Herskovitz and Sparky 2.0 roll into DigiFest

AFI DigiFest kicked off its two-day event at the Linwood Dunn Theater on Thursday with presentations from new-media luminaries, including AFI Alumnus and writer-editor-director Michael Herskovitz.

Herskovitz premiered his online series QUARTERLIFE, a show that will debut on MySpace on Nov. 12. The show, about twenty- somethings trying to establish themselves, is a technological experiment as much as it is about entertainment, Herskovitz said. The writer of the hit TV show thirtysomething, focuses on young adults networking to turn their passions into a career.

The show is also linked to quarterlife.com, where real young people network and where Herskovitz spends a large amount of his time. Comparing his work on the online show to his work in more traditional media, he remarked, "With the Internet, you kind of have your pants down all the time."

Other speakers and events at DigiFest included Andrew Narot, Environments Lead, and Grant Anderson CG Supervisor for Spider-Man 3; Bobby Beck, CEO and President of Animation Mentor; Current TV Online Product Strategist Robin Sloan and Justin Gunn, Director of Programming for Current TV.

And then there was Sparky 2.0, the interactive robot and his conceptual artist Marque Cornblatt. He controls Sparky over the Internet. Here's a short interview with Sparky 2.0:

Daily News: Hi

Sparky 2.0: Can I get some good motor oil in this place?

DN: Are you enjoying AFI FEST?

S2.0: I am absolutely enjoying AFI FEST. I've met some wonderful people here, even if they are humans.

The second day of AFI DigiFest continues today.