How many people will we be collaborating with? Each team will have about 5 people.
Do we have a budget for materials needed to create our project? Story Of/ will not be providing a budget for materials to create your project, though we will be providing paper and pencils for brainstorming. Participants are welcome to spend money on their prototype, but we would like to emphasize that this is indeed for a prototype, resourcefulness is encouraged.
How will the teams be formed? Teams will be formed to facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration. In other words, teams will have varying levels of experience, and varying professional backgrounds.
Please consider that by signing up for this event, you are agreeing to be placed on a team with any person, with lots of experience or new to their field, and from any creative background.
Is this as open as a game jam or hackathon? Is this as prescriptive as a design sprint? This event is not as open as a game jam, but is also not as prescriptive as a design sprint! We will provide a framework for thinking about story, and will provide consultation along the way. About ⅓ of the time will be structured, and ⅔ of the time will be open creating time, with consultation from Nathan, Jenny, and mentors with various creative specialities. We will not solve for any commercial or applied problems, though the frameworks we supply and the experience can absolutely be applied back to jobs, as well as be inspirational for artistic practice.
What types of people will I meet at this event? We held a beta version of this event in December 2017, and participant breakdown in terms of experience level was: 25% under five years experience, 42% 5-15 years experience, and 33% over fifteen years experience.
We also saw a wide range of skill sets at the event, ranging from: front-end development, VR, music composition, graphic design, journalism, painting, writing, illustration, and acting.
What is expected for the final prototype? Should it be refined? Refinement of the prototype and what it looks like and works like will depend on the skill sets of your team and also the needs of your story. Last year, teams produced prototypes and pitched an immersive theater experience, a table-top game, a digital videogame, and an animatic. It’s important that the story variables are conveyed clearly, and beyond that the challenge will be to leverage each team member’s skillset and areas of expertise.
How many participants do you expect in total for this event? We expect about 25 – 30 participants.
Where is this event? Do I need to be there IRL? This event takes place in NYC, and yes, participants will need to be physically present for both the launch night and the main event. The launch night will take place at Society of Illustrators (128 E. 63rd Street), and both days of the main event will take place at School of Visual Arts (132 W. 21st Street) on the fourth floor.
What should I bring to the launch event? Please bring yourself and a sense of adventure, be prepared to create & brainstorm – accepted applicants will receive an email with some more in-depth info about what to expect overall for the workshop.
Will there be a communication tool facilitated by Story Of/ for teams to keep in touch over the course of the event? No, Story Of/ will not facilitate or provide communication tools and will not exchange contact information for teams – but we will take time on launch night for teams to determine how they will communicate and exchange info between themselves.
So it’s the Story Of… WHAT? What is the story about? We will announce the story theme that all groups will be pursuing exclusively at Launch Night of this event. We will also determine storytelling variables at Launch Night that all teams will use in inventing their narrative designs!