6:00pm
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8:00pm

X-Summit Kick-off Reception

Join us for the X-Summit Kick-off Reception. Meet delegates and speakers in advance of the conference at Bar Italia for a casual cocktail reception.

Bar Italia - Second Floor
582 College Street

*Note: this is the location for the Opening Night Reception only. The X-Summit conference takes place at The Carlu, 444 Yonge Street - 7th Floor, Toronto. 

CONCERT HALL

Welcome to X-Summit & Opening Remarks

CONCERT HALL

KEYNOTE: Biophilia: Birth of a Medium - The Album as App

The emergence of music apps for mobile devices promises to reacquaint listeners with an immersive, intimate music experience that has been lost in the age of the digital download. This session will focus on Scott's recent interactive music iPad and iPhone apps, which bring immersive electronic music experiences to a broad, mainstream audience. His talk will focus on a behind-the-scenes look at Björk's Biophilia - the creation of the first app album, and the impact apps will have on artists and the music industry as music merges with interactivity. Scott will also speak on his personal history with interactive music, including rare examples of research and prototypes he created in the 1990s with Lukas Girling featuring video game-style interactive music with Nintendo controllers, and encounters with Laurie Anderson and Brian Eno.

Speaker:
Scott Snibbe, Founder, Scott Snibbe Studio and Snibbe Interactive

EXHIBIT HALL

Networking Break

CONCERT HALL

Cross-Media Synergy

When developing IP that has TV as a key foundation, is it best to develop the tv series first or the cross-platform plans/world building first? This session delves into whether a cost savings and synergy exists in producing a tv show and an online plan at the same time and what the best practices are when considering a cross-platform strategy for TV.

Moderator:
Ken Faier, El Presidente, Nerd Corps. Entertainment

Speakers:
Paul Bennun, Chief Creative Officer, Somethin’ Else
Beth Stevenson, Founder, Brain Power Studio
Mark Bishop, Co-Founder/Executive Producer, marblemedia
Leah Hoyer, Creative Producer, Levity Entertainment Group

ROUND ROOM

Elevating the Dialogue with Broadcasters

A main perception within the digital producers community is that broadcasters do not have an understanding of digital production and content, and moreover, that they may not even care about it. This panel discussion will delve into what happens behind the closed doors of broadcasters. We will take this discussion beyond the interactive teams operating within the major broadcasters to their sales, marketing, and other groups influenced by digital content. What are the broadcasters currently doing, and what are future plans for digital content? What are monetization strategies in this area? This panel would feature speakers from one of the large Canadian broadcasters, interactive producers, and other stakeholders.

Moderator:
Richard Kanee, Founder & CEO, Creative D Inc.

Speakers:
Alan Dark, Executive Director, CBC Media Sales & Marketing
Peter Furnish, Vice President, Marketing, Astral Television Networks
Maria Hale, Vice President, Head of Television Programming and Production, Corus Entertainment
Andrea Gagliardi, GM and Senior Director,  Broadcasting, Rogers Digital Media

SKY ROOM

Documentaries on Digital Platforms: Defining Success

Discover how documentaries are performing on Canada’s major digital distribution services as the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) presents findings from its latest study: the Digital Distribution of Documentaries Report. Learn about the top viewed properties, which digital business models yield high viewership, and what can be done to improve our understanding of the digital distribution environment. This presentation provides an overview of trends and benchmarks extracted from the report with an opportunity to debate how to foster success for Canada’s documentary sector in a digital realm.

EXHIBIT HALL

Networking Lunch

CONCERT HALL

Brand & Entertainment Partnerships

Whether it’s through product placement/brand integration or creating brand-supported entertainment properties, this session looks at the integrity, authenticity, ROI and challenges faced when working in the brand integrated and/or branded entertainment space.

Moderator:
Chris Advansun, Director of Marketing, Viafoura

Speakers:
Kerri Cockrill, Director of Brand Entertainment, Research in Motion
Scott Weitz, CEO, Driver Digital
Matt Wexler, Executive Producer, Spin Master Entertainment

ROUND ROOM

Myth Busters: Tax Credits Uncovered

This panel will look at what myths surround Provincial & Federal tax credits. Learn who can apply, how to apply & what to apply for, and how to leverage these tax credits with your bank in order to increase your working capital immediately. The OMDC, EDC and CRA will clear all of the misunderstandings, rumours and myths surrounding tax credits. This is your opportunity to get all of the answers in one place from an entire panel of industry experts up close and personal. Is there something that you are missing out on that you could be qualifying for? Save time and get money.

