MEDIA RELEASE 3 May, 2005
Converging Media Wake-Up Call!
International Production Services and lab.3000 are presenting for the first time, Convergence Jam, an innovative converging media laboratory.
Keith Clarkson and Patrick Crowe, Canadian International award winning producers, of Xenophile Media are this year's guest international speakers. Keith and Patrick will outline how to best manage a finance survival strategy to the audience of converging media industry professionals. They will explore how to create and adapt content for different platforms and discuss the multimedia business of the future. Fast forward to 2015 ? what will ensure Australia is a leader in the production and delivery of converging media?
Patrick Crowe, recipient of the Canadian New Media Producer of the Year, producer of interactive TV game for the "Genie and Gemini Awards", convergent documentary, "Beethoven's Hair" and "ReGenesis Extended Reality" fusing serial television drama and online interactive narrative along with Keith Clarkson producer of Canada's first interactive TV/web drama series, "Drop The Beat" and online, on-air and interactive TV cooking show "Dish It Out" who helped revolutionise Telefilm Canada's New Media Fund, will deliver a keynote presentation.
Convergence Jam is a day and half innovative media practitioner laboratory, where Jam teams of games developers, filmmakers, animators, digital media practitioners and new media artists will be guided by a Jam Specialist (leading Australian converging media professionals) in creating a prototype of a converging media concept, for delivery across platforms including: the web, games, interactive TV, mobile phones, film and television.
The event will feature a welcoming address by Robbie Stamp, Executive Producer of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" - the ultimate multi platform media product. Starting from the famous books to award winning BBC radio show, hugely successful television series? and recent winner of 2005 Interactive BAFTA for Online Entertainment adventure game.
Colin Cardwell, Director of 3RD Sense will conduct the laboratory. "Get ready for this accessible and fun workshop, forget the conference format and jargon, this is a workshop about thinking," says Cardwell.
Convergence Jam 2005: a laboratory creating converging media opportunities
Date: Monday 30 May; 3.30-7pm and Tuesday 31 May; 9-7pm
Location: Storey Hall, RMIT University, Melbourne
Registration: at www.convergencejam.com
Ticket price includes: opening drinks reception, catering on Tuesday followed by closing reception.
- Full price ticket - $125
- Members of (AIMIA, SPAA, SSAV and GDAA) - $110
- Freelancers (or companies with less than 3 staff) - $95
- Students - $55
For more information contact: Michelle Milton at lab.3000 on tel: 03 9925 4810 or email: michelle.milton@rmit.edu.au
The City of Melbourne is the premier event sponsor; supporting sponsors are the Australian
Film Commission, Film Victoria's Digital Media Fund, RMIT University and Kodak.
Convergence Jam is presented by International Production Services and lab.3000.
GUEST SPEAKERS BIOGRAPHIES
Keith Clarkson - Xenophile Media (Canada)
Keith Clarkson is an award-winning producer with over 20 years of experience in film, TV and interactive media taking projects from conception, through production to sales and distribution. Presently, he is Production Executive at Xenophile Media. While at Telefilm Canada, Keith helped revolutionize the Canadian New Media Fund leading to their new media presence at E3, MIPCOM/MILIA and ECTS. As Executive Producer with Toronto's ExtendMedia, Keith pioneered some of the earliest interactive content including Canada's first interactive TV/web drama series, "Drop The Beat" and online, on-air and interactive TV cooking show "Dish It Out" ? both produced with Alliance Atlantis, Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund. He produced an edutainment and e-commerce website and work with the CRB Foundation, CTV and Microsoft Network (MSN). Keith's feature length documentaries have screened at prestigious festivals including "Grass", for Ron Mann, narrated by Woody Harrelson, which won the 2001!
Genie Award for Best Documentary, and "Voices of Change", co-produced with the NFB which premiered at the United Nations' World Conference on Women and was featured at the Toronto, Montreal and Bombay Film Festivals. Keith has developed dramatic programming with American Zoetrope (Coppola), Terry Gilliam and author Carol Shields and was Supervising Producer of feature film Chicago Cab starring John Cusack and Gillian Anderson. Keith has an MBA, Diploma in Arts and Media Administration from York University and BA in Film and TV from the University of British Columbia. He has presented at Banff Television Festival, nextMEDIA, CFTPA, Hot Docs and the Canadian New Media Awards.
Patrick Crowe - Xenophile Media (Canada)
Patrick is a recipient of the Canadian New Media Award - Producer of the Year and is a prolific interactive media producer. Presently he is producing the "ReGenesis Extended Reality" game based on the new dramatic TV series on TMN and Movie Central and recently produced the Live Enhanced Genie and Gemini Awards - iTV enhancements, co-produced with the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, CHUM Television, CBC, Bell ExpressVu and AOL Canada.
He was responsible for the highly acclaimed "Beethoven's Hair", an interactive documentary co-produced with Rhombus Media for CBC. Patrick consultants to the Ontario Media Development Corporation's innovation funding program Pioneering Content, currently in its third cycle launching more than a dozen new cultural media products in the commercial marketplace. As Senior Producer with Toronto's ExtendMedia he produced convergent media productions including two dramatic series "Our Hero", "Drop The Beat", and interactive TV cooking show,!
"Dish It Out" as well converging media content for NBC series "Law and Order". Patrick coordinated the launch of the Rogers high speed publishing system in Canada and produced two multi-part documentary series for MicroSoft Network. As a documentary filmmaker, Patrick's producing, writing and directing credits include the award-winning autobiographical documentary The pINCO Triangle and the Gemini-nominated dramatic documentary The Enduring Enigma of Susanna Moodie and On The Air - a documentary on the history of early TV broadcasting in Canada. He was associate producer on numerous social issue documentaries for CBC and has also co-written a feature screenplay with author Carol Shields.
GUEST SPEAKERS:
Keith Clarkson - Xenophile Media (Canada)
Patrick Crowe - Xenophile Media (Canada)
Colin Cardwell - Director, 3RD Sense (United Kingdom/Australia)
David Giles - Director, Academy of Interactive Entertainment
Jam Specialists who will facilitate Convergence Jam teams are:
Adrian Bruch - Lecturer Studio, Bachelor of Interactive Media, Deakin University
Claire Jager - Screen Producer, Arcimedia
David Gurne - Rocket Scientist, Blue Rocket Productions
Deb Verhoeven - Manager, AFI Research Collection and RMIT University
Di Fleming - Director, lab.3000
David Brennan - Partner, Connect Research & Strategy
Evelyn Richardson - Game Developers' Association of Australia
Jenny Lalor - Burberry Productions and Legal Council, Hart Sitch Lawyers
Jo Lane - Creative Director/Producer
Jennifer Crone - Commissioning Editor, SBS Independent
Keren Flavell - Springtime Productions
Kylie Robertson - Interactive Designer, Digital Pictures
Lisa Dethridge - Writer, and Lecturer in Creative Media at RMIT
Mark Strong - Senior Manager of Interactive Television, Foxtel
Mark Angeli, Writer/Director/Designer Act 3 Animation
Minty Hunter - Nectarine
Richard Moore - Documentary Producer/Director
Rob Cumming - VP Operations, Majitek
Ros Walker - Producer and VCA School of Film and Television
Ruwan Weerasooriya - Founder, Touch Taxi
Suzie Cardwell - Group Manager MCn Connect, Foxtel