Village Gamer

British Columbia’s star power as a film-friendly production centre has received a boost from $275,000 in provincial government funding to help regional organizations attract and provide services to film and video producers from around the world.

British Columbia is the third-largest production centre in North America after Los Angeles and New York, with the local film industry directly and indirectly employing more than 25,000 people with overall 2010 wages adding up to approximately 450 million dollars.

The Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development distributed the funding to regional film commissions, as well as specific tourism associations and municipalities that work closely with the BC Film Commission to showcase and promote their regions to filmmakers and liaise with film production companies. If you would like to talk more with the BC Film Commission, they will be in Booth #889 at SIGGRAPH 2011, which takes place at the Vancouver Convention Centre next week, August 7th through 11th.

“Film in British Columbia represents a significant economic enterprise supporting good jobs and bringing substantial revenue to communities across the province,” said BC’s Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Ida Chong. “A visually dramatic landscape, a skilled film industry labour pool and a favourable tax regime established by the Province help attract film and video production, including projects in British Columbia’s regions.”

Every year, British Columbia’s regions provide locations for various film projects, including movies, television series, documentaries and commercials. Motion picture and television producers spent more than $1 billion in British Columbia during 2010. About 90 per cent of productions use the services of the BC Film Commission, including regional film commissions and offices.

“Since 1978, the BC Film Commission has successfully showcased the province as a motion picture production centre and filming destination. Regional commissions and organizations are instrumental in building and promoting B.C.’s inventory of locations,” added BC Film Commissioner Susan Croome. “They provide local production services and support required by visiting film crews and ensuring film-friendly procedures are in place through local regulatory authorities.”

Services provided in support of regional film include:

• Surveying and scouting film locations.
• Providing logistical support while filming is underway on location.
• Supplying information for producers matching scripts with possible locations.
• Offering production research, location expertise and technical support.
• Assisting with film permits, labour regulations and immigrant/work permits.

Contrary to popular belief, BC’s film industry, while largely located in the Lower Mainland region of the province, makes full use of the environmental and cultural diversity found throughout British Columbia:

· Since 1996, the Greater Victoria Film Commission (GVFC) has been the go-to agency for film productions doing business on southern Vancouver Island. Over the last decade, GVFC has supported the regional economy by helping to generate more than $165 million in direct spending in the Capital Regional District.

· The Vancouver Island North Film Commission has serviced film productions generating more than $80 million in economic impact for rural communities on Vancouver Island over the past 15 years.

· The Northern British Columbia Film region has played host to several Hollywood feature films including: Double Jeopardy, Reindeer Games, Insomnia, Dreamcatcher, Eight Below and most recently The Grey, filmed in Smithers for six weeks this past winter.

· In the last 10 years, the Thompson-Nicola Film Commission has worked with film projects resulting in $22 million in direct spending in the region, with a total estimated economic impact of more than $77 million in Kamloops and surrounding communities.

· Since 1990, film productions supported by the Okanagan Film Commission (OFC) have generated a multi-million dollar economic impact on the region. OFC has worked with international animation studios set to open offices in the region, including Bardel Entertainment / Nickelodeon, Lizard Brain and Disney. These new studios will employ young professional people at above-average salaries.

· In the fall of 2010, Nelson, Salmo and Ymir in the West Kootenays hosted filming of The Tall Man. The 42-day production generated $11 million in economic activity. More than 1,200 local people responded to an extras casting call.

The B.C. government provides between $130 million and $200 million in annual refundable tax credits for the film and television industry, depending on the level of production activity.

Even though it’s embroiled in a controversial referendum, the current HST assists in ensuring a competitive film industry in British Columbia. Under the HST, the 7% PST portion of the tax is now recoverable and provides significant savings on the purchases of goods and services such as catering and equipment.

3D3 Solutions, a Burnaby, BC developer of 3D scanning technologies, will be exhibiting at SIGGRAPH 2011 in Vancouver, where they will offer attendees at the conference free 3D face scanning demonstrations at their booth #879.

