Been a bit lapse in not posting other talks I have been giving around Oz so these are just in time. A range from Cross-Social-Media, Mixed Reality, Games/Film and the Creative Web…

Weds 12-14 November 2008 – The 23rd Annual SPAA Conference, Sheraton Mirage, Gold Coast, Australia

Presenting on and producing panel on Thursday 13 Nov 3.00-4.15

WHERE VIRTUAL WORLDS MEET TV, WHERE FILMS MEET GAMES

Which side of the wall are you on?  Are You Ready for the The Mixed Reality, Entertainment Perfect Storm

TV and Film OR Games and Virtual Worlds? That wall is about to crumble. This is a wake up call to all entertainment producers and consumers to prepare for an almighty collision. Audiences are already spending up to four times as much of their entertainment time in virtual spaces than they are watching TV. EA Games have partnered with Endemol to produce TV shows inside virtual worlds, MTV Networks have virtual versions of their popular TV programs Laguna Beach, The Hills etc and there is a growing tide of global landmark series spilling into virtual worlds such as CSI, The L Word and Big Brother.

This exciting panel will examine a wide range of cross-over services that work between games, virtual worlds and linear TV. The panel is intended for games creators, social network managers and film and TV producers looking to merge their entertainment worlds. It will also be of interest to designers of games that work across media in the physical world using mobiles, print, viral techniques, TV and the web.

“I think we are really approaching a perfect storm, a mixed reality perfect storm, because we are seeing several things happening. The first one is a long history of games based on TV and films. Another ‘wind’ is virtual worlds, particularly the exponential growth of customisable social spaces and the important ability to integrate external media into them. The third force is audience behaviour, who involved in far more simultaneous activity particularly between broadband web and TV. The fourth element to this perfect storm is actually what is happening to TV and film, such as live reality TV becoming more game like and now over 100 feature films in production based on game worlds. All of these forces together are creating a really potent mix that all producers need to be aware of” Gary Hayes

Speakers:

 

Thursday 23rd October, 2008– DebateIT: All the web’s a stage!

Join us as we debate whether the internet is helping unleash creativity. What opportunities are there for the creative on the internet? We will discuss the enormous potential of user generated content, the new business models and whether the technology is driving or restraining creativity. Speakers include:

  • Gary Hayes, Director LAMP & Head of Virtual Worlds, The Project Factory
  • Martin Hosking, Executive Chairman, RedBubble;
  • Angela Thomas, Lecturer, English Education, University of Sydney;
  • Therese Fingleton, Project Manager, Australia Council;
  • Jeff Cotter, CTO, SIMMERSION Holdings

Venue: Lecture Theatre, Museum of Sydney-Cnr of Phillip & Bridge Streets, Sydney Time: 5.00pm – 7.00pm 5.00-5.20pm – Registration, drinks, canapés and networking 5.20-6.30pm – DebateIT 6.30-7.00pm – Drinks, canapés and networking Cost: $50 (inc. GST)

Saturday 24th and 25th October – SPAA Fringe – Keynote “Future of Social Media Entertainment”

Next week, on 24th and 25th October, Sydney’s Chauvel Cinema will come alive with the buzz of talented filmmakers at the 9th annual SPAA Fringe conference.-Continuing the tradition of showcasing innovative and aspirational speakers, delegates will be delighted to know that LAMP Director Gary Hayes; award winning Executive Producer Sue Maslin (Celebrity: Dominick Dunn, Japanese Story); and Phil Lloyd, (Writer), Reuben Field (Post Production Supervisor) and Dean Bates (Producer) from Review with Myles Barlow will also be sharing their insights.

“Gary Hayes is one of Australia’s leading authorities on cross media. He led the new media division at the BBC for several years and is called on to speak at all the major international digital events. Cross platform is such a massive, evolving beast and this important session is to bring us up to speed with what is happening NOW.-Luckily for us Gary lives and works in Sydney (at AFTRS) – frankly he was a no brainer.” Gaylee Butler, SPAA Fringe Curator

Hayes is the Director of LAMP (Laboratory for Advanced Media Production) and Head of Virtual Worlds, The Project Factory. At SPAA Fringe, Hayes will look at the existing and future forms of entertainment by studying successful case studies of ‘connected’ entertainment around the world and some of his own work at BBC, game and virtual worlds and selected projects at LAMP and AFTRS.

