AFI DigiFest 2007

Today's fast-evolving media landscape demands that all participants not only keep up, but forge ahead, anticipating viewer trends, technology advances and new business opportunities. Increasingly, the ability to innovate wisely distinguishes the leaders from the pack. For those wishing to learn from proven innovators, there is no better forum than AFI DigiFest 2007. We are proud that this year AFI DigiFest is a featured component of Los Angeles's longest running film festival, AFI FEST presented by Audi.

On November 8 and 9, AFI Digital Content Lab presents two interactive media showcases that highlight the finest examples of new media solutions from around the world. Day One brings together the best new media examples from across the media landscape. Day Two is the world premiere of five prototypes developed in the AFI Digital Content Lab in collaboration with a stellar community of mentors drawn from top-tier design, production, technology, and business strategy companies.

DAY ONE - NOVEMBER 8, 2007
AFI Digital Content Lab hosts a series of curated presentations that showcase noteworthy digital productions that best take advantage of new technologies and distribution and that play across a variety of screens.

QUARTERLIFE
Marshall Herskovitz, producer, writer, director

Oscar and Emmy-winner Marshall Herskovitz has produced and/or written some of the more compelling stories of our time -- THIRTYSOMETHING, MY SO-CALLED LIFE, BLOOD DIAMOND, THE LAST SAMURAI and SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. Now he and partner Edward Zwick embark on Internet waters, launching QUARTERLIFE, a network-caliber, made-for-broadband series and robust online social network. The series premieres on MySpace November 11.

SPIDER-MAN™ 3 Digital Environment
Grant Anderson, CG supervisor, SPIDER-MAN 3, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Andrew Nawrot, environments lead, SPIDER-MAN 3, Sony Pictures Imageworks

Computer graphics mimic the camera's eye with a sophistication and authenticity that can be staggering, but recreating these scenarios over and over, movie after movie, can be daunting and cost-prohibitive. CG gurus at Sony Pictures had the foresight to build out whole 3D sectors of New York City for SIDER-MAN 3, intent on providing future filmmakers with a finished set that can be approached from any angle. The upfront effort is sure to pay off for the prescient studio.

AFTERWORLD
Stan Rogow, executive producer, AfterworldTV

Dystopian science fiction worlds are hardly new. Ones that predict a world devoid of technology are less common, particularly when that world exists only online. AFTERWORLD is a broadband wonder with more than two million viewers of the 130-episode storyline and the highest ratings in MySpace's history. Tracking straight-man Russell Shoemaker as he traverses the now battered land provides the series with its forward momentum, but it is the savvy understanding of storytelling for the new medium that gives AFTERWORLD its oomph.

THE WAR
Angela Morgenstern, senior director, PBS Interactive

Whenever documentarian Ken Burns decides to cover a new period in history, it's news. THE WAR, his take on World War II for PBS has proven to be no exception. What sets Burns's "epic poem" apart, however, is the vital two-way dynamic with its viewers. Working with individual public television stations across the country, veterans of that now distant war were invited to tell their own stories via e-mail, telephone and video submissions. The result is a multi-platform saga that introduces new voices and a breadth of humanity to the topic.

TONY HAWK'S PROVING GROUND
Brian Bright, co-project director, Neversoft

Game giant Activision knew that having skate pro Tony Hawk's name attached to any property promised gold, but the company had the vision to layer a full-featured video editor, a visual effects library and a personalized skate lounge to the PROVING GROUND mix. The result is a trend-setting console game that invites customization and repeat play. The result is, as the kids are wont to say, sick.

FALLEN ALTERNATE REALITY GAME
Matt Wolf, creative director/founder, Double Twenty Productions (D20)

Alternate reality games posit narratives that exist within the real world, but that depend on the choices of players to define the storyline. ABC Family's decision to release such a game to augment the FALLEN TV movie was fortuitous. Not only has the half terabyte of content been viewed by more than 225,000 viewers, the game won the 2007 Emmy for Best Interactive Television Service. Providing interactive brand extensions for traditional narratives would appear to be a healthy goal for modern storytellers.

Current TV
Justin Gunn, director of programming
Robin Sloan, online product strategist

Founded by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, Current TV is a 24-hour cable network with an interactive online environment that invites viewers to comment, as well as upload short video segments called "pods." The television network currently reaches 52 million homes and won the 2007 Emmy for Best Interactive Television Series, but a recent reconfiguration of the broadband presence downplays the TV aspect, emphasizing the user-generated "pods" and actively encouraging debate. This dynamic optimization across screens is setting the new Current apart.