Moderator:
Spence N. McDonnell, Partner, Tax Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Speakers:
Rob Caouette, Sector Advisor, Information and Communications Technology Sector Team, EDC
Jennifer Blitz, Director, Tax Credits & Financing, OMDC
Dan MacLean, Research and Technology Advisor, Scientific Research and Experimental Development Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency

SKY ROOM

Under the Influence: Cross-Media Analytics and Trend Spotting

How is the Social Web Changing paid, earned and owned media? This session will really dial down to the statistics that provide a true representation of a brand's impact within social, mobile and games spaces. Find out what the emerging trends in online user experience are, which behaviours consumers exhibit and how you can leverage this information to make your offering relevant and ultimately more successful.

Moderator:
Rachel Noonan, Principal, Beyond the Next

Speakers:
Rob Begg, Senior Director Of Product Marketing, Radian6
Alex Mann, Director, Trendrr
Maggie Fox, Founder & CEO, Social Media Group

CLIPPER ROOM

1 X 1 Meetings

Your chance to sit down with one of our event speakers or other featured participants for a 10-minute "speed dating" style conversation. Introduce yourself, ask questions or get advice on personal projects.

Registered Delegates: To book a meeting, login to the Delegate Area in the right-hand column.

SKY ROOM

Whose Side are you on Anyways? Agency Culture vs. Client Demand

CANCELLED

A pair of agency heads unwittingly work together for a year against each other and discover an unexpected, magical quality through failed campaigns, HR nightmares and their biggest career wins. An interactive, impassioned podium debate is dynamically moderated to reveal the burning question, “Just whose side are you on, anyway?" Founding partners at the private, multi-million dollar Toronto-based creative agency Spoke, each take a corner (one defending the external client; the other defending the internal culture) in an interactive discussion that pinpoints a business solution that serves critical stakeholders and creates valuable strategic content for audiences across the globe in their network of three offices. What does it take to find the elusive dollar in a collapsed economy against intensely focused competition?

Moderator:
Nicole Stamp, Writer/Director/Producer/Actor

Speakers:
Jeff Greenspoon, CEO, SPOKE Agency
Kai Exos, CCO, SPOKE Agency

CLIPPER ROOM

1 X 1 Meetings

EXHIBIT HALL

Networking Break

CONCERT HALL

Partnering with Hollywood

Hollywood studios realized years ago that there is great value in extending their blockbuster films into video games. The video game industry recognizes the huge opportunity that exists in teaming up, and savvy investors are eager to be part of these potentially lucrative partnerships. It’s critical that the players involved establish effective working relationships from the outset. Using examples such as War of the Worlds, Star Trek and others as touch points, we'll hear from the games industry and the investment sector about working with film, games and television studios to bring IP to market, with a focus on production and co-financing for console downloads, mobile, the social web, and new online distribution paradigms.

Moderator:
Ajay Fry, Host of InnerSPACE

Speakers:
Jonas Eneroth, Managing Partner, ProCloud Media
Michael Schmalz, President, Digital Extremes
Trevor Fencott, President & Head of Content, bitHeads

ROUND ROOM

The “Cherry on Top”: Originals on the Web

Premium content has found a sustainable home and a scaled audience online.  Building networks across channels and supplying the content is part of a new, thriving business model. As audiences play a role in the direction of the entertainment content, viewer engagement and virality become the new goal. The “cherry on top” is when TV networks come knocking to licence this original content. Which networks, producers and creators are leading the charge in this sector, and how is this new content different and more interactive than traditional television content?

Moderator:
Eric J. Feig, Founder, SVP, Driver Digital

Speakers:
Max Benator, Head of Production and Development, Collective Digital Studio
Daniel Dales, CEO/Executive Producer, Smokebomb Entertainment
Sander Kooijman, President, Mobcaster

SKY ROOM

From Scratch: First Concept to Finished Interactive

Communicating all aspects of the interactive process clearly for games for films, major brands or one of the world's largest broadcasters is a complex art. It requires a solid understanding from the outset of the IP itself, whether new or pre-existing, and how it can be utilized in a meaningful and relevant way in a cross-media project. This session details a creative and flexible approach to cross-media game production; including user-testing, unique paper modelling and interactive wireframe techniques. Whether you are providing a service or commissioning a production, you will come away with an arsenal of best practices and an understanding of how interactive projects really come to fruition.

CLIPPER ROOM

1 X 1 Meetings

CONCERT HALL

KEYNOTE: Transmedia Invasion! When Fans and Content Collide

How do you create and produce IP when the audience is heavily involved with the storyline? This inspirational session explores best practices in creative and business strategies as fan-involvement continues to dramatically change the entertainment industry. With a study of how you write, design and produce drama for a transmedia-led participitory audience; the International Emmy Award-Winning Christopher Sandberg, Chief Creative Officer at The company P, goes through insights from the latest major transmedia productions, including the multiple award-winning Conspiracy For Good (Tim Kring, Nokia, 2010).

