Jelly-like memory device could interact with your cells (Wired UK)

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Excerpt from WiredUK:

"Researchers from North Carolina State University have created a new type of memory device that's soft, flexible, works well in well environments and, most importantly, has the consistency of jelly.

Instead of brittle metals and plastics, the device is made from a liquid alloy of gallium and indium metals, set into water-based gels. This lets it function in wet environments, meaning that the technology could connect electronics to biological systems like cells, enzymes or tissue.

"These properties may be used for biological sensors or for medical monitoring," said Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State.

The individual components of this malleable memory device can be switched between two different states -- one that conducts electricity and one that doesn't. These can be used to represent the 1s and 0s used in the computer language binary...."

TribecaFilm.com | Future of Film | Why Transmedia is Catching On (Part 3) Excerpt!

Tracking transmedia developments as they unfold will be complicated, in part because this new entertainment format covers so much ground.

It is a world "where old and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect, where the power of the media producer and the power of the media consumer interact in unpredictable ways," says USC professor Henry Jenkins in his book Convergence Culture.

To track transmedia, follow the people, suggests author Frank Rose. "The people who are most eager to experiment with new forms of storytelling are for the most part the creators," says Rose, an editor of WIRED Magazine and author of The Art of Immersion, which makes engaging sense out of a sprawling story that stars, among others: James Cameron, Jordan Weisman, Elan Lee, Howard Roffman, Ted Nelson, David Lynch, Rand and Robyn Miller, Will Wright, Cliff Bleszinski, Hideo Kojima, Damon Lindelhof, Greg Daniels, Anthony Zuiker, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Molyneux, Sean Bailey, and Charles Dickens (take that, Little Nell!). Follow them all on Twitter to get a good start.

"I’m extremely eager to see what comes out of Mirada Studios, the operation that Guillermo Del Toro recently founded, with the goal of crossing the line between video games and movies," said Rose. "I also think about somebody like Christopher Nolan who has announced that he’s planning to do a videogame version of Inception which is, after all, a movie that plays almost like a giant cut scene from a videogame.

"I’m also very intrigued by L.A. Noire from Rockstar Games. It’s probably one of the major breakthroughs as a combination of games and stories, the blurring of those boundaries. It’s really difficult for people to figure out how to do."

TribecaFilm.com | Future of Film | Why Transmedia is Catching On (Part 3) Excerpt!

Tracking transmedia developments as they unfold will be complicated, in part because this new entertainment format covers so much ground.

It is a world "where old and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect, where the power of the media producer and the power of the media consumer interact in unpredictable ways," says USC professor Henry Jenkins in his book Convergence Culture.

To track transmedia, follow the people, suggests author Frank Rose. "The people who are most eager to experiment with new forms of storytelling are for the most part the creators," says Rose, an editor of WIRED Magazine and author of The Art of Immersion, which makes engaging sense out of a sprawling story that stars, among others: James Cameron, Jordan Weisman, Elan Lee, Howard Roffman, Ted Nelson, David Lynch, Rand and Robyn Miller, Will Wright, Cliff Bleszinski, Hideo Kojima, Damon Lindelhof, Greg Daniels, Anthony Zuiker, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Molyneux, Sean Bailey, and Charles Dickens (take that, Little Nell!). Follow them all on Twitter to get a good start.

"I’m extremely eager to see what comes out of Mirada Studios, the operation that Guillermo Del Toro recently founded, with the goal of crossing the line between video games and movies," said Rose. "I also think about somebody like Christopher Nolan who has announced that he’s planning to do a videogame version of Inception which is, after all, a movie that plays almost like a giant cut scene from a videogame.

"I’m also very intrigued by L.A. Noire from Rockstar Games. It’s probably one of the major breakthroughs as a combination of games and stories, the blurring of those boundaries. It’s really difficult for people to figure out how to do."

TribecaFilm.com | Future of Film | Why Transmedia is Catching On (Part 2) Excerpt!

Leading transmedia talent has emerged from a wide array of disciplines, including technology, indie film, fantasy games, marketing, comic books, videogames, advertising, brand advertising, television production, theme parks, academia, and, of course, the Internet.

What sets each apart is a willingness to embrace meaningful audience participation in the transmedia projects that capture their passion.

"I think that the idea of participation is one of the key things we are all wrestling with, both fans and authors, movie directors or whatever kind of creative person we’re talking about," says author Frank Rose. "Participation raises the question of whose story is it? And, the answer I think is, it’s all of ours. In order to really identify with the story, in some way we have to make it our own."

Here’s some of what I’ve learned in conversations with a range of transmedia leaders.

Bonds: The Audience is Ready

"We are tapping into a real demand from consumers," says Susan Bonds, CEO of 42 Entertainment, a company that produces alternative reality games like "Why So Serious?" for The Dark Knight, and Nine Inch Nails’ Year Zero.