The face scanning process involves using a 3D scanner to capture an accurate 3D mesh and color texture directly from a human face. The output is especially useful in the video games, visual effects and medical imaging industry. 3D3 Solutions will feature the HDI 3D Scanner to demonstrate live face scanning at Siggraph. Their scanner uses white-light technology to capture high-resolution, color 3D scan in less than 1.4 seconds. Attendees will be provided with the 3D data of their face scans for personal use.

3D3 Solutions offers 3D scanning systems that are flexible in capturing human shapes, art sculptures, and mechanical parts for industrial inspection. 3D3 Solutions has also worked with a number of leading game companies and universities on developing custom high-speed 3D face scanners. In the latest development, the company’s custom face scanner is capable of performing a 3D scan every 0.2 seconds. “People have a tendency to move just by breathing alone and movement affects scan quality,” said Thomas Tong, President of 3D3 Solutions. “With the ability to generate 3D scans almost instantaneously, users will have cleaner, high quality scan data to work with.”

Please visit booth #879 at SIGGRAPH 2011 to learn more about 3D3 Solutions’ 3D scanning technology.

The Toronto International Microfinance Summit organizers have announced that Philip Smith, successful American entrepreneur and co-author of A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and the Business Solution for Ending Poverty will speak at its Friday Gala and set the tone for the 2-day Toronto event. In its third year, the Summit brings together microfinance practitioners, business, international development agencies, NGOs and students to learn, interact and get involved. This year’s theme – From Microcredit to Financial Inclusion: Making a Difference in our World – is the focus of the signature events:

Gala – September 16 (Arcadian Court, 401 Bay Street) to raise funds for international and domestic microfinance projects and a scholarship. Reception: 6:00 pm, Dinner & Program: 7:30 pm. Silent & live auctions, entertainment.

Conference -September 17 (Allstream Centre, Exhibition Place,105 Princes’ Blvd.) features experts who address the effectiveness of microfinance as a poverty alleviation tool and provide frontline insights from around the world. A NEW MicroMarketplace will showcase products of micro-entrepreneurs. Registration: 7:30 -9:00 am, Program & Lunch: 9:00 am-5:00 pm.

“Microfinance is an effective way to deal with poverty,” says Dr. Carol Golench, President of Toronto International Microfinance Summit. “When you consider that, worldwide, in 2009 over 92 million borrowers from nearly 2,000 microfinance institutions had an average loan balance of $527USD, you realize microfinance is addressing poverty in a significant way and transforming people’s lives.”

“Microcredit enables people to become givers, not takers,” adds Philip Smith. “Microcredit should not be seen as charity but rather as the opportunity poor people need to build a decent life. Through microcredit, donors can shed the old hand-out mentality and become true partners in progress with the people of the developing world.”

Over 30 event speakers include: Bob Annibale – Citi, Joyce Lehman – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Michael Bowles – Aga Khan Foundation, Kadita (A.T.) Tshibaka – Opportunity International USA, Stéphanie Émond – FINCA Canada, Dr. Tanjina Mirza, PLAN Canada, Jeff Rayman – UEnd: Poverty Foundation, Deborah Lindholm – Foundation for Women and Gordon Crann – Rotarian Action Group for Microcredit.

Once again, The MasterCard Foundation is providing financial assistance for the first 100 students to register for the conference. Early Bird Deadline for conference tickets is September 2nd.

The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is pleased to announce that Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter, will speak on Tuesday, September 27, at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, as part of the “Bell International Leaders” series.

Named Entrepreneur of the Decade by Inc. Magazine, Biz Stone was also picked as one of the world’s most influential people by TIME Magazine, Nerd of the Year by GQ, one of the top 10 most influential people of the information age by Vanity Fair and won the International Center for Journalism Innovation Award. Mr. Stone is known above all for having helped develop an information network of over 200 million users worldwide to help people work together to democratize information.

“Biz Stone is an inspiring example for the entrepreneurs of this world,” said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade. “He managed to develop a high-performance tool that is a major innovation, which allows users to keep abreast of the latest information in real time. His success lies not only in the final product, but also in the process he went through to get there.”

A Fellow at Oxford University, Mr. Stone won a debate at the Oxford Union about the positive impact that entrepreneurs can have by contributing solutions to the major problems of our world. Mr. Stone is a flag bearer of a new way to do business, combining ambition, success and altruism.

