Kiwi's selected for digital media think tank

Media Release

Red-hot Kiwi companies selected for
international digital media think tank

20 May 2008, Wellington – Thirteen of New Zealand’s most promising digital media companies have been selected to participate in a two-day intensive workshop with the world’s greatest creative technology visionaries in Wellington later this month.

At the X|Media|Lab “Commercialising Ideas” conference at Te Papa on 30 May – 1 June the companies will have the rare opportunity to draw on the expertise of top international digital media powerbrokers.

The team of international mentors will help local companies develop and commercialise their digital media ideas. Companies from Germany and Australia will also take part.

“We have had almost 60 companies from New Zealand and around the world nominate themselves for X|Media|Lab Wellington. The response and quality of the projects is truly outstanding. New Zealand can rightly claim to be one of the world’s digital media hotspots,” says Megan Elliott, Director of X|Media|Lab.

New Zealand companies chosen for the Lab include Sidhe Interactive, Straylight Studios, Lumen Digital, Test-Tube TV, Ecobob, Instinct Entertainment, the Gibson Group and Thinking Cactus.

The international mentors include Tom Duterme, Head of New Business Development at Google; Chris Deering, Chairman of Codemasters and formerly President of Sony Computer Entertainment – Europe; Suresh Seetharaman, Founder and President, Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation, and Sam Morgan, Founder and General Manager of TradeMe.

The projects selected for the Lab include virtual worlds, games, mobile applications, social media and Web 2.0 applications, immersive worlds and interactive entertainment projects.
X|Media|Lab Wellington begins with a one-day Keynote Conference on Friday 30 May at Te Papa, where the International Mentors will explore how companies can find and design ideas, and build businesses from ideas.
The Keynote Conference will also feature the international success stories of Sam Morgan; China’s most celebrated digital media entrepreneurs Xin Chung and Alvin Wang Graylin; and Participant Productions’ (Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck), Chris Adams.
“The Keynote Conference Day will present all delegates with the opportunity to meet and network with the International Mentors,” says Ms Elliott.

X|Media|Lab is supported by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, as part of its work to help grow New Zealand’s digital content industry and build its international competitiveness.

Registration for the Keynote Conference day can be done online at www.xmedialab.com

About X|Media|Lab

X|Media|Lab is the internationally acclaimed think tank and creative workshop for digital media professionals across the emerging digital media disciplines in computer games, animation, digital cinema, interactive content and entertainment, and mobile applications. X|Media|Lab brings together the world’s leading digital media practitioners, power-brokers and innovators in a unique creative environment that helps local companies and project teams improve their own digital media ideas, get their products to market and achieve commercial success.

In 2008 X|Media|Lab will be held in Suzhou, Wellington, Seoul, Melbourne, Singapore, Shanghai, Mumbai and the Middle East.

X|Media|Lab was created in 2003 and has been held at some of the world’s most iconic venues including the Sydney Opera House and the Great Hall of the People, Beijing. It has been held in conjunction with the Sydney Film Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Asia Media Festival, the Asia Games Developers Summit, Broadcast Asia, FICCI FRAMES - Asia’s largest Entertainment Event, Virtual Worlds Forum Europe, and China’s International Cultural and Creativity Expo in Beijing.

www.xmedialab.com

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