABC new developments including iView, Google Earth TV & programme related services such as Gruen Transfer How online video will become more personalized Is audience contributed online content sustainable at scale? What does the future hold?

AUDIO ONLY VERSIONS OF ABOVE – Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

ABOUT LAMP PODCASTS

This podcast presentation by LAMP @ AFTRS.

• Video & audio recorded by AFTRS Post-production & Digital Dept
• Pod and vodcast editing, encoding, tagging & publishing by Gary Hayes

Related posts

• Television 2.0 – Free LAMP ‘State of Play’ Seminar (4)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)
• Open Source, Social Collaboration Tools – Next State of Play Seminar (0)
• Vodcasts – Open Social Collaboration Tools (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)

STUDY GAMES AND VIRTUAL WORLDS part time at AFTRS in 2010

All video and audio below recorded at the AFTRS Theatre April 2009. LAMP pod and vodcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon on the right if you have iTunes to subscribe now!

SIX SEMINAR VIDEOS – Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

1. VIRTUAL TV: TREET AND SLCN – 24m © TreetTV & Gary Wiesneski CEO SLCN.TV
2. MACHINIMA: THE ILLCLAN WAY – 14m © Illclan and AFTRS. Peter Giles Director of Digital Media AFTRS Interviews Ill Clan. Writer/director Kerria Seabrooke, cinematographer Paul Jannicola and producer Frank Dellario
3. VIRTUAL STORY: THE ART & CRAFT OF MACHINIMA – 42m © Gary Hayes Director LAMP @ AFTRS and CCO of MUVEDesign (slideshares here)
4. MOVIE OVER GAMES INTEGRATED ENTERTAINMENT – 10m © Jim Shomos CEO Forget The Rules
5. WANDERING EYE PICTURES – 40m © Mark Strong Head of Wandering Eye Pictures
6. WHERE MACHINIMA MEETS CG – Panel Interview 17m ©AFTRS Peter Giles Director Digital Media AFTRS in conversation with Jim Shomos, Mark Strong and Kit Devine (AFTRS CG Animation Lecturer)

Original seminar link – All video and audio below recorded at the AFTRS Theatre May 2009. Machinima is a dynamic new form of storytelling that will be explored in a seminar and interactive workshop at AFTRS this week. This unique event will feature leading international experts speaking about the exciting future of this new form which utilises games and virtual worlds as new tools of filmmaking.

A quick ‘tour of tools’ machinima created in only 3 hours using wowmodelviewer as part of the intro presentation, featuring @SilkCharm character and voice over.

AUDIO ONLY VERSIONS OF ABOVE - Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

ABOUT LAMP PODCASTS

This podcast presentation by LAMP @ AFTRS.

• Video & audio recorded by AFTRS Post-production & Digital Dept
• Pod and vodcast editing, encoding, tagging & publishing by Gary Hayes

Related posts

• Vodcasts – Doco 2.0: Serious Games (0)
• AFTRSTalks – LAMP Seminars Now Up on Vimeo (2)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)
• Vodcasts – Television 2.0: Social TV (0)
• Vodcasts – Open Social Collaboration Tools (0)

STUDY MULTIPLATFORM CONTENT PRODUCTION part time at AFTRS in 2010

All video and audio below recorded at the AFTRS Theatre April 2009. LAMP pod and vodcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon on the right if you have iTunes to subscribe now!

FIVE SEMINAR VIDEOS – Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

1. THE ART & CRAFT OF MULTIPLATFORM STORYTELLING – 37m © Hoodlum Anthony Mullins – Creative Director Hoodlum  & Jackie Turnure, Head of Development and Production Hoodlum
2. MOBILE SOCIAL TECH AND ALTERNATE REALITY GAMING – 35m © Bob Hitching Xumii
3. THE INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY – 38m © Laurel Papworth senior consultant, strategist, writer and workshop facilitator on online communities and social networks in Australia, Asia and Middle East (slideshares here)
4. PLAYING IN A DIGITAL WORLD – 31m © Jim Shomos CEO Forget The Rules
5. MULTIPLATFORM INNOVATIONS – 22m © Giancarlo A. Mori Senior Vice President, ANIMALLOGIC Interactive. (live Skype video intro interview with Gary Hayes)

Original seminar link – The way content is consumed has changed. A selection of leading innovators in multi-platform content present recent projects in the areas of social media, cross platform storytelling, extended entertainment, games and online entertainment. This will be an eye opener for those who thought cross-media meant TV show and a website!

AUDIO ONLY VERSIONS OF ABOVE – Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

ABOUT LAMP PODCASTS

This podcast presentation by LAMP @ AFTRS.

• Video & audio recorded by AFTRS Post-production & Digital Dept
• Pod and vodcast editing, encoding, tagging & publishing by Gary Hayes

Related posts

• Vodcasts – Doco 2.0: Serious Games (0)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• AFTRSTalks – LAMP Seminars Now Up on Vimeo (2)
• Vodcasts – Seminar: Art & Craft of Machinima (0)

STUDY GAMES AND VIRTUAL WORLDS part time at AFTRS in 2010

All video and audio below recorded at the AFTRS Theatre April 2009. LAMP pod and vodcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon on the right if you have iTunes to subscribe now!

FOUR SEMINAR VIDEOS – Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

1. GAMES: SERIOUSLY – 35m © Gary Hayes Director LAMP @ AFTRS and CCO of MUVEDesign (slideshares here)
2. THE REALITY OF THE SIMULATION – 38m © John Welsh Development Manager of Serious Games at Sydac
3. SERIOUS GAMES: REACH OUT – 28m © Marianne Webb interactive manager for Reach Out!
4. DOCO 2.0: FIRST AUSTRALIANS PANEL – 25m © AFTRS & First Australians - Peter Giles Director Digital Media talks to Rachel Perkins (Director), Darren Dale (EP) Sohail Dahdal (Online Producer)

Original seminar link – All video and audio below recorded at the AFTRS Theatre April 2009. The intersection between documentary filmmaking and games will be explored in this half seminar and half rapid development workshop, providing deep insight into the potential of Serious Games. Both games and stories have long been recognised as powerful learning tools. Their combination in the 21st century has the potential to provide learning experiences that are collaborative and globally connected. What are the best examples of Serious Games and where are they heading? How can Serious Games be employed by educators, corporations or non-profit organizations?

AUDIO ONLY VERSIONS OF ABOVE – Click the skip arrows to move between presentations

ABOUT LAMP PODCASTS

This podcast presentation by LAMP @ AFTRS.

• Video & audio recorded by AFTRS Post-production & Digital Dept
• Pod and vodcast editing, encoding, tagging & publishing by Gary Hayes

Related posts

• Documentary 2.0 – Serious Games Seminar Workshop (6)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)
• Vodcasts – Seminar: Art & Craft of Machinima (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)

THE SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN: CONNECTING & CONVERSING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE COMMUNITY

Social media has exploded over the last 3 years,  the scale of this phenomenon means no one can ignore it anymore. For example mid 2008 there were over 113 million blogs, 200 million active Facebook users & over 1.1 billion twitter messages. Today over 346 million read blogs and another 130 million watch YouTube videos, daily. But it is the time spent using social media that tell a more significant story. Facebook users logged 13.9 billion minutes on their site in April 09, MySpace 5 billion minutes and the new kid in town, Twitter logged 300 million minutes. According to a Nielsen study, total minutes spent on social networking sites has increased 83 percent year-over-year. Learn how to connect and be involved in this social revolution.

