USA gets the Forlorn Gaze

AFI award nominated Australian satirical web series Forlorn Gaze launches on US online network Koldcast.tv tonight. Created by Sarah-Jane Woulahan and Jud Campbell, Forlorn Gaze documents the trials and tribulations of the band the series is named after.

“Forlorn Gaze isn’t just an imitator or a follower of the cutting edge post-hardcore pre-crunk emo dance scene (or the Scene scene as it is known), they are trailblazers bridging the introspective sensitive world of youth with that of the mainstream.”

Phil Wood

New media’s impact on the film industry

A couple of key issues come to mind when I think about the effect new media (that’s no longer so new) has on our film industry.

• The first one is a no brainer – just look to the music industry  - what was once scarce has been made plentiful (albeit often illegally) and has decreased in value.
• The second key issue is the behavioral shift that’s happened as a result of digitization – and it’s about audience participation & co-creation (community).

Speaking Transmedian

Last week I delivered a keynote at SPAA Fringe in Sydney. It’s tricky to know what level to pitch a presentation at, to a room of 200 people who come from all different areas of film & tv production, with varied experience; but I decided to wander introductorily through some of the forms entertainment or storytelling is taking across various platforms, and speak in more detail about case studies I’ve worked on.

Wikipedia AR on your iPhone

Wikitude is an application developed originally for Android phones that has been adapted for use with the iPhone. You hold up your iPhone and click the application to discover facts about where you are, and points of interest there. It’s also designed to be fully interactive (co-creative) with the ability to input data via your Google, Twitter, Yahoo or OpenID account. Can’t wait to play with this one at KCDC.

Augmented Reality Is Here

Augmented reality is a world where data overlays the real world. One of my very early posts features Kevin Kelly talking about the transition from Web 2.0 (where we are now) to the semantic web (where augmented reality is well and truly with us). The release of iPhone 3GS is moving us one step closer to that vision of a connected, interactive real world.

An augmented reality iPhone application appeared in the apps store yesterday. It works using the iPhone’s video camera, GPS and compass. If you happen to be in Paris, you can hold the iPhone up and data on your phone tells you where the closest Met station is.