October 26 & 27
Berkeley Church, 315 Queen Street East
9 am – 5 pm
Paid event
The most recent innovations in digital culture, from video games to robotics; augmented reality to film & television; art, design & architecture to mobile technology will be shared with the Innovation Days audience, allowing presenters access to new customers, investors and commercial partners.
Kicking off the five day event, the Innovation Days at Berkeley Church will bring together an audience of approximately 400 industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academics and students. Talks will be delivered by “thought leaders” followed by shorter presentations from various innovators in related fields.
The content of these talks will be carefully curated by the Digifest Academic Committee, made up of post-secondary institutions from across Ontario.
Showcasing the latest in industry and academic research partnerships, Innovation Day presentations will be
accompanied by a series of interactive exhibits throughout the venue, allowing the audience to test-drive the newest in digital ingenuity.
In conjunction with our Innovation Days, we are also holding Innovation Field Days durin the breaks from our Innovation Days in the Field House at Berkeley Church.
And don’t forget to check out our special TIFF NEXUS Locative Media Innovation Day, in partnership with TIFF on Friday, Oct 28 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox!
Wednesday, October 26th
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| Time | Event/Speaker | Session Title | Stream |
| 8:45 – 9:00 | Introductions | ||
| 9:05 – 9:50 | Asi Burak | Games for Change |  |
| 9:55 – 10:10 | Michael Jemtrud | FARMMing: Recent Work in the Facility for Architectural Research in Media and Mediation |  |
| 10:15 – 10:30 | Dr. Ali Arya & Farzin Niaki | Depth Sensitive Vision-based Interaction |  |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | BREAK | Field Days presentations – Chris Pandolfi | |
| 11:00 – 11:45 | Simone Giostra | The Zero Energy Media Wall |  |
| 11:50 – 12:05 | Dr. Sara Grimes | Regulating Play |  |
| 12:10 – 12:25 | Eugene Fiume | Ubiquitous Visual Communication |  |
| 12:25 – 1:40 | LUNCH | ||
| 1:40 – 2:25 | Janine Marchessault | Place, Memory and Site Specific Art Exhibitions |  |
| 2:30 – 2:45 | Adam Clare | Kidoid: Educational Gaming Portal | |
| 2:50 – 3:05 | Dr. Anthony Whitehead | Sensor Networks For Active Play |  |
| 3:05 – 3:35 | BREAK | Field Days presentations – James Chang | |
| 3:35 – 4:20 | Hunter Tura | Boom, BOOM, BOOMS! | |
| 4:25 – 4:40 | Emma Westecott | Games As Research Tools | |
| 4:45 – 5:00 | Dawn Mercer | Popcorn | |
Wednesday, October 26th
9:05 – 9:50
Asi Burak
Co-President, Games for Change (NY)
“Games for Change”
This talk will address the power of video games as a mature medium and a largely untapped art form. It will make an impassioned case for using games for social impact and learning, with an overview of the latest trends and core challenges. Burak will share some case studies and success stories including his unique entry to the field, leading the team behind the award-winning game “PeaceMaker”. Attendees will learn about the field at large and how Games for Change is leading the future of this movement, including expanding its activities beyond the US.
9:55 – 10:10
Michael Jemtrud
Director, FARMM / Associate Professor, School of Architecture, McGill University
“FARMMing: Recent Work in the Facility for Architectural Research in Media and Mediation”
The presentation will give an overview of a recent and an ongoing research in the Facility for Architectural Research in Media and Mediation at the McGill University School of Architecture. This project based research attempts to wed various contemporary methodologies of creation and production in architectural and urban design activities. It covers an expanse of technologies and intentions from installation and fabrication projects to network-based collaborative activity and the critical assessment of the tools of the discipline.
10:15 – 10:30
Dr. Ali Ayra
Associate Professor of Interactive Multimedia, Carleton University (Dr. Arya)
Farzin Niaki
Expert/Researcher, PhD candidate, Carleton University (Mr. Niaki)
“Depth Sensitive Vision-based Human Computer Interaction Using Arm/Hand Gestures”
Presenting a novel attentive and immersive user interface based on arm/hand gestures for interactive small or large-scale displays. The combination of mouse, arm gestures, and finger gestures provides more interesting and immersive ways to perform various computer tasks from typical desktop operations to manipulating 3D scenes. Running some “User Experiments” allows us to compare/analyze theirs and other approaches, and study the possible future improvements and applications of vision-based HCI.