A two part event:

1. The three hour seminar will introduce you to the most successful online marketing case studies, promoting content, brands and events online and will demonstrate a range of community building techniques
2. The one day workshop will be intimate hands-on training in how to use a variety online social tools to connect to and grow audiences around ‘your’ niche areas, whether production, event, brand or service

Both days are suitable for creatives wanting to generate interest in their work, marketing departments needing to understand this new environment and any one wanting to understand, promote themselves and grow online communities

SEMINAR: Thurs 2 July 2 – 5 pm CLICK TO APPLY $60

Aimed at anyone who wants to promote themselves, their product or creation into communities. This seminar led by Laurel Papworth looks at the latest techniques of marketing yourself online through engaging with online events, social networks and DIY social media and the workshop will examine case studies of successful producers and creators doing it for themselves.

Final speakers:

• Martin Walsh – Head of Digital Marketing Microsoft & Independent Film Actor & Producer “Long Tan” + ARGs (42 entertainment)
• Danielle Warby – Online Marketing Coordinator the University of Sydney
• Geoffrey Emerson – MD of The Prosperity Principal – Sydney Experiential, Digital, Social Media, Design and Video production
• Laurel Papworth – Australia’s leading Social Network Strategist and communities manager
• (intro) Gary Hayes - Director LAMP and CCO MUVEDesign

WORKSHOP: Friday  3  July 10 am – 5 pm CLICK TO APPLY $240

A workshop looking at how to understand the new audiences, build traffic and loyalty that goes way beyond creating a Facebook group or uploading a trailer onto YouTube but looks at a multitude of techniques of engaging through online events, real time conversation, socializing content and personal or corporate brand building. Some of the key aspects of the Social Media Campaign to be explored are described by Laurel below from her blog

1. Get involved, read what’s out there, source top bloggers, forums, bulletin boards, Twitterers, Digg fanatics and Facebook discussion groups – read and understand them.
2. Create – or better yet, find – social media assets you didn’t know you already had. Powerpoint presentations from the shareholder meeting? Put ‘em up on slideshare. FAQ’s and Customer Service Tip sheets? Put them in a wiki or a blog post. That sort of thing. Don’t waste money on made-for-web ‘viral’ crap. It’s useful, not buzzy stuff that social media wants.
3. Discuss – any campaign you create that is not discussed in social networks, doesn’t exist.Make sure the tools for discussion exist, don’t lock it down with pre-moderation and pdfs.
4. Promote – use distribution, not content networks for promotion. That would be Facebook, Digg and the like (you can’t blog on those sites, they are not for Citizen Journalist, but for Citizen Editor). Better still, offer widgets for customer to customer promotion.
5. Measure, analyse, get your metrics. Which ones are meaningful? A top blogger blogging or a Facebook group discussing? Hits to your web page or increase in Technorati keywords?

By the end of this workshop participants will have had the opportunity to learn about:

• The online ecology of social networks

• Techniques to distribute your content as widely as possible to a global audience

• Planning and staging a campaign which has maximum impact and reach

• Building loyalty and community with an online audience

About Laurel Papworth

Led by Laurel Papworth who is a Power150 media blogger (global – AdNews) and in the top 3 media bloggers for Australia (B&T). She has been teaching for 20 years, mostly in the area of online communities and virtual communications. Laurel is the senior social media strategist in Australia, consulting to companies, not for profits and government departments in Australia, Asia and Middle East including:

• Middle East Broadcasting (Dubai/Saudi Arabia) – Channel MBC4
• Telecom New Zealand
• Fairfax: RSVP Dating Community
• Sony Corporation
• Universal McCann Erickson WorldWide
• CHANNEL TEN: including Australian Idol community
• Sulake: Makers of Habbo
• Macquarie Leisure
• Macquarie Media
• New Holland Publishing
• Australasian, Performing Right Association (APRA)
• Peoplebrowsr
• MySongcast.com unsigned bands community
• Australian Businesswomens’ Network
• Pink Sofa online community
• ABC Australia
• National Archives of Australia (gov)
• Department of State and Regional Development (gov)
• Department of Primary Industry (gov)
• Australian Film Television and Radio School (edu)
• University of Sydney (edu, public)
• University of Western Sydney (edu, Masters program).

Related posts

• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)
• Multiplatform Content Seminars & Workshops (2)
• Open Source, Social Collaboration Tools – Next State of Play Seminar (0)
• Seminar: Massively Multi-Storyteller Worlds – LAMP ‘State of Play’ (6)
• LAMP Alumi – Journey Beyond Road Trauma Launches (0)

NOTE – TO BE RESCHEDULED IN NEXT TWO WEEKS:

LAMP ‘STATE OF PLAY’ SEMINARS

Profiling successful case studies, people and the latest techniques across multi-platform social media.

PRICE – FREE: Themed seminars running on the last Wednesday of every month at 5.30 – 6.30 pm

PLACE: No need to register just turn up to the main Theatre at AFTRS, Sydney (directions)

DATE & TIME: TO BE RESCHEDULED May 2009 – 5.30 – 6.30

MASSIVELY MULTI-STORYTELLER WORLDS: The Drama of Game Worlds

Virtual worlds are now populated by 900 million players globally with many spending more time in them than their real lives. The demographic of these fantasy and also very representational online games has shifted to being much more mid 30s and nearly half female. For example the stories in the largest online game (62% of the market) World of Warcraft reaches over 11 million people every week and players become the heros in nearly 16 million separate quests per day!

Key MMOGs looked at include: Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Everquest, Never Winter Nights, Lineage, Eve Online,  Second Life, Habbo Hotel, PS3 Home, There.com, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, City of Heroes, Age of Conan & Runescape

This ‘State of Play’ seminars looks at the range of stories being created in these social and game worlds. It will focus on the drama being created by these full time role players, the hundreds and thousands of quests and back stories across a range of MMOGs and the opportunities for traditional writers to engage in this popular medium.

Speakers:

• Laurel Papworth (Social Network Strategist & Games Moderator) – Community Stories: World of Warcraft & other MMORPGs
  
• Gary Hayes (AFTRS LAMP & MUVEDesign) – Overview of MMOG Story Environments & Dramatic Roleplay in Custom Social Virtual Worlds
• Ian Brown (Leading CG artist) – The Character Driven Game Story

Related posts

• Open Source, Social Collaboration Tools – Next State of Play Seminar (0)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• The Social Media Campaign: Seminar & Workshop (6)
• Surviving the Forest of Kellor (2)

VIRTUAL STORY: THE ART AND CRAFT OF MACHINIMA

Three hour seminar – Thurs 14 May.
Full day workshop – Fri 15 May

Machinima is a dynamic new form of storytelling that will be explored in a seminar and interactive workshop at AFTRS this week. This unique event will feature leading international experts speaking about the exciting future of this new form which utilises games and virtual worlds as new tools of filmmaking.

Games and virtual worlds are now being used as creative tools to make a wide range of films from horror genre, comedy to corporate training and education. YouTube, Machinima.com and scores of other video portals are filled with thousands of examples of these new forms of virtual storytelling. Some are now even being commissioned by mainstream TV such as NBC aired a CSI episode in 2008 integrating machinima made in Second Life and HBO recently acquired the machinima series ‘Molotov Alva’.

