Symbiosis At Colony

electronic light + sound flash mob

You are invited to participate in a multiplayer performance within Colony, a unique interactive urban art environment. Bring your iPhone, or borrow a friends, and download the free Colony app from the App Store. Up to thirty people may simultaneously play the urban art environment and feed energy to the media creatures that inhabit it. Each of the totems in the networked sculpture may be played like a musical instrument responding to touch with light and sound. People without iPhones are welcome too as the artwork responds to your presence as you walk along the forested path.

The event will proceed rain or shine so bring an umbrella if it looks like we will play in wet conditions!

about the work :::
Colony
Troy Innocent 2008
weathering steel, acrylic, computer-controlled light, 12-channel sound, interactive installation, iPhone web app

Colony is part artificial lifeform, part icon of a digital media landscape. The weathered totems use light and sound to communicate with one another in response to human presence. Affect the colour and sound patterns of the artwork by walking through the environment or playing the totems with your iPhone.

about the event :::
A demonstration and workshop on how to play will take place from 8pm onwards.

At dusk we will commence the performance. Pick a totem and begin to play! Rules of play announced on the night.

Register for the event via colony@iconica.org by sending your name and email address. You need to bring an iPhone or iPod touch loaded with the Colony app to participate in the performance.

More information and how-to-play at iconica.org/colony/

One night only!
Friday 12 December 8:00 – 9:00pm

Location: Colony at Life.Lab, Digital Harbour
Street: Corner of La Trobe Street and Harbour Esplanade, Melbourne

New York – Bronx Rhymes

“Bronx Rhymes” illuminates the history and significance of Hip Hop in the Bronx by tagging important locations for Hip Hop (1520 Sedgwick, for example) with posters. Each poster describes the historical significance of that location in the form of a rhyme, and invites people walking by to join in a rhyming battle by sending an SMS of their own rhyme from their mobile phone. The website bronxrhymes.org displays the artists and locations along with all the submitted rhymes elevating the most recent submission. Eventually, visitors to the website will be able to rate existing rhymes, and add their own.

For more information, visit the website:
http://turbulence.org/works/bronx_rhymes/

Human Rights Arts and Film Festival Forum

Come along to the free Open Channel industry forum ‘New Developments in Filmmaking and Human Rights Culture’ on Sunday 23 November. Life moves. Change never stops. This applies to the film industry as equally as any other. Come and hear industry leaders, including; Steve Warne (Documentary Manager, Film Victoria), Andrew Apostola (Artistic, Portable Film Festival) and Elise West (documentary filmmaker, Open Channel), talk trends, opportunities, threats and challenges, and about how these will affect filmmakers like you. A must for those wanting to make films with social purpose and those interested in harnessing culture to create works of impact and relevance.

23 November, 3:00pm
Kino Cinemas, Collins Place, 50 Collins St, Melbourne
FREE EVENT
For more information, call (03) 9639 1121, or email: info@hraff.org.au
http://www.hraff.org.au/melbourne-forums.html

Mobile Monday Melbourne – The Investment Edition

It’s official – Mobile is Australia’s hottest early-stage investment opportunity.

We’ve seen the huge potential…

iPhone, Google Android, GPS, Bluetooth, QR Codes, Video Calling, Mobile Advertising
We’ve heard the numbers…

“Global mobile penetration at 3 Billion – more than those that have access to a computer.”
“Over 1.9 Trillion text messages were sent in 2007″
“Mobile advertising will be an $11.3 billion market by 2011″

But what does all this really mean at an investment level??

Australia with it’s mature 3G infrastructure is one of the most advanced mobile content and applications markets in the world. This gives us a strong head-start in foreign markets and allows us to draw on our extensive IP to become global leaders in wireless technologies.

This is an open panel discussion and information session on the strong future growth of the mobile industry during which we will discuss:

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What makes a good mobile investment?
What to look out for when considering mobile technologies and content as an investment?
What are the current barriers faced in the sector?
Examples of early-stage government support in this specific sector
Case studies of successful business’s making it overseas
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On the panel:

Marco Marcou is a Director and founder of MAP Venture Partners a Venture Capital and commercialisation services firm focused on start-up and early-stage companies that operate in the technology, media and telecoms markets (TMT).

Amelia King: Digital Media Manager (Film Victoria) she has 20 years experience working in the cultural industries.

David Burden: CEO Ansearch Angel/Entrepreneur (Ansearch) He is an entrepreneur and one of the true pioneers of interactive marketing and services within Australia.

Register for Mobile Monday’s The Investment Edition

Village Roadshow Theatrette
State Library
328 Swanston Street
MelbourneMonday October 20th
6pm till late

XML: Pitch Your Work to Hollywood!

In partnership with the American Film Institute, XML is organizing a  select delegation to attend the AFI Digital Content Lab on November 6-7th in Los Angeles at the famed Mann’s Chinese Theatre http://www.manntheatres.com/chinese/

The AFI Digital Content Lab showcases the best cross-platform ideas, initiatives, and prototypes that have emerged out of Hollywood in 2008.

There will be in-depth demonstrations and proto-types from ABC, PBS, HBO, 42 Entertainment, Guitar Hero, Jesse Alexander (Executive Producer of  Lost and Heroes), Kit Carson (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Miami Vice) who will be showing a TV series premiering on Sundance Channel filmed entirely on a Nokia device; and much more.

Best of all, XML delegates will be given the chance to pitch their own cross-platform digital content innovations or prototypes directly to the room full of Hollywood executives, producers, and creatives.

This is obviously a superb opportunity to showcase your work, and 1) impress a heap of highly influential Hollywood Film, TV, and New Media people; 2) acquire a network of first-class contacts in the capital city of the Western world’s entertainment industries; and 3) get it done in 2 days!  

