So I’ve arrived in Sydney on my way to NZ and finally getting a piece together after my subtlemob experience last Thursday in London (Duncan Speakman’s Subtlemob “As If It Were The Last Time”) I see Rupert has mentioned this in an earlier blog and linked to Hannah Nicklin’s great description of the event.
At 6pm we all turned on the soundtrack, sometimes we were given instructions and sometimes we watching other people carry out instructions. Duncan describes Subtlemob as “a piece of invisible cinema” sometimes you are walking through a film and sometimes you are performing in that film.
When I spoke to Duncan after the event about how the idea came about he said it was about a different way of working, he’d been interested in flashmobs but wanted to make it more about the experience as opposed to a video that would end up on YouTube.
So instead of video of the event itself, here are a couple of clips of Duncan talking about it, that I shot on my new N97:
Interestingly Duncan said that the performed piece didn’t all happen how he expected, there were things that he thought might happen and loads of things that he never expected. There was one point when we were told to move quickly and change direction when people noticed us, Duncan had expected this to be a really intense dark moment but in fact it became a game. For me this was one of the best bits, suddenly we were laughing hysterically with complete strangers in the middle of Covent Garden
Part of the idea behind the piece was to make us aware of our surroundings – as an example, the realisation that if you smile at people in the street they don’t smile back at you. I certainly found this when I utterly failed to get one person to smile back at me.
The soundtrack worked really well on that dark wet night and I especially liked the fact that after it was over other players (strangers!) stopped to have a chat about it in the street… it definitely had the effect of connecting you to your surroundings and others around you. I think the “invisible cinema” is a fantastic concept and highly recommend the experience. I’m looking forward seeing what Duncan does next.
Last night, Charlotte took part in Duncan Speakman’s ‘subtlemob‘ in Covent Garden.
Imagine walking through a film, but it’s happening on the streets you walk down everyday…
when you put on the headphones you’ll find yourself immersed in the cinema of everyday life. As the soundtrack swells people in the crowd around you will begin to re-enact the England of today.
I was in Devon, so couldn’t be there, and Charlotte’s now on her way to New Zealand via Cardiff, so her reporting of the experience might be a little delayed…
Luckily, I just saw that Hannah Nicklin has written a great post about it here.
And Duncan has already posted this video of people talking about their experiences:
After London last night, it happened in Bristol today at 5pm (when I was stuck just outside Bristol in a traffic jam with a screaming baby) and will happen again tomorrow (Saturday), in Liverpool at 4pm.
– Update: Kieran has responded with answers to my questions in the Comments
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Even though OpenIndie has been getting a lot of attention recently, it’s taken me a while to sit down and properly look at what they’re planning to do. Partly because of all the other things on my radar at the moment, partly because I knew they’re focussed on independent feature films.
But it’s an inspired idea – proved by the fact that they’ve just raised over $12,000 from 226 interested filmmakers. Just as IndieScreenings opened up distribution of The Age of Stupid (of which more here soon), so OpenIndie is being set up to help the hundreds of filmmakers who are crowdfunding its creation via Kickstarter.com.
It’s being put together by Arin Crumley (of Four Eyed Monsters) and Kieran Masterton from the UK – seems they’ve been planning it for a long time (5 years and 1 year respectively), and now it’s funded, it’s due to be launched on March 1st.
Another PTTP presentation – forgive us tapping the same resource repeatedly, but it was chock full of goodness, and I would have blogged it three weeks ago if this blog had been launched then.
Most of you who are already interested in these things will know Lance Weiler as a key proponent of transmedia storytelling. He was director of the Blair-Witchy The Last Broadcast (1998) and Head Trauma (2006), and is now organiser of the touring conference DIY Days (like a North American PTTP) and the brains behind online resource The Workbook Project.
This excellent 30 minute presentation covers Lance’s ideas about “story architecture” – how to structure and develop transmedia interactive stories.
I wish I could find a link to his slides, but it doesn’t seem like he publishes them. Although they’re inserted into the video here, their detail is lost. UPDATE: Found them via a tweet from @sarn – have embedded player above so you can read them while listening to the video.
One of the most creative uses of YouTube Annotations has been for one of the uncoolest clients in London: the Metropolitan Police. Choose A Different Ending was part of their Drop The Weapons anti knife crime campaign.
Like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, it’s a second person narrative – you see through the protagonist’s eyes and choose between two knife-related options at the end of each chapter: the first ends with TAKE THE KNIFE / DON’T TAKE THE KNIFE.
While a 2nd person POV can limit a hypernarrative story’s ability to engage players emotionally, it’s perfect for this. It’s positioned somewhere between a public service video and a first person shooter (a first person stabber?).
But whereas an FPS engages young men by letting them experiment with mass murder in a virtual moral vacuum, this game manages to keep you playing until you make all the most sensible, responsible choices. It becomes a puzzle – tempting you to see how much you can get away with, and then constantly running you into different unexpected ways that carrying a knife will get you in trouble. And the reward for being a good boy? Music videos
Have a play – let me know what you think about its strengths & shortcomings.
It was pubished in July 2009, and created by short film director Simon Ellis, Mad Cow Films and Jeremy Tribe & Prabs Wignarajajat, creatives at AMV BBDO.