Speakers featured include:

• Gary Wiesneski, who has pioneered SLCN.tv, the world’s first TV network that broadcasts live from the virtual world reaching over 1 million viewers and from July it will be in high definition on treet.tv.
• Mark Strong from Wandering Eye Pictures will also speak about recent machinima projects he has completed for Sony to promote the Ressurrection 2 game for PS3 platform.
• An exclusive interview with leading machinima producers Ill Clan. Writer/director Kerria Seabrooke, cinematographer Paul Jannicola and producer Frank Dellario have been described by Wired magazine as ‘machinima masters’ and give unique insights to how they create their award winning work.
• Gary Hayes, leading Virtual World creator,  put this together inspired by the growing audience for his own machinimas which have achieved hundreds of thousands of views online. More at: http://www.youtube.com/user/hayesg01
• Jim Shomos who, with Kenny creator Shane Jacobson, have pioneered MOGIE or movie over game integrated entertainment in partnership with Ubisoft. More can be seen at: http://www.mordykoots.com
• Kathy Mueller, lecturer in Screen Content at AFTRS, who brings many years of experience as a screen writer/director to new forms.

Following the seminar a day-long workshop will be held on Friday 15th May to explore the tools and techniques of making machinima. This is a rare opportunity to gain insight into an exciting emerging form.

WORKSHOP: Those attending the workshop are encouraged to bring a 1-2 minute audio recording of dialogue between 2-3 characters to create the machinima to.

The seminar will explore the vast range of machinima made with console, PC and online games. It will also look at simple forms of film pre-visualisation now possible using games technologies. The intensive workshop will provide a hands-on introduction to the tools of machinima and the opportunity to work on a short project. Participants are encouraged to bring along a pre-recorded soundtrack (including voice and/or music) to use as the basis for their project.

Sign up now for the seminar only or for the full seminar and workshop program. Hurry, applications close soon!

CLICK TO APPLY: Seminar Thurs 14 May 2 – 5 pm

CLICK TO APPLY: Workshop Fri 15 May 10 am – 5 pm (must attend seminar)

Presenters and workshop trainers include:

• Gary Wiesneski, SLCN.tv
• Mark Strong  – Wandering Eye Pictures
• Jim Shomos – MOGIE – Movie over Game Integrated Entertainment
• International guests TBA
• Gary Hayes, LAMP and MUVEDesign
• Kit Devine and/or Ian Brown – AFTRS
• Kathy Mueller  – AFTRS

By the end of this workshop & seminar participants will have had the opportunity to understand the differences between the types of machinima engines (specialized software, previz tools, social virtual worlds, game-worlds and mods) and learn about:

• What makes compelling machinima
• The wide range of machinima styles being created around the world
• Insight into the engines and tools used to create machinima including: WoW, Second Life, Antics, Crysis, GTA4, Half Life, Halo, iClone, Movie Storm Unity, NWN, The Movies, Sims and many others
• Basic storyboarding and scripting techniques for machinima
• Global machinima community and other online resources
• Role playing and improvisation techniques that work in this new form

From a previous Machinima seminar called “THE VIRTUAL STORY”

Six half hour podcasts featuring SLCN.tv, Physical TV, Jackie Turnure, Gary Hayes and many more from the Film Making and Cinematic Experiences Using Virtual Worlds and Games seminar in Sept 2007 recorded live at the Museum of Sydney.

1 SECOND LIFE CABLE NETWORK – Gary Wisniewski. Gary discusses the technical and logistical aspects of making television in 2nd life. MP3 recording time 33:37 (11.7MB) Click to listen

2 THURSDAY’S FICTIONS – Karen Pearlman and Richard James Allen take you through the transition of their project, Thursday’s Fictions from the stage, to the page, to the screen and now to 2nd life. MP3 recording time 30:42 (10.6MB) Click to listen

3 THE STORY ENVIRONMENT – Gary Hayes talks about virtual spaces and the collaborative nature of creating stories within them. MP3 recording time 33:37 (11.3MB) Click to listen

4 CREATING PLACES – Kit Devine a lecturer in 3D at AFTRS talks us through her phd project, a virtual version of Sydney’s Rocks area from 1788 to present, as an illustration of the difference between building places as opposed to spaces. MP3 recording time 16:23 (5.6MB) Click to listen

5 THE VIRTUAL FILM – Jackie Turnure. The art of Machinima – an evolution. Jackie takes us back 11 years to the beginnings of Machinima, (combination of Machine and Cinema) to look at how far things have come and where they might be heading. MP3 recording time 36:42 (12.6MB) Click to listen

6 GAME MEET FILM: PRODUCTION, SKILLS AND FUTURES – Panel “The Craft of Story Environment and Games” – A panel of experts moderated by Gary Hayes look at the production issues and future implications of combining the skills of filmmaking with games design with emphasis on machinima and virtual worlds. MP3 recording time 31:10 (10.7MB) Click to listen

All podcast presentations produced and presented by LAMP @ AFTRS.
Audio edited & processed by Gary Hayes. Podcast descriptions by Casandra Joslyn.

All LAMP podcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon below if you have iTunes to subscribe now!

Related posts

• Multiplatform Content Seminars & Workshops (2)
• Seminar & Workshop: THE VIRTUAL STORY (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Vodcasts – The Social Media Campaign (6)
• Vodcasts – Seminar: Art & Craft of Machinima (0)

LAMP ‘STATE OF PLAY’ SEMINARS

Profiling successful case studies, people and the latest techniques across multi platform social media.

• FREE themed seminars running on the last Wednesday of every month at 6pm – 7pm.
• No need to register just turn up to the main Theatre at AFTRS, Sydney (directions)

Next FREE seminar:

Wed April 29 – FREE AND EASY: Open Source Creative Tools

There are a vast range of new free to use tools that enable rich and efficient collaboration for audiences and professionals alike. What are the best tools for online communities, project development, video distribution and marketing. A survey of free to use tools and services including Mogulus, Twitter, Joomla, Ning, Blogger, Ustream, Drupal, Wikis, Social Bookmarking, Virtual World Gatherings, WordPress and many others.

Presented by Australia’s foremost Social Network strategist Laurel Papworth will give a clear overview of the best tools to collaborate from a creative, marketing and social angle. She will show the how the previous audience are now TV channel producers, publishers, news agencies, film makers, music producers and how professionals can re-engage by becoming learning the ‘tricks of the community’. Laurel will also cover the basics of how generic social media tools like Ning, UStream and Blogger can be used to quickly create your own networks.

• Speakers:  Laurel Papworth‚ Social Media Strategist & CEO World Communities
• others to be announced
• Introduction by Gary Hayes – AFTRS LAMP

Laurel Papworth
Laurel is a senior consultant, strategist, writer and workshop facilitator on online communities and social networks in Australia, Asia and Middle East. She features regularly on ABC Radio, Public and Commercial TV, serious newspapers and major global blogs. Laurel consults at executive level and facilitates strategic workshops on the impact of social networks on industry sectors, teaches marketing, blogging and social media courses for companies and runs workshops for small and home business on behalf of the Australian Government. Laurel taught the first Australian public social media courses in 2005 at University of Sydney and in addition, develops and teaches Insights Masterclasses for LAMP at Australian Film Television and Radio School on innovation and cross media. When not consulting with companies building online community strategies, Laurel is a global Power150 Media and Marketing blogger (Advertising Age) placing her as #5 blogger in Australia.