"Impossible Is Nothing" ad campaign
Mike Yapp, EVP, national creative director, Carat

Advertising may not at first seem like rich loam for storytelling, but Adidas and design house 180 Amsterdam prove otherwise. A campaign that has evolved over the past several years, "Impossible Is Nothing" calls on well-known athletes to share their most vulnerable and pivotal moments. Told as animations, video and audio, the stories are at once inspirational and cutting edge, allowing fans to explore and commune. With advertising in turmoil, this unique campaign may point the way to winning over hearts first, pocketbooks second.

Animation Mentor
Bobby Beck CEO/president, Animation Mentor

Imagine an online school for animators where working professionals critique students' work online and in real time. With instructors drawn from Industrial Light and Magic, Pixar, Sony Imageworks and other first-rate houses, it's not surprising that the majority of the graduates of the 18-month program find work immediately. The interactive digital environment built for school serves as a model for how distance learning might finally become relevant.

Boing Boing
Mark Frauenfelder and Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing editors

Boing Boing has a revered place within certain pop culture circles. Launched in 1988, the erratically published paper zine chronicled the fringes of technology, politics, science fiction and more. At the dawn of the web, Boing Boing found itself online as a "directory of wonderful things." A success by any measure, the site today is not only among the most linked-to blogs, it is profitable. Expanding to yet another platform, Boing Boing has launched Boing Boing TV, an on-demand daily show hosted by Boing Boing's editors and promising the same mix of wit, wisdom and whimsy as the earlier manifestations.

Sparky
Marque Cornblatt, conceptual artist

Sparky the robot inspires laughter, recognition, and even a certain philosophical bemusement. With a video screen cum camera for a head and the ability to wander about and interact with the public, Sparky exhibits what his creator, Marque Cornblatt, dubs "autonomous telepresence."

DAY TWO - NOVEMBER 9, 2007

AFI DIGITAL CONTENT LAB PROTOTYPES
On May 1, a round of four new AFI Digital Content Lab prototype projects launched. Each project explores a challenge faced by the larger entertainment community. Collaborative teams are working over a six-month period to develop prototypes that demonstrate their solutions. All four projects will wrap on November 9, during AFI FEST presented by Audi.

Bravo DVR
Television viewers welcome the ability to time-shift programming, but the widespread deployment of DVRs and on-demand functionality also enables viewers to speed past commercial breaks. Like most television channels, Bravo is interested in finding audience-friendly ways of retaining viewers during ads. With the popular TOP CHEF series as a focus, the prototype being developed by the AFI Digital Content Lab proposes a new approach for delivering advertising content in DVR environments.
Team
James Brennan, principal, Mandalan Media
Howard Chiao, director of business development, Panache
Jonathan Dakss, VP of technical product development, NBC Universal
Benjamin Ezrick, senior strategist of digital innovation, Ogilvy Interactive
Gary Furlow, Ensequence
Dan Gardner, interaction director, Code and Theory
Brenna Hajek, copywriter, Rubin Postaer and Associates
Ben Hollin, product manager, video and content networking, Cisco
Lisa Hsia, SVP of new media, Bravo
Phil Jacobs, manager of advanced technology, Cisco
Jeremy Landis, technical director, Code and Theory
Vivian Lee, senior marketing manager, Vivendi Games Mobile
Gayle Maltz Meyer, director of new media, Bravo
Alex Morrison, senior producer, Interactive TV, NBC Universal
Vaughn Morrison, VOD programming and production consultant
Bill Niemeyer, chief of analysis and research, BlackArrow
George Peden, Ensequence
Brandon Ralph, creative director, Code and Theory
Francine Ricchi, director of program planning, Bravo
Akhil Savani, management associate, NBC Universal
Seth Shapiro, principal, New Amsterdam Media
Aimee Viles, director of technical marketing, Ensequence

PBS NOW
NOW, the weekly PBS news program hosted by David Brancaccio, boasts an archive of more than 3000 video reports and produces two to three new investigative stories each week. The NOW prototype provides a streamlined video platform for accessing all NOW stories, along with tools and tutorials that encourage citizen journalists to refine their reporting skills and collaborate with each other and with NOW producers.
Team
Markus Almer, president, Almer/Blank
Peter Ashley, VP sales and business development, mywaves
Mr. R Blank, CTO, Almer/Blank
Omar Gonzalez, developer, Almer/Blank
Maggie Hendrie, director of user experience, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Lea Hickman, director of web solutions product marketing, Adobe
Jeremy Hinsdale, NOW technical producer, Thirteen/WNET
Geoff Katz, VP of emerging media, Method
Thomas Rigler, writer-producer/content strategist
Chris Schmidt, senior strategist, Method
Joel Schwarzberg, senior producer, new media, Thirteen/WNET
Heidi Voltmer, senior product marketing manager, web solutions, Adobe
Marcia Zellers, digital consultant