From the mainstream… A couple of examples of big media companies promoting major properties with transmedia games:
221B is a two-player Facebook-based game to promote Guy Ritchie’s new Sherlock Holmes film – apparently devised for Warner Brothers by AKQA. The game immerses you and your playing partner (one as Holmes and one as Watson) into the world of Sherlock Holmes and takes you through the events leading up to the first scene of the new film. I’ll be starting tomorrow, as soon as my Dr Watson is ready… CC
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To publicise the release of Stephen King’s new doorstop novel, Under The Dome, Hodder & Stoughton have organised a treasure hunt, asking for people to volunteer as Hiders, Seekers and Writers – with prizes for each. Hodder have broken the book’s 336,114 words (!) into 5196 pieces. Hiders are required to hide the pieces, online and offline; Seekers are then given clues to find them. Writers are asked to “take inspiration from the theme of Under The Dome and enter our creative writing competition.”
Nice idea? Exciting? Engaging? Well, the competition closed on November 7th (two days ago) and the first prize was a night in a 4 star hotel (ooh) on November 8th (yesterday) in London (where most of the players already live).
But so far there’s no sign of who’s won on either their Twitter (last update Nov 6th) or their website, which hasn’t changed and still invites participation in the competition. Sloppy.
Events, Festivals, Conferences and Meetups we’re attending or watching in the next couple of weeks:
SubtleMob
London, Thurs 12th Nov – Bristol, Fri 13th Nov – Liverpool, Sat 14th
‘as if it were the last time’ invites you to take part in a secret event this November. You’ve seen the people freeze in train stations and the mass pillow fights, well this will be a more subtle experience… If you register to take part in this event you’ll be invited to download an MP3 and turn up at a secret location to listen to the track at a specified time. When you put on the headphones you’ll find yourself immersed in the cinema of everyday life. As the soundtrack swells people in the crowd around you will begin to re-enact the England of today.
OPEN09
Preston, Lancashire, UK, Monday & Tuesday November 16-17th 2009
“OPEN 09 breaks with the normal conference model and creates a new participatory experience to explore, inform and create change in the Digital and Creative sectors. Sessions will include open discussions alongside world class speakers, workshops and networking events. OPEN 09 is for designers, developers, musicians, artists, photographers, journalists and gamers – in fact it’s for anyone working in the creative industries – so whether you’re a coder, strategist, information architect fashion designer, user experience professional or gallery curator, you’ll feel at home at OPEN 09.”
Just after the Power To The Pixel forum a couple of weeks ago, I searched for and followed all the people who had tweeted about it using the hashtag #pttp09.
It’s incomplete, of course – it was just gathered via hashtag, and there were many more people at the Forum than the 80+ on this list. However, it’s a good starting point if you want to find UK Twitterers who are interested in interactive filmmaking, transmedia stories and ARGs.
Please let me know if you are not on the list and would like to be, or if there’s anybody else you think I should add.
We thought we’d make Thursdays our regular slot for sharing links and information about funding, grants, sponsorship, revenue models etc.
I’ve been looking into UK development grants for large interactive projects based around narrative film. We were interested in seeing if there was any funding available for writing and detailed planning, which didn’t require presenting a ’script’ already completely written and planned. In other words, support that would take us from a treatment/synopsis of the story with an outline of interactivity and technology, to a fully written & planned story world (scripts, bible, maps, timelines, production schedule etc). Optimistic, I know – but worth a ring around.
The UK Media Team seemed the most promising – every six months they have “calls for proposals” for interactive projects. (NB: the next deadline for interactive projects is on 27th November). However, their applicant criteria is that your company must have produced at least one previous project which has been recently commercially distributed with demonstrated revenues. Nothing for startups like us.
Although not for interactive projects, the UK Film Council have a First Feature Film fund, to write and develop a feature film… They require a half A4 page summary of what happens in the film, a detailed outline (3-5 pages) of the dramatic action in your idea from the beginning to the end, the first 15 to 20 pages of your script based on your film (not required if you are including the full screenplay).
I’m hoping that this is just the start and not the whole picture. We’ll continue our investigations and I’ll update you soon on what else I’ve found. Any pointers on missing links most welcome
Ted Hope delivering his keynote speech at the Power To The Pixel forum at BFI in London last month: “Take Back What Has Always Been Yours” (full text)
In it he encouraged film makers to “take back” what he called the six pillars of cinema – since they have traditionally only concerned themselves with the first two:
1. Content
2. Production
3. Discovery
4. Promotion
5. Participation
6. Presentation
Readers of his blog, Truly Free Film, will be familiar with his analysis of the industry and call-to-arms:
“We must also recognise that there is no workable present day business model to support the current mode of cinema, other than one built on the exclusionary practice of isolated control of the funding, marketing, distribution, and exhibition systems. We know the model for financing and distribution – and by extension, also creation – is now running on fumes.
How long can the controlling studio model survive when the wall of control has already come down and the people — now embracing that they are both audiences and creators – have recognised the power they truly have and will unlikely ever surrender that power again?
How long can a business based on library assets survive when everything that has been digitised has also been copied and can now be spread with a touch of a button – and every time it is stopped, it is only to reappear somewhere else.”