Upcoming FREE seminars:

• Wed May 27 – MASSIVELY MULTI-STORYTELLER WORLDS: The Drama of Game Worlds
  • Virtual worlds are now populated by 900 million players globally with many spending more time in them than their real lives. This ‘State of Play’ seminars looks at the range of stories being created in these social and game worlds. It will focus on the drama being created by these full time role players and the opportunities for traditional writers to engage in this popular medium. Speakers: Gary Hayes (AFTRS LAMP) and others to be announced
• Wed Jun 29 – CINEMA 2.0: Big Screen Participatory Futures
  • Stereoscopic 3D, interactive cinema, games in cinema. Where does the future lie for cinemas and other public screen spaces? Speakers: Tim Baier (Animal Logic) and others to be announced

Previous seminar/s

• Wed March 25 – TELEVISION 2.0: latest innovations in online video
  • TV is in major transition. Where are the opportunities across on-demand platforms? Is the old advertising model broken? Will broadband to set top box comfortably co-exist with video on the web? A pre MIP TV session to help prepare you for big changes just on the horizon.
• Speakers:
  • Arul Baskaran (Executive Producer ABC TV Multiplatform)
  • William Cooper (Informitv – live from UK),
  • Chris Winter (ABC Innovation)
  • Gary Hayes (LAMP)

Related posts

• Multiplatform Content Seminars & Workshops (2)
• Vodcasts – Open Social Collaboration Tools (0)
• Seminar: Massively Multi-Storyteller Worlds – LAMP ‘State of Play’ (6)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Television 2.0 – Free LAMP ‘State of Play’ Seminar (4)

INNOVATIONS IN MULTI-PLATFORM CONTENT – Wed 22 April 9.30 – 1.00 pm – Sydney

• Do you really know what Alternate or Augmented Reality Games are, or what makes Social Media Entertainment really successful?
• How do you plan, produce and maintain complex distributed narrative, multi-platform services?
• Why do interactive stories work & how to get clients interested in it
• How can you combine the immersion of games with the drama of film and TV?
• How can you keep people engaged across time and space?
• What is the true Future of Entertainment?

The way content is consumed has changed. A selection of leading innovators in multi-platform content present recent projects in the areas of social media, cross platform storytelling, extended entertainment, games and online entertainment. This will be an eye opener for those who thought cross-media meant TV show and a website!

Hoodlum (global leaders in distributed storytelling) will share behind the scenes on their world renowned multi-platform ‘game-like’ dramas such as Lost, Spooks and Emmerdale. World Communities will highlight the best social media services that draw in audience and user participation while also building loyalty for future services. Animal Logic on a live link from LA will talk about the future of entertainment formats while Xumii will look at this from a social mobile perspective. Finally MOGIE/Forget the Rules will show a unique new Australian grown format combining live action and game worlds. Sohail Dahdal and Gary Hayes, both leading multi-platform creators themselves, will manage this very special seminar.

APPLY: Seminar Wed 22 April 9.30 am – 1 pm

Presenters include:

• Anthony Mullins – Creative Director Hoodlum
• Giancarlo A. Mori, Senior Vice President, ANIMALLOGIC Interactive
• Bob Hitching – Xumii
• Jackie Turnure, Head of Development and Production Hoodlum
• Laurel Papworth – World Communities & laurelpapworth.com
• Jim Shomos – www.mordykoots.com, MOGIE, Movie Over Game Integrated Entertainment
• Sohail Dahdal (First Australians, Long Journey Young Lives)
• Gary Hayes (LAMP@ AFTRS & MUVEDesign)

By the end of this seminar participants will have had the opportunity to learn about:

• How to develop new forms of storytelling that integrate narrative and interactivity
• Innovative techniques in multi platform content creation
• Future directions of media innovation
• Case studies of innovative projects and production methodologies and techniques
• Techniques to foster and promote creative innovation
• Creating community and communicating directly with audiences

Related posts

• Multiplatform Content Seminars & Workshops (2)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• AFTRSTalks – LAMP Seminars Now Up on Vimeo (2)
• 2008 Feb Residential Mentors (0)

Ozdox, the The Australian Documentary Forum and The Australian Director’s Guild in association with AFTRS supported by Metroscreen and Sydney Film School presents:

The Documentary Distribution Dilemma

What online video can and cannot deliver, and why filmmakers need to understand it NOW!

• Date: THURS 9 April 2009 – 6.30pm for 7pm
• Venue: AFTRS Theatre 130 Bent St The Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park
• $5 at the door (no reservations)
• The Ozdox website is www.ozdox.org – register to be notified of seminars by email.

This special OzDox session, produced by Sensory Image, will explore new technologies and online video festival and multi-channel distribution sites (e.g.  raindance.tv). It will gaze into the crystal ball for documentary filmmakers, in the new climate of ABC and SBS online streaming. It will bring together experts and filmmakers to examine the impact of VOD upon our work, our pocketbooks and our futures.

Video online has been developing for a number of years and has now gained a large following and a big press. From You Tube to the ABC,  increasing numbers of people are uploading and downloading increasing amounts of material, and filmmakers have an imperative need to understand the rapidly evolving online environment.

At this point, Video-on-Demand is relatively underused but Hollywood and TV networks alike are looking toward VOD as a complementary distribution platform, and it is about to take off. As the educational market is also moving towards VOD, documentary DVD sales will also affected — perhaps even replaced. Significantly, VOD revenues are currently around $1.5 billion and are predicted to reach $5 billion in two years — and it’s only the beginning…

Special Guests:

• Moderator: Sandra Davey – General Manager – Digital, Unwired Australia
• Judith Bowtell – Director, Policy and Communications, NSW Film and Television Office
• Chris Gilbey OAM – www.perceptric.com and www.vquence.com.au
• Robert Hutchinson – Head of New Media & Digital Services Interface stream, ABC – www.abc.net.au

With Overseas Guests (via video):

• Elliot Grove and Zara Ballantyne Grove – www.raindance.tv
• Nick Ware – Managing Director – Joining The Docs in UK

Among the issues we will be addressing are…

• What is the actual state of online development today?
• What do filmmakers need to know about online – technically, creatively and in terms of marketing and delivery to audiences?
• What do we need to change in the way we plan and make our films?
• Is online delivery a viable alternative to DVD distribution?
• Where can filmmakers go to make a return on investment in the online forum?
• There will also be time for those attending the seminar to ask questions of the panel.

Guests bios:

Robert Hutchinson – Head of New Media & Digital Services Interface stream, ABC

As Head of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s New Media & Digital Services Interface stream, Robert is responsible for the visual presentation and ease of use of digital content and services on the website, broadband service and other digital platforms. Robert is also Creative Director of ABC2, the ABC’s new digital TV channel. His current role includes developing broadband and digital television strategies and initiatives for the corporation. Robert has been working in the multi-media and Internet industries since 1995 in a variety of roles including new media arts practitioner, web designer and business analyst. He has been responsible for establishing Internet ventures for major advertising and media companies including Saatchi & Saatchi
(Wellington) and The Radio Network (NZ). Robert also works as an independent film producer and director.

Chris Gilbey OAM – www.perceptric.com and www.vquence.com.au

One of the leading visionaries in Australian Media and Technology, Chris consults on business strategy with particular regard to the impact of P2P technologies on media through Perceptric Pty Limited. As CEO of Lake Technology (ASX) he successfully led the company to a sale to Dolby Laboratories (NYSE), and subsequently consulted to Dolby’s Consumer Division on global consumer strategy. With 20 years in the Australian Music Industry, Chris led the development of the first transactional web site for CDs at BMG, as well as the development of the enhanced CD. Founding chairman of the Australian Music Industry‚Äôs charity, the Golden Stave Foundation, and founding chairman of Export Music Australia, Chris received the Order of Australia for his contribution to the music industry and charity.

Elliot Grove – Raindance

Founder of Raindance Film Festival in 1993, the British Independent Film Awards in 1998, and Raindance.TV in 2007, Elliot has produced over 150 short films and 5 feature films.  He teaches writers and producers in the UK, Europe, Japan and America. He has written three books which have become industry standards: BEGINNERS GUIDE TO MAKING IT IN FILM (Barrons 2009), RAINDANCE WRITERS LAB 2nd Edition (Focal Press 2008) and RAINDANCE PRODUCERS LAB (2004).

