Lost the plot?

January 9th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

I can find it.

I am a writer, designer, product strategist, user experience guru, branding expert and actor who uses the power of storytelling to design interactive experiences and create engaging entertainment.

For more than 15 years I’ve worked in diverse creative and leadership roles on cutting edge projects for companies such as ABC News, The BBC, Coca-Cola, ESPN, Reuters, Viacom and Vogue, helping them to define narratives for compelling customer experiences.

My success in helping companies achieve their unique goals comes from my underlying passion for creating wicked cool entertainment, from some of the best direct-to-video horror films to come out of the 1990s to award-winning commercial campaigns for ILM commercial productions and EIDOS, from webisodes such as Teen Nick’s “Exit Strategy“ to the recent feature films “Ghost Club“, “Blood Junkies” and “Resurrection Men”.

I’ve recently co-founded Small Media Extra Large, a story-telling agency with interactive, social media and video production capabilities that leverages the power of storytelling to create captivating websites, mobile apps, games, web series and advertising.

Story is a powerful tool. Curious to see how I can put it to work for you?

Freak Show & Bachelorette Party are being performed

January 9th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Two of the first plays I ever wrote, Bachelorette Party (my very first), and Freak Show, have been restaged, and are being performed at a theater near you… assuming you’re in New York City.

It’s a quick, fun night of absurdity, with some darkness tossed in for good measure. Great performances by an ensemble of young up-and-coming actors. Fabulous direction by Li Murillo. All produced for Double Down Theater Co, by Tony White.

Check it out:

Where:
The Beckmann Theater @ ATA
314 W 54th St (bet 8th and 9th)

When:
Jan 8th @ 5
Jan 9 & 10 @ 8
Jan 14 & 15 @ 5

How…?
Tickets are $15, for reservations call 646 430 8978

My first academic paper… The Ghost Club Storyscape: Designing for transmedia storytelling

January 8th, 2012 § 3 comments § permalink

Check it out, I’m a co-author of The Ghost Club Storyscape: Designing for transmedia storytelling, a paper by Hank Blumenthal, the producer director of The Ghost Club.

Here’s the abstract:

One of the key questions about transmedia storytelling is how to design a participant’s experience across different media so that it is connected and perceived as a whole. We extract four components for building such connections from current work in media studies and production literature and practice. These proposed design components are mythology, canon, character and genre. To test this approach we have designed and developed a group of connected digital media expressions, The Ghost Club Storyscape, to experiment with these four ingredients on multiple media.

The Power of Sticky Notes: Strategies for Identifying and Prioritizing User Experience Goals

January 6th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Check out this excerpt (currently the lead story on the RockPaperInk blog) from my and Andy Pratt’s book, Interactive Design: An Introduction to the Theory and Application of User-Centered Design, due out in September.

The Power of Sticky Notes: Strategies for Identifying and Prioritizing User Experience Goals – RockPaperInk.com.

I Want The Quantum Parallelograph

December 20th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

I love this idea by Patrick Stevenson Keating!

I have never been the kind of guy to get addicted to video games, but if The Quantum Parellelograph were real, I have a feeling I would quickly become a multi-universe voyeurism junkie, and spend all my free time exploring the lives of alternate mes. Who needs the Sims when you’ve got the real thing(s).

Here is a quote from Patrick’s website about the project:

The Quantum Parallelograph is an exploratory public engagement project examining the scientific and philosophical ideas surrounding the theory of quantum physics and multiple universes. The device simulates the experience of users being able to glimpse into their “parallel lives” – to observe their alternate realities.

…

The device uses online sources to find the “parallel lives” of users, and prints out a short statement about their “simultaneous” life in a parallel world.

 

Blackout Trailer

December 14th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Please check out the trailer for Blackout, a documentary from Atmosphere Pictures directed by Scott Colthorp, and produced by Meghan Scibona that I’ve been writing for.

I’m really proud of my small part in this fantastic project. It’s about an important issue that is very close to my heart.

If you’re interested in updates on when the film will be released, please like the Atmosphere Pictures Facebook page.

Congratulations Sesame Street & The Electric Company

November 16th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

on the launch of Military Families Near and Far.

Military Families Near and Far is a social network for military families with kids that provides them with numerous tools for parents and kids to create art, make music, and write, to help guide through challenges, such as deployments, homecomings, and changes that occur when a parent comes home.

I’m proud to have been able to be a part of the project, working with the über creative folks at Funny Garbage.

It was such a treat to work for Sesame Workshop. And not just because I am part of the Sesame Street generation. Their work has inspired me since as long as I can remember. It’s not every day you get to work with your heroes.

Roots and Leaves: Collaboration: Two minds come together to write and design a book

November 14th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

 

Andy Pratt and I are co-authoring a book called Interaction Design an Introduction by Rockport Publishers, which will be out in September. Andy wrote this great blog post about our writing process, and collaboration in general. I think he makes some great points. Here are Andy’s key ingredients for successful collaboration:

  • Trust and respect: Everyone on the team must trust each other and know that the other team members will deliver. Don’t focus on what others are doing. Don’t micro manage. Do what you do and do it well.

  • Egoless team members: Confidence is important. Be confident in your skill set, your opinions, and your voice. But listen to what others have to say and let others talk. Collaboration is about dialogue. Your contribution is not measured by how much you talk. It’s measured both by what you say and how you listen.

  • Clear responsibilities: Everyone needs to be clear on who owns what. Other team members should be able to critique. After all, you’re working with professionals who bring their own experience and opinions. A project manager should be able to give their opinions to a designer, a developer to a user experience designer, and so forth. However, in the end, the owner of that decision or task needs to make the final call. And because there is mutual respect and trust within the team, everyone should be comfortable with that.

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    What do you think? When you collaborate what are your ingredients?

    SonoSite’s new website just launched

    September 14th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

    SonoSite was one of my favorite projects of last year, and not just because their product is so super cool in a “didn’t I see that on Star Trek” kind of way… (an ultrasound device you can hold in your hand? WANT!). The team I worked with at TBWA was fantastic, and you couldn’t ask for a better client than the folks at SonoSite. Smart, collaborative, and great problem solvers.

    The trips to SonoSite’s headquarters in the beautiful Northwest weren’t so bad either.

    Two weeks left

    August 17th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

    To help us finish The Ghost Club by donating to our Kickstarter campaign.

    We’re doing good. We’ve got 50 backers, and we are about 25% funded. But with two weeks left we really need your support.

    Here’s a bit about The Ghost Club:

    When a team of reality TV ghost-hunters makes contact with actual ghosts, the pseudo-scientists get a terrifyinglesson in – be careful what you wish for.

    Here’s a bit about Kickstarter:

    Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world.  Artists (like us) in a variety of disciplines use Kickstarter to raise money from energized patrons all over the world.  Rather than rely on a few investors to fund their projects with large investments, artists receive funds of varying levels from hundreds, even thousands of fans from all walks of life in any corner of the world, increasing the level of awareness for their projects. Kickstarter is ALL OR NOTHING.  Artists set a fundraising goal and a fundraising deadline and if they don’t raise the entire amount by that deadline, they do not receive any of the funds!

    And here are some photos of me as Jimmy, the lead Ghost Clubber:

    Hunt Your Own Ghosts – A New Ghost Club Kickstarter Premium

    August 9th, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

    Donate $60 to help us finish The Ghost Club, and start building your own ghost hunting kit with this fancy laser with a scope attachment that creates a grid of dots:

    The laser grid is an essential tool in the hunt for the otherworldly. This handy little device displays a pattern of lights on a wall and you can see if something crosses it quite easily by the interruption in the light pattern.

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