afi

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been on the road the past few weeks, we are covering recent news stories in summary/round-up form. We anticipate that it will take a couple of days for us to catch up with all the recent news: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us. We apologize for any inconvenience to our readers.

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

The American Film Institute Digital Content Lab, an organization which for more than a decade has played a key role in fostering the development of interactive and multiplatform TV--and interactive media in general--in the US, will hold its annual interactive media showcase, the AFI DigiFest (formerly known as the AFI Digital Content Festival), at the Mann Chinese Theater (auditorium #1) in Hollywood, November 4th and 5th.

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This issue contains back-to-back recorded episodes of [itvt]'s talk radio show, "The TV of Tomorrow Show with Tracy Swedlow," devoted to the latest crop of interactive media prototypes from the American Film Institute Digital Content Lab, and to the AFI DigiFest 2008 event that the Digital Content Lab organized earlier this month in Los Angeles.

The American Film Institute (AFI) Digital Content Lab--an organization that, for the past decade, has fostered interactive TV in the US by bringing together content providers and technologists to collaborate on prototype interactive multiplatform services for television and other media--has issued a call for entries for the AFI DigiFest 2008, which will take place in Hollywood, November 6th and 7th, alongside the annual AFI Fest.

A roundtable comprised of some of the most high-profile designers and
design experts in the interactive TV industry--Patrick Donoghue, SVP
of strategic product development at Cablevision; John Gilles, VP of
media and entertainment at Method; Terry Green, principal of
twenty2product; Dale Herigstad, chief creative officer at Schematic;
Stephanie Otto, CEO of Brainstorm Communications; David Preisman,
VP of interactive television at Showtime Networks; and Suzanne
Stefanac, director of the American Film Institute Digital Content
Lab--provide our listeners with an overview of the current state of the

The American Film Institute Digital Content Lab has announced the
companies, organizations and media properties that will be
participating in its next production cycle: PBS ("NewsHour"),
ABC.com ("Grey's Anatomy"), and Earth Echo. The Lab, now in its
tenth year (note: it was originally known as the Enhanced TV
Workshop, but subsequently changed its name to reflect a focus on a
broader range of interactive media), brings together media
companies/properties and volunteer "mentors" (i.e. individuals and
companies with extensive experience in interactive media), in order to
create innovative interactive prototypes. "The new slate of prototypes
promises to be one of our most exciting and challenging to date,"