BROADBAND PROJECTS CREATE DIGITAL MAGIC

8 April 2004
44/04

I was pleased to launch four innovative broadband projects in Launceston today, which demonstrate Australian creativity and expertise in new digital content development.

The four projects have been made possible through funding of $1.8 million by the joint Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)/Australian Film Commission (AFC) Broadband Production Initiative, the Australian Government's Business Development Fund, administered by the Tasmanian Electronic Commerce Centre (TECC), and Telstra.

They are:

• The Dog and Cat News by Blue Rocket Productions;

• Roar's Dust on My Shoes - Rough Travel by Roar Film;

• The Pure Drop by Ether; and

• The Life and Times of the Extraordinary Vice Admiral William Bligh by Film Art Doco.

The first two of these leading-edge projects are based in Tasmania.

Blue Rocket's The Dog and Cat News, will develop innovative games and web-based episodes for children to interact in real time in a three-dimensional environment with their favourite cartoon characters.

Roar Film's Dust on My Shoes - An Odyssey of Rough Travel will explore global travel using a range of media and radio feeds.

The Pure Drop by Ether will feature world music videos and television delivered by broadband, and The Life and Times of the Extraordinary Vice Admiral William Bligh by Film Art Doco will develop an interactive biographical website of this important man in history.

The ABC will host these programs for 12 months on the ABC Online Broadband Service, ensuring that they reach as large an audience as possible, and will provide other technical support through ABC New Media.


Media Contact: Carina Tan-Van Baren (02) 6277 7480 or 0439 425 373