Delegates will also receive tickets to AFI FEST Screenings, admission to the AFI FEST Cocktail Party, and your name will be on the door at Friday night’s A-List “Van Dutch Artists in Residence Party” at their new concept store in Hollywood.

APPLY HERE {{about:www.xmedialab.com}}
and more info here: AFI Digital Content Lab 2008
http://www.afi.com/education/dcl/

Ghost Stories Contest!

Enter now in the “Ghost Stories” FNC Lab / Daily Motion Contest! Shoot a ghost story with your mini-camera (cell phone, digital camera or webcam) for the chance to be selected by the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma and receive a grand prize of $1000.

Deadline: September 28
For more information go to http://www.dailymotion.com/group/fantomemontreal

Urban Screens: Melbourne

Register now for Urban Screens Melbourne 2008, a ground-breaking international conference on the impact of digital technology and new media in urban spaces. Hosted by Fed Square, this will be the first urban screens conference and exhibition to be staged in the Asia Pacific region. USM08 will present an integrated conference program of keynote lectures and panel sessions in the BMW Edge Theatre and an outdoor multimedia program of experimental poster sessions, curated screenings, workshops and screen-based projects.

The conference will focus on ‘Mobile Publics’, with a range of panels to be presented on themes such as ‘Art, Technology and Public Space’, ‘Strategies for Urban Regeneration’ and ‘Cross-Cultural Public Networks’. Listen to industry leaders from across the globe as they explore the changing relations between urban screens, culture and community building.

Tickets range from $20 to $300 for a full three day package.

Full conference programme and registration information is now available on the website.
The deadline for registrations is Friday 26 September.

Conference dates: 3-6 October

USM08 is hosted by Fed Square Pty Ltd, in association with the University of Melbourne and the International Urban Screens Association
http://www.urbanscreens08.net/

Behind the prototyping of ‘Spore’

The development of Spore by ‘Electronic Arts’ has a long and complex history. Suffice to say this much anticipated evolution game, finally hits store shelves in North America this week.

The game’s creator, Will Wright, who is famous for previous games like SimCity and The Sims said recently that the game has been seven years in the making, meaning the project was getting under way not long after The Sims launched and became the best-selling PC game of all time.

Wright has talked at length about how Spore‘s origins lie in the SETI project and other flights of his fancy. “The original concept was sort of a toy galaxy you could fly around and explore,” Wright told cnet’s Daniel Terdiman last month. “As we thought about, it became apparent that evolution was a very important component. Some of the very first prototypes involved how you would move around and visualize the galaxy.”

In the highly anticipated lead-up to the Spore‘s release from EA studio Maxis, in Emeryville, Calif., almost all the attention has been on the game itself or on its Creature Creator, which gives users an easy and sophisticated way to create complex beasts and which was made available in June as a free download.

You’re best to dive-in and go to the website, if you’re already evolved enough to know how to control a tribe, manage the squawks and squeaks of your creations and dig those Spore tools.

Coming soon — eat-or-be-eaten by Spore(tm) Origins on your iPhone coming this month.

More from Crave>…

Mobile Monday Melbourne: The Export Edition

Monday, Sept 1, 2008
Horse Bazaar
6pm for a 6:30 start
397 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne

Australia’s mobile industry is one of the most advanced in the world. With four 3G network operators and mobile handset penetration exceeding 100% there is a melting pot of mobile intellectual property boiling away just under the surface.

Unfortunately even with this incredible innovation the industry is being held back locally by high data rates, walled gardens and a small population. As a result the industry must look overseas to capitalise on the experience and knowledge gained from our local environment.

This month Mobile Monday explores the export opportunities available to the mobile industry and welcome Keynote speaker Paul Daly of m.Net to present their findings on the Export Navigator Program.

Export Navigator was born of the recognition on the part of m.Net, that the market for mobile content in Australia is too small by itself to justify large investments in the production of mobile content and that many of the companies that work in this area have limited resources to devote to the job of establishing export distribution and even less understanding of what opportunities and challenges exist in selling content into global markets.

With the assistance of AIMA, Kukan Studio and Yahoo!7, they built a catalogue containing some of the best mobile content from Australian producers, including a number of Victorian companies.

m.Net took this portfolio to 4 primary markets, documented their experiences in establishing distribution and explored the issues that they faced. This forms that basis of a Guide to Exporting Mobile Content that will be released at a separate launch hosted by AIMIA in Sydney in the first week of September.

Speakers:

Paul Daly, m.Net Corporation (Keynote speaker) &

Kynan Woodman, Development Director Firemint studios

Also available — AIMIA Australian mobile phone lifestyle index (4th edition) is released!
Download here.

Cologne Online Film Festival : call for entries

Call for entries:
deadline: Monday, 1 September 2008
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CologneOFF IV – 4th edition of Cologne Online Film Festival is planned to be launched in November 2008 under the festival theme: Here We Are! – “memory” and “identity” in an experimental context

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Entry
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VideoChannel – video project environments http://videochannel.newmediafest.org invites artists and directors for submitting videos/films, i.e. narratives and documentations (max 15 min.) experimenting with new concepts of transforming artistic contents into moving images, new forms of representation using new technologies

All entry details and the submission form can be found on netEX – networked experience
http://www.nmartproject.net/netex/?p=238

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About CologneOFF
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CologneOFF – Cologne Online Film Festival http://coff.newmediafest.org, founded in 2006 as a new type of mobile film & video festival taking place simultaneously online in physical space in cooperation with partner festivals,
is directed by Wilfried Agricola de Cologne.