Village Gamer

Friday evening we gathered for the official grand opening event at the new VFS Game Design Campus, which has moved to 88 East Pender in Vancouver – the former home of OmniTV. A far cry from the warren-like campus at the corner of Homer and West Hastings, the new campus is the perfect set up for the Game Design program, giving the school room to expand and whittle down its long waiting list of students waiting to unleash their imaginations and creative abilities on the game development industry.

The evening began with opening comments from VFS Managing Director Marty Hasselbach, who was the MC for the event. Mr. Hasselbach spoke briefly about the school and its successes before introducing school founder and President, Mr. James Griffin, who reiterated that one of the major goals for VFS is to teach students for success, something that I feel the school achieves time and again.

Following Mr. Griffin was guest of honour, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. Mayor Robertson spoke to the City of Vancouver’s commitment to the local digital media industry, and the important role Vancouver Film School plays in the continued growth of the industry. Mayor Robertson also spoke to the revitalization of the China Town community, and that the occupation by VFS of the former OmniTV building will assist in breathing new life to the area.

Several Vancouver City council members were in attendance, including Suzanne Anton and Ellen Woodsworth – in fact there were so many members of council present, Mayor Robertson joked that they could hold a meeting right there at the school. He continued, stating that the show of support from the council members’ attendance speaks directly to how the City is impressed with the remarkable achievements of not only Vancouver Film School, but the creative industry as a whole. The City recognizes the importance of the significant contribution the digital media sector has made to the standing of Vancouver as a global centre for creativity, and it is those successes that drives the City’s efforts in seeking out new opportunities, opening doors to new talent and new companies to come to Vancouver.

Also not one to miss an opportunity, Mayor Robertson noted the low carbon footprint of the digital media industry, and how its low impact on the environment will aid in the City’s quest to become the greenest city in the world – and he wasn’t just speaking to the home crowd, according to his bio page on the City’s web site, Mayor Robertson does indeed recognize digital media as being among important green industry sectors. The Mayor concluded his opening speech by congratulating the school on its scholarship initiatives, recognizing in particular the Women In Games Scholarship, the 2011 recipient of which would also be announced during the evening’s festivities.

Following Mayor Robertson, the Head of Game Design, Dave Warfield took over the podium to talk specifically about the past, present and future of the VFS Game Design program – after he noted that the campus’ location meant he would have a shorter walk to Canucks’ games. Mr. Warfield spoke about how far the school has come since launching its Game Design program six years ago, and how with the opening of the new campus the school will be able to double its capacity, helping 180 students enter the ever-changing world of game design annually.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8S4FzsF91k]

Mr. Warfield then introduced Women In Games Vancouver representative and independent game producer Bryna Dabby, who announced the winner of the 2011 Women In Games VFS Scholarship. Ms. Dabby spoke about the importance of scholarships like this one, awarding opportunities for more women to become members of what has until recently been a heavily male-dominated sector of the creative industry. The winner of the first Women In Games Scholarship, which was awarded in 2009, was Toronto’s Shannon Lee, who is currently employed at Silicon Sisters Interactive. Last year’s winner, Annie Dickerson of Washington, DC will be graduating from the school this year.

Dave Warfield echoed her sentiments, stating that “encouraging more women to get involved in gaming will create better play experience that appeal to a wider audience, and with the changing variety of gaming today, that is more important now than ever before.”

The 2011 Women In Games Scholarship goes this year to Larissa Baptista of Rio de Janeiro. While Ms. Baptista was not able to be present for the announcement, the school did release a statement from the young woman, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communication. According to her background information, when she was just 14 years old, Ms. Baptista made a three hour bus commute to attend a year’s worth of classes in 3D software, as she had no other access to either 3D programs or even a computer.

“I am truly beyond honoured to have been chosen to receive the 2011 Women In Games Scholarship,” she said. “Thank you again – although words cannot possibly express my gratitude right now, I hope my future achievements will. A goal is now within my reach.”