10:30 – 11:00
BREAK
FIELD HOUSE PRESENTATIONS
11:00 – 11:45
Simone Giostra
Founder, Simone Giostra and Partners Architects (NY)
“The Zero Energy Media Wall”
The office is dedicated to exploring the intersection between culture and technology in the architectural practice. Over the years, we have developed a series of projects that were able to capture the essence of a place and a moment, by embracing the complexity of the contemporary condition and developing an interdisciplinary response that often encompasses innovative technology, digital media, energy performance, and beauty. The presentation will include a selection of recent projects for a variety of building’s scales and programs, for both private and public clients, that are predicated on the full integration between media, content, and architecture. Projects selection includes: GreenPix in Beijing, China; Heaven & Earth Hall at the Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy , and the Green Media project for Thomson Reuters in New York.
11:50 – 12:05
Dr. Sara Grimes
Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto (iSchool)
“Regulating Play: The regulatory, legal and ethical implications of *Play Create Share*”
New developments in DIY and UGC game design present exciting opportunities for players of all ages to get involved in the creation and sharing of innovative and diverse new play experiences. But with these opportunities come a number of complex challenges when it comes to regulating and managing this content. This talk will introduce some of the major emerging issues involved, and explore how they may be addressed through interdisciplinary collaboration and dialogue.
12:10 – 12:25
Eugene Fiume
Professor and Co-Director, Dynamic Graphics Project, University of Toronto
“Why Ubiquitous Visual Communication is Important and Why it is so Hard”
Visual communication likely predated written language and has always been of huge social importance. Yet apart from occasionally posting pictures or videos of your last party to a social media site, good visual communication requires considerable expertise and remains the job of experts. Why should only a select few have this ability? Eugene will explore the impediments, challenges and future of computer aided visual communication.
12:25 – 1:40
LUNCH
1:40 – 2:25
Janine Marschessault
Canada Research Chair; Art, Digital Media & Globalization, York University
Place, Memory and Site Specific Art Exhibitions
This talk will address new approaches to site specific art by looking at several examples that combine urban screens, large scale architectural projections, locative media and participatory art forms. My research seeks to understand how such media art exhibitions create experimental communities and social excavations that redefine our sense of urban place and common purpose.
Projects:
2:30 – 2:45
Adam Clare
Director of Interactive Education / Professor of Game Design, George Brown College
“Kidoid – an educational gaming portal”
Games and education are merging and Wero has created an online gaming portal called Kidoid to help students learn from games. Kidoid uses a unique formula to asses how educational a game is then lets the players chose what to play. Wero’s custom formula can accommodate almost any online game. Adam will demonstrate the site and the formula in action.
2:50 – 3:05
Dr. Anthony Whitehead
Director, School of Information Technology, Carleton University
“Sensor Networks for Active Play or SNAP”
SNAP is system of sensors that you attach to your body and use as a novel game controller. In this presentation, Dr. Whitehead will discuss the SNAP system, how it works and what type of games are possible with full body motion input.
3:05 – 3:35
BREAK
FIELD HOUSE PRESENTATIONS
3:35 – 4:20
Hunter Tura
CEO & President of Bruce Mau Design
“Boom, BOOM, BOOMS”
Through our engagement with the BOOM initiative, BMD has become a more digitally-oriented company, has re-thought it’s creative organizational structure, and has engaged a new network of innovative collaborators in a global context. This is the story of how one project with very humble beginnings — told from several different perspectives — changed our organization over a 12-month period & where it goes from here.
4:25 – 4:40
Emma Westecott
Assistant Professor, Games Design, Digital Futures Initiative (DFI), Faculty of Design, OCAD University
Game design offers us a lens to look afresh at the world. As a research
tool, games offer a design context in which to better understand the
transition from analysis to praxis. As a process, game design provides an
effective method to cement and communicate knowledge. Games create
simplified models of a complex reality and produce experiences to be
played. We play games, play with games and play against games. This
intimate relationship between game and player is central to the ongoing
success of games as research tools. This presentation discusses and
showcases projects at OCADU that use game design as a core research
method.
4:45 – 5:00
Dawn Mercer
Research Co-ordinator, Seneca College, Centre for Development of Open Technology
Popcorn; Video on the web.
More info to come.
Thursday, October 27th
9:05 – 9:50
Dr. Ron Dembo
CEO & Founder, Zero Footprint
When we think about architecture, we think about the physical structures around us but there’s a whole other architecture we don’t see: soft architecture. Soft architecture is the energy, air quality, and light that we don’t measure or even know very much about. In fact, most of us probably know more about our car’s fuel consumption than the quality of the air that we breathe in buildings. This talk will explore how soft architecture makes the hidden world visible and how it can be used to change behaviour.
