Ian Ginn

Ian Ginn is a creative producer and educator. He founded Hubbub Media in 2008 to develop original transmedia properties, has recently completed a pilot for a zombie thriller on the streets Amsterdam, and is developing a satire on the excesses of Dutch politics. He speaks widely, mentors professionals and students on developing their projects, and in 2010 established the Transmedia Learning Network to provoke collaboration and innovation among European film and media schools,

What Ian will be doing at DIY DAYS

From Concept to Transmedia Pilot

Hubbub recently completed a 4-week pilot of zombie thriller SALIGIA-7 which included live events on the streets of Amsterdam, 20 minutes of broadcast TV, 42 minutes of online video in 17 webisodes, 2 story blogs, and 29 Facebook pages. Ian will review key learnings, explain how the pilot was pitched, developed and produced, how it was launched and received. He will show how the pilot’s 3 narratives unfolded across various channels and how they intersected, what he was interested to research and test, and how participative audiences engaged and surprised the cast and crew. Participants can ask questions on budgets, crew, pitch documents, expectations or any other project-related issues that might arise.

DIY DAYS asks Ian

What are you currently working on that you’re excited about?

Producing the SALIGIA-7 pilot consumed most of my waking hours from April until mid-September, so I’m still coming down off that! And while we’ve wrapped the pilot there is still a lot to be done. The site should be online by September 20 with a timeline and other perspectives on this part of the Saligia storyworld, we’re editing a series of video shorts which we’ll be seeding around the web in the coming weeks, and we’re playing with a Facebook community. On the business side I’m pitching Saligia at European events to move it into further development by January. My aim is have a zombie breakout on screens and as live events in 5 countries by April 2013.
Apart from that I’m working on a 2-day workshop for 2012 going in-depth on the topic of my presentation at DIY Days – producing a transmedia pilot. And I’m also starting to have have fun working on a transmedia satire based around a fictional Department of Standards…

What are some of your favorite sites and / or mobile apps and brief why?

Just about all the apps that really grab my attention are tools which enhance or evolve the way I work in some way. Some are just great ideas like Instapaper which allows me to save online sites to read later, or Things which is a great to-do tool. I’m starting to move all projects to Basecamp which I can already see is going to have a huge effect. Anything that will get me onto the cloud, and less dependent on being in a specific place, is going to make me happy. I really want some tools for storytelling, we’re playing around with using Shazam as a kind of audio-QR code to jump to a second screen – that kind of thing. Most augmented apps don’t feel ready to me yet. An absolute must is Malcom Tucker’s phone, but you have to have seen “The Thick of It” to really appreciate it.

What are you currently watching, reading or playing?

I am currently reading “Shoot to Kill” Christine Vachon’s account of indie movie-making in ’90’s New York. Brilliant! And “Third Person” edited by Pat Harrigan and Noah Wardrip-Fruin, a collection of mind-stretching papers on vast narratives. A movie highlight includes this summer’s Red State, and re-watching District 9. I re-visit favourite films including a few that I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched. And I live a minute away from a fantastic cinema in the centre of Amsterdam that was built in 1904 making it one of the oldest around, and which has a bar and great restaurant inside. What more could you ask for! Earlier in the summer I stumbled on my old Playstation 1 and I’m still hooked on Wipeout…