LOS ANGELES, June 3 /PRNewswire/ — Digital Media Wire today announced speakers for the 2nd annual International Game and Film Lounge (http://www.gamefilmlounge.com/) to be held at the Figueroa Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, June 14, 2010, the day the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) opens its doors at the LA Convention Center.
The International Game and Film Lounge -produced by Digital Media Wire in association with Variety and Nordic Game – brings together an eclectic mix of leading companies, talent and celebrities in film and games from the United States, Europe and Asia, to share ideas about international and transmedia aspects of the games and film industries and how to create new business opportunities at the intersection of these two exciting fields of media.
The event includes the following keynotes and special presentations:
Matias Myllyrinne, Managing Director, Remedy Entertainment, will give a special presentation on how digital download/add-ons are continuing the shelf life of the fiction his company is creating. Matias will also be featured in an interview by Sten Selander, Director of Business Development, Nordic Game, about his views and experience with transmedia aspects of games, film and television. Remedy’s latest project, Alan Wake, published by Microsoft Game Studios, was recently released for Xbox 360 and is currently a top selling game in Europe and the U. S. The story plays out in an episodic format, with a television show-style presentation where each episode/chapter brings another piece to the puzzle of the main plot. Remedy has confirmed that Alan Wake is only the first season of a bigger story, opening the door for future sequels.
Dan Winters, VP, Developer Relations and Acquisitions, Activision Blizzard, will be featured in a keynote interview with Marty Poulin, CEO at ShadyLogic Studios. Dan is an industry veteran of over 15 years, with stints at Activision, Disney Interactive and Electronic Arts. Before entering into the world of Video Games, Dan spent 4 years playing professional baseball for the Oakland A’s, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. He also spent 6 years as an actor with appearances on day time TV, commercials and various other TV shows. After getting his start at Activision in 1993, working on various titles including Mechwarrior 2, he spent 10 years at Disney Interactive where he eventually became Vice President of Product Development. Under Dan’s leadership, Disney Interactive contributed to or co-released over 50 games including: Kingdom Hearts, Tarzan, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story, Tron, etc… After a stint at Electronic Arts as Executive Producer of Medal of Honor: European Assault, Dan rejoined Activision in 2005 to oversee Developer Relations and Acquisitions.
Ronald Azuma, Research Leader, Nokia Research Center Hollywood will deliver a keynote presentation on the future of mobile media and entertainment. At Nokia, Ronald leads a team that is exploring the question: What are new forms of compelling media that take advantage of the strengths of mobile devices? In Dec. 2009, his team built and performed The Westwood Experience, our first exploration into location-based experiences. This is a new form of mobile entertainment that blends a compelling story with physical locations augmented with digital content.
Garry Schyman, Award Winning Transmedia Composer, to deliver Keynote Presentation. Evocative motifs, epic themes, aleatoric dissonance or apocalyptic intensity: composer Garry Schyman explores a stunning spectrum of sonic possibilities. The creator of music for the multiple award-winning video game BioShock – winner of Best Original Score from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Spike TV’s Video Games Best Score Award, G4 Television’s Soundtrack of the Year and four awards from the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G) including Music of the Year, Best Interactive Score, Best Original Instrumental and Audio of the Year– he has emerged as one of the medium’s foremost composers. A composer whose work spans feature films, prime time television series, mini-series, movies of the week, video games and documentaries, Garry studied composition at the University of Southern California and later, privately with the renowned composer George Tremblay. Just out of the university he was then employed by the legendary Mike Post and Pete Carpenter organization where he worked on the team’s roster of top rated series.
Mike Reagan, Award-winning Film, TV and Video Game Composer, joins Garry Schyman, Transmedia Composer, to discuss sonic possibilities in the intersection of games and film in a recently added session. An award-winning composer, songwriter and music producer, Mike Reagan’s scoring credits include the romantic comedy UNBEATABLE HAROLD (starring Dylan McDermott and Henry Winkler), the animated television series APE ESCAPE (Nicktoons) and WOW WOW WUBBZY! (Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.) and video games such as CONAN (THQ), DARKSIDERS (THQ) and Sony’s best-selling franchise GOD OF WAR.
