OK, the Oscars are over and you didn't win this year. But, don't worry; now anybody can be a big-time media mogul. An auteur extraordinaire. A temperamental director.

You can buy everything you need, except maybe creativity, at a place such as Future Shop: A quality video camera, a decent computer and some easy-to-learn editing program.

Ah, but where will you show your masterpiece? Fortunately, the possibilities abound.

You could forget about sleep and enter the 48-hour-long New Media SLAM contest. It's the online equivalent of those "poetry marathons" and "write-a-play-in-a-weekend" competitions.



Only here, you hole up around the computer with your buddies, grab some chips and pop, and make what you hope will be a killer piece of electronic work.

This year's overall theme, Head2Head, certainly offers great room for creativity. Up to 30 teams from Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg will each receive a package at 4 p.m. on March 18. They'll work like beavers for a weekend, then send their productions to the judges.

Entries will be posted on the New Media SLAM website, and there will be awards from professional critics as well as an audience-choice category. Prizes include (for two lucky producers) free tuition and accommodation at the Banff Centre's legendary interactive screen session in August.

Jennifer Dysart, co-ordinator of the Banff New Media Institute (BNMI), says their support of this event "demonstrates our drive to recognize new media as a creative force.”

Dysart adds that the winners (and others) who attend the interactive screen session in Banff will have the chance "to work with the best and brightest minds in new media from the last decade as they reunite to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the BNMI and evaluate what has worked and what has failed in the eclectic world of new media."

Western Economic Development (WED) spokeswoman Susan Schooley says its cash support of the event, in the amount of $8,000, fits well with WED's goal of diversification. "We know that to remain sustainable, communities need to diversify so that they're not relying so much on traditional resource-based industries," she says. "The expanding knowledge-based, new media sector can play a huge role here."

She adds that the New Media SLAM feeds nicely into Vancouver's VIDFEST in June. Vancouver is also the home of CBC-TV's quirky late-night program and 24/7 website, ZED, also a sponsor of the SLAM.

There's little question that events such as the New Media SLAM and VIDFEST and courses such as the Banff Centre's are good for the new media industry.

They also raise the public's awareness of how much "new media" has really moved into the mainstream.

It's hard to imagine a movie such as The Matrix being as much fun without the special effects that come from digital media manipulation. A recent Jack Johnson music video uses the innovative technique of having the action happen in reverse, while his singing goes forward. So paintings mysteriously hang guided by invisible hands, messes clean themselves up and people seem to levitate.

Traditional outlets such as radio and TV also make heavy use of new media for promotion.

TV shows such as Degrassi: The Next Generation have sophisticated companion websites. You can find out when each episode will be broadcast, and even read exclusive online-only stories. Heck, you can even get a multimedia Degrassi school locker to post your favourite photos.

I do have some problems with this site's practice of sending out "D-mails," which are allegedly from the show's characters, to unsuspecting young fans. These often make predictions about what will happen in the future episodes, and of course they come true. Most adults would recognize these as cheesy mass-mailouts, but since the site's target are 12-year-old kids it's bordering on deception.

One of the neatest features on the New Media SLAM website is the inspiration section that lists other interesting new media sites. From it I found toxi.co.uk, which in turn lead me to bmw1derland.co.uk. The latter is described on the toxi.co site as "a trippy, kaleidoscopic audio-visual car-racing experience to support the launch of the new BMW 1 series."

There is a strong dose of generosity in the new media community. They help each other and praise each other's work. Of course, when it comes to getting a contract or winning a contest, they can be just as cutthroat as any other media folks.

Which brings us to perhaps the most legendary, fun, high-profile Western Canadian media contest - The Eddies, sponsored by Big Rock Beer. Founder Ed McNally tells the story that in 1994 he "stumbled on to the idea of having customers make commercials for his local, independently brewed beer. Anyone with a camera and the will to produce a spot could compete for cash prizes. The best were shown to fellow beer lovers at this glamorous party, while tickets raised money for charity."

Now in the 12th year, the contest attracts print and video entries from around the world, and Ed's daughter Kathleen McNally views them all.

She says the quality has been getting better and better, and they're hoping for a banner crop this year. The winners are feted at a live awards ceremony, this year on May 9 in Calgary and May 12 in Edmonton.

Proceeds go to charity, in keeping with Ed McNally's desire to have fun, encourage creativity and help people, all at once.

So, if you don't win the New Media Slam, grab a Big Rock and settle in to look at the winners of all these contests, either at a gala or from the comfort of that pricey computer you bought to make videos.

Web watch:
www.newmediaslam.com
www.flourishmedia.com

(Tom Keenan is a professor at the University of Calgary and an expert on technology and its social implications. He can be reached at keenan@businessedge.ca)