CRAFT

John Smithson discusses the creative challenges in crafting story in his new true-crime series I, Sniper.

High-end crime serials have become the pinnacle of factual, and the rise of streaming services offer an enticing opportunity with the budgets and the time to enable some serious creativity.

For four years Arrow Pictures, the new label of Creative Director John Smithson, has been working on I, Sniper. This 6 x 1hr serial tells the story of the DC Snipers, the two men who terrorised Washington DC in a city still traumatised by 9/11 one year earlier, killing people at random over 23 days of terror. This is the definitive account of an iconic American crime, told with law enforcement, survivors and victims’ families and, uniquely, in the words of the surviving shooter, in a series of calls from his supermax cell.

In conversation with Rachael Brown, John Smithson talks for the first time about the creative challenges of the genre, ahead of I, Sniper’s release.

CRAFT

BAFTA award-winner Ninder Billing shares her insights on how to turn an idea into irresistible factual content.

In conversation with Ninder Billing promises to be a fascinating journey through the sometimes unforgiving landscape of factual television with one of Britain’s most respected and innovative television executives. From prime-time factual formats, access documentaries and authored films, Ninder navigates us through the creative path she’s beaten as both creator, producer and commissioner.

Ninder has never been one to ‘stay in her lane’ as she delights in moving broadly between genres, subject and form. She has launched genre-busting factual formats such as Operation Live, overseen celebrity-authored films, produced current affairs investigations, and created kid’s factual entertainment. At the heart of her programming is a keen awareness of audience and a passion for improving diversity in the media.

Ninder will share her insights on how to turn an idea into irresistible factual content and offer her tips on the best way to grab the attention of commissioners.

INNOVATION

Join Marshmallow Laser Feast’s Robin McNicholas as he sheds light on their multi-sensory experiences at the intersection of science, technology, art and nature.

What does it mean to experience tree-time? How do animals see the world? How does our breath connect us to the plant world?

In this session Robin McNicholas, creative director of Marshmallow Laser Feast, discusses their process of creating immersive works which enable us to shift our perceptions. Experiencing the world as tree, animal or air, can enable encounters with the wonder and interconnectedness of the natural world.

Marshmallow Laser Feast are a UK-based team who develop experiential work involving technology. Founder & Creative Director Robin McNicholas shares R&D strategies for innovation along with the challenges & opportunities for creators interested in making work for connected global audiences.

We all have muya, the essence or aura of who we are. It's what makes you you.

Hunter Page-Lochard tells us about the person who is the conduit between the Dreaming and this world: The Cleverman.

Written by Ryan Griffen.

Republished with permission from Triple J & ABC.

Join artists Gabrielle De Vietri, Hanna Brontë and Eugenia Lim to talk video art and challenging provocations in the spheres of identity, immigration, race, nationalism and politics.

From exploring issues of gender and racial identity through the lens of hip-hop aesthetics to deconstructing the nature of globalisation and economics through video and performance, the artists will discuss their own practice in contemporary video art and film, and what excites them about the form's potential for political expression and social commentary.

Alice was first brought to life by Lewis Carroll, but she's sparked imaginations and been immortalised on screen many times since.

Join film critic and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas in conversation with Dr Michelle Smith (Monash University) and Dr Dan Golding (Swinburne University of Technology) as they discuss these 'electric' Alices and the unique representations of girlhood across time, space and media, exploring historical significance, contemporary potency and what Alice might mean in the future.

With each technological advancement, from early documentaries to social issue games and immersive VR, we've heard the promise of being able to step into alternate perspectives, to feel and share and experience a more complex type of understanding. But are these supposed "empathy machines" distancing us from true empathy and closer to voyeurism?

In this talk we interrogate the ethics, assumptions and privileges associated with technological storytelling.

Hosted by Santilla Chingaipe with Dr Fincina Hopgood, Brett Leavy and Amani Naseem.

How does a museum collect WeChat? Or show a laptop that was destroyed by security agencies because it held government secrets leaked by whistleblowers?

How could a museum collect computer viruses, or use source code to reveal decisions made by designers when a product was being made?

Digital design, game design and media design are all important aspects of contemporary design, yet institutions have struggled to effectively exhibit and collect, let alone 'preserve' them for future generations.

Seb and Natalie discuss current institutional approaches, including the V&A's rapid response collecting initiatives and ACMI's digital preservation.

Video games can transport players into ethereal experiences, create unique communities and become a medium for interactive and experimental art.

Join game designer and curator Chad Toprak (Freeplay), experimental games designers Michael Samyn and Auriea Harvey (Tale of Tales) and cultural curator Zuraida Buter (Zo-ii) for a deep dive into beautiful, wonderous and experiential game worlds.