First Person Digital: As Creators, Where Can We Take Mobile Technology? | Kim Sawchuk + Matt Forsythe

Sunday, February 7th, 2010 @ 1:30PM @ Cinérobothèque
Kim Sawchuk: Tales From The Mobile Trail / Matt Forsythe: The NFB iPhone Application
More informations: www.firstpersondigital.ca

SCHEDULE
1:30 PM: DOORS OPEN
2:00 PM: KIM SAWCHUK PRESENTATION
3:15 PM: SHORT BREAK
3:30 PM: MATT FORSYTHE PRESENTATION
4:00 PM: SPEED NETWORKING SESSION BEGINS
4:30 PM: END

Kim Sawchuk, Ph.D.
Tales From The Mobile Trail

Kim Sawchuk will discuss the current agenda and past projects associated with the Mobile Media Lab, a collaborative bi-located (Montreal-Toronto) creative crucible for the production of wireless, mobile media events.

In reflecting upon the past and emerging itinerary of the Lab, Kim will discuss the current context and boom in mobile wireless technologies, collaborating across the art and science divide, the value of engaging with potential audiences and users before a production is finalized, scripting for mobile media in indoor and outdoor spaces, and finally re-imagining the creative potential of mobile media technologies and practices from a feminist perspective. In her talk she will argue that research-creators not only use mobile devices in their practices, but can learn from experience and experimentation.

Kim Sawchuk is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Concordia University. She is the co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Communication, of Wi: Journal of Mobile Media as well as the forthcoming book The Wireless Spectrum (with Barbara Crow and Michael Longford) which is being published by the University of Toronto Press. She is a founding member of Studio XX.

Matt Forsythe
The NFB iPhone Application: A Case Study in Creating Something Remarkable
A discussion about the NFB iPhone app and how the project helped the National Film Board connect with Canadians and international audiences. Useful lessons for developers, marketers or anyone who works online.

Matt Forsythe is content manager and social media manager at the National Film Board of Canada and teaches new media journalism at Concordia University. Matt is also a founding editor of Drawn.ca, the most popular illustration blog in the world. Drawn was hailed by Time Magazine as one of the “50 Coolest Websites of 2006” and won the Best Canadian Weblog Award at SXSW. Follow him on Twitter at @mattforsythe or find out more about him at www.comingupforair.net

About First Person Digital
In October 2009, Studio XX and The National Film Board of Canada, Quebec Center launched First Person Digital (FPD). Made possible by the financial assistance of Canadian Heritage through the Cultural Development Fund, FPD is an innovative training and production program for women, exploring new approaches to storytelling in multimedia. Fostering emerging talent and sparking creative collaborations between filmmakers and multimedia artists working in the English language in Québec, FPD aims to inspire tomorrow’s award-winning creators by engaging them with some of the most influential individuals in new media and supporting them in the production of original projects.

In the first phase, FPD has offered inspirational case-study presentations and networking sessions for participants. They will continue until March 1, 2010. The Call for Proposals will officially begin on March 1, 2010 leading to the selection of six (6) teams by a jury of industry professionals by March 31, 2010. As of April 1st, 2010 FPD will offer substantial financial and production support necessary for six working teams to successfully create an interactive work, to be distributed by the NFB and shown live at the HTMlles Festival. For comprehensive information, please visit: www.firstpersondigital.ca.

Studio XX is the only media art centre in Canada focused on women and technology. Founded in 1996, Studio XX supports women in their appropriation of digital tools, offering both a physical and virtual space for innovative production, training, research and critique. In 2008, Studio XX launched Matricules, one of the world’s largest online archives of digital artworks created by women.

The National Film Board of Canada, Canada’s public film producer and distributor, creates social-issue documentaries, auteur animation, alternative drama and digital content that provide the world with a unique Canadian perspective. In collaboration with its international partners and co-producers, the NFB is expanding the vocabulary of 21st-century cinema and breaking new ground in form and content, through community filmmaking projects, cross-platform media, interactive cinema, stereoscopic animation – and more.

Since the NFB’s founding in 1939, it has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. In 2009, the works of NFB animation pioneer Norman McLaren were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Registry. The NFB’s new website features over 1,000 productions online, and its iPhone app has become one of the most popular and talked about downloads. Visit NFB.ca today and start watching!