E*TRADE, Part 1 from UX Magazine on Vimeo.

E*TRADE, Part 2 from UX Magazine on Vimeo.

E*TRADE, Part 3 from UX Magazine on Vimeo.

Riz MC MICroscope Concept Render

The interactive music video website for rapper Riz MC’s new album ‘MICroscope’ (http://www.rizmc.com/lab) has been acknowledged for its excellence (and strangeness) with an FWA (Favorite Website Award), considered by most within the interactive industry as the gold standard for online creative work (http://thefwa.com/site/riz-mc-microscope-lab).

With the album’s stage show – which revolves around a live, interactive, sci-fi music experience – currently on early tour in the UK, Riz MC (also known as actor Riz Ahmed) launched the site to allow visitors to download free album tracks as they are exposed to cryptic pieces of narrative, allowing them to get a flavour of the live show if they haven’t attended, and to continue their involvement in the story world if they have.

Riz MC MICroscpe Storyboards

Ahmed welcomed the FWA accolade: “I think it’s important for independent artists to be innovative and take risks, rather than to try and emulate mainstream artists in our music or how we showcase it. Too often underground just means ‘haven’t blown up yet’ as opposed to an ethos of trying to be subversive in how you create and present stuff. There are easier ways to build a fan base than to build an insane transmedia story world with an immersive live show and full-on web-game, but this struck me as something that hadn’t been done before, and I’m glad all our hard work, and the insanely talented people at Swarm and Rival Schools are getting recognized for this.”

Riz MC MICroscope Lab Concept Sketch

Swarm (http://www.swarment.com) worked with Ahmed, in cooperation with Rival Schools (http://www.rivalschools.tv), DNR Films (http://www.dnrfilms.net), and Between the Eyes / Pulse (http://www.betweentheeyes.co.uk) to produce an online extension that could fit with the playful oddity of the live story, which introduces the concept of a sonic war, where corporations and government use the viral power of music and the physical force of sound vibrations to control our minds. As the Guardian puts it, “This ain’t no sit down, shut up and enjoy the hors d’oeuvres listening party… ”

Swarm Founder and Senior Producer Todd Denis agrees: “As a story company, we’re aware that an all-powerful government force controlling things isn’t new, but Riz’s ideas for tackling those now common themes were juicy entertainment from the start… very strange, very independent and super ambitious.”

Indie, yes. Strange, for sure. Ambitious… you better believe it.

David Lam - Executive Director, Rival Schools

The website alone required coordination over several months between companies in Toronto, Vancouver and London. And, of course, linking with Ahmed, whose availability and location are as schedule-able as vapor. (Hope you enjoy late night and early morning phone calls.)

Pod Shoot @ Rival Schools

Swarm (based in Toronto, Canada) was responsible for overall concept, management and producing directly with Ahmed. Rival Schools (Vancouver, Canada) dealt with visual and interactive production. DNR Films (London, UK) created live visuals for the show and handled much of Ahmed’s music video content, both of which were incorporated into the site. And music promo outfit Between the Eyes / Pulse (London,UK), chipped in with a short film direct by Ahmed for use in both the online and live event (it comes as the final piece of content in the online, or check it directly at http://rizmc.com/short).

Pod Test Render

“This was a crazy idea and I’m fortunate to have connected with people who believed in the concept enough to execute it beyond my best hopes,” says Ahmed. “Budget was a big challenge, but because the website grew with the show, and developed as a core part of the transmedia narrative – rather than being a marketing afterthought – we were able to conceive the site and the show in a way that maximized our limited resources and pre-existing assets across album, live show, and short film.”

“It feels amazing to receive this encouragement for the project. I think audiences expect more and they are willing to be engaged like this – but it often makes business sense for the bigger creative players to be lazy about it. The idea for MICroscope is to go out on a limb and make something new for your experience of music both at a live show or online. We hope to attract enough attention and backing so we can make business sense of it later – find sponsorship, partners, and then grow it and take it to the next level again. So if you like it, please pass it on. ”

~~~

Additional inquiries: contact@swarment.com

For more information on MICroscope, visit http://www.rizmc.com

Swarm (http://www.swarment.com) is an award winning consulting and production company, based in Toronto, Canada.

Rival Schools (http://www.rivalschools.tv) is a strategic design and content firm based in Vancouver, Canada, which has developed interactive for Kellogg’s, Puma, McDonalds and the 2010 Olympics.

I remain foolishly fearlessly committed to Swarm, as well as Managing alternative digital entertainment showcase JawboneTV. You can continue to reach me via the usual channels.

Nawlz has been nominated for a Webby in the ‘net art’ category. While the Academy selects the category winners, the online public selects The People’s Voice Award winners, where Nawlz is up against all category nominees, including mainstram heavyweights like Twitter, Hulu and Steven Colbert. So please go to http://webby.aol.com/entertainment/netart and show your indie love. Voting starts April 13th and ends April 29th.

Please share this with everyone, and don’t forget to show your support at http://www.facebook.com/rekill.

New technologies are changing how we communicate at ever faster intervals. What the digital landscape will look like in 2015 or 2020 is anybody’s guess. As transmedia, cross-media and augmented reality raise the bar for how new stories will be told, how can new and experienced digital storytellers stay ahead of the curve? Programmed by Siobhan O’Flynn of CFC Media Lab.