Speaker:
Christopher Sandberg, CEO & CCO, The company P

ROUND ROOM

iGO3D - Exploring 3D Gaming Technology

With stereoscopic 3D quickly becoming a standardized feature in modern HDTVs, desktop displays and handheld devices, it's becoming even more appealing to develop 3D game content. Unfortunately, most of the practices 3D game developers follow are based on 3D cinema research, rather than video game research. iGO3D is dedicated to investigated the best practices in S-3D gameplay, including issues related to comfort, effectiveness, audio, and overall experience for both developers and end users.

The iGO3D presentations will include fun demonstrations of 3D on console and PC using a wide range of displays and technologies. Presentations will address:

    * Consumer response to 3D
    * Myth-busting
    * 3D gaming research
    * What game developers need to know
    * And more!

This session is open to the public and free to attend. Seating is limited, so click here to RSVP.

CONCERT HALL

The Business of Music in Games, Film, Ads and TV

Music and video games share a long history, but not as long as music and advertising or film/television. What are the similarities in music for games and music for commercials or film/tv? What are the differences? Are we looking at the same licensing fees, style of music and composers? Is one industry using music to market their production more successfully than another? In this discussion we'll have professionals from each industry tackling these topics and more.

Moderator:
Stacey Horricks, Business Development, Music, Video Games & Interactive, MassiveMusic

Speakers:
Duncan Smith, Music Supervisor, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited
Andrea Von Foerster, Music Supervisor, Firestarter Music
Justin Erdman, Digital Marketing Strategy, Universal Music Canada
Ryan Fitch, Music Producer, Saatchi & Saatchi

SKY ROOM

The Green Light Series: Investor Round Table

This Round Table will cover the fundamentals of Cross-media Monetization Strategies, Creative and Business Plans. Find out what investors are looking for when they invest in cross-media productions. Bring your questions and issues to this session and gain the answers from investment experts. Learn from case studies that will be provided on site.

Join industry leaders in an intimate group of X-Summit delegates at an informative Round Table looking at issues with investments in the digital media industry. Please arrive early, seating is limited for this session.

Moderator:
Alan Kay, Principal, The Glasgow Group

Investors:
Martin Soltys, HBA MFA, Founder & CEO, TransMedia Entertainment Corp.
Jonas Eneroth, Managing Partner,ProCloud Media

CLIPPER ROOM

1X1 Meetings

Your chance to sit down with one of our event speakers or other featured participants for a 10-minute "speed dating" style conversation. Introduce yourself, ask questions or get advice on personal projects.

Registered Delegates: To book a meeting, login to the Delegate Area in the right-hand column.

EXHIBIT HALL

Networking Break

11:00am
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12:00pm

CONCERT HALL

The Perfect Storm: Making Effective Drama

Video games, such as Quantic Dream's multiple award-winning Heavy Rain, are becoming a more dramatic experience for users and rival movies for experiential impact. The ingredients are similar: strong dramatic performances, theatrical scripts, performance capture technology and million-dollar budgets. This session will break down why top notch direction, writing, voice performance, facial and motion capture are the most critical elements of captivating game-play and will explore how engaging players on an emotional level makes for long term consumers.

Speaker:
Pascal "Ethan Mars" Langlois, Founder & CEO, Motives in Movement

ROUND ROOM

The Green Light Series: Batter up! Preparing your Package and Pitching Like a Pro

The growth of pipelines between Canada and the United States for production partnerships are key to developing a thriving domestic production industry. Canadian producers require the knowledge and skill sets needed to package their television and interactive properties for sale to both Canadian and American broadcasters and studios.

Moderator:
Jeremiah McMillan, Managing Director, Global Content Group

SKY ROOM

Digital Rights Workshop: Balancing Cross Platform Negotiations

How do you move forward when the need to control IP rights and the drive to exploit digital rights meet? This workshop will examine a checklist of common issues faced by parties negotiating x-platform projects. Attendees will consider varied and competing approaches to the exploitation and management of IP rights, and parties' relative expectations and concerns, with an eye to protecting interests and making future negotiations more efficient.

Informative Workshops feature industry leaders and a small group of X-Summit delegates. This session will provide a platform to learn, express opinions and discuss issues. Please arrive early, seating is limited for this session.

Instructors:
Emmanuel Evdemon BA, LL.B., LL.L., Entertainment Counsel, www.mediaslaw.com
Jeanette Lee, Lawyer & Registered Trade-mark Agent, Stohn Hay Cafazzo Dembroski Richmond LLP

CLIPPER ROOM

1 X 1 Meetings

EXHIBIT HALL

Networking Lunch

ROUND ROOM

Strategies for Next Generation Entertainment Media

Having a strong and well thought-out content strategy when approaching digital platforms and multi-screen development is key to success in a 360 and Transmedia world. Cross-media content that compliments TV or existing content provides the most opportunities for content creators and broadcasters to stay relevant. This special presentation takes you through a multi-screen strategy for Canadian media and entertainment in international and domestic markets.