PLAYERS
MTV, EA and Mekanism have joined forces to produce a documentary, dubbed PLAYERS, that profiles a spectrum of video gamers. Recognizing that the film's target audience prefers interactivity to passive movie theater viewing, the AFI Digital Content Lab team is reinventing the documentary format for this new media generation. The prototype will screen the film across several platforms, relying on an unconventional approach to storytelling and leveraging the broad reach and immediacy of digital platforms.
Team
Brandon Barber, director of entertainment development and programming, EA
Jonah Bekhor, AFI graduate
Brendan Gahan, content manager, Mekanism
David Gale, EVP of new media, MTV
Mike Gordon, chief strategy officer, Limelight Networks
David Harris, new media consultant
Jason Harris, president/executive producer, Mekanism
Bernie Laramie, founder, M.O.S. Sync
Eric Lavanchy, entertainment and game content developer
Sean Lightner, principal, Thoughtsocket Media
Tommy Means, creative director/director, Mekanism
Jaime Melton, management supervisor, Team One
Julie Michael, management director, Team One
Adam Moore, writer, Fair Trade Films
Ed Mun, associate creative director, Team One
Cory Radcliff, VP of technology, GoTV Networks
Paul Ratzky, engagement planning director, Team One
Jen Ringel, manager, MTV
Joss Rogers, director of product development, Sony Corporation of America
Doug Scott, VP of entertainment and lifestyle marketing, EA
Justin Strawhand, CEO, mutationengine
Ken Swapp, director of technology products, GoTV Networks
Daniel Tibbets, EVP and studio chief, GoTV Networks
Gabrielle Weinman, creative director, Team One
Chris Weldon, producer, Mekanism

Machinima Series
Machinima is an emerging art form that borrows 3D assets from video games to create new scenarios. To date, these productions have primarily been clever, comedic shorts. This AFI Digital Content Lab prototype takes a two-pronged approach to updating the form: 1) create a compelling, dramatic TV series, and 2) render 3D assets on the fly, rather than recording them to video, as most machinima productions do. A game engine powers the action of each episode, playing on a game console or a PC.
Team
Dante Anderson, VP of product development, Kuma Reality Games
David Bailey, CEO, Short Fuze Limited
Jonah Bekhor, AFI graduate
Damon Berger, creative developer, Stage 9
Boas Betzler, senior technical staff , 3D internet and virtual worlds, IBM
Keith Blanchard, VP, director of programming, Kuma Reality Games
Ross Cox, Sr. director of entertainment products, Cartoon Network New Media
Peter Finn, strategy and program manager, 3D internet and convergence, IBM
John Gilles, VP of media and entertainment, Method
Vadim Godzhinsky, producer of marketing media, Kuma Reality Games
Keith Halper, president and CEO, Kuma Reality Games
Jinny Jung, senior manager of new media ad sales strategy, Cartoon Network
Matt Kelland, creative director, Short Fuze Limited
Paul Ledak, VP and chief technologist, IBM
Gregg Lichtenstein, writer
Michael Nitsche, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Literature, Communication and Culture
Scott Nocas, global market manager, programming, Xbox Live Global Markets
McKenna Rowe, Composer and Sound Designer
Tom Sicurella, new media consultant, Dogma Designs
Ethan Vogt, filmmaker/director, Furnace Media

Filmocracy
At the AFI Digital Content Lab Production Wrap Showcase held July 24 in Hollywood, CA, the Filmocracy user-generated film competition was well-received by an audience comprised of more than 100 television, film and digital media executives. The project combines the efforts of ITVS and INDEPENDENT LENS, in an effort to create an international film competition inclusive of both web and mobile phone interactivity. Not only could contestants create their videos directly on the site and share them with friends through mobile phone applications, Filmocracy also includes instructional media and constructive feedback from working filmmakers and animators. The Filmocracy contest winner, a 26-year-old filmmaker from Texas State University, emphasized the ingenuity, relevance and overall enjoyment she experienced in using the new technologies to create her winning film.
Team
Annelise Wunderlich, production manager, ITVS
Marianne Yusavage, production manager, ITVS
Cathy Fischer, senior producer, ITVS, Interractive
Jen Kaczor, producer, ITVS Interactive
Helen Sam, associate producer, INDEPENDENT LENS
Nora Barry, producer/writer, Druid Media
Mark Decena, founder, kontent films
Kristl Date-Dopps, film marketing director, Getty Images
Steve Heck, VP of architecture, Getty Images
Brooks McMahon, VP of business development, Getty Images
Kim Zaninovich, executive producer, Exopolis
Charlie Short, associate creative director, Exopolis
David Todd, VP of content, Eyespot

The AFI Digital Content Lab also thanks the following sponsors for their ongoing support: