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Exciting Times for Media

Liz — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:47:46 +0000

Times are a changing in the Media World and we are highly excited by some of the most recent evolutions. Particularly here in Canada where the new Canadian Media Fund (CMF) has been announced bringing in an experimental element. This is a perfect opportunity for members of the digital media community to get funding and branch out, trying new projects that funds would not have previously been available for.

This is the first year such funding options have existed here in Canada and although the fund’s guidelines are still evolving, it is this open invite for submissions that we feel can allow the creative juices to follow. The CMF are also widening their view towards the advantages of transmedia storytelling for their more traditional television fund with the convergent program. This provides exciting opportunities for traditional media to discover new avenues with their storytelling and really have fun with the new challenges and opportunities that the changing landscape of media offers.

In keeping with the times, the Yorkton Film Festival has really embraced the idea of Interactive Storytelling, and has contracted us to help them to tell their online story. They are rebranding their image, doing a bit of marketing for the festival and the Golden Sheaf Nominees, and acting as a case study example to festival delegates of how interactive tools can be incorporated into their stories. Way to go Yorkton! And thank you for inviting us along for the ride!

To follow along on the Yorkton Film Festival’s online story, check them out on:

In keeping with this model of forward thinking and moving towards the future of media, the Yorkton Film Festival is hosting some great workshops on Friday May 28th, 2010 aimed at thinking convergently, including a few with our own Erica Hargreave. Here is what you can look forward to:

Friday May 28

8.30 am – 9:00 am: Blast Off – Social Media at the Festival, Ramada Yorkton

A look at telling the Festival’s story using social media and how filmmakers can use this to build the buzz around their productions, with Erica Hargreave.

9:15 am – 10:15 am: Panasonic Workshop and Presentation, Ramada Yorkton

Panasonic Canada presents and discusses the latest Panasonic video cameras and technology, including notes and news on 3D.

10:30 am – 12:00pm: Let’s Play CanCon Convergence Roulette, Ramada Yorkton

A fun filled game show where panelists compete by trying to adapt new convergent technologies and applications to classic Canadian TV shows. Hosted by Robert Hardy. Panelists Cam Bennett, Trent Haus, Rob Bryanton, Brenton Sawatzky and Erica Hargreave.

2:00 pm – 4:30 pm: Which Way To The Future? Ramada Yorkton

Spend an afternoon with some of the biggest names in the industry, as they try to make sense of and figure out where the rapidly changing screen based media industry is headed. Hosted by Richard Gustin. Panelists Cindy Witten, Daniel Cross, Norm Bolen, Valerie Creighton and Rudy Buttignol.

Saturday May 29th, 2010 at the Yorkton Film Festival hosts some always needed industry staples, putting you face-to-face with the broadcasters, talking finance and actual production, and discovering how to get your proverbial foot in the door.

Saturday May 29

8:30 am – 9:00 am: Blast Off – Social Media at the Festival Part 2, Ramada Yorkton

Explore ways to use social media as a storytelling device on your projects, with Erica Hargreave.

9:15 am – 10:15 am: Now’s Your Chance, Ramada Yorkton.

Table-hopping group discussions with industry leaders, broadcasters and distributors. Ask the questions you’ve always wanted answered. Join industry leaders for straight talking, small group discussions. A rare honesty that Yorkton offers, unlikely to be found at larger festivals.

10:30 am – 12:00 pm: Oh, Oh! They Said Yes – Now What? Ramada Yorkton

You’ve finally pitched a project that a broadcaster/investor likes enough to make an offer. Join the panel of experts as they share insights and ideas of what has to happen in order to get the proposal into a finished project. Hosted by Joanne McDonald. Panelists Stephen Onda and Peter Raymont.

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm: My Big Break, Ramada Yorkton.

Five successful Saskatchewan film and television producers discuss their first big “success” and how they found it (or how it found them). Hosted by Bruce Steele. Panelists Michael Snook, Jeff Beesley, Dennis Jackson, Melanie Jackson and Anand Ramayya.

Click here to register for this year’s festival.

We hope to see you in Yorkton!

A New Classroom & Course for the New Year

Erica — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:55:39 +0000

Photo from The Hague’s Nationaal Archief

I’m excited to be embarking on a new educational adventure this year! My new classroom will be in the Broadcast Communication Program at BCIT and the Continuing Studies Department at Capilano University. At both schools I will be teaching Interactive Storytelling. Not completely sure, but I do think these are two of the first Interactive Storytelling Courses at Post Secondary Institutions in Canada.

So what is Interactive Storytelling?

