Interactive Festival @ SXSW 2017

Thu, Mar 9 - Sat, Mar 18  2017

Dutch interactive events are represented at South by Southwest from March 10 until March 19. Here will follow a list of all the activities at the Interactive Festival. You can also view our brochure online. 

The Caribbean: The Up and Coming Tech Melting Pot

The Caribbean is an often overlooked region when it comes to tech and innovation. This is where an enormous amount of opportunities lie. The Governments of various Caribbean islands are looking to innovate and are setting up programs and handing out grants to attract startups and tech companies. They are working on policies and looking into closing partnerships to stimulate this. A group of ambassadors from varius islands of the Caribbean are living proof that the Caribbean is up and coming and shouldn’t be overlooked anymore. 

Everything ATECH does evolves around the creation of a local startup tech sector and promoting Aruba and the Caribbean as a global tech hub. A place where global startups, and both local and international entrepreneurs, can build companies, test new concepts and receive guidance and funding. Further, a thriving entrepreneurial sector initially catalyzed by the private sector will have a strong foundation as it limits bureaucracy and politics. The government’s role should be one of a facilitator.

Speakers: Christine Souffrant, Tristan Every, Varelie Croes

Format: Panel

Track: Tech Industry

Date: March 10, 5:00 – 6:00 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 5ABC

Beyond the Interface: Designing Wearables We Love

Designing wearables that people actually want to wear has proven to be much more difficult than anticipated. Wearables have been bedazzled, wrapped in precious stones and high def cameras, designed by celebrities and the fashion illuminati, and yet still failed to capture the public’s imagination. This panel looks beyond the screen and beyond fashion to explore new UX paradigms for wearables that put the user at the center and the craft of meaningful experiences at the forefront. From insights from seasoned product designers to experimental fashion futurists, join the conversation on what wearables might look like in the near future; and more importantly, how they might shape our lives.

Speakers: Pauline van Dongen, Steven Holmes, Syuzi Pakhchyan

Format: Panel

Track: Design

Date: March 12, 12:30 – 1:30PM @ JW Marriott Salon FG

 

Content Is Still King: A New Narrative Calls

In an age of consumer-led fashion, channeling shoppers to share user-generated content creates unparalleled inclusivity for your brand. It’s a simple concept, but by creating a role for the consumer within these curated narratives, a new (and very engaging) relationship is forged. Such a personal journey relates beautifully to the nature of immersive tech, and this development of linear dialogue is already shifting the paradigm for fashion and beauty retail. Whilst the storytelling potential is staggering, the challenges are very real – and in terms of driving ROI, retailers must understand how to leverage the medium of Mixed Realities to their brand’s benefit.

Speakers: Lady Kinvara Balfour, Rachel Waller, Olly Rzysko, Steven Lammertink

Format: Panel

Track: Style

Date: March 12 3:30 – 4:30 PM @ Hangar Lounge 

The Female Gaze in Interactive Documentary

In the development of their project about the female gaze in media, “A Field Guide to Male Muses”, technologist Mike Robbins and filmmaker Harmke Heezen are questioning their job descriptions. The process is making them think about the importance of different perspectives, and how the act of looking gives space to reflect. Interactive documentary is an extension and amalgamation of film and digital technology, but the gender balance of who makes what is radically different in this still-new medium. This presentation takes the audience through a set of case studies in a discussion about interactive documentary as a way to gender irrelevance.

Speakers: Harmke Heezen, Mike Robbins

Format: Dual

Track: Experiential Storytelling 

Date: March 12, 2:00 – 3:00 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 5ABC

How Working Abroad Can Save The World

What’s the best antidote for an increasingly divisive world? Dutch globetrotter Mark van der Heijden believes that working abroad is the answer. As ‘The Backpacker Intern’ he traded his skills for experience at 32 companies in 27 countries on seven continents. He realized that working in a different country stimulates mutual understanding, boosts creativity, improves happiness and gives a better understanding of the world. Mark will share his key insights on how we can save the world by packing our bags.

Speaker: Mark van der Heijden

Format: Solo

Track: Social Impact

Date: March 13, 5:00 – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Room 201-202

Preserving Interactive Media

Interactive documentaries are at the vanguard of current media technologies. Taking into account every framework imaginable, its makers challenge some of our assumptions about how these technologies can or cannot support bringing a non-fiction storyline to a audience. In over a decade of IDFA DocLab’s existence, web technologies have changed dramatically and many producers experience how complicated it can be to keep their creations accessible and ‘experienceable’.