CONCERT HALL

INTERVIEW: Immortal Content: Machinima’s Mortal Kombat

Allen DeBevoise explains why Machinima is the number one all-time entertainment channel for gamers on YouTube, citing their live action Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series as the most recent success. The series delivered more than 40 million views and over 25 million uniques in its first 16 weeks, making it competitive with many successful cable series.  This candid and interactive discussion will cover the story behind Mortal Kombat’s lifecycle and the online networks now proving that the third generation of video delivery is here.

Speaker:
Allen DeBevoise, Chairman & CEO, Machinima Inc.

ROUND ROOM

INTERVIEW - Transatlantic Transmedia: Expanding International Co-Productions

The nature of co-productions is rapidly changing, as the nature of partners, productions and platforms, also shift. Who are the partners in transmedia co-productions? What kinds of things are they producing? For which platforms should they produce?  This session delves into:

• Identifying the partners - from production companies to interactive agencies; broadcasters to audiences,
• The most successful types of production -  TV shows, live events, episodic, pervasive
• Type of platform - virtual or live, screen-based or physical?

Host:
Ana Serrano, Founder & Director, CFC Media Lab

Speaker:
Nicoletta Iacobacci, Head of Multiplatform, European Broadcasting Union

Co-Produced with the Canadian Film Centre

SKY ROOM

Multi-Platform Character Development Workshop

In today’s media space, successful properties often need to live, and even launch simultaneously, on several platforms.  TV properties need online and merchandise extensions, while video games are generating growing toy sales and scripted entertainment properties.  But not all of these incarnations are successful.  They often miss the chance to further engage current fans, or to reach a new audience with a compelling extension. Drawing on examples from TV animation, video games, and toys, this workshop will dive into key elements that will help a property and its characters move successfully between platforms.  After setting the framework, participants will break out into smaller groups to brainstorm and explore ways to introduce your characters to other platforms in ways that maintain fan engagement, grow the audience and enrich the viewer’s experience.

Informative Workshops feature industry leaders and a small group of X-Summit delegates. This session will provide a platform to learn and express opinions. Please arrive early, seating is limited for this session.

CLIPPER ROOM

1 x 1 Meetings

Your chance to sit down with one of our event speakers or other featured participants for a 10 minute speed-dating style conversation. Sign up for available meetings soon by logging into the Delegate area.

EXHIBIT HALL

Networking Break

CONCERT HALL

Canadian Interactive Showcase Presented by CMF

An exclusive opportunity to showcase Canadian cross-media projects, The Canadian Interactive Showcase provides Canadian companies with a chance to share their cross-media project, product or service with an audience of investors, potential partners and peers. Each five-minute rapid-fire presentation will be followed by five minutes of Q&A.

Host:
Mike Wise, Anchor, CBC News Toronto, Host, iDesk CBC

Presented by

ROUND ROOM

Gamification & Interactive Marketing: Unleashing the Power of Consumer Engagement

Gamification is a shot in the arm for the advertising and marketing industries. With the slow collapse of TV and continued weakness of online brand advertising, gamification has emerged as a tool both for generating audience interest and creating long-term loyalty. But there is a risk of over-simplifying the problem, or going down the well-worn path of advergames - neither of which will guarantee success. In this session, Gamfiication Expert and GSummit chair Gabe Zichermann will discuss the key lessons - both positive and negative - that marketing and advertising execs need to learn in order to make gamification work.

Speaker:
Gabe Zichermann, CEO, Gamification Co

SKY ROOM

The Internet as Television

CANCELLED

If the internet was created today it would look a lot more like television. Video is a medium, no two are created equal. As a company, you need to understand how to create content that's worth watching, what an effective video content strategy looks like, and how you can use video to develop a presence on the internet that can maintain and grow your market share.

Speaker:
Guy Gal, CEO, BIZMEDIA

CLIPPER ROOM

1 X 1 Meetings

CONCERT HALL

KEYNOTE: Winter is Coming - Adapting A Game of Thrones

Novels have an undeniable ability to spellbind and capture a reader's imagination like no other medium; yet game and TV adaptations flourish and add more depth and accessibility in the right hands. From the first portion of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Game of Thrones is now one universe with many moving parts. This session delves into the partnerships formed to produce the HBO television series, the parallel development of one IP into different games, licensing details and staying true to the integrity of the books when brokering and creating the adaptations.

Moderator:
Lenny Brown, Vice President, Creative & Business Development, THQ

Speakers:
Vince Gerardis, Co-Executive Producer, HBO's Game of Thrones
Yves Bordeleau, Studio Director, Cyanide Studio Montreal

CONCERT HALL

Closing Remarks & Thanks