DIY Days NYC
Today I had the opportunity along with a few creative friends to sit among a few hundred other filmmakers, writers, designers, programmers, musicians, and more for DIY Days NYC. It was a humbling chance to sit with so many great thinkers and cutting edge creators. There were presentations from one end of the creative spectrum to the other, covering visual data, HTML 5, music, individual presentations, and more, all covering the emerging medium of trans-media communication and art.
A list of presenters for discussion I was able to participate in:
- How do you tell a story today? The Art of Immersion author Frank Rose
- A storytelling Pandemic – Lance Weiler creator\writer\director of Pandemic
- What’s the story with data? Nicholas Diakopoulos
- DIY Empire: Molly Crabapple founder Dr. Sketchys
- Reclaiming DIY – Brian Newman
- Fireside Chat: Christine Vachon & Ted Hope, filmmakers
- Fireside Chat: Beyond the Page – Scott Lindenbaum & Scott Macaulay
- Program or Be Programmed – Douglas Rushkoff
- Fireside Chat: The Business of Storytelling – Brian Clark & Faris Yakob
- The Calculus of Touch: A Look at NFC Technology – Matt Johnston
- Where Storytelling and Gaming Collide – Chuck Wendig & Greg Trefry
The other presentations that were going on throughout the day in other rooms:
- Telling Your Own Story – Michael Margolis
- Ethics of Transmedia – Andrea Phillips
- Hands-on Experience Design – Nick Braccia, Caitlin Burns, & Aina Abiodun
- Realities of Building a Transmedia Project – Zeke Zelker & Vladan Nikolic
- A Look at HTML 5 – Brian Chrils
- Coders, Not Just Monkeys Anymore: Working with a Creative Technologist – Mark Harris
Fellow DIY Attendees Maurice and Andrea
Overall the conference was well run, and a ton of fun. The interesting thing about DIY Days is that it is completely volunteer run, and free to the public. There is a great attitude about collaboration with individuals so passionate about placing their mark on the creative arts. If you have the opportunity to attend a DIY event in the future I highly recommend it. One of the great options they allow for attendees is to have one minute shout outs “What are you doing and what do you need” moments where you are able to explain your current endeavors and the areas you need help in. This is a great opportunity to network with others to meet needs so a creative work can be accomplished as many individuals in DIY are typically working with little or no funding.
It’s great to spend some time among people who actually look to work toward something beyond just a dollar. The arts are alive and well, thriving outside the confines of mega corporation interests, safe in the hands of the independent film makers, documenters, artists, and trans-media creators. Power to the punks!
What kind of projects are you working on and what areas are you the most challenged by?
