.:WBP presents DIY DAYS a roving conference series for those who create -

Speaker Highlight: Jesse von Doom

jim — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:31:14 +0000

Jesse is the executive director of CASH Music a nonprofit organization building open tools and services for musicians and the evolving music industry. He has a background in design and technology and has been working with music marketing and technology for over ten years. Jesse lives with his wife and two daughters on a tiny island in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay.

Jesse is creating useful digital tools for musicians when they need it most. He will be joining Brian McTear to discuss the “Future of Music”.

Q & A:

What excites you about the future?

Besides the jetpacks? My daughters. That’s a serious answer. I was talking to my two-and-a-half year old daughter last week and she picked up a CD. Asked me what it was. So I tell her it’s music and she looks at me like the RCA dog and says “No Papa. It’s plastic. It’s not music.” How perfect is that? So what excites me is the perspective that kids are growing up with. Not only do they not care about the containers, they don’t even have a concept of a container. Content is just content. Music just is. And that’s our future, from music to games to movies. A whole generation of people who grew up without artificial limitations on how they consume culture. That excites me.

What’s on your playlist?

There’s so much great new music right now. Xiu Xiu’s “Dear God, I Hate Myself” is solidly on the top of my list. I love that record…it’s amazing. I’m also high on their collaborators Former Ghosts and Zola Jesus. Shift gears to the UK and you’ve got the amazing Future of the Left out of Wales, and Frightened Rabbit from Scotland — both released epic records with their last efforts. And I’m biased because I help with her management, but I think the world of Kristin Hersh — I’m especially excited about material she’s recording with her band 50FOOTWAVE right now.

What are some of your favorite sites and / or blogs?

DIY Days is still looking for a few good volunteers!

jim — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:30:53 +0000

We are looking for volunteers to be a part of our logistics team. Volunteers will be needed to greet and register attendees and speakers, direct traffic between our spaces, maintain time for sessions, prep speaker presentations, and generally be ready to attend to other logistical issues as they pop up.

Our friend and talented writer/director/editor Raffi Asdourian had some nice words to say about DIY Days today on his blog. Follow up with here him if you’re interested in helping us shoot the event!

We’re also still seeking photographers to help capture the event. If you’re interested in joining us, please email Julia [at] workbookproject [dot] com.

Speaker Highlight: Michael Last

jim — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:58:02 +0000

Michael has combined his passions for entrepreneurship, technology, and fun into his startup Intellitoys. Intellitoys is using toys as a new platform for distributing traditional media such as songs and stories, as well as interactive media, such as games and interactive stories. Michael is seeking to disrupt the business model of the toy industry to focus on downloadable content rather than static hardware. With its unique Internet-enabled toys, Intellitoys offers consumers unprecedented choice and value, while also enabling new possibilities unthinkable with traditional toy technology.

Q & A:

What excites you about the future?

Personally, I think Intellitoys is going to change the way kids interact with toys and media over the next 5 to 10 years and I’m excited to see what the digital revolution does to our industry.

What is on your playlist, reading list, or movie queue?

I’m overdue to see Avatar. I normally prefer to avoid the mega-phenomenon movies (I didn’t see Titanic until it aired on basic cable), but it is fast becoming required viewing in the toy industry.

Oh, and, of course, I’m looking forward to Toy Story 3.

What are some of your favorite sites and / or blogs?

Speaker Highlight: Brian McTear

jim — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:29:13 +0000

Brian is a musician, record producer and the owner of Miner Street Recordings, the Philadelphia recording studio where he has worked since 1996. In 2008, along with high school friend Bill Robertson, McTear launched Weathervane Music, a revolutionary non-profit organization to support and advance the work of select independent artists. With the music and video series “Shaking Through”, Weathervane is rearranging roles in the business while showing how careers in music can be funded by community.

Brian is currently navigating the turbulent and transitioning times of music industry with innovation and will be joining Jesse Von Doom to discuss the “Future of Music”.

Q & A:

What excites you about the future?

Morale among many in the music industry is at an all-time low, and many people have concluded that prosperity is all but a thing of the past. But I believe a revitalized music industry will happen much sooner than people think. The past several decades has seen many strains on the relationship between people who love music and the people who make music. Now, in 2010, the time is right and the parts are in place to let the healing begin!

What’s on your playlist?

REM: “Life’s Rich Pageant”
Dr. Dog: “Shame, Shame”
Danielson: “Ships”
Smiths “Strangeways, Here We Come”

What are some of your favorite sites and / or blogs?

DIY DAYS NYC – registration opens

lw — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:47:37 +0000

The WorkBook Project and the New School are proud to present DIY DAYS NYC

Registration for DIY DAYS opens – space is limited.

WHEN:
Saturday, April 3rd 2010

9:30 AM attendee registration opens

10:15 AM Opening statements

10:15 AM to 5 PM Conference

5:30 PM to 8 PM After Party and mixer

WHERE:
The New School
66 W 12th St.
NY, NY 10011

WHO:
We have an exciting lineup of speakers for the event… With more to come.