Zara Ballantyne-Grove – Raindance.tv

Zara managed the 2006 Nokia Shorts competition as well as the creation of mobile assets for the popular CSI franchise. She currently manages the licensing of content for Raindance.tv and supervises the scheduling and delivery of films to over 10 distribution partners. London-based Raindance.tv streams off-beat shorts, features and documentaries worldwide over 10 media platforms. In the last five months, over 300,000 people have already watched raindance.tv.

Related posts

• Mentors Finalised for LAMP VII: Story of the Future (0)
• Open Source, Social Collaboration Tools – Next State of Play Seminar (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Seminar & Workshop: THE VIRTUAL STORY (0)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)

LAMP @ AFTRS has begun it’s 2009 series of seminars, workshops and incubators, many are listed below.

LAMP has been actively involved in getting 360 Content development integrated into the main curriculum at AFTRS (in its new building) for the past year but is now back delivering industry standard, emerging media education.

Multiplatform Content and Innovative new format development will be delivered as:

• LAMP ‘State of Play’ Seminars
• LAMP ‘Interactive’ Workshops
• LAMP ‘New Format’ Incubators

These new learning packages are specially designed so that industry professionals and students alike can understand the new landscape, appreciate it’s potential and prepare themselves for the production of new form content across  social media, games, mobile, broadband internet, location based services and virtual worlds.

Stay up to date with our activities by joining the LAMP Facebook Group

LAMP ‘STATE OF PLAY’ SEMINARS

Profiling successful case studies, people and the latest techniques across multi platform media.

• FREE themed seminars running on the last Wednesday of every month at 6pm – 7pm.
• No need to register just turn up to the main Theatre at AFTRS, Sydney (directions)

Upcoming FREE seminars:

• Wed Jul 29 – CINEMA 2.0: Big Screen Participatory Futures
  

  • Stereoscopic 3D, interactive cinema, games in cinema. Where does the future lie for cinemas and other public screen spaces? Speakers: Tim Baier (Animal Logic), Paul Nichola (Cane Toad’s 3D cinematographer) and others to be announced

• Wed Aug 26 – MASSIVELY MULTI-STORYTELLER WORLDS: The Drama of Game Worlds
  

  • Virtual worlds are now populated by 900 million players globally with many spending more time in them than their real lives. This ‘State of Play’ seminars looks at the range of stories being created in these social and game worlds. It will focus on the drama being created by these full time role players and the opportunities for traditional writers to engage in this popular medium. Speakers: Gary Hayes (AFTRS LAMP), Ian Brown, Laurel Papworth and others to be announced

• Previous State of Plays

• Wed March 25 – TELEVISION 2.0: latest innovations in online video
  

  • TV is in major transition. Where are the opportunities across on-demand platforms? Is the old advertising model broken? Will broadband to set top box comfortably co-exist with video on the web? A pre MIP TV session to help prepare you for big changes just on the horizon.
  • Speakers: William Cooper (Informitv – live from UK),  Chris Winter (ABC Innovation), Arul Baskaran (Executive Producer ABC TV Multiplatform), Gary Hayes (LAMP)

• Wed April 29 – FREE AND EASY: Open Source Creative Tools
  

  • There are a vast range of new free to use tools that enable rich and efficient collaboration. What are the best tools for online communities, project development, video distribution and marketing. A survey of tools including Mogulus, Joomla, Ning, Ustream, Drupal, Celtx and many others.
  • Speakers:  Laurel Papworth ‚Social Media Strategist, Gary Hayes – AFTRS LAMP

Go to the AFTRS site for a full list of the above seminars

LAMP ‘INTERACTIVE’ WORKSHOPS

Practical and hands on creative workshops exploring everything there is to know about the latest innovative new forms.

Upcoming seminar workshops:

CLICK TO APPLY: Seminar and Workshop Fri 3 April 10am – 5pm

The intersection between documentary filmmaking and games will be explored in this seminar and workshop, providing deep insight into the potential of Serious Games.

Both games and stories have long been recognised as powerful learning tools. Their combination in the 21st century has the potential to provide learning experiences that are collaborative and globally connected. What are the best examples of Serious Games and where are they heading? How can Serious Games be employed by educators, corporations or non-profit organizations?

Screen Australia and the ABC have recently announced a funding initiative in the area of Serious Games. This seminar will bring you up to speed with the latest developments in serious games and provide an opportunity to present your own concepts and workshop ideas with experts in an afternoon workshop.

Speakers include:

• Live link up with Tim Nixon Straylight Studios, New Zealand
• Marianne Webb – Inspire Foundation
• Rachel Perkins & Darren Dale – First Australians
• John Welsh – SYDAC.com.au
• Gary Hayes – LAMP, ex BBC Serious Games & MUVEDesign
  
• Sohail Dahdal  – First Australians, Long Journey Young Lives
• Jennifer Collins – ABC Screen Australia Serious Game Initiative
• Peter Giles – AFTRS

• Rachel Perkins (Director), Darren Dale (EP) Sohail Dahdal (Online Producer) on SBS’s First Australians will talk about the online experience of the documentary series and explore the future possibilities of documentary games.
• Marianne Webb is the interactive manager for Reach Out!, an online service that inspires young people to help themselves through tough times. Marianne will talk about the serious game Reach Out Central that been part of an innovative online strategy to build community engagement by the Inspire Foundation.
• John Welsh is the Development Manager of Serious Games at Sydac, a leading Australian simulation technology company. John will talk about the role of simulation and play in learning environments.
• Gary Hayes is the Head of AFTRS Laboratory for Advanced Media production and he will speak about the history of serious games, a survey of future directions and cross over between games and documentary forms.
• Jennifer Collins – Manager of Development, ABC TV (Jennifer, with Mike Cowap from Screen Australia, is running the Serious Games funding initiative currently calling for applications)
• Tim Nixon – CEO Straylight Studios – Tim runs New Zealand based Straylight Studios an innovative games studio who specialise in ‘meaningful play’.

By the end of this workshop participants will have had the opportunity to learn about:

• The various types of serious games: evolution of the form and the directions it is heading
• The global serious games community and online resources
• Documentary storytelling and its relationship to serious games
• Techniques to brain-storm, plan and document serious games ideas
• The links between documentary research and serious games
• User created games and managing online communities

APPLY: Seminar Wed 22 April 9.30 am – 1 pm

A selection of leading innovators in multi-platform content present recent projects in the areas of social media, cross platform storytelling, extended entertainment, games and online entertainment.

Presenters include:

• Jackie Turnure, Head of Development and Production Hoodlum
• Anthony Mullins – Creative Director Hoodlum
• Laurel Papworth – World Communities & laurelpapworth.com
• Giancarlo A. Mori, Senior Vice President, ANIMALLOGIC Interactive
• Bob Hitching – Xumii
• Jim Shomos – www.mordykoots.com, Forget The Rules
• Sohail Dahdal & Gary Hayes AFTRS

By the end of this seminar participants will have had the opportunity to learn about:

• Innovative techniques in multi platform content creation
• Future directions of media innovation
• Case studies of innovative projects and production methodologies and techniques
• Techniques to foster and promote creative innovation
• Creating community and communicating directly with audiences

CLICK TO APPLY: Seminar Thurs 14 May 2 – 5 pm

CLICK TO APPLY: Workshop Fri 15 May 10 am – 5 pm (must attend seminar)

Games and virtual worlds are now being used as creative tools to make a wide range of films from horror genre, comedy to corporate training and education. YouTube, Machinima.com and scores of other video portals are filled with examples of these new forms of virtual storytelling and some are now being commissioned by mainstream TV. NBC aired a CSI episode in 2008 featuring machinima made in Second Life and HBO recently acquired the machinima series ‘Molotov Alva’.