9:55 – 10:10
Greg J. Smith
Designer / Researcher, Mission Specialist
“Mediated Cityscapes”
Conversations about ubiquitous computing and the city often get anchored to specific paradigms: urban informatics, discussions of ‘smartphone urbanism’, open data drumbeating and other stock frames of reference are usually engaged before more primary topics like civic engagement, class and our moment-to-moment experience of the city are broached. This is not surprising as cities are monstrously complex assemblages – it is difficult to wrap our heads around the scale of the infrastructures, ideological forces and the flows of capital that shape the urban realm. Referring to case studies and related artist projects, this talk will catalogue and critique emerging methodologies for mediating urban space.
10:15 – 10:30
Jen Jenson
Associate Professor of Pedagogy and Technology, Faculty of Education, York University / President, Canadian Game Studies Association.
“Gender and Games”
10:30 – 11:00
BREAK
FIELD HOUSE PRESENTATIONS
11:00 – 11:45
Terrence Masson
Director of Creative Industries : Northeastern University, Game Design & Interactive Media
“Creative Industries: Revolution. Agility. Excellence.”
Professionals and academics from every discipline are increasing their collaboration between film and game production around the world. This presentation will illustrate 20 years of personal examples in successful collaborations as well as exciting new trends. Based upon Masson’s 20 years of interdisciplinary experience working in films and games, and leading the new team-based game program at Northeastern University, this presentation will highlight how a collaborative approach effects the creative process and provides unique insights behind the scenes.”
11:50 – 12:05
Nuket Nowlan
Founder and President, 3D Virtual Crafting
“vCHER: Virtual Environments for Health, Education and Research”
This research demonstrates the advantages of immersive virtual worlds through three case studies that offer a framework for language learning for English as Second Language students and a simulated archaeological excavation site for History students, in the context of Carleton Virtual, a 3D virtual environment for Carleton University and Persephone an environment for in interprofessional team work skill development. Based on the results that show the advantages of using the virtual space as a learning environment, we argue that Virtual Space can be a new framework for learning.
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12:10 – 12:25
Kate Hartman
Assistant Professor of Wearable & Mobile Technology, the Director of the Social Body Lab, and the interim Director of the Digital Futures graduate program. She is also the director of ITP Camp, a summer program at ITP/NYU.
“Social Wearables”
More info to come.
12:25 – 1:40
LUNCH
1:40 – 2:25
Ron Burnett
President and Vice-Chancellor, Emily Carr University of Art + Design (BC)
“Learning and Innovation in Global and Digital Cultures”
Post-secondary education in Canada is undergoing many changes. Today, in our rush to promote the utility of education, we have reduced learning to a series of “quick courses” that privilege speed and training over gradualism research and exploration.
In a globalized environment, it is increasingly difficult to predict economic direction and to manage complexity. Schools should be the places where we encourage complex thinking and doing, creating and collaborating. Instead, we have policies that limit invention, innovation and crucially the human imagination from flourishing and thereby actually decrease the opportunities for students to adapt to an increasingly fluid and unpredictable future.
2:30 – 3:00
Neil Schneider
Executive Director, S-3D Gaming Alliance
“Stereoscopic 3D Gaming”
With stereoscopic 3D becoming a standardized feature in displays, mobile devices, and PC and console markets, game developers hold all the cards in finding ways to release great products and profit from what this technology has to offer. Neil will give an updated look at the 3D landscape, share some case studies on what has been done well and what needs to be done better, and give attendees a stronger grasp of what gamers want in the 3D market.
There will also be a 3D technology demonstration featuring some of the latest gadgets 3D has to offer.
3:05 – 3:35
BREAK
FIELD HOUSE PRESENTATIONS
3:35 – 4:20
Siamak Hariri
OAA, RAIC, RCA, Founding Partner, Hariri Pontarini Architects
More info to come.
4:25 – 4:40
Jason Nolan
Director, Experiential Design and Gaming Environment (EDGE) Lab / Assistant Professor, School of Early Childhood Education, Ryerson University
Melanie McBride
Researcher, Experiential Design and Gaming Environment (EDGE) Lab, Ryerson University
“Play or get played: Messing with the digital sandbox”
The true game is one that arises from the players themselves” (Iona and Peter Opie). We are not playing anymore. We are play-ifying. We have forgotten why we play, where play happens, what nurtures play, and how play ‘frees the spirit.’ Instead, digital culture increasingly invites us to ‘purposive’ achievement, competition, and mastery rather than messy, sensory, spontaneous, imaginary or liminal experiences of play in the moment. Our inquiry into autonomous, situated, informal play explores the ways players hack, tinker and make their own fun in the digital sandbox. Our challenge is this: play or get played.
4:45 – 5:00
Siobhan O’Flynn
Digital Narratives & Documentaries
5:00 – 5:45
Maurice Benayoun
Closing Keynote presented by Meet the Media Guru
More info to come.