I define Interactive Storytelling, as storytelling across platforms of media, some of which are interactive, allowing the audience to interact with the story itself, if they so choose.

For the purposes of these classes, whilst we will be looking at examples of other forms of interactivity, such as ARGs and Gaming, the focus of the class will be on using different forms of social media (such as blogs, twitter, facebook, blip.fm, flickr, podcasting..etc) to make traditional stories (such as novels, films, tv, articles, radio, plays, brands …etc) more interactive. Through the course of the class, the participants will use these social media tools to build an interactive component to a project of their own. This can be a project that they have developed in the past, are currently working on or are just using as a tool to experiment with telling stories interactively.

Who is this course for?

Anybody who has a story to tell, whether it is that of a place, a brand, a novel, a play or a film or TV series.

Here are the details on the two courses:

Capilano University

Course Code: CRN 10020 – Interactive Storytelling
6 week course
Tuesday Nights from 18:30 – 21:30 (6:30 – 9:30 pm)
North Shore Campus
March 2, 2010 – April 6, 2010
This is a non-credited course through Continuing Studies.

BCIT

Course Code: BCST 1073 – Interactive Storytelling
10 – 12 week course
3 – 3 1/2 hours a week
Course Date Pending: Either April or September
This is a credited course through the Broadcast Communications Program, but don’t let that scare you off, as it is open to the public and you do not have to be a full time student to take it.

Also stay tuned for an Interactive Storytelling Course for Youth during the Spring Break with the Delta School District!

Emme Out & About Kissing Calendars for Dyslexia

Erica — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:53:32 +0000

It’s been a year now since we pushed Emme Rogers out from behind her computer screen and out into the real world, and we are proud to see her flourishing in real life as well as cyberspace. Like any proud parents, seeing your kid making their way in this world, and in this case, truly embracing the reality of cross-platform storytelling, is rewarding to see.

Emme at the Launch of Reading is Sexy (Photographer: John Biehler)

This Saturday we will be proudly looking on as Emme makes her debut in Toronto society, kissing calendars for dyslexia! If you are in Toronto, come and meet Emme Rogers from 1 – 3 pm, Saturday December 19th at Ben McNally Books (366 Bay Street). You can also support The International Association of Dyslexia and promote literacy by buying a Reading is Sexy calendar. Calendars are on special for $18 at the event or $20, if you want to kick in an extra $2 to dyslexia. Cash or cheques will be accepted.

Stick around afterwards and Emme will be heading to a pub with anyone that wants to join her. And knowing Emme, she will buy a couple of plates of nachos and a few pitchers of beer for the table.

All in the Name of Literacy

Erica — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:05:50 +0000

Our sincerest of apologies to the Vancouver Community for any over-inflation we may have done to the following individuals egos, by placing them in a calendar, entitled Reading is Sexy:

You see, it is for a good cause and all in the name of literacy. Aside from sadly feeding Emme’s ego and launching her into a new-to-her form of media, the calendar, we are helping her to raise funds for a cause that both she and we believe in - literacy, and more specifically, dyslexia. A healthy portion of the proceeds from the calendar and the photo auction will be going to The International Dyslexia Association to help them get kids (and adults) with dyslexia to overcome their literary hurdles and have fun with words.

As our way of apologizing to the community, for allowing the above individuals to call themselves Miss, Ms, Mrs or Mr (Insert Month here) for the next year, we are helping Emme to throw a Reading is Sexy Literary Celebration this Thursday. Here are the details:

Cost: Free

Local: Gudrun Wine & Cheese Bistro (150-3500 Moncton Street, Steveston, BC)

Date: Thursday December 3, 2009

Time: 7 pm until late

Festivities:

general revelry and enjoying of Gudrun Goodies (We will buy a few plates for the room, but bring some money with you to enjoy more Gudrun Goodies and some of the delicious wines and beer)
readings from a few of our authors (Ian Ferguson, Mark Leiren-Young, Lorraine Murphy, Raul, Rayne … to name a few …Emme may even read something from my yet to be finished novel)
special guest reading by comedian, Kirsten Van Ritzen
calendar signings by the ‘models’ on hand
auctioning of some of Robert Shaer’s photos from the shoot for charity

Come, heckle our various months and enjoy a good night of laughter.

And once again, our sincerest apologies, and please don’t blame the photographers, Robert Shaer and Tris Hussey, for this.

Oh and if you can’t make Thursday, but do want a calendar, you can order one here. (If you are in and around Vancouver, ignore the shipping costs as we or Emme can figure out physically getting it to you. Similary, you can ignore shipping costs and pick up a calendar directly from the Canadian Branch of The International Association of Dyslexia, if you are in Toronto.)

