Yomi generates ideas and concepts that engage and connect audiences in the area of social entertainment. With almost two decades of broadcasting experience, he has worked for BBC, ITV and Now TV. Yomi created the first interactive-reality TV programme, Global Emissions which won the Broadcast “Best Use New Media” award in 2002. Yomi has also set up interactive TV concepts in several countries, as well as working on the first broadband TV channel in 2001 with NOW TV. In 1998, he produced a consultation document for the BBC on how to incorporate the Internet into news research and has made several films on the emerging digital culture.

WORKSHOPS & PROJECT FORUM LAUNCH at
THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR ARTS

Speakers include:

Peter Buckingham, UK Film Council

Jon Kingsbury, NESTA

Gregor Pryor, Digital Rights Lawyer, Reed Smith

M Dot Strange, Filmmaker, We Are the Strange

Slava Rubin, Indiegogo

Yomi Ayeni, Expanding Universe

Adam Erlebacher, PlaceVine

Matt Hanson, Film Futurist, A Swarm of Angels

Mark Brill, Ping Corp

Lance Weiler, Filmmaker and From Here to Awesome

Sara Pollack, YouTube

• A choice of workshop sessions held by leading international experts. Numbers per group will be limited.

Topics for discussion to include:

building your fanbase, audience collaboration, branding content, new digital licensing issues, cross-media storytelling, new types of finance, how to use new digital tools and services.

• One-to-one meetings arranged with experts.

• Project Forum Launch - four new cross-media film projects by leading independent filmmakers will be presented to delegates and an invited group who will include the new wave of financiers, promoters and brands who are changing the independent landscape

• Power to the PIxel programme brochure with information on speakers and their companies, an online resource guide, a selection of written case studies and delegate contact details.

Please note that breakfast, lunch, refreshments and evening drinks are included in the ticket price

09.00 - 10.00: Registration and breakfast

10.00 - 13.00: Workshop sessions and one-to-one meetings

13.00 - 14.30: Lunch break - a two course lunch will be provided

14.30 - 17.00: Workshop sessions and one-to-one meetings

17.00 - 18.30: Project Forum Launch

18.30 - 20.00: Evening drinks reception in the Vaults at the RSA

MARK BRILL, CEO, Ping Corp

PETER BUCKINGHAM, Head of Distribution & Exhibition, UK Film Council

ADAM ERLEBACHER, Founder and CEO, PlaceVine

MATT HANSON, Film Futurist, Writer and Filmmaker

ALEX JOHNSON, Digital Strategist and Experience Planner

JON KINGSBURY, Director Creative Economy Innovation Programme at NESTA

BRIAN NEWMAN, President, Tribeca Film Institute

SARA POLLACK, Manager Film & Animation, YouTube

GREGOR PRYOR, Digital Media Legal Expert, Reed Smith Richards Butler

SLAVA RUBIN, Co-Founder, IndieGoGo

M DOT STRANGE, Award-winning Filmmaker

TIMO VUORENSOLA, Filmmaker and Internet Pioneer

LANCE WEILER, Award-winning Filmmaker and digital innovator

And many more to be announced!

In addition to his work with clients in the digital media sector, Gregor continues to advise various companies on IT matters, including in relation to the development and implementation of systems and software.

PlaceVine believes that every integration is unique and cannot be reduced to a “click-to-buy” transaction, but that technology can play a critical role in improving transparency in the industry. Today’s model, which relies exclusively on manual filtering or on one agency’s client relationships, is becoming increasingly inefficient in the face of a rapidly expanding content base. Due to a lack of visibility into available integrations, marketers (buyers) are unaware of existing inventory and content producers (sellers) are unable to maximize the full value of their integrations.

PlaceVine addresses these needs with powerful technology tools for the discovery and evaluation of integration opportunities. PlaceVine provides marketers and agencies with transparent access to brand integration opportunities in feature-length film, television and new media while enabling content creators to maximize the value of their brand integration inventory.