The seminar will explore the vast range of machinima made with console, PC and online games. It will also look at simple forms of film pre-visualisation now possible using games technologies. The intensive workshop will provide a hands-on introduction to the tools of machinima and the opportunity to work on a short project. Participants are encouraged to bring along a pre-recorded soundtrack (including voice and/or music) to use as the basis for their project.

Presenters and workshop trainers include:

• Gary Wiesneski, SLCN.tv
• Mark Strong  – Wandering Eye Pictures
• TBC – Jim Shomos, ForgetTheRules (MOGIE – Movie over Game Integrated Entertainment)
• Gary Hayes, LAMP and MUVEDesign
• Kit Devine and/or Ian Brown – AFTRS
• Kathy Mueller  – AFTRS

By the end of this workshop & seminar participants will have had the opportunity to learn about:

• What makes compelling machinima
• The wide range of machinima styles being created around the world
• Insight into the engines and tools used to create machinima
• Basic storyboarding and scripting techniques for machinima
• Global machinima community and other online resources
• Role playing and improvisation techniques that work in this new form

CLICK TO APPLY: Seminar Friday 5 June 10am – 1 pm

“The web is 15-30 billion web pages. A workshop designed to help you track and follow the latest trends and information across a range of specialised areas. Browsers, RSS readers and social media mash-ups have evolved into being effective one-stop-shop views on a world of relevant content. This is a half day workshop looking beyond the search engine, basic RSS feeds or old fashioned email alerts. It is designed to help you find, filter information and follow the right people on the web. Web filtering is becoming a critical skill for researchers, marketers and those who need specific news and information. It will also help you track and follow the latest trends and information across a range of specialised areas.

By the end of this workshop participants will have had the opportunity to learn:

• How to get the web to deliver the right information to you
• About the very latest web research techniques across services such as digg, delicious, twitter, technorati, social networks, specialised engines & the semantic web
• How to find the key recommenders, filterers and influencers in your field
• Blogosphere filtering, separating the signal from the noise
• How to make contact and become a key filterer yourself
• Taming RSS feeds and being more efficient with email alerts
• Reading trends and patterns

Led by Laurel Papworth of company World Communities, who is a Power150 media blogger (global – AdNews) and in the top 5 media bloggers for Australia (B&T). She has been teaching for 20 years, mostly in the area of online communities and virtual communications. Laurel is the senior social media strategist in Australia, consulting to companies, not for profits and government departments in Australia, Asia and Middle East.

CLICK TO APPLY: Seminar: Thurs 2 July 2 – 5 pm

CLICK TO APPLY: Workshop : Friday  3  July 10 am – 5 pm

Aimed at anyone who wants to promote themselves, their product or creation into communities. A workshop looking at how to understand the new audiences, build traffic and loyalty that goes way beyond uploading a 9 minute short onto YouTube but looks at techniques of engaging with online events, social networks and DIY social media. The workshop will examine case studies of successful campaigns from producers and creators doing it for themselves.

By the end of this workshop participants will have had the opportunity to learn about:

• The online ecology of social networks
• Techniques to distribute your content as widely as possible to a global audience
• Planning and staging a campaign which has maximum impact and reach
• Building loyalty and community with an online audience

Led by Laurel Papworth who is a Power150 media blogger (global – AdNews) and in the top 5 media bloggers for Australia (B&T). She has been teaching for 20 years, mostly in the area of online communities and virtual communications. Laurel is the senior social media strategist in Australia, consulting to companies, not for profits and government departments in Australia, Asia and Middle East including: Middle East Broadcasting (Dubai/Saudi Arabia) – Channel MBC4, Telecom New Zealand, , Fairfax: RSVP Dating Community, Sony Corporation, Universal McCann Erickson WorldWide, CHANNEL TEN: including Australian Idol community, Sulake: Makers of Habbo, Macquarie Leisure, Macquarie Media, New Holland Publishing, Australasian, Performing Right Association (APRA), Peoplebrowsr, MySongcast.com unsigned bands community, Australian Businesswomens’ Network, Pink Sofa online community, ABC Australia, National Archives of Australia (gov), Department of State and Regional Development (gov), Department of Primary Industry (gov), Australian Film Television and Radio School (edu), University of Sydney (edu, public), University of Western Sydney (edu, Masters program).

Go to the AFTRS site list of all of these seminars and workshops >

LAMP ‘NEW FORMAT’ INCUBATORS

NOTE: To be updated soon.

These are extended and intensive 3-5 day workshops designed to maximise participants time and help them really understand emerging media areas by working collaboratively on new and adapted ideas. Based loosely on previous LAMP intensive labs they really help to push your thinking to the next stage, whether it be piloting, developing participatory audiences, broadening the project’s media format or developing new ways of delivering content. It could include the communication of content through mobile devices, advanced television services, broadband portals, social networks, gaming environments, virtual worlds and more.

The LAMP ‘New Format’ Incubators focus on content and service development, and extends perceived ideas of creativity, technicality, audience, consumer and business. Participants will use a range of exercises and form creative teams to utilise their thinking and skills in new ways to create compelling interactive content that meets the changing needs of audiences and the new media marketplace.

Related posts

• Open Source, Social Collaboration Tools – Next State of Play Seminar (0)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• Documentary 2.0 – Serious Games Seminar Workshop (6)
• The Social Media Campaign: Seminar & Workshop (6)

LAMP ‘INTERACTIVE’ WORKSHOP

FRIDAY 3 APRIL 10am – 5pm @ AFTRS

CLICK HERE TO APPLY: Seminar and Workshop

The intersection between documentary filmmaking and games will be explored in this half seminar and half rapid development workshop, providing deep insight into the potential of Serious Games.

Both games and stories have long been recognised as powerful learning tools. Their combination in the 21st century has the potential to provide learning experiences that are collaborative and globally connected. What are the best examples of Serious Games and where are they heading? How can Serious Games be employed by educators, corporations or non-profit organizations?

Screen Australia and the ABC have recently announced a funding initiative in the area of Serious Games. This seminar will bring you up to speed with the latest developments in serious games and provide an opportunity to present your own concepts and workshop ideas with experts in an afternoon workshop.

Speakers include:

• Marianne Webb – Inspire Foundation
• Rachel Perkins & Darren Dale – First Australians
• John Welsh – SYDAC.com.au
• Jennifer Collins – ABC Screen Australia Serious Game Initiative
• Sohail Dahdal – First Australians, Long Journey Young Lives
• Live link up with Tim Nixon Straylight Studios, New Zealand
• Gary Hayes – LAMP, ex BBC Serious Games & MUVEDesign
  
• Peter Giles – AFTRS

Rachel Perkins (Director), Darren Dale (EP) Sohail Dahdal (Online Producer) on SBS’s First Australians will talk about the online experience of the documentary series and explore the future possibilities of documentary games.

Marianne Webb is the interactive manager for Reach Out!, an online service that inspires young people to help themselves through tough times. Marianne will talk about the serious game Reach Out Central that been part of an innovative online strategy to build community engagement by the Inspire Foundation.

John Welsh is the Development Manager of Serious Games at Sydac, a leading Australian simulation technology company. John will talk about the role of simulation and play in learning environments.

Gary Hayes runs AFTRS Laboratory for Advanced Media production and he will introduce the history of serious games, several he created at BBC before they were called Serious Games, a survey of future directions and cross over between games and documentary forms.

