Village Gamer

Vancouver’s QuickMobile and California-based PSAV® Presentation Services, who has locations across Canada, have announced a strategic partnership to jointly market and support mobile solutions for meetings and events worldwide, including associations, conference hotels, meeting planner and venue applications. The combined QuickMobile/PSAV offerings will greatly improve, extend and differentiate the experiences and outcomes of the events they serve.

“Today, meeting and event planners can leverage the power of mobile device technology to deliver real-time information to attendees and organizers, thereby greatly enhancing the overall event experience,” said David Snell, Chief Marketing Officer at QuickMobile. “By simply touching an app on their mobile device, event delegates can use their iPhones, BlackBerry’s, Androids, Windows 7 Phones, and tablets like the iPad to read speaker bios, update their own personal schedule, view the event schedule at a glance, confidentially message other attendees, and ask questions live to presenters and answer polls. Likewise, these same mobile tools can be used by meeting planners and event organizers to promote their event by communicating with social networking and third party content providers, incorporating mobile travel tools and city guides, and supporting vendors in a trade show environment.”

David Snell explained that mobilizing an event not only eliminates the need for organizers to print show guides, which subsequently reduces costs, but it enables content to be customizable in real-time. The new QuickMobile/PSAV platform is scalable, depending on the event needs. Sponsored advertising also can be incorporated throughout the application.

One of the most recent collaborations between PSAV and QuickMobile was the 2011 GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference which was redesigned to meet the challenges and opportunities of emerging sustainability issues head-on and for which QuickMobile delivered the MobileEvent™ application. The event utilized principles from the online gaming world – specifically role-playing, leadership, narration, feedback, and ranking – to encourage attendees to actively engage and learn about industry developments and strategies in a hands-on manner. Each team was given a customized iPad complete with game instructions, social media functionality and point tracking capabilities. In addition, attendees were able to monitor team progress, access the conference program and connect with their peers using the interactive Sustainable Meetings Conference mobile application on their smart phones. Read the rest of this entry »

Reminder: INplay early bird ticket deadline is April 14th
Seminar: CanWIT Ottawa Chapter Presents – Setting Yourself Up For Success Series – April 19th
Seminar Series: CanWIT Toronto presents – The 2011 Professional Development 4 Part Series – Starts April 14th
Seminar: CanWIT BC Signature Lunch – Career in Project Management – April 20th

Congratulations to all of the digital sector companies who have been named to Canada’s Top 100 Great Places To Work:

Microsoft Canada – Google Canada – NetApp – SAS Institute (Canada) Inc. –  Habañero Consulting Group – T4G Limited – Intuit Canada –  Disney Online Studios Canada (Club Penguin) – CDW Canada Inc. – Sandvine – Qualcomm – Online Business Systems – FinancialCAD Coporation – Nintendo of Canada Ltd – Autodesk –  Softchoice Corporation – Vivonet – Ideaca – IT/Net Ottawa Inc. – WishGroup Inc. – EPIC Information Solutions – Zedi

Air Canada’s enRoute Film Festival today announced it is inviting Canadian film students and emerging filmmakers to enter its fifth annual short film festival. Each year, a jury selects the best short films and broadcasts them to a large international audience on Air Canada’s inflight entertainment system.

The winner of Best Short Film will receive a $5,000 cash prize courtesy of presenting sponsor Cineplex Entertainment. Other awards include Achievement in Direction, Achievement in Cinematography, and Achievement in Animation. All award winners will receive an exciting new destination prize to Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France.

Past jury members have included Jason Priestly, Denis Villeneuve, Donald Sutherland, Alan Cumming, Dan Aykroyd and Rémy Girard, among many others. This year’s jury will be announced this summer.

Selected films will be broadcast on Air Canada’s personal seatback entertainment system on the Canadian Movies channel viewed by millions of Air Canada customers around the world. A free public screening and awards celebration will be held in Toronto at the end of the year to honour the winners.

Worldastronauts.com is excited to announce the launch of a new network of sites featuring space news, travel, multimedia and blogs. VirtualSpaceHotel.com will be the first of its kind and offer a limited number of commercial and personal advertising opportunities. The sites will use 3D Graphic and Web Design granting visitors and members a truly unique virtual experience. This Virtual Space Hotel is aimed at those interested in participation of a global network solely dedicated to space exploration. The site will also offer the opportunity for affiliates to link to their sites and homepages. Creative web design, development and maintenance of the World Astronaut’s Network is managed by the Toronto Canada’s Discotoast Inc. and owned exclusively by New Hampshire-based URL Development.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Cineplex Entertainment will be hosting a Canadian launch and tournament event for Mortal Kombat, the highly anticipated game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, on April 18th. Tickets for this event are only $5 – on sale now – and all ticket holders will get the chance to participate in a Mortal Kombat tournament for some great prizes, with the final rounds taking place on the big screen. An exclusive contest for SCENE members will also take place at each location (not including Quebec). By redeeming SCENE points, members can enter to win a life-size Scorpion replica statue ($2,000 approximate value).

Event participants at the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto will be able to meet Canadian UFC fighter Sean Pierson as he will be signing autographs from 8:00-10:00 p.m.  Finally, three versions of the game for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will be available for purchase at midnight at the theatre. The Mortal Kombat Standard Edition will be available for $69.99, the Mortal Kombat Kollectors Edition for $99.99 and the Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition for $149.99.

The latest iteration of the award-winning Mortal Kombat videogame, available on April 19, marks a triumphant return to the series’ mature presentation and a reinvention of its classic 2D fighting mechanic. Driven by an all new graphics engine, the fan favorite Fatality is back and presented in more gory detail than ever before. In addition, Mortal Kombat introduces a number of new game-play features including tag team and a deep story mode. Mortal Kombat is being developed by NetherRealm Studios, led by Mortal Kombat creator and creative director Ed Boon.

