Morning Sessions

Keynote presentation by Lance Weiler, Transmedia Hero and pioneer of all things digital, film, art, games and beyond. Creator of Workbookproject.com, Lance is a writer and director and is currently producing Transmedia projects with Seize The Media.

Future Artists

Round table discussion with our International Heroes: Lance Weiler, Salford Film collective Future Artists’ Mark Ashmore and Jenny Inchbald; Tora Young, Head of Development with Production Company Imaginarium; Power to the Pixel founder Liz Rosenthal; South African producer Jeremy Nathan of DV8 films. A number of Irish experts and practitioners will also be invited to give their home grown perspective.

Afternoon Sessions:

Case studies: Four Irish projects currently in development or production will be selected to receive feedback from our International guests, the Irish experts and their peers in the audience.

Workshops: The day will end with four workshops led by our guests, Liz Rosenthal, Future Artists, Jeremy Nathan and Lance Weiler.

Liz Rosenthal: Adventures in Cross-Media

As audiences interact and engage with stories across ever-evolving platforms, devices and places, how can filmmakers and media companies extend their stories across media to extend the audience, life and the value proposition of their film properties? Liz Rosenthal, Founder and MD of Power to the Pixel will present a variety of international case studies to illustrate.

Future Artists: Working on a creative project in an online environment.

Using director/producers Mark Ashmore breakthrough transmedia film ‘Project Praxis’ as a starting point and case study, students will hear why the project was created as an online experiment to ‘test’ the future artists manifesto, how it was done using only two social media portals of facebook and twitter, and why all the media was generated by participants from around the world, all in 9 days as part of the filmonik film lab, with a live event, that generated ticket sales that covered the cost of the film, which was also broadcast around the world, with online participants using twitter to interact with those at the gig.

Jeremy Nathan: Towards a 3rd (3.0) World – Some initial thoughts on filmmaking in the brave new digital era

Is Africa struggling to bridge the digital divide, or is it exploding with possibilities? Are there lessons we can learn from its poverty, corruption, unlimited optimism and hope? Is Nollywood a new model, a glimpse into a digital filmic future? Or just another 419 scam?
How can a continent of over 900 million people, with an average annual per capita income of less than US$1 per day, have any use for the Internet, where electricity is still a priviledge. Yet with vertical mobile and Internet growth statistics, people are creating, consuming, converging.
If the Internet has been partially driven largely by a free economy, by the young and the poor, and underpinned by global piracy or free peer-to-peer sharing of content, then Africa, though its social and political DNA, is poised to make a significant impact on all our digital futures.
Will African filmmakers, and indeed all independents the world over, remain permanently relegated to the margins of the art-house festival ghettos, trapped in the systemic failure that is the global film industry, or will they break free, exploring and pioneering new ways to produce innovative stories, and creating and reaching new audiences?

Lance Weiler: Screening of his project Radar followed by a Q&A.

Selection from ‘Radar’, (Weiler, 2009) includes Q&A with Lance Weiler

Lance Weiler

As part of the Darklight Symposium Lance Weiler presents a selection from Radar, his stylised 24-part documentary that explores storytelling and creativity in the digital age. It was recently nominated for a Streamy Award for best doc series and co-creator Lance will be in attendance to answer your questions.

NB Participants will be asked to sign up for the afternoon workshop of their choice ON REGISTRATION on the morning of the 29 October at Filmbase, so come early to book your place!

Virtual Cinema 3.0 World Premier

Friday 29 October, 6.30pm Grand Social

In association with the Irish Film Board / Board Scannan na hEireann and Darklight, you are invited to the premiere of the latest shorts made under the Virtual Cinema scheme. A mix-bag of animation, live action and documentary shorts all made for online distribution.

The Invention of the Lightbulb directed by Lorcan Finnegan. Edison has a bright idea.

The Irish Dog Whisperer directed by Ivan McMahon. Sorcha and Fergus get more than they bargained for when they enlist the help of The Irish Dog Whisperer.

TV Dinner directed by Ivan McMahon. A darkly comic musing on mankind’s somewhat dubious position at the top of the food chain.

Ol' One Eye

Ol’ One eye directed by Brian Folan. An old man gets a new glass eye, however this is not your standard prosthetic.  To his amazement he discovers that he can in fact see with his new eye. While out walking, following this discovery, he does what anyone else with a magic glass eye would do – a little spying!

The Fly & the Monk directed by Matthew Darragh. A contented Monk relaxes under a shady Banyan tree on a peaceful summer’s day. What could possibly go wrong?

Stop directed by Ross Whitaker. When cars, cyclists and pedestrians meet, somebody always oversteps the mark.

Special Ed directed by Hugh Travers. Two parents fret over the lack of services and facilities available to their special needs son. They’re finding it hard to cope with the trouble caused by his unusual ‘disability’.

Spanks & Eve directed by Tonyia Dowling. Spanx & Eve’ is a parody of the preparation rituals of Brides as they tug, scoop, jiggle, hitch and slide their way into the underwear from hell!

Signs directed by Vincent Gallagher. There is magic in what we see every day, sometimes you just have to look hard enough.

Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time directed by Jason Butler. Mark’s wife was killed due to corporate negligence. On the night the clocks go back, he takes his revenge.

Entry is free and on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Art

Exhibition: Dodo Presents: ‘Points of Departure’

Filmbase all weekend

The Dodo Collective was formed in 2009 to explore the tensions in new media art and technological obsolescence. What does it mean to make art that relies on digital formats that perhaps will be inaccessible in the future? ‘Points of Departure’ is the fourth Dodo Collective exhibition and is intended to bring together each members’ own perspective on new media art and, inadvertently, what might remain of these artworks in a decade from now.

Exhibition: Don’t Look Now

26 – 31 October, La Catedral Studios, 7/11 Augustine Street, Dublin 8

Ideas of fear and fate, foreboding, omens, signs and intuition are central to this collection of work in textiles, print, animation, photography and sound inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s short story and Nicholas Roeg’s 1973 film adaptation. Don’t Look Now opens 26 October and runs until 31 October 2010 from 1-5pm daily

Music

Skinny Wolves Present: Xiu Xiu & Former Ghosts

Friday 29 October, 8pm Grand Social

Tickets €12 from tickets.ie / City Discs and Sound Cellar

Xiu Xiu

Jamie Stewart, Ches Smith and new full-time band member Angela Seo make up the current incarnation of American gothic pop band Xiu Xiu. Join them as they play tracks from their tenth album, Dear God, I Hate Myself, which includes four tracks produced on a Nintento DS. Although words such as ‘harsh’ and ‘brutal’ are frequently applied to the central themes of their songs, the album has been produced with a refined, intricate and beautiful approach. Expect intensity and introspection.

Former Ghosts

Special Guests Former Ghosts is the new synth-pop project from Los Angeles-based electronic music composer and producer Freddy Ruppert (This Song Is a Mess But So Am I). Debut single ‘Hold On’ was described by Pitchfork as sounding like “what might’ve happened to Joy Division if Ian Curtis had bought a Casio and a four-track and fired the rest of the band.” Collaborators on the project’s first album ‘Fleurs, include Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, Nika Roza of Zola Jesus and Yasmine Kittles of Tearist.

buy tickets here