Vancouver Film School will also be announcing the winners of three other scholarships to the school provided by G4TechTV, Annex Pro and 3Vis in the very near future.  The VFS Summer Intensives Program is also now open for registration – students can experience 5 days of fast-paced, eye-opening classes in any one of the many programs offered at Vancouver Film School.

Following the scholarship announcement, Mayor Robertson, James Griffin, Dave Warfield and Marty Hasselbach all took the stage for the official ribbon cutting ceremony, which was then followed by tours of the new school classrooms, labs, offices, arcades and theatre. As we here at Village Gamer look at new ways to form partnerships and support the VFS programs and students, we wish the school every success as it embarks on this new chapter in its history.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktQEWaAZN-c]

Vancouver Film School – Results Matter

Tactica Interactive, creators of the Tiga Talk Speech Therapy game have launched a contest with a 4G iPod Touch as the top prize.  The contest is open to anyone aged 15 and up (void in Quebec), and will feature 9 bi-weekly Tiga Talk prize packs on top of the Grand Prize:

Grand Prize Draw: One (1) Grand Prize draw will be made at 1 pm on Friday September 2, 2011. The Grand Prize winner will be randomly selected among the entries and the name of each winning entry will be declared the potential winner.

Bi-Weekly Prize Draws: Nine (9) Weekly Prize draws will be made every second Friday starting May 6th, 2011. Each of the Weekly Prize winners will be randomly selected among the entries and the name of each winning entry will be declared the potential winner.

All you have to do to win is talk about Tiga Talk by using the form or links on the Contest Info Page to share Tiga Talk with your friends on Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr, or show them your  own Tiga Talk blog, YouTube video or other way you are spreading the good word about Tiga Talk. Please refer to the Contest Rules for full entry and prize details.

Tiga Talk, the companion game to APTN’s television show by the same name, is currently on sale for $1.99 USD in the iTunes App Store, and was developed with licensed speech and language pathologists. Tiga Talk is a fun way for children to develop speech sounds through playful voice-controlled games that can improve speech clarity, articulation, and instill confidence. The app is for parents and speech therapists working with toddlers and children with language delays, as well as any parent looking to give their child a head start in early language development.

Children learn fundamental phonetic sounds, that are the building blocks of language, as they play 23 fun voice controlled games on an imaginative adventure with Tiga and friends. Game play rewards are based entirely on participation, not accuracy, so the child is constantly getting positive feedback as long as they are trying to make sounds.

Game activities include piloting a boat, helicopter, hot air balloon, race car, train, submarine, and even flying a rocket ship to visit the moon. Players can pop balloons to reveal clues to guide them on their adventure as well as knock over obstacles that lay in their path, including towers of tires, ice blocks, hay bales, crates, logs or even moon rocks.

Before each game children are introduced to a new phonetic sound by game characters. They are shown a cartoon image representing the sound and are encouraged to try saying the sound aloud. The app listens to make sure they’re verbally participating and congratulates them if they are and showers them with friendly encouragement if they aren’t.

Tiga Talk’s other features include:

• Voice controlled games encourage kids to speak clearly
• Game play based on actual speech therapy sessions
• Beautifully vibrant graphics and a variety fun learning games designed to engage young children
• Entertaining cartoon characters deliver lots of positive feedback
• An exciting interactive story adventure
• Licensed speech therapists selected the apps 23 core phonetic sounds
• Audio and video hints help demonstrate the correct way to make language sounds
• A sound meter to measure voice volume levels
• Track progress and earn gold stars the more you play
• Children are able to practice specific sounds and games
• So easy to play young children can even use it by themselves

Here are just some of the benefits to be gained with Tiga Talk:

• A great way for all kids to get a head start on language development
• Kids learn to pronounce sounds more accurately including syllables, letters, and letter combinations
• Help your child improve coordination and strength of speech muscles
• Children learn through sound repetition and imitation
• Children differentiate between sounds they hear and create a broader base vocabulary
• Improve communication between the child’s brain and the body through visual and auditory aids
• Improve childhood communication with peers and adults
• Instill a sense of pride and confidence in your child

Tiga Talk is rated 4+ and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch (2nd, 3rd and 4th gen) and iPad. It requires iOS 4.1 or later. Tiga Talk is developed with the financial support of the Bell Fund.

