Interview: Lance Weiler – 04/27/10

The recording from today’s show is now available. Click the player above to listen now, or download as an itunes podcast.

Guest: Lance Weiler, film-maker, writer, and cultural hacker. Lance leads an open creative network called Workbook Project , and is also the founder of DIYDays, a roving conference for creatives.

Sign up to receive the dial-in info, and take part in the live interactive interview podcast on Tuesday, April 27.

Theme for This Episode

Lance is a driving force in the independent film-making community. In this episode, I’ll be exploring with Lance the notion of contextual storytelling and the concept of creating an independent transmedia storytelling franchise.

So expect us to discuss the culture of transmedia creation, and the unique differences between the indie community and how big brands are doing it. It should prove to be a provocative conversation about the evolving boundaries of narrative.

About Lance Weiler

Lance Weiler is a critically acclaimed award winning writer / director.

Recognized as a pioneer because of the way he makes and distributes his work – WIRED magazine named him “One of twenty-five people helping to re-invent entertainment and change the face of Hollywood.”

He has successfully self-distributed his films The Last Broadcast and Head Trauma to more than 20 countries while grossing over 5 million dollars in the process. The Last Broadcast which he co-wrote and co-directed became the first film to be distributed digitally to theaters in 1998.

In 2006, Lance founded the WorkBook Project an open creative network that has grown to become a thriving international community of filmmakers, musicians, game designers and software developers. In 2007, Lance started a roving conference series for creatives called DIY DAYS. DIY DAYS has traveled to LA, San Francisco, Boston, NYC, and Philadelphia. Over the course of 2009, Lance co-created and produced 24 episodes of a stylized doc series entitled RADAR. The series explores storytelling and creativity in the digital age and was recently nominated for a Streamy Award for best doc series.

Lance often speaks about the changing landscape of entertainment. From the evolution of storytelling to changes in media creation, distribution and discovery – Lance has spoken at MIT, USC, Columbia, Cannes, and Sundance in addition to high level ad agencies, brands, gaming, and media companies. He’s been compiling his thoughts and theories into a book entitled “Putting the Mass Back in Media” which he intends to publish as a rich media resource.

Register: Sign up to receive the dial-in info, and take part in the live interactive interview on Tuesday, April 27.

Tags: diydays film Hollywood indie lance weiler new storytellers storytelling transmedia Workbook Project