A new Laboratory for Advanced Media Production has been launched in Australia to foster the development of interactive media projects.
Peter Giles, head of digital media at the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney, which is launching the LAMP initiative, said it will provide “a series of cutting edge seminars, workshops and labs that will enable Australian content creators to create entertainment for the global stage”.
LAMP will consist of workshops that involve teams of producers, writers, directors and designers working towards creating a proof of concept for their cross-platform project. Guided by industry professionals, the projects will include a mix of immediately deployable and emerging media.
The founding director of the LAMP project is Gary Hayes, a former senior producer at BBC New Media. He said that he was looking forward to working with Australian creative teams to develop new media services, noting that in Australia less than a quarter of television programmes are produced locally, compared with over 90% in the UK. “LAMP will help redress that balance as the audience shifts over to online delivery of content,” he said.
“LAMP will follow similar models in the UK and USA that have really stimulated the interactive industry but it is important that we do not lose sight of the uniqueness of the Australian story,” said Gary Hayes. He said the rapid turn-around workshops will enable producers to kick start new ways of thinking essential for success in a cross-platform world, adding that assistance can also be offered for the long-term development of successful ideas.
The South Australian Film Corporation is also supporting the project. Their chief executive, Helen Leake, said “We look forward to the concepts and projects that will be created through the innovative LAMP development process.”
A series of orientation workshops will be held in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, offering case studies of previous successful projects and a guide to how to get involved.