New Frontier Story Lab

Inspired by New Frontier at the Sundance Film Festival, the New Frontier Story Lab is the newest program at the Sundance Institute offering interdisciplinary support to artists working at the convergence of film, art, and new media technologies. With an emphasis on story, this Lab supports artists who are developing interactive, immersive, or experimental projects that aim to create rich and resonant experiences for audiences. Projects supported by this Lab can take many forms, but the common goal is this: while each story thread or media (i.e., film, game, mobile app, animation, comic book, performance) can be experienced individually, the narrative and emotional connections between them magnifies the power of story and creates a more engaging and participatory experience.

Projects supported in the inaugural 2011 New Frontier Story Lab included ROME, a multiplatform interactive narrative experience inspired by the music produced by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi and QUESTION BRIDGE: BLACK MALES, a transmedia art project that seeks to represent and redefine Black male identity in America which premiered at New Frontier during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Creative Advisors included screenwriter Marti Noxon (Fright Night, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), experience designer Lance Weiler (Pandemic, The WorkBook Project), and leading digital artist Aaron Koblin (Google Data Arts Team).

To serve the needs of six innovative, exciting projects (fiction and non-fiction), the Lab brings together a group of leading artists and innovators in the field that includes filmmakers, designers, technologists, and storytellers. Organized as an immersive lab experience, activities include individualized story sessions, conversations about key artistic, design, and technology issues, and case study presentations. The next New Frontier Story Lab will take place October 21-26, 2012. Six projects will be invited to bring up to two team members each. Air travel, accommodations, and meals are covered by Sundance Institute.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

New Frontier Story Lab project submissions are accepted by invitation or recommendation only. Application materials will be available beginning April 2, 2012. The deadline for project submissions is June 1, 2012.

For more information, please contact Carrie Beck at carrie_beck@sundance.org<mailto:carrie_beck@sundance.org>