PlaceVine was founded in 2007 and is based in New York City and Los Angeles.

Adam was most recently a Member of the Board of Advisors and prior to that, Director of Business Development, at Colloquis, Inc. (acquired by Microsoft), a developer of natural language software systems. Adam played a central role in the turnaround and growth of the company, leading all direct sales as well as partnerships with AOL and Microsoft. He was responsible for the company’s critical first sales to Comcast, BT, COX, ETrade, Cingular, Vonage, and Time Warner. Erlebacher was also actively involved in product development, having co-authored two pending patents. Before joining Colloquis, Adam was a Senior Analyst at JPMorgan in the Leveraged Finance Group where he focused on technology, media, & telecom transactions. He received his B.A. from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Buckingham was previously Deputy Chief Executive of FilmFour Limited. During his time there, the company achieved the highest market share in its history and released East is East, both its highest grossing title and the first film to achieve cross-over success with specialised and mainstream cinema audiences. Buckingham was named Video Distributor of the Year in 2000. Prior to FilmFour, he was MD of Oasis Cinemas, building up a specialised chain into five cinemas and thirteen screens, including the complete design and rebuilding of the five-screen Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, South London. He has also worked as Director of Film Distribution for Virgin Vision responsible for the theatrical and video release of films such as Drugstore Cowboy, Sex, Lies and Videotape, Paris by Night and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

His work has been featured in Time and Forbes and on television programs such as Entertainment Tonight and CNN. His first feature, “The Last Broadcast,” is currently distributed in over 20 countries. It has the honor of being the first all digital release of a motion picture to theaters nationwide and has enjoyed runs on HBO and IFC. To date “The Last Broadcast” a self-distributed effort, has grossed over 4 million dollars worldwide.

He’s newest feature, “Head Trauma,” had its world premiere at the LA Film Festival. Lance put together his own 17 city theatrical release which rolled into a national DVD release and VOD release by Warner Brothers. Always interested in experimenting with new ways to tell stories and reach audiences, Lance developed a cinema ARG (alternate realty game) around “Head Trauma.” The cinematic ARG is a mashup of movies, music, theatrics and gaming. Over 2.5 million people experienced elements of the game across theaters, mobile drive-ins, mobile phones and online.

In addition to making feature films, Lance also directs commercials and music videos. He often lectures at universities and film societies about the changing landscape of content creation and distribution. He has spoken at the Cannes, Berlin and Sundance Film Festivals and has consulted for large ad agencies, entertainment companies and corporations.

Lance also splits his time as a partner in a social media company called Seize the Media. STM was created to address the gap between burgeoning technologies and entertainment. STM’s clients have included Microsoft, eBay, Earthlink, Ubisoft, and Creative Artists Agency among others.

Lance is also the founder of the Workbook Project a “social open source” project for filmmakers. The Workbook Project’s goal is to help filmmakers understand the changing landscape of funding, production, promotion, and distribution in a digital age.

Currently, Lance is writing a book entitled Putting the Mass Back in Media, which will be released in 2008. He is also developing a number of television, film and cross-media projects.

Lance sits on the board of the IFP a national filmmaker organization and is the co-founder of From Here to Awesome a discovery and distribution fest that puts filmmakers directly in touch with global audiences.

Prior to the release of “The Last Broadcast,” Lance spent seven years working as a camera assistant and operator, on large commercial shoots all over the world. During that time he had the honor of working with a number of amazing cinematographers, such as Darius Khondji, Harris Savides, and the late Conrad Hall.

Newman was executive director of IMAGE Film & Video Center in Atlanta for five years, overseeing the Atlanta Film Festival among other programs. Previously he held positions at the IFP and the South Carolina Arts Commission.  Brian also serves on the editorial advisory board for Art Papers magazine, the advisory board for Wonderland.com and the steering committee of Grantmakers in Film & Electronic Media (GFEM). Newman has an MA in Film Studies from Emory University.