In addition to the many awards he has received, Biz Stone is an associate fellow at the Saïd Business School of the University of Oxford, an associate member of the senior common room at the University of Oxford’s Exeter College, university executive follow at the Haas School of Business of the University of California at Berkeley and an advisor to the School of Information, also at UC Berkeley. He also consults for many companies, from start-up micro-enterprises to publicly listed companies and NPOs.

“The Montréal business community has a lot to learn from the experience and ingenuity of this visionary businessman,” Mr. Leblanc said. “This event is a must for entrepreneurs and political buffs and for anyone who wants to know everything there is to know about social media and new practices in social responsibility.”

This Board of Trade event is made possible through the support of Bell, with the participation of Infopresse for content and promotion. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, George W. Bush, Alain Greenspan and Sir Richard Branson have all preceded Biz Stone at the Board of Trade podium.

The call for submissions to present lectures, roundtables and panel sessions at the 2012 Game Developers Conference® (GDC) is now open through Tuesday, September 6^th. Organized by the UBM TechWeb Game Network, GDC 2012 is the game industry’s most comprehensive and longest running professionals-only event where game developers converge for a week of learning, networking and inspiration. GDC 2012 will take place March 5-9 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California. Session proposals can be submitted via the official GDC website.

The GDC 2012 advisory board welcomes a slate of new members primarily aiding in the content planning for the Business, Marketing & Management, Production, and Visual Arts tracks including:

Chris Charla, Portfolio Director for XBLA, Microsoft Game Studios
Prior to joining Microsoft, Charla served as VP of business development at Foundation 9 Entertainment as well as editor-in-chief of Next Generation Magazine and launch editor of IGN.com.  In his new role at Microsoft Game Studios, Charla helps to shape Microsoft’s first party digital games portfolio.

Rod Fergusson, Executive Producer, Epic Games
As executive producer for Epic Games’ blockbuster Gears of War franchise,
Fergusson led the production of Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) and the 2006 Game of the Year, Gears of War (Xbox 360, PC), in addition to collaborating with creative talent on the Gears of War novels, comic books and film. During his 10 year tenure at Microsoft, Fergusson also produced a number of game projects including Train Simulator, Blood Wake and Counter-Strike (Xbox).

Lee Petty, Project Lead & Art Director, Double Fine Productions
Since 1996, Petty has worked in the game industry in a wide variety of art production and leadership roles.  Petty has shipped numerous console and PC titles at companies such as Accolade, Infogrames, and Crystal Dynamics. Petty is currently at Double Fine Productions, where he serves as art director and project lead; his work includes 2009’s Brutal Legend and 2011’s Stacking.

Justin Thavirat , Senior Art Director, Blizzard
Thavirat is a senior art director at Blizzard Entertainment and has been working in the video game industry since 1994. He has contributed game art, concept art, cinematics art and marketing illustrations for many of Blizzard’s games in the Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and World of Warcraft series. Most recently, Thavirat served as lead artist on World of Warcraft, art director on World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, and is currently art directing Blizzard’s unannounced massively multiplayer online game.

Ru Weerasuriya, Art and Creative Director and Co-Founder, Ready at Dawn Studios
Weerasuriya is the art and creative director and co-founder of Ready at Dawn Studios. 2006 saw the release of their first game, Daxter, to critical and commercial acclaim, earning them a nomination for the BAFTA awards. Formerly a senior artist with Blizzard Entertainment, Weerasuriya initially worked on Starcraft: Brood War and then contributed to the blockbuster Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Weerasuriya’s work has been published in several books and magazines, including The Art of Warcraft, The Art of World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons books and Monster Manuals.

“The GDC Advisory Board has made improving the quality of presented talks its number one goal,” said Meggan Scavio, GM, Game Developers Conference Events. “With our new board members and the introduction of a new submissions system, we are able to continue to present talks that are representative of interesting and current work happening in game development each year.”

The Khronos Group has announced a 3D content development contest with a $500 cash prize for the winner. The open COLLADA format is ideal for creating compelling experiences, but a great example is worth a thousand words. This is where you come in. Help Khronos show the power of COLLADA by creating a compelling piece of 3D content the group can use as an example for its large and growing developer community.

