Editorial

Digital Media has been outlined as a real opportunity for Ireland through numerous government reports over the last seven years. In order to assess what we have achieved, it is worth re-capping over the recommendations of some of those reports:

Firstly, “A Strategy for the Digital Content Industry in Ireland” was issued in 2002 by Forfas and complied on its behalf by Price Waterhouse Coopers Global Consultancy. This report clearly outlined a number of key sectors - such as Games, eLearning and the Wireless Services sectors - as emerging opportunities for Ireland. Certainly, the current make-up of The Digital Hub in terms of tenant companies would echo positively that evaluation.

This report was followed by “Wireless Communications: an Area of Opportunity for Ireland”, published in April 2004 which again underlined the importance of the wireless sector, especially in regards to content and services.  Page 11 of that report stated that a “timeframe of R&D funding should be structured to encourage and promote academic and industry collaboration” in the area of wireless communications. This in turn backed up an earlier report on “Research Institutions in Ireland” in 2003 commissioned by the IDA. Meanwhile, with the closure of Media Lab Europe, the government instigated a new, more industry focussed proposition – the National Digital Research Centre – which again highlighted their commitment to R&D, particularly in regards to the nascent digital media industry

Forfas also published its “Innovation Networks” report in April 2004 which highlighted the importance of creating industry-led networks in collaboration with academic research to drive innovation. Among a number of other recommendations, the report stated that “Policy-makers and development agencies need to enhance bridging support measures in order to develop linkages between companies and third level institutions.” Again, in relation to the Digital Media industry, a clear framework was being established as to how innovative ideas can be developed for the global market. In 2006, Enterprise Ireland instigated funding for Enterprise-led Pilot Network schemes, most likely in response to this report. The Digital Media Forum – with The Digital Hub as a partner – applied for and received Industry-Led Pilot Network support for a Mobile TV pilot with 20 companies, many of whom are located in the Hub,
 

The “Enterprise Strategy Report” in July 2004, further crystallised the thinking around what Ireland needed to do in terms of developing the so-called “knowledge economy”. Alongside recommendations such as developing the sales & marketing skillset and ensuring world-class infrastructure, the report further emphasised the need for enterprise-support in terms of promoting R&D. As stated in the report: “Public funding for applied research and in-firm R&D should be progressively increased to match that invested by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in basic research. This includes support for in-firm capability development, commercialisation, cluster-led academic research and innovation.”

Finally, last year Forfas published the “International Digital Media Industry” report, which really updated the 2002 report by clarifying the sectors that were of real value and the sort of skillbase necessary to promote these sectors.  The recommendations on p111 specifically state the need for “the development of actual/virtual “Centres of Excellence” for different Digital Media skills and sectors in Ireland, which could combine education and training strengths and opportunities on a cross-faculty or cross-college basis.”

So where does that leave Ireland in real terms?  Well, the wonderful thing about Digital Media as an industry is that once you have a computer and a broadband connection, you can start making money. At the lower end of the scale, there is everything from Google ads on your web log to selling pebbles from the beach on eBay.  As you move up the enterprise value chain, you can offer services and products online to a global marketplace at the click of a button. As one CEO of a mobile messaging company remarked once to the Hub “I enjoy waking up each  morning, turning on the computer and seeing how much money I made overnight.”

But the key ingredient is not government support, infrastructure or strong academic research (although all these are important); No, they most basic and fundamental ingredient is entrepreneurialism. The internet as a medium gives the greatest access to the market then any other technology that has ever previously existed – and as the recent International Digital Media Industry report states – that digital media market is set to be worth €1.1 trillion by 2009. In the same way as the steam engine and the combustion engine opened up new markets for export, the internet allows entrepreneurs not only to control logistics from the safety of the keyboard, the computer that the internet applications rests on in itself can be an engine for creating goods and services. Audio, text, video and imagery can be created and manipulated by the computer and sold anywhere online.

A more concrete illustration of the point was witnessed by The Hub recently when we attended a workshop by Belfast born Greg Maguire, and his partner Andy Bueker, who own Zoogloo, a San Francisico- based digital media company. Zoogloo effectively rig and texture digital models for the film and games industry worldwide. Film-makers or Games Studios send them a 2-D drawing of their alien or monster, and they rig it in 3D so that it can be manipulated by the SFX team or game programmer.