“Social Media Entertainment at its simplest level is large connected online communities creating, commenting, sharing and playing with content. As eyeballs move from traditional distribution screens, so do the advertisers and so does your funding. Be prepared for the future and start to understand how to really engage with the participatory audience, learn how to engage by having a conversation with them rather than shouting at them.” Gary Hayes, Director at LAMP

Sue Maslin is an award-winning producer with credits including the feature films Road To Nhill and Japanese Story. She has independently produced many documentaries and is Executive Producer Of Celebrity: Dominick Dunne, which premiered to sell out audiences at the 2008 Melbourne International Film Festival.-Her session will look at alternative ways of managing business and financing projects in the new “˜Offset’ environment as well as retaining and exploiting content rights across all screens ““ cinema, television and digital on-line. Celebrity: Dominique Dunn will open theatrically on the opening night of SPAA Fringe, where delegates will receive a discount by presenting their badge.

“SPAA Fringe attracts emerging and experienced filmmakers who are prepared to think outside the box. It provides the perfect opportunity to engage with the comprehensively changing screen industry landscape and the kind of methodologies and screen content which will be relevant in the future. All bets are off as far as I’m concerned. Expect really exciting and challenging times ahead.”-Sue Maslin, Film Art Media

Review with Myles Barlow was conceived by long-time friends Lloyd and Trent O’Donnell (Co-creators) who originally intended the show to be short interstitials, one review per episode. In 2007, Lloyd and O’Donnell brought the idea to Starchild Productions, the Darlinghurst partnership of producer Bates and director Field. Together, the four developed the project in their down time. Review with Myles Barlow looks at the triviality of critics who “˜waste time’ on matters such as film, food or art. The show follows one man who dares to review all facets of life ““ our experiences, our emotions, our deepest, darkest desires ““ to rate them out of five stars.

“The team behind Review with Myles Barlow are interesting for a number of reasons.-They go to air on ABCTV on 16 October so the show is fresh as a fish. To raise awareness they have a really clever viral campaign going on and their low budget means that the set is entirely created in post– production.” Gaylee Butler, SPAA Fringe Curator

Friday 31 October – Future of Branded Social Entertainment (McCann Erickson)

Details to follow

24-25th November – Online Social Networking and Business Collaboration – Dockside, Sydney

Unravel the mysteries of web 2.0 as leading executives from enterprise marketing and government demonstrate the opportunities and challenges awaiting you in the second generation of web based communities.With the explosion of interest in the business models driving the internet economy, this event will establish the commercial offerings social media can bring to enterprise, marketers and government.

Offering Keynote insight from the industry’s leading experts, social media campaign studies from corporate marketers and collaboration case studies from enterprise and government, this 2 day streamed event will promote your understanding of how all areas of the traditional economy are benefiting from the revolution in social participation and collaboration.

Expert Research

  • Gary Hayes, Director LAMP and Head of Virtual Worlds-The Project Factory
  • Michele Levine, CEO,-Roy Morgan Research
  • Tony Marlow, Associate Director of Research-Nielsen Online
  • Michael Walmsley, General Manager Asia Pacific,-Hitwise
  • Nick Abrahams, Chairman, Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group,-Deacons
  • Scott Buchanan, Founder,-Buchanan Law
  • Donna Bartlett, Partner, Media,-Holding Redlich

12.00pm Tuesday 25th – Digital Worlds: Social, Virtual, Mobile

  • Meet generation V
  • What are the opportunities for enterprise, marketers and government?
  • The psychological implications of virtual interaction
  • What are the mobility limitations of virtual worlds?

Gary Hayes, Director LAMP, Head of Virtual Worlds, The Project Factory Laurel Papworth, Director & Social Networks Strategist, World Communities Paul Salvati, Director, Channel Management, smartservice QUEENSLAND

Well that’s most of them – there are lots of seminars and private tete-a-tetes mixed in-between, as well as endless prep at AFTRS etc etc: making for a rush towards the end of the year!