Deadline is Sunday August 7th, 2011 at 11:59PM PST. The winner will be announced at our event at the SIGGRAPH 2011 conference in Vancouver and be awarded the $500. For full details on how to take part please read the Design Brief on the contest page.

Raindance Canada presents an intensive weekend workshop designed to give young filmmakers hands-on experience in screenwriting, producing & directing a short film. Participants in the Weekend Film Workshop For Teens will form film teams and get hands-on experience shooting a film as they take on the key creative roles in film production. A short film will be produced by each team by the end of the weekend, then screened in a mini-festival the following week.

This course is designed for aspiring young filmmakers age 14 and up interested in making films and knowing what it takes to create a viable filmmaking career. The Workshop will be held on August 13th and 14th  at the Centre for Social Innovation – Annex on Bathurst in Toronto. The cost for this workshop is $349.00 (+ tax) for non-members, or $319.00 (+ tax) for Raindance Canada members. Announced mentors for this workshop include James Cooper, Yaw Attuah, Charles M. Scott and Brian Smith.

Day One of the workshop will feature a  Hands-on Shoot Pre-production session, where participants will undertake the following:

• Writing: Participants complete a short film script using essential story structure.
• Directing: Participants practice shot composition and learn about directing style, storyboards, working with actors & shoot to edit.
• Producing: Participants prepare a script breakdown, budget & negotiate fees, crew and production requirements.

On Day Two, the groups will move on to a day of production in  Let’s Make a Movie, where, under the mentorship of industry experts, participants work with actors and a camera operator to direct a short script and bring the film in on time and on budget. By the end of the weekend, each team will have completed pre-production and production of a short film.

For students interested in documentary filmmaking, there is an opportunity to join the documentary team under the mentorship of award-winning filmmaker Chuck Scott to create a documentary project covering this creative weekend.

Participants in this weekend intensive workshop will receive mentoring from industry professionals on the art, business and discipline of a working filmmaker’s life and receive valuable insider advice on starting a viable career in filmmaking in Canada. Participants could also win a chance to be part of the crew to film Raindance Canada’s next Trailer.

After the weekend workshop, there will be a screening of all the completed short films. Each team’s film will be edited by a Film Editor and the completed films will play at an invitation-only screening party at Raindance Toronto. Parents and friends are welcome to attend this red carpet event and celebrate the work of these young filmmakers.

IndustriOS Software Inc., developer of IndustriOS manufacturing suite integrated with Sage ERP Accpac is honoured to support the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation with the IndustriOS Golf for Kids with Cancer tournament being held Wednesday September 14, 2011.

The IndustriOS Golf for Kids with Cancer tournament offers IndustriOS and Sage Software customers, partners, friends and family, with the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of fun-filled golf while raising funds for the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation.  Included with the $100 registration fee per golfer are the Green Fee, Electric Cart, Crested Tee Package, Hat, Lunch and Dinner.  Friendly competitions, prizes and a 50/50 draw round-out the day for the golfers.  Online registration is available.  This event is being hosted from 12 Noon to 8:00pm at the Turtle Creek Golf Club in Campbellville, Ontario.

In support of the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation, which benefits children’s cancer charities, this tournament follows the IndustriOS Software tradition of supporting charitable organizations and events such as Tour for Kids and the Arthritis Society’s Joints in Motion, and now Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation.  This impressive charitable organization raised $4.7 million in 2010, and is the only national childhood cancer charity in Canada. All receiptable funds, obtained through initiatives and events that promote healthy living, are delegated to charities and programs supported by the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation to help improve the survival and quality of life of children and their families afflicted with cancer including research, clinical care, and children’s cancer camps.

The company is proud to host the IndustriOS Golf for Kids with Cancer Tournament, and eagerly anticipates sharing this fun-filled day with IndustriOS customers and partners this autumn, and are honoured to support the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation.

Sirius XM Canada today revealed the winning communities for the inaugural Face the Music Summer Concert Series. After earning the highest average score within their region playing SiriusXM’s Face the Music Challenge, residents of Telkwa BC, Sault Ste. Marie ON, Baie-Comeau QC, and Sussex NB will receive an exclusive free summer concert experience in August courtesy of SiriusXM Canada.