A Dementor – from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Their previous credits include Spiderman 3 and the latest Harry Potter movie. What was more incredible was that all the work they did was on standard Mac Book Pros with software easily downloaded from the internet. In fact, as well as doing the workshop, they were also working on an unspecified project for Digital Domain at night and emailing the assets during the wee small hours to the west coast of the United States. Ten years ago working this way was impossible as the majority of the work would have been done on large silicon graphics machines in expensive post-production studios. Now, thanks to Moores’ Law and the increasing ubiquity of broadband, it is possible for Zoogloo to be anywhere and still working and making money.  

This is the power and opportunity of Digital Media. It often doesn’t come across clearly in government reports, but when you see it in action you realise that the Digital Media industry is a global prospect. The trillion-dollar question is: Will Irish entrepreneurs step up to the mark?

Machinima – Machine animation

One of the more interesting sessions at this year’s Darklight Film Festival was on Machinima by the German artist and machinima practitioner, Friedrich Kirschner. The session gave a brief overview of the what, why and how of machinima filmmaking, illustrated by short examples. It also included a demonstration of a live-performance movie-making setp using a variety of devices such as a toy guitar and milk, all connected to the computer game Unreal Tournament 2004.

So what is Machinima? According to Wikipedia, it is “a portmanteau of machine cinema or machine animation and is both a collection of associated production techniques and a film genre defined by those techniques. As a production technique, the term concerns the rendering of computer-generated imagery (CGI) using real-time, interactive (game) 3D engines, as opposed to high-end and complex 3D animation software used by professionals. Engines from first-person shooter and role-playing simulation video games are typically used. Consequently, the rendering can be done in real-time using PCs (either using the computer of the creator or the viewer), rather than with complex 3D engines using huge render farms. As a film genre, the term refers to movies created by the techniques described above.”

Machinima is certainly a by-product of the New Medium – a kind of “accident art-form” that arises from the collision of technology and content in an open source code environment – or in some cases, a “hacked” code. Its online equivalent would be “mash-ups”, those web applications that combine data from more than one source into an integrated experience.  And like Mash-ups, machinima is moving from being just a sort of novelty “experiment” to becoming more mainstream.

A scene from the DDay Sound Archive movie, created using The Movies editor. This scene is rendered at the "online" resolution for streaming from the company website.

As games engines become more sophisticated and the software tools for 3D modelling and texturing becoming more powerful and prevalent, more sophisticated machinima are emerging. As such, it is being taken more seriously as both an art form and a form of entertainment.

The earliest examples of what could be called machinima date back to 1992 and a game Stunt Island which allowed users to create movies by placing props and cameras, orchestrating flying stunts, and splicing takes together. Much like the internet communities today, users of the software used to trade props and movies with each other over the then basic Compuserve internet connections. The highly atmospheric first-person shooter Doom, released in 1993, included support for recording and playback of gameplay demos, but Machinima as we know it really only arrived when 3D game worlds added controllable cameras to game play.

  In 1993, the ever-inventive Lucas Arts produced a Star Wars game X-Wing which featured a limited recording feature with a controllable camera system. However, it was really the multi-player slaughter-fest Quake which put a wider range of resources available to wannabe Machinimists,  providing custom-built sets, special effects, graphics, sound (including real voices) and music. Quake was also one of the first multi-player games to enter the mainstream consciousness as it became a favorite of network engineers in the office who happily helped workers play against each other after hours. IN the mid-nineties most web and IT office places hummed to the sound of Quake after 5 O’clock.

The most famous machinima – and arguably the most entertaining and innovative in terms of how content and context are subtly inter-twined - is certainly Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles, a comic machinima series created by Rooster Teeth Productions and distributed primarily through the Internet and DVD. The first episode premiered on the Internet on April 1, 2003 and quickly became a cult classic. Effectively, Red Vs Blue lampoons the First Person Shooter genre as well as science fiction in general by pitting two sets of games characters against each other in a barren desolate landscape, fighting a war they don’t believe in, following orders they don’t understand and caught in the sort of existential angst you would expect from games characters if they could indeed speak for themselves.

It is sort of like Waiting for Godot meets… well, Halo as Halo: Combat Evolved (by Bungie Studios) is the games engine that was used to create the series.