Recognizing the Importance of Story

Erica — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:01:03 +0000

I’m doing a workshop tonight on ‘Creating Interactive Brand Stories’ with Kontent Creative and hence a bit of research. Came across this Cannes Film Festival Short Story Winner, which really rings true on how important ‘telling story’ can be:

Historia de un letrero

Brands Can Be Storytellers too!

Erica — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:42:03 +0000

A common misconception that we encounter with people when we tell them that we are interactive storytellers is that we create dynamic stories for children or that we strictly work with traditional stories in the form of books, movies, television series and films to make their stories more dynamic and interactive. This is a myth (although we do indeed work with traditional stories to make them more interactive, but our stories are not limited to traditional stories).

Storytelling is an age old art and tradition that allows us to pass on information in a manner that will be remembered. The most powerful ad campaigns build a story around their product or company. Similarly the most powerful political campaigns or actors have been adept at building stories around themselves. This is what creates brands that people remember. It doesn’t matter how old we get, everybody loves a good story and if you can create one around your brand, people will remember you. Dove for example was brilliant in the building of ad campaigns that made them synonymous with embracing the real female body in all of it’s curves.

Photo by Selca Morales

Now when we talk interactive storytelling, we are simply referring to making your story more dynamic and allowing your audience or customers to become a part of your story by interacting within it. Storytellers have done this for ages with dance, sound effects, song and costumes, when they have their audience present. The beauty of technology and the age of social media is we can now allow our audience to become a part of our story, even if they are not in the same room as us, the same city, the same country, or even the same hemisphere.

Photo by Rusty Stewart

To explore interactive brand storytelling some more, join me (Erica Hargreave) for a Back to School with Kontent workshop tomorrow (Tuesday September 1st) evening on Creating Interactive Brand Stories.

Back to School With Kontent

Erica — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:54:57 +0000

Summer is winding down, and with it my days of zaniness. Time to buckle down to more serious matters, like interactive storytelling!

Excited to be a part of Kontent Creative’s Summer School with a workshop on Interactive Brand Storytelling:

Creating Interactive Brand Stories

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 7pm – 9pm

No matter how many new technologies and forms of media we invent, the most powerful form of communication will always be the most ancient, the art of storytelling. The beauty of these new technologies and forms of media is that they are vehicles for stories that allow us to tell them in new ways and spread them to new audiences. They also allow our audience to interact within the story itself, allowing them to feel a part of it.

Often we think of stories as medium strictly for entertainment sake. The reality is that we are all storytellers, telling our own stories, that of a company or a brand, or those of the culture in which we live. The trick is recognizing what our story is and learning how best to tell it.

In this workshop, we look at examples of brand storytelling, identify what others stories are and how they are using the online space and social media to tell their brand’s story and engage with their audience. Just like the stories online, this workshop will be interactive and we will be doing some story building of our own.

Click here to register.

So what do you think - should I go with my summer look:

…or move on to the autumn wardrobe?

Delta School District = a Social Media History Maker

Erica — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:37:14 +0000

Cross-post from DSD Youth Activities

Pretty impressed with the forward thinking of the Delta School District, as as far I am aware they will be one of the first school districts in Canada to fully embrace social media this summer, by actually offering students a course in it.

That’s right, the Delta School District is having me teach two mini-courses this summer on ‘Blogging and Storytelling’ and I’m pretty gosh, darn excited about it. I love Interactive Storytelling (which is a part of what using social media tools to tell story is), I love to share knowledge (especially that which excites me) and I love working with young people and seeing them get excited about learning.

So details on the classes? Here they are:

BLOGGING – STORYTELLING RESPONSIBLY & SAFELY (ages 10 – 15)

If our youth are going to blog, tweet or fire up flickr photos – on the new information highways – then might it be wise to teach them to do it in both a socially responsible and personally safe fashion? Join media arts specialist and Delta teacher Erica Hargreave as she helps students create their stories and characters online in a safe and responsible manner. This week of storytelling explores the use of social media tools which are becoming more and more a part of their lives. And of course … don’t forget your digital camera!

Fee: $70

ID 8153 July 6 -10 9:00 – 11:00 am Seaquam Secondary

ID 8154 July 13 – 17 1:00 – 3:00 pm Delta Secondary

Nervous about your child learning how to use social media? Well, I hate to say it, but it is just like sex. You can hide it from them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not going to experiment on their own. By showing young people the cool things they can do with social media and storytelling, we can encourage them to be safe, show them how to be safe and how to use the tools responsibly. I also might add, that it is the knowledge of how to use these tools safely and responsibly that a lot of businesses are looking to young people for guidance, opening those that know how to do this to a lot of opportunity.