In this panel, chair Johan Oomen from Sound and Vision, will outline the challenges to creating dynamic web archives. We will then take a deeper look at particular cases. NFB collaborated with Google on the re-making of Bear 71 – porting it from a Flash-based to a WebVR online experience. Megan Lindsay will present this collaboration on re-representing a modern classic. After the presentations, there will be room for questions.

Speakers: Johan Oomen, Megan Lindsay, Koven Smith

Format: Panel

Track: Experiental Storytelling

Date: March 13, 3:30 – 4:30 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 6AB

DEAR PIGEON MAN (Work-In-Progress)

This virtual reality project is an early prototype and is part of the Kaleidoscope Development Showcase. DEAR PIGEON MAN we explore the pigeon post office. But people hardly seem to send letters by pigeon anymore, they did however send a lot of parcels. Unfortunately pigeons are ill-equipped to be delivering those, which is why the pigeon boy dresses up as a postal pigeon to help out the pigeons. His father, consumed by keeping the pigeon post office afloat, finally pays attention to his son. Unfortunately this is just because he thinks his son is really a giant postal pigeon.

Director: Daniel Ernst

Screening Category: Virtual Reality

Runtime: 15 mins

Screenings:

• March 14, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• March 15, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• March 16, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5

SYNESTHESIA (Work-In-Progress)

This project is an early prototype and is part of the Kaleidoscope Development Showcase. Featuring original music from major artists like Little Dragon, Roomful of Teeth, and Amon Tobin, SYNESTHESIA is an interactive experience comprised of six movements each inspired by a different stage of life. From birth to death, SYNESTHESIA takes the view on an abstract journey that pushes the boundaries of virtual reality.

Screening Category: Virtual Reality

Runtime: 20 mins

Screenings: 

• March 14, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• March 15, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• March 16, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5

BioHacker Meet Up

This year the 4th Biohacker meetup will take place at SXSW. Hackers, software engineers, artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, entrepreneurs… anyone who is curious about biohacking. Interested in seeding collaborations with others in the space? Chatting about CRISPR? Discussing bio-security? Marveling over the possibilities of synthetic biology? Assessing ethical concerns around bio-innovation? Or maybe you want to know what DIY bio is all about! From budding biologists to evolved bio engineers, all are welcome. Connect with biohackers from around the world.

Speakers: Karen Ingram, Wieke Betten

Format: Meet Up

Track: Intelligent Future

Date: March 14, 12:30 – 1.30 PM @ JW Marriott Room 210 

Next Nature Habitat VR

To help us make sense of our world, we build an immersive experience where you will travel through different environments we might live in someday. We created four scenarios – Garden of Eden, Hypernatural Resort, Modernist Dream, Techno Favela – that each present an alternative view of future worlds. Will machines take over, just like they did with the Internet or global finance? Or will we go back to living like our ancestors, in close harmony with nature and gathering food to survive? And what if we lived in a fully simulated reality, could we survive in such a world?

Director: Koert van Mensvoort

Screening Category: Virtual Reality

Runtime: 11 mins

Screenings:

• March 14, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• March 15, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• March 16, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5

 

SQUARE THE CIRCLE (Work-In-Progress)

This project is an early prototype and is part of the Kaleidoscope Development Showcase. “Square the Circle” is an interactive experience which explores the possibilities of interacting with Touch controllers in room scale. The experience is about excitement and joy, finding a quiet moment in an imaginative reality to escape a hyper demanding world, returning to childlike play. The experience consists of 10 linked scenes, based on the principle of the Matryoshka dolls. Each scene takes place in a box-shaped room and the goal is to find and reveal the box that contains the next scene, which has, in turn, another scene inside it, and so on…

Directors: Harm van de Ven, Juul Spee, Sara Kolster

Screening Category: Virtual Reality

Runtime: 30 mins

Screenings:

• March 14, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• March 15, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• March 16, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5

Mentor Session: Marcella Smeele

Mentor Sessions offer one-on-one interaction with professionals from all aspects of the music, film, and interactive industries. Only Music and Platinum registrants will have access to advance sign up for this session. Artist Wristband holders and Interactive and Film registrants will be able to sign up for remaining spaces on site. 
Signing up to speak with Marcella Smeele is highly recommended if you’re interested in Music Marketing, Gigs, Music Industry, Booking, Entrepeneurship, or International issues.