The game is rated M for Mature, participants must be at least 18 years of age to attend the event and purchase the game.

WHEN: Monday, April 18, 8:00 p.m. to midnight (local time)

WHERE: Advance tickets are now available at participating theatre box offices, through the Cineplex Mobile Apps and online at www.cineplex.com/events or mobile site m.cineplex.com

BRITISH COLUMBIA: SilverCity Coquitlam Cinemas, 170 Schoolhouse

ALBERTA: Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton Cinemas, 1525-99th Street NW, Edmonton and SilverCity CrossIron Mills Cinemas & XSCAPE Entertainment Centre, 261055 CrossIron Boulevard, Rocky View (Calgary)

MANITOBA: SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas, 817 St. James Street Winnipeg

ONTARIO: Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, 259 Richmond Street West and SilverCity Newmarket Cinemas and XSCAPE Entertainment Centre, 18151 Yonge Street

QUEBEC: Scotiabank Theatre Montreal, 977 rue Ste-Catherine Montreal

In the meantime, check out this teaser trailer for Mortal Kombat: Legacy done by Vancouver’s GoldTooth Creative:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1uTTtQ21Ls]

Updated: This press release arrived in my email just after I made the original post.

Goldtooth Creative is proud to have provided visual effects, editing, motion graphics, and more than an hour of original music for the highly-anticipated Mortal Kombat web series, produced by Contradiction Films and Warner Premiere and debuting online today.

Beginning in the pre-production phase and continuing through filming and beyond, Goldtooth artists worked closely with Director Kevin Tancharoen and the Mortal Kombat production team to create slick visuals and an evocative musical score that heighten the chills and thrills of Tancharoen’s action-packed series.

Though the Goldtooth crew has worked its magic on countless videogames—and key creative personnel cut their teeth on television series’ and blockbuster films—this is the company’s first foray into live-action web-based entertainment. “We’re excited to be part of this innovative project and proud to show off the talent we have here at Goldtooth,” said Tyler Weiss, Goldtooth Vice President and Audio Director.

“We’re fans of the franchise, and so we were determined from the word ‘go’ that our work would be worthy of the Mortal Kombat universe,” said Goldtooth VFX Supervisor Keegen Douglas, who helped design the visual effects in pre-production, supervised on set, and led the Goldtooth VFX team during the whirlwind post schedule. “We had a great time collaborating with Kevin and the entire Mortal Kombat team,” said Goldtooth Associate Creative Director Paul Furminger, who led the Goldtooth editorial team on this project.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s6UiEuCYXA]

“From the start we knew that this was going to be an unbelievably challenging project,: said Tim Carter, producer of Mortal Kombat: Legacy. “Goldtooth embraced the project and truly invested in it both emotionally and in terms of their approach to budget. Their work has been consistently phenomenal and it’s no exaggeration to say that without them Mortal Kombat: Legacy simply wouldn’t have been possible.’

The nine-webisode series relates origin stories for many of the franchise’s most notorious characters. The first episode—in which Sonya Blade (Jeri Ryan) and Jax (Michael Jai White) go head-to-head with Kano (Darren Shahlavi)—premieres today, with subsequent episodes to be released each consecutive Friday through April and May.

Montréal will welcome a brand new event this summer that combines all three of these elements this summer: the International Startup Festival (ISF). Designed to stimulate technological entrepreneurship, this event will bring innovators, startups, investors, and clients of the economics of innovation and new technology to Montréal. Many big names on the startup and technology scene, such as Dave McClure, Chris Shipley, Howard Lindzon and Paul Kedrosky, to name but a few, will be on hand this coming July 13 to 15. Andy Nulman, CMO of the Just For Laughs comedy festival, will deliver the keynote presentation. The ISF will be an ideal opportunity to meet, discuss, chat, and spend time with the best and brightest players on the global technology scene.

With a focus on innovation in the areas of applications and technologies associated with mobility, social networking, and gaming, the ISF, under the theme of “Startups & LOL”, will establish itself as a hotbed of new ideas and networking synergy between the visionary investors of today and the dynamic entrepreneurs of tomorrow. As such, the programme will consist of, among other things, startup presentations, conferences on future subjects and challenges, workshops, fun activities, and surprise demonstrations, not to mention the many opportunities to expand networks, develop business, and have a great time in good company.

“Montréal is always enthusiastic about hosting events that highlight creativity and innovation; the International Startup Festival is proof of the constant support the city offers designers of new technology. Since the participants of this event are opinion leaders and important influencers in their technological domain, as well as in their respective networks, Montréal is sure to enjoy considerable spin-offs,” confirms the Honourable Charles Lapointe, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. “When it comes to matching imagination and ingenuity, Montréal is always ready to act as a catalyst for Web masterminds to carry out – and with great success – all their future projects,” concludes Charles Lapointe.

“Several events for technology startups already exist in many cities and draw local talent. What makes the ISF different, however, is its international character, and focus on the business side of startups. There isn’t another event entirely devoted to entrepreneurship and its players that seeks to bring together startups, innovators, and investors from Canada, the United States, Europe, and elsewhere in the world,” adds Philippe Telio, President of Embrase and principal festival producer.

Other than its natural affinity for creativity and new technology, Montréal also presents, with its unique mix of European and North American cultures, its multiculturalism, and its qualified workforce, a most favourable environment for exchanges between designers, developers, and entrepreneurs from around the world. It goes without saying that these qualities will definitely contribute to making the inaugural edition of the festival an impressive success. Read the rest of this entry »