"This is something that people want, and so studios are beginning to open up their creative properties to allow people to participate."

Susan+BondsNot only has the company has been pivotal in defining the ARG form, it has been home for key talent.

Bonds, who is an industrial engineer with gigs at Disney, Lockheed, and Cyan, says that the art form follows the trajectory of the audience:

"In the first half of the decade, it was all about early adopters, the in-crowd playing interactive games, the first to buy the latest technologies. But now, the novelty factor has worn off, and it's about the experience. People are already emotionally invested and aware that all of these things are at their fingertips. Now they know."

Early adopters still play a central role in most ARG projects. Check out Test Subjects Needed, a scenario that is currently dribbling out on the web and at E3 and Bonnaroo, for which 42 Entertainment is alleged to be the agency. And the client? Wrigley’s Gum.

42 Entertainment plans to apply lessons from its client work to create new and original transmedia content. Bonds would not discuss details with me, telling me to keep my eyes open "later this year."

"We’re ready to evolve the business model," says Bonds. "We've seen that people in the millions and tens of millions will come together for a collective experience. Think of the freedom that this gives you! You can do the work on a smaller scale than a $100 million movie, and you are no longer necessarily held to the traditional ways of starting the work, either business or creative."

Future of Film | Why Transmedia is Catching On (Part 1)

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Excerpt:

"...What’s new here is the idea that storytellers can create deeper experiences for their audiences when they unfold a story and its world via multiple venues, and when they invite consumers to participate meaningfully in that world—especially when they do so from the outset of the project.

Whatever the nomenclature, the transmedia trend is gaining traction, fueled by some observable trends:

Demand. Today’s audiences expect their media to be social, participatory and customized for every device they use, especially the much-coveted hard-core fans who are especially drawn to properties which let them go them deeper into a story or discover something first.

Creativity. The formulaic is giving way to the innovative, as producers, including a new crop of digital natives, compete to engage fans in their stories over time and space with new approaches and on new devices.

Buzz. Transmedia is becoming the Next Big Thing both in Hollywood and on Madison Avenue with more press coverage, more blogs and websites, more panels at film festivals and commercial conferences and ultimately more pitch meetings.

Money. Big names in film, television, and games are placing bets on talent with transmedia chops. New studios have been capitalized to produce made-for-multiplatform properties, and proven creative services firms in the space are prepping their own original projects. Marketing dollars now routinely extend anchor properties onto additional platforms...."

Call for New Interactive/New Media Docs | IDFA DocLab 2010

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Call for Entry: interactive and new media projects

IDFA DocLab is looking for interactive and new media projects for its annual Competition for Digital Documentary Storytelling (Deadline 1 August 2011).
IDFA DocLab is a unique festival program within IDFA, showcasing interactive webdocs and other new forms of digital storytelling that expand the documentary genre beyond linear filmmaking. Selected projects are presented online, as well as during live cinema events, exhibitions, workshops and industry panels.
Since its launch in 2008, IDFA DocLab has developed into an international platform and an official competition program. Projects that previously premiered at IDFA DocLab include GazaSderot, Highrise/OutMyWindow,Welcome to Pine Point, PrisonValley, From Zero, Young Me Now Me, and many others. Throughout the year, IDFA DocLab maintains an online database and organises guest programs at other events, such as SXSW and the new PhotoStories conference.
Besides the DocLab festival program, IDFA’s co-financing market The FORUM offers a place for crossmedia projects looking for financing.

Submission Deadlines

1 August 2011: IDFA DocLab competition program for Digital Documentary Storytelling. Please use the regular IDFA Festival Entry Form and classify your project as interactive.

1 September 2011: IDFA FORUM for Crossmedia Projects. Projects looking for financing should use the FORUM Entry Form.

Culture Shock! museums and galleries digital storytelling conference 29 Sept 2011 | Aberth Digital Storytelling

Culture Shock! museums and galleries digital storytelling conference 29 Sept 2011

It’s always a treat to hear about a brand new digital storytelling conference. And here’s some news of a new one one this autumn in the north-east of England.

Culture Shock! is one of the biggest digital storytelling projects in the world. At the time of writing they’ve published 560 stories on their website and they’re holding a major conference at Live Theatre, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on Thursday 29 September 2011 – Culture Shock! 2011.

The conference programme looks really interesting: Alex Henry, project co-ordinator at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, talks about the Culture Shock! project itself; Barrie Stephenson of Digistories answers the question ‘What is digital storytelling?’; and there are sessions called ‘Digital Storytelling – why bother?’ and ‘Social Inclusion through the Digital Economy’.

Breakout sessions include ones about exploring hidden histories through digital storytelling; using the story circle to engage participants in the process; using the form to support lifelong learning; and the ethics of digital storytelling.