The SIGGRAPH Technical Papers program is the premier international forum for disseminating new scholarly work in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2011 takes place this August 7th through 11th at the Vancouver Convention Centre, and 82 Technical Papers will be presented. They were selected from among 432 submissions.

The papers to be presented were chosen by a distinguished committee of 52 experts from academia and industry. This year’s Technical Papers program also includes conference presentations for 33 papers published this year in the journal ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG). A complete listing of all the papers presented in this year’s program will be available on the SIGGRAPH 2011 web site in late May.

“Each year, the SIGGRAPH Technical Papers program evolves to feature the most cutting-edge advances in technology,” says Hugues Hoppe, SIGGRAPH 2011 Technical Papers Chair from Microsoft Research. “This year is no different as SIGGRAPH 2011 Technical Papers will provide a look into some of the latest achievements in facial animation, stereo and multi-layered displays, procedural modeling, and rendering.”

In addition to core topics of modeling, animation, rendering, imaging, and human-computer interaction, the Technical Papers program encouraged submissions from areas related to computer graphics, including: computer games, design, vision, scientific and information visualization, audio, and robotics.

Featured highlights from the SIGGRAPH 2011 Technical Papers program:

High-Quality Passive Facial Performance Capture Using Anchor Frames

A new technique for high-quality facial performance capture that leverages the repetitive structure of face motions to automatically locate frames with similar expressions, called anchor frames. High-resolution geometry is reconstructed and temporal motion is propagated in parallel using robust image-space matching between the anchor frames.

Authors: Thabo Beeler, ETH Zürich and Disney Research Zürich; Fabian Hahn, Disney Research Zürich; Derek Bradley, Disney Research Zürich; Bernd Bickel, Disney Research Zürich; Paul Beardsley, Disney Research Zürich; Craig Gotsman, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; Bob Sumner, Disney Research Zürich; Markus Gross, Disney Research Zürich

Practical application as suggested by the Technical Papers Chair: Highly detailed facial capture using multiple cameras without markers.

Bounded Biharmonic Weights for Real-Time Deformation

Deformation by linear blending dominates practical use as the fastest approach for transforming 2D and 3D shapes. This paper develops “bounded biharmonic weights” that produce smooth and intuitive deformations for any combination of points, bones, and cages of arbitrary topology, making control of deformations simple and flexible. Read the rest of this entry »

The National Gallery of Canada (NGC), home to the most important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian art, including the extensive collection of the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, has launched a completely restructured website. Using a powerful new search engine that makes its collections, exhibitions, events and touring programs much more easily accessible to Canadians and international visitors alike, making a visit to the NGC’s website both more informative and more fun.

The NGC’s five previous sites – the corporate website, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, CyberMuse, the NGC Foundation and Shop NGC – are now integrated into one at gallery.ca. In excess of 30,000 pages of content-rich information in both official languages have become simple to navigate and easy to use. Social media and a new mobile website are other key components that enhance public accessibility to the Gallery.

“This new site gives our audiences a “one-stop-shop” for everything that is happening at the Gallery,” said NGC Director and CEO Marc Mayer. “Now, an extraordinary wealth of information on the Gallery’s programs and collections are just a few mouse-clicks away.”

Simple and elegant in design, the Gallery’s new site is loaded with exciting features that will appeal to experts and neophytes alike:

Navigation is intuitive. A series of simplified tabs and section signs guides visitors seamlessly through the site. New headings that invite them to Visit, See, Learn, Shop, Give and Join are just the start of unlocking a treasure trove of information.  A new collections’ application allows visitors to search by artist, by category and by century. Art aficionados and researchers will appreciate the enhanced Library and Research functions.

