29th August 2009

Saturday Snapshots

Fair Copyright CanadaVancouver – The next Fair Copyright for Canada – Vancouver Chapter meeting will take place on September 2 at SFU Harbour Centre Room 2245 at 6:30pm. The Federal Government’s consultation process will be coming to an end on September 13, and if you haven’t had your say, please make sure your opinions are heard.

Michael Geist’s report on the latest Toronto consultation meeting doesn’t show a heavy involvement from the interactive media industry. He states that “Tonight the government held its second copyright town hall.  Only it wasn’t really a copyright townhall in the sense of bringing the community together to talk copyright in an open and balanced manner.  Instead, the music industry stacked the room to such a degree that little else was discussed.  There was the odd intervention from ACTRA, the Writers Guild, the education community, and software developers (and a self-professed pirate who may have worn a fair copyright shirt but did not discuss anything that resembled fair copyright), but the repeated music industry representation was the dominant theme of the night…”  You can read the rest of Michael’s report on his site.

Eidos MontrealMontrealEidos Montréal’s General Manager Stéphane D’Astous has put out the call for a new PR agency who can handle a national campaign for their upcoming titles Deux Es 3, Thief 4 and beyond. It is at a time like this that I wished I still worked in the industry, because I’ve found the creativity and originality required in the PR fields to have contributed to the best job positions I’ve ever held. The Montréal studio is also looking for people to fill a few job openings, including those of Senior Special Effects Artist and Programmers for Thief 4.

VancouverWired Woman Network has partnered with Kontent Creative Group for a session on Wired WomanCreating Interactive Brand Stories this September 1. Wired Woman members will received a 20% discount on register for the seminar, which will look at examples of brand storytelling, identify what others stories are and how they are using the online space and social media to tell their brand’s story and engage with their audience. Just like the stories online, this workshop will be interactive and we will be doing some story building of our own. Please see the Wired Woman event page for further event and registration information.

CalgaryAutodesk has joined WorldSkills Calgary 2009 as a Platinum Sponsor and the Presenting Sponsor of the Mechanical Engineering Design (MED) competition. Autodesk’s sponsorship of WorldSkills World Skills CalgaryCalgary 2009 compliments its status as a Global Industry Partner of WorldSkills International and further cements its ongoing support of the WorldSkills Movement since 2007.

“Autodesk is proud to be a sponsor of this very important educational undertaking,” said Joe Astroth, PhD, Autodesk Vice President, Learning and Education. “Being an integral part of WorldSkills Calgary 2009 represents a significant opportunity for Autodesk to inspire the next generation of architects, engineers and digital artists. We are confident the knowledge and experiences students gain using our software will prepare them to meet the demands they will encounter in the workplace.”

Autodesk’s role as a Presenting Sponsor of the MED competition also includes participation as a sponsor of the Polymechanics/Automation, CNC Milling competitions, Plumbing/Heating, Electrical Installations, Industrial Control and Joinery Competitions. As part of its sponsorship, Autodesk will provide its Inventor®, Maya® and AutoCAD® software for use by Competitors. It is through these seven competitions covering multiple disciplines that Autodesk is hoping to inspire students to develop their skill sets. Autodesk’s software used in the 40th WorldSkills Competition will be donated to Alberta schools, benefiting students across the province. For more information on Autodesk products, please visit our local premier Autodesk representatives and local event supporters at Annex Pro.

Washington Interactive NetworkSeattle – For those interested in what’s happening across the border, enterpriseSeattle’s Washington Interactive Network will convene its 3rd annual Power of Play Economic Update Lunch. A panel of industry executives will explore the state of Washington state’s $4.2 billion Interactive Media Industry, the economy, and the Pacific Northwest region’s competitiveness compared with others in the US and Canada.

On the eve of PAX 2009, the biggest game industry event in the United States, the Power of Play 2009 is going to look at the state the local interactive media industry. At this year’s event, results of the interactive media cluster study which looks at our region’s competitiveness compared with other areas in the US and Canada will be released. How does Washington compare to states and countries who are aggressively pursuing this industry?

As a dominant player in this arena, how is Washington’s creative industry surviving this economy? What does it mean to the independent developer whose creativity and entrepreneurship feed this economic engine? What trends and innovations are on the horizon despite the recession? Power of Play’s executive panel will address these questions and more. Over 200 attendees are expected to participate in the third annual Power of Play including: executives from the game industry, legislators, government officials, researchers, media, service providers, and community leaders. The event will also be viewed by game developers in the UK, Italy, Singapore, and New Zealand via live video stream, and they will participate via Twitter.

Companies in attendance include: Sony Online Entertainment, Big Fish Games, Real, Microsoft, Her Interactive, Divide by Zero, Flying Lab, Bungie Studios, Gas Powered Games, Amazing Society, Hidden Path Entertainment, 5th Cell, Z2Live, Sandlot Games, and more.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 29th, 2009 at 12:09 pm and is filed under Associations, Business News, Careers, Education, Events, National News, Software, Studios. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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