Heavenly Words at Edinburgh Interactive
Co-founder of Ninja Theory Gives Video Game Masterclass and speaks about working with CG actors Andy Serkis and Steven Berkoff.
Tuesday 7th August/...Tameem Antoniades, Co-founder and Chief Creative Director at Ninja Theory will speak of his experience working alongside celebrated actors Steven Berkoff and Andy Serkis, who is best know for his portrayal of Gollum in the The Lord of The Rings film trilogy, on the much-anticipated Heavenly Sword video game. He will explore the trials and tribulations of digital acting at this year's Edinburgh Interactive Festival - the world's only true cultural games event.
Now in its fifth year, the Edinburgh Interactive Festival is 'Expanding the Creative Culture of Games'. Newly positioned to reflect video gaming's rise in popularity and influence, helping the festival celebrate the best of video gaming here and oversees will be some of the most influential names across the board in entertainment.
Serkis is the undisputed king of CG (computer generated) acting. As well as voicing creepy Gollum, he also worked with Peter Jackson's on his blockbuster, King Kong and alongside Steven Berkoff on the much-acclaimed Heavenly Sword video game. In Edinburgh Antoniades will explain how such actors portray CG characters and how these processes used in such films are used in video games.
All too often a game can be let down by poor voice characterisations and dialogue but Antoniades will explain how such problems are best avoided - or overcome. In Edinburgh this year he will reveal all about his CG experiences with these actors and give an exclusive insight into working at the sharp end of the creative process.
Antoniades is appearing on the second day of Edinburgh Interactive Festival conference, which takes place on 13th and 14th August. His session, entitled The Art of Performance Capture, will be staged at The Odeon, Lothian Road, Edinburgh, starting at 11am.
Elsewhere at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, closer links to the Dare to be Digital computer games design competition will allow visitors to the festival to view some of the innovative ideas for this year's contest. The three winning teams from this year's programme, organised by the University of Abertay Dundee, will be short-listed for a new 'Ones to Watch' Bafta Award, presented at the annual Video Games Awards ceremony in London in October.
Two days of conferences, aimed primarily at the games industry and the press, run in tandem with a screening programme offering the public sneak previews of some of the hottest games and developments in the pipeline. The Screenings Programme have proved phenomenally successful with the public and industry.Tickets for the Screenings are available now for free at Gamestation's Edinburgh store. (134A PRINCES STREET, EDINBURGH, EH2 4AH)
The conference is staged at the Royal College of Physicians, in Queen Street, Edinburgh, starting with a keynote address delivered by Yves Guillemot, CEO of the French games company Ubisoft. The screening programme, which is open to the public, will show trailers and sneak previews of key gaming works in progress.
For full details of the festival programme and events, along with details about registration and how to book, visit the Edinburgh Interactive Festival website at www.edinburghinteractivefestival.co.uk.
Ends.
For further information, please contact:
Tom Sargent
Barrington Harvey
Tel: 01462 456780
Fax: 01462 456781
Email: tom.sargent@bhpr.co.uk
About EIF07
The Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival EIEF) is managed by a committee drawn from all areas of the industry, including publishers, developers and the two industry trade bodies; The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) www.tiga.org and the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) www.elspa.com.