TALKS by_
Ted Hope (producer of over 60 films – 21 Grams, Adventureland, American Splendor)
Cyndi Stivers (founding editor of Time Out New York and managing editor of EW)
Brian Newman (former CEO Tribeca Film Institute and founder of Springboard Media)
Jeff Gomez (CEO of Starlight Runner)
Molly Crabapple (award-winning artist, author, and the founder of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School)
Bre Pettis (co-founder of NYC Resistor and co-founder of MakerBot)
Jason Bitner (co-founder Found Magazine and Cassette From My Ex)
Dan Rollman (co-founder of the Universal Record Database)
Eclectic Method (groundbreaking Audio/Video DJs)
Lance Weiler (founder of the WorkBook Project, story architect of films, tv and games)
Michael Last and Theresa Loong (CEO and CCO of Intellitoys)
Jesse Von Doom (founder of CASH Music)
Brian McTear (founder Weathervane Music)
Anita Ondine and David Beard (CEO and CTA of Seize the Media)
Alex Johnson (co-founder of WBP LABS and co-creator RADAR)
Thomas Allen Harris (creator Through a Lens Darkly)
Chuck Wendig (game writer / designer and author of 80+ gaming books)
Noah Harlan (producer and mobile app developer)

WORKSHOPS on
- How to create a mobile application
- Developing and Deploying Transmedia Storyworlds
- How to write stories for games
- Social Media for Storytellers
- Working with Augmented Reality and Geolocational Storytelling

DIY DAYS INCUBATOR
We’re proud to announce a new section at DIY DAYS called the INCUBATOR. Our goal is to create a think tank of experts (legal, funding, biz dev, branding, design, tech dev) to help TWO media service startups flush out their business concepts while tapping into the true potential of their ideas. At the close of DIY DAYS the two startups will make presentations in front of a live audience that detail their vision, biz model and goals. The best presentation will win a startup package that includes a variety of services and / or cash prize to help them achieve their goals.

OPEN SESSIONS
“What are you working and what do you need?”

AFTER PARTY & MIXER
Drinks, food and DJ

DIY DAYS is coming to NYC

lw — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:59:28 +0000

The WorkBook Project and the New School present DIY DAYS NYC. On Saturday April 3rd DIY DAYS comes to the New School in NYC for a day of talks, workshops and networking focused on creativity in the digital age. The focus of the day will be how those working in film, music, gaming, design, and software can fund, create, distribute and sustain from their creative efforts.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be announcing the program and speakers. Registration will open later this month and like all DIY DAYS events admission is FREE.

DIY DAYS is made possible thanks to time and talents of those who volunteer. If you’d like to volunteer please contact us at work [at] workbookproject [dot] com

Or perhaps you know of someone who would make a great speaker if so we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us at work [at] workbookproject [dot] com

More details to coming soon…

DIY DAYS LA – THE EISENSTADT EXPERIENCE

lw — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:20:48 +0000

Dan Mirvish (Omaha the movie, Open House) charts his course from short film to web series to political scandals to an eventual book deal that is now leading to the whole story being optioned and turned into a film. “I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man’s (wildly inappropriate) Adventures with the Last Republicans,” is a mix of political intrigue, campaign-trail escapades, and cyberspace detective work. Desperate to rise through the ranks of Washington’s media punditocracy, Eisenstadt insinuates himself into the last 30 years of American politics – from losing his virginity to Fawn Hall, to interning on the Willie Horton ad campaign, to buying Sarah Palin’s wardrobe. Mirvish shares how his work has evolved beyond a single medium and the liberation that working within one’s limitations can bring.

twitter
Martin Eisenstadt @MartyEisenstadt

DIY DAYS LA – PERSONAL BRANDS

lw — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:15:37 +0000

As content creators of all kinds strive to build fan bases and cultivate audiences for their work, many are finding that their best promotional vehicle is themselves. Micki Krimmel (Mickipedia, NeighborGoods.net) and Marc Horowitz (Google Maps Road Trip, National Dinner Tour) discuss the benefits and pitfalls of creating an online cult of personality. How to develop an online persona, issues of privacy, and extending your own persona into other work are discussed.

twitter:
Micki Krimmel @mickipedia
Marc Horowitz @marchorowitz
Moderated by Lance Weiler @lanceweiler

DIY DAYS LA: EVOLUTION OF STORYTELLING (video)

lw — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:29:02 +0000

As we continue our series of discussions around the evolution of storytelling we?re joined by two pioneers in the space who are extending the experiences that surrounds the stories they tell. From massive global gaming experiences to hit TV shows Jesse Alexander (Heroes, Lost, Day One) and Elan Lee (Co-Founder and Chief Designer at Fourth Wall Studios) share the art and craft of how they design and develop transmedia experiences that create rich media franchises and engage audiences in new and interesting ways.

twitter:
Jesse Alexander @globalcouch
Elan Lee @elanlee

DIY DAYS LA: ART AND CRAFT OF THE ARG (video)

lw — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:27:56 +0000

ARGs offer an interesting extension to a storytelling experience. The real-time web and the connectedness of a variety of devices in one?s life become a jumping off point for game-play. Steve Peters (No Mimes Media) and Jan Libby (Sammeeeees, LG15, Eldritch Errors) two pratictionars and experience designers of Alternate Realtiy Games sit down for a candid conversation about the art and craft of designing, scaling and producing ARGs. Where do you start? How do you pace the experience? And how do you know if an ARG is the right extension for your storytelling process?

twitter:
Jan Libby @labfly
Steve Peters @vipsteve