Jennifer Collins – Manager of Development, ABC TV (Jennifer, with Mike Cowap from Screen Australia, is running the Serious Games funding initiative currently calling for applications)

Tim Nixon – CEO Straylight Studios – Tim runs New Zealand based Straylight Studios an innovative games studio who specialise in ‘meaningful play’.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

By the end of this workshop participants will have had the opportunity to learn about:

1. The various types of serious games: evolution of the form and the directions it is heading
2. The global serious games community and online resources
3. Documentary storytelling and its relationship to serious games
4. Techniques to brain-storm, plan and document serious games ideas
5. The links between documentary research and serious games
6. User created games and managing online communities

WHERE

The Australian Film Television and Radio School
The Entertainment Quarter
130 Bent St
Moore Park NSW, 2021

Get Directions

CLICK TO APPLY: Seminar and Workshop Fri 3 April 10am – 5pm

Related posts

• Vodcasts – Doco 2.0: Serious Games (0)
• Multiplatform Content Seminars & Workshops (2)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• Seminar & Workshop: THE VIRTUAL STORY (0)

This LAMP mentored project from Marcus Gillezeau and Ellenor Cox (of Firelight Productions) has been nominated in the Fiction category of the 2009 International Interactive Emmy Awards. These awards are held at Milia in Cannes each year and this year it is from 30 March to 3 April. The video below with a voice over by Marcus himself, explains Scorched and is also used by judges to help select the nominations.

Through these awards, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is celebrating a significantly growing sector of the television industry and recognize excellence in content created and designed for viewer interaction and/or delivery on a digital platform.

Fiction category

• Director’s Cut – The Revenge, Container Group S.A., Argentina
• Kirill, Endemol UK / MSN , United Kingdom
• Pietshow, Grundy UFA TV Produktions GmbH, Germany
• Scorched, Firelight Productions in association with Essential Media & Goalpost Pictures, Australia

Scorched has also recently been nominated for the local Australian AIMIA awards – all nominations here.

About the video “Scorched is one of the largest all-media, interactive drama projects ever in Australia, screening across the Internet, mobile devices and prime time TV. Find out more about how the team put together the roll-out of the project.”

Scorched has received a great deal of attention and commentary from press and also those closer to the project. This is the LAMP post about the launch, here is Guy Gadney (then head of PBL New Media, Channel 9) and Gary Hayes (LAMP Director’s personal media blog).

It is great news that another LAMP connected project is entered into the International Emmy’s – examples of earlier ones included the winner of the Ogilvy Amex award by then LAMP mentor Jackie Turner and other LAMP projects such as  The Deep Sleep won development awards too.

Related posts

• Scorched WINS! International Interactive Emmy (1)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Seminar: The Documentary Distribution Dilemma (1)
• Seminar & Workshop: THE VIRTUAL STORY (0)
• Mentors Finalised for LAMP VII: Story of the Future (0)

Early last year (2008) a LAMP initiated project called “Macbeth:What If” from the 7th residential received development/production funding from the NMC and the Australia Council (who also part funded the LAMP: Story of the Future residential) last year. Project creator Kerreen Ely-Harper teamed up with producer Kate Richards, Virtual World creator Angela Thomas and another LAMP alumni, Designer Adam Nash, to realise the original project. After a year or so of development they created an island in second life that built on the original project idea that was looking at the experiential teaching and awareness of Shakespeare’s works via Second Life and also the ability to perform and create machinima in a rich virtual setting.

The video below is quick & cheerful ‘Space Navigator’ Machinima and Music by Gary Hayes. The whole work was very similar in style and form to Thursday’s Fictions in Second Life, another LAMP initiated project two years ago. Full credits for the Macbeth project below.

Filmed and edited by Gary Hayes. Note: This film does not demonstrate the many interactive elements, social intentions or literary integration. Please visit the island to see those first ‘virtual’ hand. A medium resolution (98MB MP4) download is available here

Macbeth in Second Life Credits
Guide & credits here

SLURL – http://slurl.com/secondlife/Macbeth/44/54/54

A collaboration by Angela Thomas, Kate Richards and Kerreen Ely-Harper, from an original idea by Kerreen Ely-Harper.
Producer: Kate RIchards (Nini Dubrovna)
Director: Kereen Ely-Harper (Dorothy Porta)
Virtual World Content Designer: Angela Thomas (Anya Ixchel)
SL Design Consultant: Adam Nash (Adam Ramona)

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. Initial stages of this project were mentored and developed through the Laboratory for Advanced Media Production (LAMP) at Australian Film TV and Radio School (AFTRS). This project has been funded and built by the New Media Consortium

NMC Team:
Larry Johnson (Larry Pixel)
Alan Levine (CDB Barkley)
Rachel Smith (Ninmah Ash)
NMC Second Life Building Team:
Chris Holden (CJ Carnot)
Beth Satchjen (Stella Costello)

Voiceover Actors:
Maggie Blinco
Boris Brkic
Christopher Morris
Ophelia Of The Spirits
Alice Parkinson
Evelyn Parsonage
Recorded at Megaphone Studios
Engineer: Shane Fahey

Additional thanks to:
Larry Johnson
Therese Fingelton
Gary Hayes
Jeff Wegener
Ian Waddely
Nick Noakes

Related posts

• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• LAMP Alumi – Journey Beyond Road Trauma Launches (0)
• Project – Inworld (0)
• Mentors Finalised for LAMP VII: Story of the Future (0)
• Seminar & Workshop: THE VIRTUAL STORY (0)

GameJam 2008 was run at AFTRS in Sydney on 1 November and featured talks to do with developing for or playing with console, pc games or online games. Creating and using virtual worlds, games, film cross-over, machinima, writing, AI and educational, fun or just plain cool stuff.

Below is a selection of those captured on the day including a short item related to three new courses AFTRS are offering in 2008 featuring Previsualisation elements – Animation Directing, Games and Virtual Worlds.

1 Guy Gadney “The Life of an MMORPG Diaspora”

Guy takes us on a personal tour of one of the first ‘grass roots’ online games as he tells the story of Diaspora. MP3 recording 6.9MB Click to listen

2 Dan Graf “Story and Game”

Dan gives a thoughtful talk about the conceptual framework of film or book to game adaptation. He talks about experiential design and audience centric focus when you plan your interactive version. An interesting session at the end when Ian Brown joins the discussion and  the perennial issue of narrative vs play is brought to the fore again. MP3 recording 13.4MB Click to listen

3 Peter Giles “Future of Game Education”

Peter looks at many of the issues that are facing educators and academic institutions as they begin to consider games as a core part of curriculum. MP3 recording 5.6MB Click to listen

4 Physical TV “You Are Going To Die”

Karen Pearlman and Richard James Allen are the creators of a cross-media property called Thursday’s Fiction. They worked with Gary Hayes on the virtual world aspect of the project and talk more about where the proposition is headed as it moves into game space. MP3 recording 6.4MB Click to listen

5 Marigo Raftopoulos “Galapagos: Serious Game”

Marigo introduces us to her serious game concept to help businesses understand the benefits of thinking about the environment. MP3 recording 4.9MB Click to listen

6 Brett Robertson “History of Games”

Brett takes us on a light hearted trip down memory lane and also at the current state of the games industry. MP3 recording 7.9MB Click to listen

7 Ian Brown “Portal, Have Your Cake and Eat It Too”

Ian takes us behind the scenes from a user and passionate fan perspective of one of the most unique games to have become commercial, portal. He also looks at the original game, Narbuncular Drop, designed by students that Valve used to develop Portal. MP3 recording 7.4MB Click to listen

8 Michela Ledwidge “MOD the Movies!”

Michela takes us deep into Sanctuary and the thinking behind allowing the audience to customise, mash-up and generally Mod cinematic content. MP3 recording 7.4MB Click to listen

9 Gary Hayes “Reality & Pleasure – State of Play of Blended Real Life, TV and Game World” Vod/Podcast

This video above available as a download (with better audio & creative commons) 50MB MP4 click here

LAMP PODCASTS

All LAMP podcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon below if you have iTunes to subscribe now!