The Visit section of the site offers comprehensive information on everything that the public needs to know before coming to the Gallery. This ranges from admission fees to hours of operation, from accessibility to amenities and much more besides. The calendar function is one of the site’s great features. It gives visitors a complete and up-to-the-minute guide to the Gallery’s exhibitions and programs. A new i-Calendar function allows them to save events they would like to attend directly into their computers or smart-phones.

Retooled for the social media age, the new corporate site features a blog written by staff from all parts of the Gallery which is designed to not only keep people informed but also to let them peek behind the scenes. Public comments can now be posted. The new site enables users to share pages with friends and family and tell the Gallery if they “like” what they see.

The National Gallery of Canada boasts one of the largest On Tour exhibition programs in the world and showcases over 20 exhibitions in 11 cities or more across Canada in any given year. Also, as a result of recently-formed partnerships with museums in Edmonton and Toronto – the National Gallery of Canada@the Art Gallery of Alberta and the National Gallery of Canada@the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art – the NGC also showcases works from its collection on a longer-term basis. Through the new website, the public can now easily find out which exhibition is on view at their nearest geographic location.

In addition to accepting credit cards, a new PayPal service makes it easier to purchase items online, whether it is for merchandise at the Bookstore or a Gallery membership. Tickets for special exhibitions are available through ShopNGC which links directly to Ticketmaster.

FIRST Robotics Canada is pleased to announce that a total of 26 schools from Canada have qualified for the FIRST World Championship in St. Louis. The competition starts today and runs until April 30th at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. This is the largest robotics competition in the world and we are proud that Canada will be represented by some of our brightest and most innovative students.

The following Canadian high school teams will compete at the FIRST Robotics 2011 World Championship:

• Governor Simcoe Secondary (St. Catharines) – GTA East Regional Chairman’s Award and GTA East, Waterloo and Pittsburgh Regional Winners
• St. Mildred’s Lightbourn Girls School (Oakville) – GTA West Regional Chairman’s Award and Pittsburgh NASA Engineering Inspiration Award
• Near North Student Robotics Initiative (North Bay) – Waterloo Regional Chairman’s Award
• Westlane Secondary (Niagara Falls) – GTA East and Pittsburgh Regional Winners
• Bishop Grandin Secondary (Calgary) – GTA East Regional Winner
• Orchard Park Secondary (Stoney Creek) – GTA West, Waterloo and Rochester Regional Winners
• Kincardine Secondary (Kincardine) – GTA West Regional Winner
• Trafalgar Castle Girls School (Whitby) – GTA West Regional Winner
• Sir Wilfred Laurier Secondary (London) – Waterloo Regional Winner and Rookie All Star Award
• Eastwood Collegiate (Kitchener) – Wisconsin Regional Winner
• Rick Hansen Secondary (Mississauga) – GTA East Engineering Inspiration Award
• Kingston Collegiate (Kingston) – GTA West Engineering Inspiration Award and New York City Regional Finalists
• Oakville Trafalgar High School (Oakville) – Waterloo Engineering Inspiration Award
• Oakridge Secondary (London) – GTA West Rookie All Star Award
• Woburn Collegiate (Toronto) – GTA East Regional Finalist
• Crescent School (Toronto) – GTA West Regional Finalist
• Algoma School Board (Sault Ste. Marie) – Previously Qualified

FIRST Robotics high school students were given six weeks to design, build and test a robot within size, weight, cost and other design guidelines. At the competitions, these robots must work cooperatively and in competition in a game that challenges the limits of the robots and the students. Some 340 teams out of 2,075 in total have qualified to attend the 2011 World Championship.

