Village Gamer

Banff – A Call For Entries has been issued for the CTV National Fellowship Programme, with an application deadline of 5pm EST, Thursday April 30th, 2009. CTV National Fellowships are intended to encourage professional development in the television industry by enabling emerging creative talent including producers, writers and directors – i.e., program makers – to attend the Banff World Television Festival. Fellowships are not intended for established professionals, nor are they intended for entry-level candidates. Applicants must have a minimum of one significant production credit.

CTV National Fellowships cover the following: full festival registration, including admission to all seminars, workshops, and on-demand screenings; all official social events; and air transportation (transportation allowance based on lowest airfare available). Accommodation and all other costs of attending the festival are the responsibility of the fellowship recipient. Read the rest of this entry »

Banff – The Banff World Television Festival (BANFF) and nextMEDIA Banff present the first Telefilm Canada TV 360 Program, established to provide cross-platform development opportunities for Canadian producers, writers & directors. TV 360 will be held during nextMEDIA Banff and the 30th edition of BANFF, which take place at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada, in June 2009.

“TV 360 is a valuable addition to the existing training programs and fellowships at BANFF,” commented Peter Vamos, BANFF Executive Director. “We’re excited to collaborate with Telefilm Canada to create this new and original program that will foster cross-industry partnership between new media and the future of the television industry.”
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Long-term contributor to Alberta’s ICT sector takes on key role

Calgary – In order to meet the needs of the continued growth in Alberta’s digital and interactive media industry, Digital Alberta’s board of directors is pleased to announce the appointment of René Smid to the position of Executive Director.

René Smid

“We are grateful that René has accepted this position”, says Digital Alberta President Ron Thiele. “As a true professional, she has developed a key understanding of our industry and the challenges faced by our member companies.”

Smid is no newcomer to the industry. She brings a plethora of skills to the table – having been Digital Alberta’s program manager since the organization’s inception in 2001. She’s also had eight years Executive Director experience with the Calgary Council for Advanced Technology.

“Rene has been the cornerstone of Digital Alberta’s ability to deliver solid programs to our members,” says Thiele. “She is a valuable asset, for Digital Alberta as well as for Alberta’s Digital Media Industry.

Backed by a strong board of directors, a solid mandate and proven programs, Thiele is confident Smid’s role will be a significant contribution to the digital media industry.

Got a killer videogame idea? Skills strong enough for a spot on a game development team? Then get paid to build your game this summer in the 2009 GameGarage on beautiful PEI.

Charlettetown PEI – Canadian gamers who are graduating from or are recent graduates of interactive media programs are invited to compete for five spots on the 2009 GameGame Videogame Incubator Team where they will work with mentors from PEI’s gaming industry to build a functioning game prototype. And they get paid.

GameGarage is co-presented by Telefilm Canada and PEI Business Development Inc. and managed by the Interactive Media Alliance (IMA), a PEI-based interactive media industry association based out of the Atlantic Technology Centre, Charlottetown, PEI.

GameGarage gives participants the necessary studio space, hardware, software, salary and
mentorship required to make their game idea a reality.

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Vancouver – Get your digital black belt during a day of intensive training and professional development workshops at the Centre for Digital Media, Great Northern Way Campus.

Bringing together experts and leaders from an array of sectors in digital media, this workshop offers a full day of interactive sessions to help inspire new ideas and develop them into realizable goals. Participants will be treated to insider techniques for the conceptualizing, visualizing, prototyping and pitching of ideas, as well as insights into current industry trends and technologies. This is your opportunity to get a crash course in digital martial arts – Register Today!

Most of the proceeds of this workshop will be put towards scholarships for students in the Masters of Digital Media program.

Who is it for?

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Vancouver – Research has shown that brain health begins to lag as early as age 25. However, the same research has shown that with regular brain fitness training, the brain can create new neural connections and pathways at any age.

In response to this research, Vancouver’s Vivity Labs has created FitBrains.com, a new online brain fitness platform that hosts fun, casual games developed by brain fitness experts, specifically designed to exercise the brain and improve the five major cognitive brain functions – memory, concentration, language, executive functions (logic and reasoning), and visual-spatial skills.
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Vancouver – Do you know kids between the ages of 8 and 12 who like to play video games? If so, read the call for participation in the Play Together research project, part of Simon Fraser University’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology. Each participant will be compensated with a $10 gift certificate to iTunes or FutureShop. This project has already received SFU ethics approval and we are currently scheduling play sessions from now until June 2009.

Please contact the Play Together coordinator, Beth Aileen Lameman (beth[at]bethaileen[dot]com or 604-782-0051) for more information on the study.

More Information:
The Play Together research project is looking at and prototyping digital technologies that support cooperative team play for kids ages 8-12.
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Ottawa – New technologies are shrinking our ability to protect our anonymity – a trend being reinforced by laws around the world, according to a new study by leading scholars from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Italy.

The study, unveiled today at a special event organized by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, reveals scant protection of anonymity and a growing preference for laws and policies requiring people to be identified.

For example, some retailers ask for and record identification such as a driver’s licence number when consumers return or exchange purchases. Personal information is being collected and stored more frequently and, in some cases, is disclosed to authorities without a person’s knowledge or approval.

“Driven by curiosity, humanity and a profound belief in the sanctity of the individual, a group of scholars from the University of Ottawa and around the globe set out to describe the state of privacy in Canada and around the world – today, and well into tomorrow,” says the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart.
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Ottawa – Corel Corporation has announced its support for the new Wacom® Intuos®4, providing significant creative support and workflow advantages for artists using Corel® Painter™ 11. Together, Corel Painter 11 and the Wacom Intuos4 offer a heightened level of realism in digital art through unparalleled creative options, optimal control, and interactivity.

‘With the Intuos4, we wanted to provide the most natural, responsive and consistent experience for our users,’ said Don Varga, Senior Product Manager for Wacom. ‘For artists using Corel Painter 11, the Intuos4 enables them to get the most out of the product’s amazing new features, creating the most realistic digital art experience available.’

Corel Painter 11 is the ultimate art studio for anyone ready to expand their definition of creativity. With the most advanced digital painting and natural media tools available, artists can create the artwork they’ve always envisioned. Pressure-sensitive brushes, inventive drawing tools and customizable media let users create distinct digital and photographic art with every brush stroke.

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Vancouver – If you’re walking around Vancouver and notice some real-life packaged action figures, blame Hot Tomali Communications, an integrated marketing agency located in Vancouver, B.C. The action-packed professionals are part of a new campaign titled “Job Candidate 2.0”, which promotes the launch of Resume Hut who has expanded to Vancouver after operating for 23 years in Victoria. The expansion is part of a larger strategy in which Resume Hut aims to expand across North America over the next five years.

The unique idea for the campaign came as a result of a combination of factors. “When we were approached with the idea of executing a campaign for Resume Hut, we needed to come up with something that was engaging, memorable, and cost-effective,” says Clayton Mitchell, Hot Tomali’s Strategic Planner. “Working with Resume Hut, we started with a complete rebranding including a new logo and the positioning line ‘Position Yourself’. The key insight we extracted during our creative process was that Resume Hut helps you position yourself more effectively for the jobs you want—in a sense, repackaging you.”

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