The second panel in the Digital MashUp series brings together a television producer and an interactive production company to discuss best practices when working as a collaborative production team. A case study of a marblemedia interactive property will demonstrate how to navigate the creative and production processes successfully when developing a convergent media property.

The evening concludes with an informal networking reception. Light refreshments will be served and a cash bar will be available. Registration includes one drink ticket.

Digital MashUp is exclusive and free to members of WIFT-T, WGC and DATA. Register early to reserve your spot!

Digital MashUp is supported by the OMDC through the Interactive Narratives Initiative, in partnership with WIFT-T, FITC, York University, Writers Guild of Canada, Digital Arts and Technology Association, CFC Media Lab, and Communitech. For more information, please contact Heather Kanabe at (416) 322-3430 ext. 222 or email hjkanabe@wift.com.

FREE to DATA members. RSVP Here

ATTENTION INTERACTIVE MEDIA CREATORS
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: docSHIFT Crossover Weekend, May 8-9th, 2010
Opportunity awaits with the Canadian Media Fund!

The Documentary Organization of Canada–Toronto, National Film Board, Hot Docs, Ryerson and the CFC New Media Lab have joined forces to present docSHIFT: a cutting edge initiative aimed at fostering collaborations and business partnerships between interactive media producers and documentary filmmakers. We are currently seeking applicants interested in participating in a 2-day weekend workshop facilitated by the UK’s Frank Boyd.

Frank is the past BBC Director of Creative Development and the visionary behind world-renowned Crossover Labs. If you are an experienced interactive digital media professional (games, mobile, web, AR) looking for opportunities in the burgeoning interactive documentary genre, this weekend is not to be missed! Through participatory creative group exercises, the workshop is designed to break down walls between professional silos, develop common languages and perspectives and establish best practices for working together and ensuring success.

The docSHIFT Crossover Weekend is a pre-cursor to a five-day residential lab this Fall after which select interactive documentary project ideas will move into development with incubation support by the CFC Media Lab and Ryerson University.

Deadline for applications: April 21st, 2010
For full details and application requirements, visit www.doctoronto.ca/docshift/crossover

Questions can be directed to docSHIFT Coordinator Kyree Vibrant: kyree@doctoronto.ca

docSHIFT is made possible with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation on behalf of the Ministry of Culture. It is presented in partnership with Ryerson University, Hot Docs, CFC Media Lab and the National Film Board.

Games are Good!
The OMDC (Ontario Media Development Center) has released the details of the latest funding support offered through its Entertainment and Creative Cluster Partnerships Fund.  Seventeen innovative projects are currently being supported, including one that I’m quite excited about: the Ontario Digital Games Business Incubator Network.
DATA is a significant partner in this project that will create a network of business incubators and related institutions to serve the digital games development community in Ontario.
This is big news!  I’m a huge fan of games from casual to complex, and over the years I’ve had the opportunity to chat with quite a number of game enthusiasts and Canadian developers.  There is such a huge range of talent to be found, perhaps I can point out a few examples.
At the last Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, I was happy to run into what I came to feel was the ‘Canadian Embassy’ at the show – a group of booths manned by Canucks that for whatever reason seemed to be clustered into a community.  Among them was a great group from independant games company Infinite Ammo.  I met developer Alec Holowka, and got an awesome poster from concept artist Katie De Sousa.  These people love making games.  I later found out that one of my friends on deviantart is actually assisting on artwork for their latest title “Marian”, that looks to be fantastic.  It’s a small world in gaming, but it’s surprising how often these connections go unnoticed.

Then not long ago I took in “Gamercamp” here in Toronto.  There were so many fantastic game enthusiasts there.  In particular, I had the opportunity to hear from Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns of Metanet Software.  They used a rock-band metaphor to illustrate bringing a new video game studio to life.  That was a thrill to me to see the passion they had after all this time.  I’ve been aware of Raigan’s work since he presented at FITC somtime back around 2004 (and I’ve actually used some of his code tutorials).  At Gamercamp, they spoke of how hard it can be to break into games.  Both Mare and Raigan talked frequently about keeping the day job while working on their true calling.  Others there were Spooky Squid games, Capybara, Drinkbox Studios, and many more.
So the indie scene is strong in Ontario among game developers.  On the other hand, sitting beside me was Derek, otherwise known as “Employee 1″ at Ubisoft.  Ubi is a big  success story in Canada and makes outstanding cinematic games such as the Assassin’s Creed series, and Splinter Cell.  I ran into him not long after at NextMedia and both times we chatted about how vibrant the games industry is and how it is growing in Canada.
For many game companies, there is a need for the tools and forum in which to share resources and encouragement.  Many efforts have sprung up on their own.  For instance I recall taking in Ubi’s sponsored discussion of ethics in video games back when they were working on Splinter Cell.  They also sent people to Seneca College to help advise the gaming program, with the result that many graduates wound up going to work at Ubisoft Montreal.
The Ontario Digital Games Business Incubator Network will exist to facilitate those kinds of connections between business experts and emerging as well as existing game studios.
One of the primary partners of the network will be Algoma University located in Sault Ste. Marie.  Earlier this year, we were pleased to receive a group of students from Algoma into Oddly Studios to talk about the current state of the industry in interactive media.  Many expressed interest in gaming, but also uncertainty on how to proceed.  Networks such as this will serve to inform and fill that need.
All in all, 295 thousand dollars will be provided to ensure that developers of digital games will be able to access the best in tools and incubation programs throughout Ontario.
Said Tom Vair, executive director of the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre:”This sector holds tremendous promise for the Province of Ontario and we look forward to assisting companies utlizing the resources this funding provides”.
Hey if it means more great games I’m all for it!