The following Canadian middle school teams will compete at the FIRST Lego League 2011 World Championship:

• Team 2359, The Hurricanes, Victoria, British Columbia
• Team 8405, The TechnoVikings, St. Mary’s, Newfoundland
• Team 529, The Three Blind Mice and Their Lost Cousin, Aylesford, Nova Scotia
• Team 2977, The TechnoSurgeons, Mississauga, Ontario
• Team 3663, The Sentinels, Oakville, Ontario

In total some 17,100 FLL teams from 57 countries participated in this year’s program.

The following Canadian middle school teams will compete at the FIRST Tech Challenge 2011 World Championship:

• Team 245, Roberts Creek Xtreme Robotic Minds, Roberts Creek, British Columbia
• Team 349, FIX IT, Victoria, British Columbia
• Team 521, BSS Thunder, Wainwright, Alberta
• Team 527, The Ghosts from Calgary, Alberta.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international non-profit organization designed to inspire students to pursue further studies and careers in science, engineering, computers and technology. Students develop skills in problem solving, innovation, leadership and teamwork as well as design, manufacturing, programming and testing. FIRST’s programs reach 250,000 students in 57 countries. FIRST Robotics Canada, a Canadian non-profit started in 2002, now reaches some 7,000 Canadian students.

FIRST Robotics Canada is supported by the Ministry of Education, Government of Ontario and is sponsored by Bruce Power, Hatch Limited, University of Toronto, Imperial Oil Foundation, TD Bank, Bell Canada, Magna International, SYNNEX Corporation, University of Waterloo, City of Mississauga, Johnson & Johnson, Yves Landry Foundation, Discovery Channel and others. The 2011 Waterloo Regional was sponsored by RIM, University of Waterloo, Toyota Canada, TD Bank, Discovery Channel and others. The 2011 FIRST LEGO League Ontario Championship was sponsored by Ontario Power Generation, RIM, UOIT and others.

Max The Mutt Animation School knows the importance of networking for career success and as such offer students multiple opportunities to meet and showcase their work to Industry professionals in their field. The annual 1st Year Show and open house will be held at the school on April 30, 2011 from 10am – 4pm and the annual Grad Exhibition has its Grand Opening on May 21, 2011 running until June 30, 2011.

The first year show hosts the visual art work for first year students from all of Max The Mutt’s diploma programs: Classical & Computer Animation & Production, Illustration for Sequential Arts, and Concept Art for Animation & Video Games. If someone is interested in going into any of these fields this would be an excellent opportunity to see what skills are being taught at Max the Mutt. It is also a great opportunity for people to soak up the ambiance of this small, unique environment geared to give students “skills that count.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYMicXGlcA0]

The Grad Exhibition will feature work and demo reels from the graduate students from the animation, concept art, and sequential arts programs. This will be an especially exciting year as they celebrate the first group of graduates from the Concept Art for Video Games & Animation four-year diploma program. To kick off the Grad Exhibition and put the students and their work in front of potential employers, Max The Mutt hosts a private Industry Night before the opening.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BI5RaIrErI]

Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, Comic Book Illustrator and Max The Mutt Instructor Dave Ross has worked for them all, drawing and writing for Captain America, Spiderman, Batgirl, Star Trek, Daredevil, Birds of Prey, JLA: Act of God, and many more. “Last year for Industry Night we were able to bring in the traffic director of Marvel,” explains Ross, “he is the liaison with the editors to know who is going to need talent to come onto a project and suggests people. He came in to speak with the graduating class, spent a lot of time with them to help them with portfolio development and told them what Marvel would expect. We had industry people from the various publishers in town and a few of the graduate students did get jobs from that industry night so that night is hugely important.”

Event Details:

*First Year Show: Saturday April 30, 2011, 10am-4pm Max the Mutt Animation School, 952 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6J 1G8. An information session will be held at 11:30 a..m. sharp with reservations required.