Hope to see you and your young storytellers this summer!

Chicks Who Click Hit Vancouver!!!

Erica — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:34:53 +0000

A few of you have been asking about Tris Hussey’s and my upcoming workshops and where you can sign up. Those are still on the horizon, but in the mean time there is another exciting event coming to town where you can learn the ins and outs of utilizing social media in your storytelling and other aspects of your business and personal life. That’s right Chicks Who Click are coming to town on June 26th and 27th.

What’s that you ask?

Chicks who Click is an initiative born in Colorado thats designed to bring dynamic women together with minds that are creative, connected and looking to collaborate and be the best in their fields with social media.

Does that mean that you need to be a leader in social media to attend?

Absolutely not. The event is designed to foster women starting to utilize Social Media and provide those already using Social Media with growth opportunities.

So should you come and will you gain from the experience?

Absolutely.

For those of you curious to learn more, here’s what the event looks like:

Friday, June 26, 2009

2:30-4:30
101 Track-”We are Living in a Digital World and I’m Just an Analog Girl”-Doyle Albee

5:00 p.m.
Chicks who Mix: Tweet-up at the Alibi Room

Saturday, June 27, 2009

8:00-8:30
Breakfast and Networking

8:30-9:30
Via Livecast from Seattle-Monica Guzman, from the Seattle Post Intelligencer

9:45-10:45
“Twitter: Tweeting, Following & Finding” -Monica Hamburg

11:00-12:00
“Breaking the Glass Ceiling-Women in Tech Start-ups”-Megan Cole, Victoria Revay, Alexandra Samuel, moderated by Boris Mann

12:15-1:15
Lunch
Carrie McCarthy-Marketing your image-online and off.

1:30-2:30
“Connecting Communities-Traditional Media and New Media”-Erica Hargreave

3:45-5:00
“Privacy vs Transparency-Where do you draw the line?”- Gillian Shaw, Rebecca Bolwitt, Erica Hargreave, Moderated by Doyle Albee

5:30-?
Chicks who Mix Cocktail Party and Networking

That’s right I’m speaking at it along with a few other great gals in town. I can’t tell you just how much I’m looking forward to this. It should be a rather inspirational day!

Hope to see you lovely ladies there!

Making Twitter History in Yorkton, Saskatchewan

Erica — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:38:23 +0000

A very cool thing happened to us at this years Yorkton Film Festival. We hit the ‘top ten trending twitter topics’!

Festival Social Media Team: Lee, Karen & Tris tweeting away

Now I know what some of you are thinking, so what, we do that all the time at various events here in Vancouver. Well, what made this hit on the ‘top ten trending twitter topics’ so exciting for both Tris Hussey and myself is that it was the twitter community following along on the Interactive Storytelling Panel conversation from outside of the room that drove us up to the ‘top ten trending twitter topics’. To the best of Tris’ and my knowledge this had only ever been done with conferences and events from inside the room. Definitely a twitter first for both Tris and I.

yff09 delegate, Joanne MacDonald, tweeting for the first time.

To make this even more exciting, this happened whilst one of the main points that we were getting across is that social media is about community and building the community around you. The twitter community demoed this for the festival delegates in real time, as they illustrated to the room how a conversation could go beyond four-walls and those that could not be present could still be a part of the conversation. The highlight of this for me was not during the panel, but at the awards gala, when @heckofamom could not be present at festival to see her sister, Teresa MacInnes win two Golden Sheaf Awards for ‘Norm’, but she could follow along in real time on twitter and be a part of the night with her parents, brother-in-law and Teresa. My eyes welled up with tears and I got all choked up when they thanked Tris and I at the end of the evening.

Teresa & her husband, Kent winning the Golden Sheaf for Best of Festival for 'Norm'

Community is also the factor that makes the Yorkton Film Festival so special to me. This Film Festival is a whole community event that the families of Yorkton, Saskatchewan put on for the film community. The community made us dinner every night for heavens sake. It was pretty gosh, darn special and I feel incredibly fortunate for having been a part of it.

Members of the Yorkton Red Hat Society at Opening Night

An enormous thank you to the twitter community, Yorkton community and yff09 delegates for making this years Yorkton Film Festival so very special to us!

Raising a glass to the following tweeters:

From Outside the Room:

From Inside the Room: