CMPA and the Bell Fund have announced a new funding program in the form of a mentorship program that focuses on providing hands-on training opportunities for digital media producers.
 
Working with an independent production company, participants of this new initiative will develop their technical, business and creative acumen in the digital content production sector. The program emphasizes one-on-one mentoring provided by seasoned producers, and creating enhanced professional development opportunities in a digital media environment.

The deadline for applications is set for July 3, 2012. More information for interested mentees and mentor companies, application forms and eligibility criteria are available here.

Pixel to Product is gearing up to launch the follow up to their 2011 Canadian Digital Media Economy report and seeks working group members to help shape the 2012-2013 edition of the report. Digital media industry workers, advocates and stakeholders are encouraged to assist in a variety of ways, from stakeholder introductions to data analysis. Visit this link to find out how you can be involved.

Interactive Ontario members Pixelcarve took home three awards at the 2012 Communicator Awards. A gold award was given to the BELLOSOUND website, and a silver each to projects for The Food Dudes and Northwater Capital.

Founded by communication professionals over a decade ago, The Communicator Awards is an annual competition honoring the best in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and identity work for print, video, interactive and audio. This  year’s  Communicator Awards received  thousands of entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world.

Congratulations to Pixelcarve on their wins!

Mega Jump, the immensely popular mobile game by IO members Get Set Games, was one of three titles included in the Guinness World Records latest gaming challenge.

Between April 27 and April 29, players were able to submit their Mega Jump scores for the chance to be crowned the world record holder. The winner will be included in the Guinness World Records 2013 Gamers Edition.

JR Soldano and Scott Stuckey, Executive Producers of Pancake Mountain, along with host/puppet/Chief Mayhem Officer/Chancellor of Entertainment Rufus Leaking, have been added to the INplay 2012 lineup as keynote speakers.

The Washington Post called Pancake Mountain “A thoroughly offbeat kids’ show that might be even more fun for adults.” During its eight year run, the show featured an impressive list of almost 150 musical acts that included Ian MacKaye, Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, Andrew W.K., Deerhoof, The Flaming Lips, The White Stripes, Metric, Katy Perry, Henry Rollins, Bright Eyes, Tegan And Sara, M.I.A., Shonen Knife and Eddie Vedder.

The show  - “a conglomeration of music, animation, live action segments, learning, and dance parties” - gained immense popularity on a shoestring budget, racking up millions of YouTube views, accolades from the likes of Rolling Stone and GQ, and even a few fan tattoos. The show’s DIY ethic mirrored the Washington, DC punk scene that heavily influenced Stuckey, a former recording engineer and music video director for the likes of REM, Vic Chesnutt and others.

At their INplay 2012 keynote, “Never Surrender: Your Pancakes Just the Way you Want Them. Always,” the trio will discuss the journey to develop their humble cable access show for major network distribution and provide insight into the current state of children’s entertainment.

More information and passes are available at www.inplay2012.com.

Ontario based capture studio morro images Inc., and convergent consultancy Motives in Movement (MiM), are collaborating on the world’s first real-time performance capture of a Shakespearean scene, for Canada 3.0, in Stratford ON, the world famous home of Shakespeare in North America.

RADA trained actor Pascal Langdale, (Heavy Rain; Flashpoint) will be captured performing the role of Caliban in “The Tempest”, and displayed in real time. The characters of Prospero and Miranda are being taken by well established actors of stage and screen, Claire Lautier (My soul to take; Grey’s Anatomy) and Geriant Wyn Davies (American Psycho II; 24), both of whom can be seen playing leading roles in this year’s Stratford Festival season.

We're excited to announce that Jesse Schell, CEO, Schell Games and faculty member at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University, will be a Keynote speaker at INplay 2012. A much sought after speaker, his past lectures at events such as TED and the DICE Summit have been raved about and in 2004 he was named one of the world's Top 100 Young Innovators by MIT's Technology Review.

He is the author of The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, and was formerly the Chairman of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) and the Creative Director of the Disney Imagineering Virtual Reality Studio. INplay attendees will have the chance to hear Jesse's insights on intergenerational gaming. This is a "don't miss" event!



We've also launched the Schedule At-a-Glance for INplay 2012 - click here to see the great sessions we have planned.

The Interactive Ontario Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Donald Henderson has been appointed to the position of President & CEO of the organization. 

Preschool video aggregator Kidobi has secured the digital distribution rights for  more than 150 hours of programming from Spanish production studio Motion Pictures. In the deal announced today, Kidobi will distribute  a total of nine different animated series in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

The programs will be available on Kidobi.com beginning in April 2012 and include such titles as Van Dogh (104 x 4’), Zumbers (150 x 3’), Green Light (26 x 5’), Raindrop (26 x 26’) and more.
 
With this latest acquisition Kidobi adds significant volume and breadth to their rapidly expanding library.

Last month Interactive Ontario put out a call for submissions for the exciting and innovative project LAX: The Los Angeles Connection.

LAX is a trade marketing and business development program designed to develop enhanced visibility and deepen connections between Los Angeles-based studios, major producers and publishers and the Ontario digital games and cross-media production sectors. Successful applicants will attend the first trade mission, centred around the Digital Kids Conference.

We would like to congratulate the following companies on their acceptance to the first LAX: The Los Angeles Connection networking event.

• DHX Media
• GAPC Entertainment
• Kidobi
• Portfolio Entertainment
• XMG Studio
• zinc Roe Design

A community activist and technology executive of 20+ years, Mark currently serves as the Executive Director at Mozilla, makers of Firefox and one of the largest social enterprises in the world. At Mozilla, he is focused on using the open technology and ethos of the web to transform fields such as education, journalism and filmmaking. Mark has overseen the development of Popcorn.js, which Wired has called the future of online video; the Open Badges initiative, launched by the US Secretary of Education; and the Knight Mozilla News Technology Partnership, which seeks to reinvent the future of digital journalism. Join him & other fantastic speakers at INplay 2012 on May 15 & 16!