Four new dynamic and interactive media projects will be made in NSW with funding from the NSW Government, further reinforcing the State’s position as Australia’s digital creative hub.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Stoner today announced the latest round of funding from Screen NSW’s $3 million Interactive Media Fund (IMF) established to support the creation of new digital content in NSW.
“This is a dynamic new industry which harnesses creativity and technological brilliance,” Mr Stoner said.
“The NSW Government’s Interactive Media Fund is designed for commercially-oriented projects that are destined for distribution on web-enabled platforms or devices and interactive video game consoles.”
Mr Stoner added that in this latest round, four new projects from some of NSW’s most exciting creative talent were selected for their innovation, quality, originality and interactivity and their potential to contribute to a robust NSW economy and the NSW digital media industry.
“The NSW Government is investing $291,000 in these projects, which will provide dozens of highly skilled jobs in this exciting new industry and put our State at the forefront of innovation both
nationally and internationally.”
He also noted that the global digital games market is expected to more than double to $53 billion by 2016 and mobile gaming to triple to $17.5 billion, so the potential for Sydney and NSW to build its share of the high-value digital games sector is significant.
“NSW has a world class screen production and post production industry, and the NSW Government is demonstrating its commitment to encourage our rapidly emerging world-class digital media industry.”
“Two high level Industry Taskforces focused on the Digital Economy and Creative Industries will soon offer Industry Action Plans for these sectors over the next 10 years.”
Mr Stoner also said that Sydney and NSW’s relative creative and ICT strengths and the convergence of these two sectors in the expanding global Digital Economy put NSW in pole position to deliver significant growth in the coming decade.
Which four projects will be funded by the Interactive Media Fund?
ACO3D, the internationally acclaimed Australian Chamber Orchestra will team up with the digital expertise of Michela Ledwidge and Mod Productions to use cutting edge projection-mapping to take a world class orchestral performance experience to audiences across Australia in innovative and interactive ways.
The Hive, a transmedia project that combines social networks, television and on-line engagement is also set to benefit. Multi award-winning producers Simon Nasht and Annamaria Talas are working with designer Stephane Zerbib of Wasabi Digital and world-leading mathematicians, economists and game designers to create a prototype that connects the virtual and real worlds resulting in game players solving real-world problems.
Earthquake Buddy, an interactive app developed by The App Collective and endorsed by global ‘Recovery Tsar’ professor Ed Blakely, it uses real time seismic data and geo-tagging to let loved ones know the location of a user at the time of an earthquake. The app will be expanded across other mobile OS and form a suite of innovative life saving apps.
The fourth is Mod Productions, the successful start-up founded by Michela Ledwidge and Mish Sparks that produces multiplatform interactive experiences which will receive support for further development of a business plan.
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