*Graduation Exhibition: May 21, 2011 running until June 30, 2011. Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Max the Mutt Animation School

For more information and to RVSP you can email or call the school at 416-703-6877

Earlier this week OCAD University (OCAD U) and CFC Media Lab (Canadian Film Centre) announced their partnership in the launch of a new and innovative Graduate Program in Digital Futures, with a part-time Graduate Diploma and full-time (MA, MDes, and MFA) Master’s Degrees. The program received its final approval from the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies last week, and applications for the 2011/2012 term will be accepted until Monday, May 2, 2011. Complete program details, application information, program requirements and a list of faculty members for each program may be found on OCAD U’s Graduate Studies web pages. Late applications may be considered depending on the availability of places in the program.

The graduate program is situated within the Digital Futures Initiative at OCAD University, a set of cross-disciplinary programs in practice-based research and innovation in digital media and emergent technologies. Having been at the forefront of incubating and accelerating Canadian digital media talent and companies for over a decade, CFC Media Lab is a uniquely positioned partner in this practiced-based graduate program aimed at future innovators, leaders and creators of digital media and new technologies.

“Students in the Graduate Program in Digital Futures will contribute to creative innovation and the application of new knowledge in digital technologies, practices, content, systems, and experiences, in addition providing insight into sustainable development in a technologically mediated world,” said Dr. Helmut Reichenbächer, Associate Vice-President, Research and Dean of Graduate Studies, OCAD U.

“Together, OCAD U and CFC Media Lab have created one of Canada’s leading digital media partnerships, with highly experienced faculty, interdisciplinary teams, diversified industry and cultural partnerships, as well as key cross-sector expertise,” said Ana Serrano, Director, CFC Media Lab.

A partnership with the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Media Lab, whose established, critically-acclaimed post-graduate residency in digital media production will be integrated into both the degree and diploma programs will afford students the opportunity to participate in an Intensive Project/Prototyping Spring Institute held at the MaRS Discovery District.

Momcafe Halifax will host an all-day event for Halifax women in business that is called “What Men Don’t Tell Women in Business.” The May 2nd event will take place at Pier 21 and will offer two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Halifax women in business who attend the morning session will have the privilege of hearing Chris Flett, author of “What Men Don’t Tell Women in Business” give a very special keynote address. During this session Chris will share with participants an authentic Alpha Male’s account of what has happened to business in the last 40 years, what drives Alpha Males in business, and the ways that professional women unknowingly give up their power in business to men. This discussion covers all the things men discuss at the water cooler, in the locker room, and in the board room when women aren’t present. Participants should come prepared for a truthful look inside the Alpha Male’s playbook of business.

The afternoon session will treat Halifax women in business to a “Women’s Leadership Program,” also led by Chris Flett. This half-day session brings to light the three fundamentals for any professional woman looking to advance her career:

1) having a clear big picture and plan for their career

2) understanding how to increase professional value (reputation, quality of contacts, and unique skills & expertise) throughout their career

3) building a powerful business network that produces clients, opportunities, and support.

When participants leave the room, they will have at their disposal some of the most powerful planning tools known to the industry. These tools will be relevant now and throughout their careers. This Momcafe Halifax event is being presented in partnership with RBC, C100 and Rooftight.

You can now check out your Financial Fitness Score online to help discover how financially fit you are, courtesy of Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Company Canada and the Canadian Association of Credit Counselling Services.

The score is based on attitudinal and behavioral questions that were developed from financial fitness data collected in a survey sponsored by Genworth Financial Canada and CACCS. The tool helps people determine how well they are managing their finances and provides useful information that is based on their fitness level. The national online survey of over 1,500 Canadians, including 254 first time buyers and people who intend to buy homes in the next two years, was conducted between January 19 and February 1, 2011 by Environics Research Group.

“Having a firm understanding of what it means to manage your money is so important to peace of mind”, said Henrietta Ross, Chief Executive Officer of CACCS.  “It’s quick, easy and free, but so rich in value. Understanding your score and what you can do to improve your situation is very empowering.”

The fitness tool is just one of a series of initiatives provided by Genworth Financial Canada in collaboration with CACCS and was launched as part of their recent Homeownership Education Week events that included live seminars and webinars on various financial topics.

