by Asni

One of the perks of living in Wellington is that everyone else thinks it's so cool. At least, ever since Lord of the Rings. Which means that perhaps I was not entirely mad when I decided to settle here some five years ago, mainly out of a curiosity what would happen when all that talent that was bound up in making those movies would be released into the atmosphere.

It seems that the organizers of X|Media|Lab share that same line of thought. They have identified Wellington as an international "digital hot spot" among such places as Melbourne, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore and Seoul - and they fully acknowledge the role that Peter Jackson, Weta Digital and Park Road Post have played in that decision.by Asni

One of the perks of living in Wellington is that everyone else thinks it's so cool. At least, ever since Lord of the Rings. Which means that perhaps I was not entirely mad when I decided to settle here some five years ago, mainly out of a curiosity what would happen when all that talent that was bound up in making those movies would be released into the atmosphere.

It seems that the organizers of X|Media|Lab share that same line of thought. They have identified Wellington as an international "digital hot spot" among such places as Melbourne, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore and Seoul - and they fully acknowledge the role that Peter Jackson, Weta Digital and Park Road Post have played in that decision.X|Media|Lab is described as an "international think tank" to bring together people with ideas with experienced digital media practitioners from around the world. It falls nothing short of that description. For the relatively modest fee of $99 I got to attend a whole day of speeches by some very high profile industry people, both from New Zealand and overseas. The fee included a free lunch and snacks, and a networking session with cocktails after the conference. I'm not usually much into the networking thing (I'm more the introvert kind), but everyone was extremely friendly and enthusiastic. When and where else would one have the chance to just have a friendly chat with the President of Virgin Comics and Animation, or the Manager of New Business Development at Google?

The topic for the Wellington event was "Commercializing ideas". It consisted of a day-long series of public talks by various people who have been successful working with digital media - that means, the internet, or entertainment such as games, film and animation. This was followed by a series of workshops and coaching sessions for individually selected local businesses that were not open to the wider public.

The talks ranged widely in topic and worldview - from recipes for the unadulterated manipulation of potential customers to more socially conscious considerations. Speakers came from the US and Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia, as well as representatives from several successful New Zealands ventures. There was a special focus on China and the opportunities that are offering there, now that the free trade agreement has been signed between China and New Zealand.

A daylong series of talks about business could have been quite a sleep-inducing affair, but the large majority of the speakers was very able to keep the audience's attention, and some of them positively had a gift for entertainment. Well, it is the entertainment industry we're dealing with. Or maybe it was just that some of the information they shared was so fascinating that I, for one, did not have any trouble to stay focused.

One of my personal highlights was Suresh Seetharaman's presentation of the work done at Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation, a company that has set itself the goal to plug into the rich cultures of Asia to develop new characters and stories which can be marketed as comics, games or full-fledged feature films. Some of that artwork looks truly stunning! I am looking forward to seeing some of it on the big screen sometime soon.

Marcelino Ford-Livene, representing Intel, and Tom Duterme, who works for Google's new business development section, were both able to present complex information in a very clear fashion and it is encouraging to hear such high profile business people share their ideas and thoughts so generously.

The award for "most entertaining talk" must go to Adam Bryce, director of Slam X Hype in Auckland. His job title is "Trend Forecaster" - as he explained it, his job is to create hypes and then advise companies to follow them - or the other way round, whichever way you look at it. He injected just the right dose of irony while at the same time being entirely serious about the serious business of fashion. It was a bit of an eye-opener, that one. I wonder if I should hire him to make my harp music "cool"?

On a more sober note, Jason Roks from Canada made a case for Internet Neutrality - the ability for users of the internet to access all pages at the same download speed rate regardless of the internet service provider they are subscribed to. This principle has been threatened since broadband service providers, which mostly belong to large corporations, have been trying to favour sites that are part of their own corporate portfolio. He presented some very hands-on ideas about what you and I can do about it.

My favourite talk, however, was that by Chris Adams, one time clueless aspiring screenwriter (in his own words), and later co-founder of Participant Productions in Los Angeles. Participant Productions is a company whose business proposition is to "create entertainment that inspires audiences to make social change". Their portfolio includes North Country, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night and Good Luck, Syriana, The Kite Runner, and a bunch of other films in that same vein. If you thought that "Commercializing Ideas" was going to be all about the money - here goes a man who has never lost sight of his dream to change the world.

Asni used to play the harp professionally but eventually got tired of being a nice girl and found more interesting things to do. In 2003 she decided to emigrate to New Zealand from her native Germany, and settled in Wellington, where there miraculously was an opening to teach harp at Victoria University. Since her teaching contract finished, she has been working as a caregiver for children with autism, driven all the way around New Zealand taking photos and doing pencil sketches, built an online shop for sheet music and cds that actually contributes to New Zealand's export balance, and completed a Diploma in Multimedia Design at Natcoll just a few weeks ago. At the moment she is looking for work as a concept designer and/or 3D modeler but would be happy to settle for another job in tv, video production or web design, ideally one that allows her to use her creative skills. She has also recently released her second cd album "Travels in Middle-earth", featuring herself on a collection of harps, with Alistair Fraser on taonga puoro, and New Zealand nature on percussion and background vocals.

X|Media|Lab website

04/06/08