Launched in June, the Face the Music challenge tested Canadians music knowledge for an opportunity to win an exclusive free concert experience for their hometown. The game awarded points for correctly identifying songs based on SiriusXM’s commercial-free music playlist. With more than 100,000 games played since launch, participation was strong with many Canadians taking to Twitter and Facebook to encourage their friends and neighbours to compete for their communities.

SiriusXM Canada subscribers and local game participants will be invited to the exclusive concerts. A number of select promotional tickets will be made available to area residents.

In addition, a grand prize consisting of a trip for 2 to attend the concert of the winner’s choice, spending money and a Sirius Satellite Radio with subscription will be awarded to the individual with the highest score. Nine secondary prizes will also be awarded.

The four exclusive free concert experiences include:

“We’re thrilled that Telkwa, Sault Ste. Marie, Baie-Comeau and Sussex are our Face the Music winners,” said Paul Cunningham, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, SiriusXM Canada. “It was terrific to see such strong community participation and with over 100,000 games played, it seems that everyone had a lot of fun. We’re proud to reward the winning communities with a free and exclusive concert experience from these incredibly talented Canadian artists.”

“Really looking forward to getting out to BC and rocking for you folks,” remarked John-Angus MacDonald of The Trews. “Congrats on the big win and thanks to everyone who participated. I’m sure it’ll be a grand ol’ time. Cheers!”

“From all of us in Broken Social Scene, we just want to thank the people of Sault Ste. Marie that took the time to play the game,” commented Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene. “We’re really looking forward to heading out and playing for all of our fans out there.”

“It’s cool that the Sirius Face The Music Summer Concert series puts the power in the hands of local communities to bring one of the shows of the summer to their hometown,” said Eon Sinclair of Bedouin Soundclash.  “You have to know your music, listen in, answer quickly, and rally your people online to make it happen – looking forward to sharing a wicked night of Canadian music with everyone in Sault Ste. Marie.”

“I think it’s an incredible idea to give people a chance to put their musical knowledge to use to try to win my show in their city,” says Marie-Mai.  “Rock on Baie-Comeau!”

“Congratulations to all those who played and who know their rock,” commented Alfa Rococo.  “We cannot wait to play in Baie-Comeau!”

“It’s great how many people played to get us to come to their hometown,” said Dallas Green of City and Colour. “I’m really looking forward to coming to New Brunswick and performing for everyone.”

The Internet Marketing Conference is coming to the Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel on October 3rd and 4th (Monday and Tuesday). This conference features an experienced roster of speakers who will present their thoughts on the many challenges faced by today’s moderner marketer, with a focus on the following:

• Are the web marketing lessons of the past 10 years still relevant?
• Do we still need to be “site” focused?
• What is our Cross-Platform Content Strategy?
• Who should manage our social media initiatives? Is it replacing PR?
• Should social commerce be managed separately from social media?
• Should we spend more on campaigns, technology or people?
• Is now the time to test mobile? What does a mobile strategy look like?
• Should we invest in an app or mobile site? What kind of results should we expect?
• How do we win the budget for more advanced digital marketing programs?

The digital eco-system has expanded across multiple platforms through multiple devices putting pressure on marketers to not only manage multiple touch points, but make sense of new behavior, sentiment and intent. At IMC Vancouver you will have the chance to explore, discuss and debate today’s challenges, opportunities and solutions in four different tracks:

Content, Community, Campaigns and Insights:

• Content Strategy: Email, Video, Website Content, SEO
• Community Strategy: Social Media Management and Participation
• Campaigns: Paid Search, Display, Social and Mobile
• Insights: Voice of Customer, Analytics and User Experience

Why You Should Attend:

• Take home practical, tactical advice you can apply immediately
• Get up to speed on marketing technology without becoming an engineer
• Improve your ability to manage multiple campaigns across multiple platforms
• Learn how to get insights out of data without becoming a statistician
• Align online marketing with overall business goals

Double Early Bird pricing for this conference is available until July 30th, with Regular Early Bird prices available until September 9th, when Regular prices come into effect.