“Providing this financial fitness evaluation is an extension of Genworth’s commitment to helping Canadians get a better understanding of their finances,” said Debbie McPherson, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing of Genworth Financial Canada. “As The Homeownership Company, we help Canadians achieve their homeownership dreams responsibly and providing education is an important first step”.

A recent report by Canada’s Task Force on Financial Literacy concluded urgent action needs to be taken to strengthen financial understanding in Canada. Genworth Financial Canada supports this recommendation and is continuing to work with the CACCS to offer helpful financial resources for Canadians.

Wordcamp Montreal, which is taking place this July 9th and 10th at Coeur des Sciences, Agora Hydro-Québec – UQAM has put out a call for speakers. Early Bird tickets are also on sale now for $30.00.

Game Prototype Challenge has announced its development theme for April – Companion and Rising. Participants have until 11:59pm on April 25th, 2011 to submit their game prototypes. That’s one week away, with a preview event known as Screenshot Saturday taking place on – you guessed it – this coming Saturday. This is the fifth round of prototype challenges, and if the previous four are anything to go by, this one will also see some awesome entries. You can check out all of the previous entries on the challenge’s web site.

The Early Bird registration rate for Interactive Ontario’s INplay 2011 conference has been extended until April 27th. Get your tickets now for what promises to be a great event. If you are a Canadian digital media designer, don’t forget to send in your submission for the CMF Canadian Interactive Showcase, the deadline is May 2nd.

Interactive Ontario has also released the results of its recent eLearning survey. Designed to examine the challenges faced by the province’s eLearning and cultural industry sectors, the 63 page PDF report (which I am still working my way through) looks at opportunities for growth and cross-pollination among all industry genres, including books, gaming, film, television and music.

Sticking with Ontario for the moment, OMDC is now accepting applications for 2011/12 cycle of the OMDC Export Fund – Interactive Digital Media. This program provides eligible Ontario interactive digital media content producers with funding to participate in export development activities that correspond to a strategy for company growth. Primary activities supported are market event attendance and targeted sales trips that relate to the strategy.

In order to be eligible, all applications must be submitted electronically through the Online Application Portal (OAP.) Interested applicants must register their company’s corporate information here prior to commencing an application.

For technical assistance with registration or the application process send an email to OMDC. Applicants are encouraged to commence the application process well in advance of the deadline in case technical support is required. Complete Guidelines and the link to the OAP are posted on the OMDC website.

In lieu of an information session, applicants will have the opportunity to receive feedback on a first draft of their OMDC Export Fund application through a one-on-one pre-application meeting with an OMDC Consultant. Participation in pre-application meetings is not a requirement and is offered as a courtesy for applicants who may be unfamiliar with the program and/or require additional assistance. Applicants are also encouraged to contact OMDC at any time with questions regarding this program.

Pre-application meetings will take place on May 9 and 10, 2011. Please send in an email to schedule a meeting please email programs@omdc.on.ca. Once your email request has been received, OMDC will contact you to schedule a time on one of these two days.

Here is a look at Part Two of the EA Sports video series on re-launching the SSX franchise with SSX: Deadly Descents:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69cGRZ3pzbs]

Manitoba’s MTS has joined the “PVR from Anywhere” movement with the the launch of its My PVR (Personal Video Recorder) service which enables MTS Ultimate TV customers to add, change or delete their Whole Home PVR recordings using any computer with an Internet connection or from select mobile devices. This service is available free of charge to all MTS Ultimate TV Whole Home PVR subscribers.

“My PVR is a great addition to our MTS Ultimate TV service and will give customers the freedom to manage their Whole Home PVR from outside their home,” said Stan Kurtas, Vice President, Marketing, MTS. “We are always working to bring our customers the latest in technology in order to enhance, what we consider to be, the most feature rich television service in Canada.”