Red Vs Blue was really the first animation that brought Machinima into the mainstream and was praised by purists and film critics alike for its originality and narrative. It cleverly used the limitations of the medium – i.e. the game engine – and composed a narrative that reflects meaningfully on the actual tools of its own production as well as life.  

Players play Unreal

Quake II, Unreal and Battlefield 1942 are further examples of video games which are currently used to create machinima. With the increasingly sophistication and popularity of Machinima, games studios are readily supplying the tools to make the process easier and more flexible.  Unreal Movie Studio (UMS) has been created by UnFramed Productions fro the Unreal game.  

Following that, Epic Games, the developers of Unreal Tournament 2003, included a tool called "Matinee" with the game, and sponsored a contest for US$50,000 to create a machinima film with the video game. Also The Unreal engine was used by director George Lucas for pre-visualization of the later Star Wars movies, further blurring the lines between film and gaming. Although critics might argue that the new Star Wars installments owe more to the Star Wars arcade games and merchandising then they do to the original films.

But it is not just animation that Machinima is being used for. Comic strips have also been created by taking advantage of the “Photo album” feature in the video game “The Sims”.
For example, Nicole Service, a Sims player known online as "nsknight" staged a highly-rated photo album telling the story of three sisters whose mother is murdered. Other players have staged stories of abusive relationships, drug addiction, and interracial adoptions. Following the popularity of these initiatives the creators made sure that The Sims 2 has a built-in movie making feature.

Recently, the Slate magazine outlined some of the best Machinima available on the web. Here is just a sample for your enjoyment!

Avril Lavigne video done through “The Sims 2”
http://www.slate.com/id/2159994/slideshow/2160173/fs/0//entry/2160176/

”The Danger Attacks at Dawn”
http://www.slate.com/id/2159994/slideshow/2160173/fs/0//entry/2160178/

Line Rider
http://www.slate.com/id/2159994/slideshow/2160173/fs/0//entry/2160179/

World of Warcraft meets Avenue Q
http://www.slate.com/id/2159994/slideshow/2160173/fs/0//entry/2160179/

And if you like that, then you should consider checking out the Machinima Festival Europe 07 - www.machinimaeurope.co.uk

News

Digital Media Courses @ The Digital Hub.

The Digital Hub is now offering short intensive courses in specific aspects of digital media. From introductory courses, for those just starting out, to master classes aimed at industry professionals, our experienced lecturers will share their skills in a professional friendly environment.

August 18th:  Introduction to iMovie
Time: 10am - 4pm

iMovie is a video editing software, created by Apple as part of their iLife suite. When you make a movie you create a memory that will last forever. With iMovie, you simply arrange your video clips, still images and music in the order that best tells your story. iMovie makes it easy to share you movies with your friends and family. Screen it on your TV, phone, iPod or post it on the internet. This course will be an introduction to video editing software aimed at people who have home video cameras.

We also offer the following Teacher Training:

August 27th – 31st:  Photo Story
Time: 9:30am – 2:30pm

Photo Story 3 for Windows XP is a free application from Microsoft which allows users to add motion to still digital photos. In the workshop students create stories to which they add text, narration, effects and music. The course will involve audio recording, editing digital photography, image editing and production on CD and DVD.

We will also run a games workshop for teenagers this summer:

N.B. This course is for teacher’s only.

August 13th – 16th: Mission Maker Summer Camp
Time: 11am – 2:30pm

The Mission Maker Camp will allow teenagers (aged 12 - 18) to create a 3D game with a wide choice of different environments, speaking characters and props. The games will be available to play on The Digital Hub's website.

If you would like more information on any of our digital media courses please email learning@thedigitalhub.com or call 01 4806200

Projected Weekends:

The Digital Hub has launched the second series of Projected Weekends. Last year saw the successful pilot project which attracted participation of many national and international artists. We are now opening the call for this year’s series that will run from Sept 2007 through to March 2008. If you  have work that you would like to see projected outdoors in The Digital Hub,  send your proposal to email address below. This is an open call, there is no deadline for submissions. All work of any subject and discipline will be considered. As the areas that are being used to display the projects are  residential areas, sound will not be played on the street. For further details please

More info:  exhibit@thedigitalhub.com. www.myspace.com/projectedweekends  or contact Elaine Tel: 01 4806200

Simon Cumbers Media Challenge Fund

The Simon Cumbers Media Challenge Fund is funded by Irish Aid and run by Connect World, a not-for-profit group based in The Digital Hub. It is a grant scheme aimed at assisting and promoting more and better quality media coverage of development issues in the Irish media.

