Author: Christy

Two key events that address cross-media entertainment from an industry and academic perspective are happening this year. One is in Italy, the other in Amsterdam.

Cross-Media #1 is being held on March 21st in Roma. Here are the details (in Italian!): 

Cross-media #1 è il primo evento in Italia dedicato alla comunicazione cross-mediale.

Una giornata di formazione per professionisti, giovani autori e studenti di comunicazione e marketing e di confronto interattivo con manager e rappresentanti delle media company protagoniste nella promozione e nella distribuzione di progetti per i “media incrociati” in televisione, nel cinema, nell’informazione, nella telefonia e nel videogaming, in Internet, nella musica e nella format-tv su piattaforma satellitare, Ip e digitale terrestre.

It is run by the Director of Cross-Media.it, Max Giovagnoli, the author of Fare Cross-Media: From Big-Brother to Star Wars: Theory and Techniques of the Integrated and Distributed Use of Simultaneous Media, a book that I’m cited in! Good luck Max!

Cross-Media Event is being held 26-30 September, Amsterdam. Here is the blurb:

Join us in September, 2006, for an extraordinary gathering of trendsetters, deep thinkers, entrepreneurs, investors and decision makers from the media industry and the many related fields it touches. Hosted by the city of Amsterdam, the Cross Media Week will explore how art, science, business and technology are changing the way we interact with, produce and consume media. From online games to TV show formats, from virtual reality to conversational new media, from multi-platform brands to consumer-generated content, the Cross Media Week will provide you with insight into the many changes media and the media industry are undergoing and the new opportunities and new creative services the industry is offering.

The event includes a conference, a Gala Cross-Media Awards Ceremony, workshops, exhibition and (speed dating) networking.

I’m excited by both of these offerings since they seem to address the phenomenon directly; as opposed to focusing on technology, the business models, and then creative applications, in that order.

Mediamatic are running a machinima workshop on the 14-17th March and lecture on the 16th March in Amsterdam.

workshop:

In this workshop traditional film making techniques are combined with real-time scripting within a virtual environment. Participants will be guided through Machinima production process by experts from the fields of gamedesign and animation. Besides technical instructions on set design, character creation, re-camming and post production, we will focus on cinematic and artistic possibilites of shooting film in 3d engines.  

lecture:

Friedrich KirschnerÂ’s machinima series Person 2184 won him awards for best Technical Achievement and best Visual Design at the 2005 Machinima Film Festival, and has been showcased at numerous others. Friedrich is one of the pioneers who is transforming the practice of machinima. His work breaks out of the game context and enters the realm of filmmaking.

Thinking about it, it is funny that multi-million dollar game engines are being used for non-interactive projects…

I love Google Earth, for what it could do, and I love maps, for what they do. Using technology and location representations as well as RL locations is big. Location, location, location. Whether it is virtual or real, you have to at least contextualise yourself according to some real or virtual grid. Here is a round-up of some creative works and advertainment that use Google Maps & Google Earth:

Google Maps:

New York Sound Map

The Sopranos: Crime. Organised. 

Jeep: We Are The Mudds

Where-Next

Brewster Jennings Protects America

Jon Udell’s Walking Tour of Keene

Nike’s Run London

Google Earth:

Surreal Scania

Fiat Olympic Venue Treasure Hunt

Adidas +10 Playoffs

Sustain Ability

Greenwich Emotion Map

Let me know of any good ones you recommend.

Sources: TrendBlog; Networked Performance; Google Map Mash-Up Bibliography, Jaffe Juice, We Make Money Not Art…

[reblogged at WRT]