My PVR, which can be accessed through the customer’s MyAccount portal, offers customers the opportunity to browse through MTS’s online program guide to see what programs will be on in the next 12 days, search by title and create a shared login so anyone in the family can manage recordings over the Internet.

Independent media site rabble.ca is celebrating its 10th anniversary by launching Media Watch, an initiative committed to dispelling myths perpetrated by ideologically driven reporters and sensationalist media. “We don’t want people to be blinded by SunTV,” said rabble.ca Publisher, Kim Elliott. “Our new media watch blog will feature a media consumer Twitter feed #sunwatch and the keen eye of Alheli Picazo.”

Coordinator of Media Watch and rabble.ca blogger, Alheli Picazo, wrote an expose in 2010 entitled “Ezra Levant vs Reality – A Prelude To Fox News North” in which she thoroughly challenged Levant’s characterization of George Soros. Following this piece Soros filed suit against Levant and Sun Media, resulting in a full retraction and apology printed in The Sun’s editorial section 13 short days after Levant’s original column ran.

“With the official launch of Sun TV News – featuring none other than Levant himself – there has never been a better time to establish a media accountability service,” said Picazo.

Though it’s starting off small, Media Watch aims to cover a wide range of media, from uninformed editorials and inaccurate reporting. rabble.ca’s team of dedicated spin decoders and lie detectors won’t just point out misinformation, but will provide readers with links to, and information about, the sources from which we cite accurate information. Be it scientific data, peer reviewed research, documented fact or expert analysis, we’ll share the tools you need to further investigate the issues.

Canadian voters are invited to tune in to rabbleTV on April 18 to watch special election coverage (“for the rest of us”) with the launch of the show Real Issues. Host Trish Hennessy (researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the Hennessy Index) will be joined by guests Canadian Auto Workers economist Jim Stanford, Greg Elmer, Director, Infoscape Research Lab and Bell Globemedia Research Chair, and Atkinson Foundation’s Olivia Nuamah. This first panel responds to the leaders’ debates and the campaign so far, and will tackle the issue of strategic voting. 

Commercial LCD display and projector solutions provider NEC Display Solutions of America has named Chase Secondary School as the winner of its $25,000 giveaway contest. Administrators at Chase Secondary will choose $25,000 worth of NEC products for the Chase, BC secondary school. Local dealer and NEC Star Student reseller Points West Audio Visual Ltd had notified Chase Secondary of the contest, suggesting that the school submit an entry.

“We’re extremely excited to work with Chase Secondary on their technology makeover and design something that will benefit both the faculty and students,” said Ashley Flaska, Vice President of Marketing at NEC Display Solutions. “Chase Secondary’s video submission was incredibly creative with a touch of humor that really got the public audience’s attention. We hope this contest brought awareness to schools about how they can improve their classrooms and computer labs, and that NEC has programs in place to help our customers achieve their ideal setup.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuHCzjxuDd0]

After more than 25,000 public votes during the month of March, Chase Secondary emerged the favorite and will take home the grand prize. The school has chosen to install projectors in its classrooms and desktop monitors. The four runners up include Robbin Hebrew Academy (Toronto), Rockvale Elementary (Rockvale, TN), St. Jude School (Joliet, IL) and Valley View School (North Brookfield, MA). Each of the runners up will receive a 32-inch NEC E321 for their schools. The contest through NEC’s Star Student (education) program received more than 200 entries during the submission period, and a panel of NEC judges reviewed all video submissions to select the most creative and deserving schools for the top five.

“On behalf of all the students and faculty at Chase Secondary, we are thrilled to be the grand prize winner of NEC’s Giveaway Extravaganza and humbled to be receiving new innovative technology that will benefit our students’ education,” said Mark Wereley, English Teacher at Chase Secondary School. “The staff is very much looking forward to selecting projector and desktop models for use in their classes to help improve student achievement. NEC creates reliable products that our teachers can count on and use to enhance their lessons and engage students.”