Connect World are also running an Applicant workshop. For further information on the workshops or the fund, please email mediafund@connect-world.net or telephone Lorraine at (+353) 1-480 6222.

Upcoming Deadlines are as follows:

Standard Grant Round II Monday 1 October 2007 

TV Seed Grant Monday 3 March 2008 

Standard Grant Round I Wednesday 30 April 2008 

Standard Grant Round II Tuesday 30 September 2008

World Cyber Game Ireland 2007

The Irish Qualifiers will take place in The Digital Hub from
15th - 16th Sept 2007.

For details of the 2007 Regional competitions click here.

To register to compete in the Irish Qualifiers of the World Cyber Games 2007 click here

Visit the WCG Ireland myspace page and leave your comments about the upcoming competition by clicking here

Right click here to save a copy of the 2006 video.
Right click here to save a copy of the 2006 Grand Final in Monza Italy.

Images and video content from the September 2006 event can be found at: www.worldcybergamesireland.com

Dare to be Digital Ireland - Irish teams selected

On the 25th of April two teams were selected from 13 entries to represent Ireland at the International Dare to be Digital competition, to be held in University of Abertay, Scotland on the 25th of August. The teams chosen are Zero One (Republic of Ireland) and Artificial Entertainment (Northern Ireland). Both teams will start their 9 week game development in Queens University, Belfast on the 11th of June.

As the competition comes to an end, Teams from around the world will gather in Edinburgh, where they will have the opportunity to put their games on display for the public to play in Dare Protoplay from the 12th to the 14th of August. On August 25th the Judging of all games will take place at the University of Abertay in Dundee.

Keep up to date with the Irish team’s progress on www.daretobedigitalireland.com

Further information: daretobedigital@thedigitalhub.com

Events

September 15th: World Cyber Games 2007 - Ireland Championship Preliminary
Location: The Digital Hub, Dublin 8, Ireland
Time: 8am
Price:TBC

Following on from the success of what turned out to be one of Ireland's largest and most successful LANs, the Irish Finals of World Cyber Games, will be held again this year in The Digital Hub on the 15th and 16th of September. Gamers from all over Ireland will battle it out to earn a place on Team Ireland, who will represent the nation at the Grand Final of World Cyber Games in Seattle. If you think you have what it takes to compete in the Grand Final against some of the World's top gamers, visit the web site for details on participating in the Irish heats or e-mail your enquiry. Limited spectator tickets will be available for the final on 15th of September. Email exhibit@thedigitalhub.com for a ticket.

More info: exhibit@thedigitalhub.com  Tel: +353 (0)1 480 6200  http://www.worldcybergamesireland.com

September 20th:  iT Village at the Building Exhibition
Location: Simmonscourt, RDS, Dublin, Ireland
Time: 11am
Price: Free for trade. Public EUR15

The iT Village is Ireland's first 'IT in Construction' show and takes place alongside the Building Exhibition - Ireland's biggest building industry event RDS 20th - 22nd September, 2007. The show is running in association with the Construction Information Technology Alliance (CITA) and will allow visitors to see the latest technological advances, view demonstrations of hardware and software and try all the latest products before they buy.

More info: tim@exhibitionsireland.com Tel: 00353 (0) 1 288 8821  http://www.irishbuildingexhibition.com/itvillage.htm
 
September 27th: Internet Marketing for 21st Century Businesses
Location: Viking Ramada Hotel, Waterford, Ireland
Time: 9am
Price:90 (SME), 295 (Large)

This seminar overflows with ideas, tips, insider secrets and strategies for turning your website into a highly trained 24/7 global sales executive. Presented as a programme of the 2007 National Centre of Excellence, the seminar will teach you how to design and build effective internet marketing campaigns for sales lead generation. The seminar is non-technical and is aimed at owner managers in the SME sector and senior marketing management in larger companies.

More info: seminars@praxisnow.ie
Tel: 01-2360076 http://www.praxisnow.ie/NCE.htm