Speaker: Marcella Smeele

Format: Mentor Session

Track: Music Industry

Date: March 15, 3:30 – 4:30 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 8AB

The Future of Music Artwork is Gamified

In the 80s televisions reinvented music. Songs were no longer just sound waves – they were audiovisual experience that were designed specifically for the medium. This wasn’t the first time technology enabled new formats. In the 40s printing became significantly cheaper, it enabled the invention of the cover art and impacted the music industry greatly. Today smart devices and VR enable a new format – the interactive.

Interactivity is the next inevitable step from audiovisual. It provides creators yet another layer of expression that holds great artistic possibilities, and perhaps new revenue streams.

If interactivity is the future how can we make the most of it?

Speaker: Roey Tsemah

Format: Panel

Track: Making Music

Date: March 15, 5:00 – 6:00 PM @ Austin Convetion Center Room 8C

Augmenting Reality: When AR Meets Documentary

Augmented Reality applications allow us to place people and objects into our immediate environment, whether that is our lounge-room, a station or a bar. What does the intimacy and portability of these experiences provide that VR does not? How will this change the nature of documentary and provide us with rich cultural experiences? We hear from Crossover Labs and Quicksand, creating Bas Kar Busker, an AR musical mash-up based on Indian folk dance, and Canada’s Dpt., who’s The Enemy brings the protagonists of global conflict right into your home. Also, Lava Lab will speak about their social and communal AR storytelling experiences, like the first virtual festival in Amsterdam.”

Speakers: Avinash Kumar, Mark Atkin, Nicolas S. Roy, Klasien van de Zandschulp

Format: Panel

Track: VR/AR

Date: March 16, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 3-4

How the Crazy Dutch Are Innovating Music Discovery

The Netherlands (population size: 17 million) is the lively forefront of music innovation with over 800 annual music festivals. Three leading figures from the Dutch music scene share their experiences with innovating music discovery. Marlies Timmermans (EKKO, Into The Great Wide Open) shares insights on the locality of music and why smaller is better. Mark Minkman (Paradiso) presents a data driven model that determines optimal ticket prices given the target audience size. Johan Gijsen (Le Guess Who?) unveils why the adventurous niche and the undiscovered line-up are the future success factors of music festivals.

Speakers: Johan Gijsen, Mark Minkman, Marlies Timmermans

Format: Panel

Track: Touring & Live Experience

Date: March 18, 12:30 – 1.30 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 11AB

 

Overall Schedule of Activities @ Interactive Festival

• The Caribbean: The Up and Coming Tech Melting Pot: March 10, 5:00 – 6:00 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 5ABC
• Content Is Still King: A New Narrative Calls: March 12 3:30 – 4:30 PM @ Hangar Lounge 
• The Female Gaze in Interactive Documentary: March 12, 2:00 – 3:00 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 5ABC
• How Working Abroad Can Save The World: March 13, 5:00 – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Room 201-202
• Preserving Interactive Media: March 13, 3:30 – 4:30 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 6AB
• DEAR PIGEON MAN (Work-In-Progress) 
  • March 14, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
  • March 15, 11:00 – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
  • March 16, 11:00 – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• BioHacker Meet Up: March 14, 12:30 – 1.30 PM @ JW Marriott Room 210 
• Next Nature Habitat VR: 
  • March 14, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
  • March 15, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• SQUARE THE CIRLE (Work-In-Progress): 
  • March 14, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
  • March 15, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
  • March 16, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 5
• Mentor Session: Marcella Smeele: March 15, 3:30 – 4:30 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 8AB
• The Future of Music Artwork is Gamified: March 15, 5:00 – 6:00 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 8C
• Augmenting Reality: When AR Meets Documentary: March 16, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM @ JW Marriott Salon 3-4
• How the Crazy Dutch Are Innovating Music Discovery: March 18, 12:30 – 1.30 PM @ Austin Convention Center Room 11AB

 

About Interactive Festival @ SXSW

The evening networking events that make up the SXSW Interactive Festival range from parties to award presentations — and almost everything in between. On Friday evening, March 10, don’t miss the SXSW Interactive Festival Opening Party. This event provides a great venue to make connections that will serve you for the next few days — and beyond.

Award ceremonies that are part of the SXSW Interactive Festival honor some of the industry’s most important innovators. Catch the winners at events such as the ReleaseIt at SXSW Awards, the SXSW Accelerator Awards, the Dewey Winburne Community Services Awards, and the SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards.

Stay tuned to the SXSW website for the full schedule of these exciting SXSW Interactive Festival evening events.