ABOUT LAMP PODCASTS

• This podcast presentation by LAMP @ AFTRS.
• Audio recorded by Gary Hayes & Brett Robertson
• Description, editing, podcasting and production by Gary Hayes

Finally a short compilation capture edited by Peter Giles (note video has camera sound, podcasts are higher quality direct lapel mikes).

Related posts

• Surviving the Forest of Kellor (2)
• Mastering Multi Platform Content (5)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• Seminar & Workshop: THE VIRTUAL STORY (0)
• Vodcasts – Doco 2.0: Serious Games (0)

A presentation by Chris Edwards, CEO of LA based Third Floor to the Visual Effects Society in Sydney on 5th June 2008

A special released talk related to three new courses AFTRS are offering in 2008 featuring Previsualisation elements – Animation Directing, Games and Virtual Worlds.

This is a podcast of a talk Chris gave in Sydney on the 5th June 2008 for the local chapter of the Visual Effects Society. Chris’s visit to Australia was sponsored by Omnilab and Framework and he spoke to Australian games development, visual effects and animation companies during his visit.
Previsualisation is a hotly contested area at the moment particularly between Visual Effects supervisors, Cinematographers, Directors and Production Designers.

“Previs is a win win for directors and producers – it is one of those few things, it helps artistically and it simultaneously saves money. It also helps directors convey their vision to their entire cast and crew…it can also be used to enable endeavours that would have normally been too impossibly complicated to tackle and lastly previs can be used to raise money to for films that have yet to be greenlit”

“I feel the future is more a ‘multi-player’ experience of creating things (the not too distant future either).  I think what you want to have is software that will allow you to log in as a user and then the director can log in – I imagine he’d be a bit bigger of an icon or something  – and you could literally, if you’re playing Halo with your friends – you could have a guy drive the truck and someone else driving the camera and then having extras out there and then people in the back room actually set dressing behind the scenes. I think it’s definitely going to happen.”

CHRIS EDWARDS – CEO of Third Floor Studios

Chris Edwards is the CEO of Third Floor, an LA company who specialises in pre-visualistion for feature films, commercials and games cinematics. Third Floor completed extensive previsualation work on Cloverfield and the Narnia movies in addition to games cinematics for Lair and Resident Evil 5.

Chris studied at Film School and went to work for Disney on animated projects including ‘Dinosaur’. He went to work at Skywalker ranch on the previs teams that worked up the Starwars Prequel features before setting up Third Floor.

MP3 recording time 59:27 (23.7MB) Click to listen

All LAMP podcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon below if you have iTunes to subscribe now!

ABOUT LAMP PODCASTS

This podcast presentation by LAMP @ AFTRS.

Audio recorded, edited and presentation description by Peter Giles

Conversion and podcast preparation by Brett Robertson and Gary Hayes

Related posts

• Surviving the Forest of Kellor (2)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)
• Seminar: Massively Multi-Storyteller Worlds – LAMP ‘State of Play’ (6)
• Mentors Finalised for LAMP VII: Story of the Future (0)
• Art & Craft of Machinima – Seminar & Interactive Workshop (0)

‘Growing Worlds” An abridged Presentation on Games Writing and Adaptation by Joe Velikovsky

(Note: the first half of the podcast contains loopback echo due to technical issues)

In this abridged (20 out of 35 mins) presentation at a LAMP Insight ‘Growing Worlds – Games Adaptation Seminar’  Joe looks specifically at the practical side of games design and adaptations from existing IP or story ideas. He talks about console games writing, how they are developed and some of the titles he worked on including Looney Toons and Jumper.

“every chapter has its own introductory and outroductory. We ended up with this entire game summary a couple of meters high and wide so that everyone could easily refer to it and know exactly which level they were making at anyone time – what was in it and what the mission objectives and stories were. We ended up with 10 walkthroughs which were about 40 pages per chapter, times 10 chapters and if you included the images there are about 70 pages, 20 cut scenes of about a page each, and this big excel spreadsheet with over 1060 rows of dialogue.”

He talks about his experience across screen writing leading to writing for games and then looks closely at the target demographics and how they influence the design and what content to include alongside the style of gameplay. Joe then looks at the visual aesthetic, game play and design of Looney Toons in more detail and the structual aspects that are inextricably linked to the gameplay and narrative that permeate the story world and the amount of work that is required to create these large game play environments.

JOE VELIKOVSKY – Screen and Games Writer

Joe Velikovsky is a Producer, Designer and Screenwriter in the fields of New/Digital Media, Game Design, TV and Film. He has been a Professional Writer, Game Designer and Producer for over a decade. The game, film and TV genres he has worked in include drama, sci-fi, horror, and comedy. Professional experience includes:

• Senior Game Designer, Game Co-Writer, and Producer: JUMPER: Griffin’s Story videogame (Xbox 360 SKU only), based on the Fox movie, developed by Redtribe, published by Brash Entertainment, February 2008. [http://www.jumpermoviegame.com/]
• Game Writing and Design consultant to various New Media producers, for The Australia Council and Screen Tasmania.
• Senior Game Designer and Game Screenplay Writer, LOONEY TUNES: ACME ARSENAL videogame (on PS2, Wii, and Xbox 360), released worldwide by Warner Bros Interactive, October 2007 in the US, February 2008 in Australia. [http://looneytunes.warnerbros.com/acmearsenal/]
• Writer/Creator of an EPOC (Electronic Proof Of Concept) mobile phone web-soap prototype, with Australian Film Commission funding, LIFERAFT, 2005. Producer Michael Robertson, Prodigy Films (producer of film Blackwater).
• Creative Director of A-Rage Pty Ltd. Producer, Director, Game Designer and Writer on the `Augmented Reality’ game Sky Invaders 3-D which won 2nd Prize for the `Best Unsigned Professional Game’ at the 2004 Australian Game Developers Conference. www.a-rage.com
• Mobile-phone comic-strip producer and author,“Dr N. Sayne” launched by m.Net at www.mobster.com.au. (The first exclusive mobile-phone-comic-strip in Australia) 2004.
• Co-Game Designer, Saturday Night Speedway, developer Ratbag Games, published by Atari.
• Writer/Game Designer on sci-fi action thriller PlayStation2 game, IKON, for Ratbag Games (in turnaround), 2002.
• National Games Market Analyst for Australia, Inform Pty Ltd, Sydney (now GfK). Clients included Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and all the members of Australian Visual Software Distributors Association, 1999-2000.

MP3 recording time 22:38 (6.7MB) Click to listen

This podcast was recorded as part of the Screen Tasmania, Australia Council and LAMP@AFTRS seminar on Games Writing called Growing Worlds delivered in May 2008.

All LAMP podcasts are published through iTunes – click on the icon below if you have iTunes to subscribe now!

ABOUT LAMP PODCASTS

This podcast presentation by LAMP @ AFTRS.

Audio recorded on a DV cam by Australia Council (echo issues)

Description, editing, podcasting and produced by Gary Hayes

Related posts

• Surviving the Forest of Kellor (2)
• Vodcasts – Doco 2.0: Serious Games (0)
• Submissions – now closed (0)
• Study Multiplatform and Games Virtual Worlds at AFTRS (0)
• SPAA 2009 Reaching Your Audience – LAMPicks (7)