Pictured above left to right: Mehdi Ravandi and David Leung, ViewOh; Kathleen Webb, Project Director for C3 Network at Communitech; Shawn Pucknell, President of DATA.

David Leung and Mehdi Ravandi of ViewOh are the first business partners to be awarded $20,000 in seed funding from the C3 Network “Start-a-Business” Program. C3 Network Project Director, Kathleen Webb, made the announcement earlier today.

“We are happy to be working with ViewOh, who are coming into the program with a great idea, the energy and drive to make their business a reality,” said Kathleen Webb.

ViewOh is based on proprietary technology that the partners have been working on since meeting at the University of Toronto where both were enrolled in the engineering program.

“ViewOh is a service that derives semantic meaning from content and then returns recommendations that the user might be interested in,” says Mehdi. “The technology will understand what you might be interested in and serve-up additional recommendations in a meaningful way.”

“I was intrigued by the idea that there might be a way to mathematically model how people view content on the Internet,” adds Leung.

In addition to the $20,000 cash award, the duo will receive strategic support on an “as needed” basis along with incubation space at Element 156 in downtown Toronto. As well, they will be attending a series of business plan development workshops, including the Canadian Innovation Exchange, a showcase of technology-based innovation attended by the who’s who of North American investors.

C3 Network received 14 applications for the program, of which five where short-listed and one selected.

Ravandi is currently enrolled in the University of Toronto’s Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) graduate program while Leung works in the financial sector as an IT specialist. For Leung, this is his second technology start-up.

Seed funding is the earliest stage of venture funding and is crucial to the development of new and innovative businesses as it pays the expenses while the business gets started.

The C3 Network “Start-a-Business” Program is a partnership with the Digital Arts and Technology Association (DATA) to pilot a digital media business incubator in Toronto. DATA’s incubator pilot project was made possible through support from the City of Toronto.

MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK in Toronto will showcase global mobile thought leaders, developers, innovators, institutions and industry professionals coming together for an exciting and engaging series of events all focused on exploring new mobile Internet frontiers, applications and business ideas.

And DATA blog readers can receive 10% off with this discount code: datato10

Website

Milken Institute releases report on North America’s high-tech centers:

Toronto is Canada’s highest-ranking tech center, ranking 15th overall with 157,400 high-tech workers in 2007.

Montréal was Canada’s second metro to make the top twenty, coming in at 19th. These two metros were the

fastest-growing tech centers in the top twenty between 2003 and 2007.

Download the full report here:

theskonkworks has been asked to find 1-2 Flash Character Animators for a unique assignment in Nepal.

As part of our effort to support fledgling animation companies in developing countries, theskonkworks has spent roughly 6 months mentoring a new 2D Digital studio in Kathmandu Nepal called Yeti Digital. Strictly in a volunteer capacity we have over these months see an immense dedication and hunger from the team there to be recognized equally with other studios worldwide. Now what is required is some additional on-site support. Yeti Digital has asked for 1-2 Flash specialists with Character Animation, Directing and Technical Direction capabilities.

As a developing nation, the company can’t offer much compared to our standards, but the package they are providing based on a 6 month term is extremely generous. For a 6 month commitment to help mentor their animation team, Yeti Digital is offering the following: 1) Fully paid return flight from point of origin to Kathmandu Nepal. 2) All VISA, Passport, travel document fees paid. 3) Medical requirements such as Malaria and Trinrex medication paid. 4) Full Room (at a Western Style accomodations) & Board (Food) for the entire length of stay paid. 5) $1000.00 US Cash per month for spending money or saving. Nepal is an extremely cheap place to live. The people are warm and friendly and there is a real opportunity for someone to not only have a unique adventure, but to make their mark on a relatively young and developing industry. This is the land of the Yeti, the birthplace of both Hindu and Buddhist religions and in particular, Mt. Everest. Yeti Digital is located in a district within Kathmadu which is over 2000 years old. The studio itself is a traditional Nepali Masion, with massive patios on every floor facing the Himalayan Mountains. The assignment would be to mentor the studio and staff in the proper animation and production techniques to finish a 2D Digital animated Series or Feature Film. Please pass this along to any and all who might be interested.

Anyone interested may contact Michael directly at nepal@theskonkworks.com.
theskonkworks incorporated
www.theskonkworks.com

The Toronto After Effects User Group is holding a meeting on Wed May 20th. Come on out and see what local After Effects users are up to.

156 Augusta Ave.
Time: Doors open 6:00 pm. First presentation starts 6:30.
Presenters: Tom Green and Dan O’Roruke

Details

FlashinTO Gathering v80.0 // Wed May 27th

Each month FlashinTO, the Toronto Flash User Group hosts a monthly ‘gathering’ of people. Designers, developers, and anyone else interested in chatting and seeing some cool presentations and mingling and meeting some others in the industry. All are welcome, no RSVP needed, and its free! Some come out and join us! And as always, its cheap beer, and FREE pizza!

Details

Welcome to the new DATA site. We are busy working on some exciting initiatives for this new association, so stay tuned for more information soon!