As we ended the last decade we were collating/archiving assets from the LAMP site and think it important to recognise the people that made LAMP the Australian icon in effective emerging media development.
Many of the mentors and participants were beginning their own journey on these workshops and residentials and are now leading the industry in Australia and abroad. We hope these ‘retrospective’ posts serve as a record for that which follows LAMP.
Early last year (2008) a LAMP initiated project called “Macbeth:What If” from the 7th residential received development/production funding from the NMC and the Australia Council (who also part funded the LAMP: Story of the Future residential) last year. Project creator Kerreen Ely-Harper teamed up with producer Kate Richards, Virtual World creator Angela Thomas and another LAMP alumni, Designer Adam Nash, to realise the original project. After a year or so of development they created an island in second life that built on the original project idea that was looking at the experiential teaching and awareness of Shakespeare’s works via Second Life and also the ability to perform and create machinima in a rich virtual setting.
The video below is quick & cheerful ‘Space Navigator’ Machinima and Music by Gary Hayes. The whole work was very similar in style and form to Thursday’s Fictions in Second Life, another LAMP initiated project two years ago. Full credits for the Macbeth project below.
Filmed and edited by Gary Hayes. Note: This film does not demonstrate the many interactive elements, social intentions or literary integration. Please visit the island to see those first ‘virtual’ hand. A medium resolution (98MB MP4) download is available here
Macbeth in Second Life Credits
Guide & credits here
A collaboration by Angela Thomas, Kate Richards and Kerreen Ely-Harper, from an original idea by Kerreen Ely-Harper.
Producer: Kate RIchards (Nini Dubrovna)
Director: Kereen Ely-Harper (Dorothy Porta)
Virtual World Content Designer: Angela Thomas (Anya Ixchel)
SL Design Consultant: Adam Nash (Adam Ramona)
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. Initial stages of this project were mentored and developed through the Laboratory for Advanced Media Production (LAMP) at Australian Film TV and Radio School (AFTRS). This project has been funded and built by the New Media Consortium
NMC Team:
Larry Johnson (Larry Pixel)
Alan Levine (CDB Barkley)
Rachel Smith (Ninmah Ash)
NMC Second Life Building Team:
Chris Holden (CJ Carnot)
Beth Satchjen (Stella Costello)
Voiceover Actors:
Maggie Blinco
Boris Brkic
Christopher Morris
Ophelia Of The Spirits
Alice Parkinson
Evelyn Parsonage
Recorded at Megaphone Studios
Engineer: Shane Fahey
Additional thanks to:
Larry Johnson
Therese Fingelton Gary Hayes
Jeff Wegener
Ian Waddely
Nick Noakes
Tagline: In a town with no hope, one no hoper dares to hope.
Project Description: Interactive crime/courtroom drama set in the sleepy backwater town of Jordanville “The Best Place in Tasmania to Live, Work and Play”. Rich local characters and relatively strange going’s on create an enigma spread across the web including the “Church of New Hope: Speed to Salvation”, where the audience are invited to join forces with Dale and uncover a truth stranger than fiction.
Project Description: An online social networking service for romantic adventurists to facilitate magic, mystery and unique romantic experiences in the real world.
Tagline: Alice in Wonderland meets Noah’s Ark: A journey through the wild habitats of the globe that begins in the palm of your hand and inspires you to act!
Project Description: Wild Ark is a multi-platform wildlife experience that transcends the zoo walls. At the zoo, kids set out on the Wild Ark discovery trail where they use mobile phones to follow clues. Along the way they encounter animals up close and discover their stories through short videos delivered to their phone. In Wild Ark online, they can plays games in habitats from the far reach of the globe, connect with other kids through animal clubs, share stories of their experiences and even adopt a real animal. Wild Ark also offers kids the rare opportunity to get behind the scenes and get local hands-on experience in real world conservation and wildlife programs. The Wild Ark world appeals to the sense of adventure inherent in kids, is fun and empowers kids to take action on issues they care about.
Target Media: Mobile, Location based interpretation, Web, Virtual Environments
Tagline: Breathes life into literature, taking classic narratives to new realms of possibility.
Project Description: What if? is Shakespeare and other literary texts taught in a virtual interactive world. It is a curriculum module for teachers and students, 13-18 years old. Users become the characters and journey through the story world of the text constructing and creatively destroying the narrative utilizing virtual world technologies.
Target Media: Virtual worlds, Second Life, Broadband PC, Play station 3, X Box
Tagline: Building a better world, one person at a time.
Project Description: MACHINE is a competitive social networking game. Two companies, G.I.C. & pSol, vie for world dominance. Players work their way up the ranks of their chosen company by performing a variety of tasks. Each tasks’ solution has a cause and effect on both companies. Players group to complete tasks which gain them rewards. They will rise up and down the ranks depending on their success. Woven within this game is an underlying story of the two companies separated at a particular moment of history. Players can just play the game to succeed within the ranks or they can delve into the deep, dark world of MACHINE and find out the who, why, where, when… and maybe the how. MACHINE is underpinned by a new type of social networking system with the ability to change and mould not just to fit the MACHINE world, but any other project where social networking becomes more than just your friends list.
Target Media: Social Networks, Games, User Generated, Broadband PC, Console, Mobile
Project Description: ALT Control is an Alternative Identity Game (AIG) site in which participants can actively construct multiple identities creating the story of their own future. The first seeded project within this framework, Miranda, is a compelling online viral collaborative documentary. ALT Control harnesses our obsession with social networking and identity construction.
Target Media: Broadband PC, Mobile Phones, Locative, Virtual Worlds and TV
Project Description: One girl embarks on a quest to discover the truth behind the camp legend of a missing teenager. Black Creek takes a thrilling ride into the imagination of Stefanie and her friends as they experience their first high school camp together. Without their parents and the security of home, they have to work together as they come face to face with the very adult world of danger, mystery and the dark unknown.
An interactive short format mystery series that taps into the intrigue of camp legends and myths. Black Creek recreates the excitement and adventure of attending camp and the thrills that come from the scary tales told.
Target Media: Broadcast Television, Broadband PC, Mobile Phones, and other Portable Devices