PhotoStories presents a spectrum of visions and practical experience concerning digital storytelling. May 21 & 22

A group of experts in the fields of photography, film and digital storytelling will gather for the PhotoStories conference on 21 and 22 May in Pakhuis De Zwijger in Amsterdam. National and international researchers, producers, publishers, photographers and filmmakers will talk about their vision and practical experiences. In the evenings, the conference will feature presentations and debates. 22 May (day sessions) will be spent on informative, in-depth workshops.

Photography by Peter DiCampo from the series Everyday Africa

In 2011, PhotoStories organized its first symposium on multimedia and photography, in Rotterdam. Four years on, it’s time to evaluate progress and visions for the future. This is why the organizers (Nederlands Fotomuseum, IDFA DocLab, PhotoQ, Paradox and Jenny Smets, in cooperation with Eye Film Institute Netherlands and World Press Photo) will present the second edition, in Amsterdam’s Pakhuis de Zwijger venue.

Photography and film are entering a new phase. Nobody can predict where this will lead. In France, the US and the UK, producers are experimenting with many forms of multimedia storytelling. In the Netherlands, however, knowledge of this subject is limited. The international symposium PhotoStories not only seeks to expand knowledge of this subject, but also to encourage and guide photographers and filmmakers in putting their ideas into practice, helped by teams with expertise in both disciplines.

The program is subject to change.

Evening program Thursday 21 May

• In his opening Keynote, William Uricchio, professor at MIT and founder of MIT’s Open Documentary Lab, will explore today’s visual media landscape through a short history of the future, revealing the turbulent patterns and forgotten lessons from when photography, film and VR were being born.
• Marie Berthoumieu is an Interactive Commissioning Editor at Franco-German TV channel ARTE. Projects she has helped realise include Interactive Haiku with the National Film Board of Canada, linking the latest, hasty developments in today’s media to the peace and regularity of haiku poetry.
• David Campbell is a writer, professor and producer who analyses visual storytelling andcreates new visual stories. For World Press Photo he investigated the current global situation in the fields of photojournalism and multimedia, and subsequently opinions on the manipulation of news and documentary photography.
• Dutch publishers and internet experts will show recent highlights of their work and debate about the role of digital storytelling in their future plans. Wieland van Dijk (NRC), Geert-Jan Bogaerts (VPRO) and Laurens Verhagen (de Volkskrant).
• The (originally Dutch) Photographer Pieter van Hoopen will talk about his development, from photographer to multimedia maker. Recently he completed his project Hungry Horse, a portrait of a remote village in the US with US producer MediaStorm.

Evening Program Friday 22 May

• Danish digital storytelling expert Bjarke Myrthu will share his experiences of the PhotoStories Masterclass on digital storytelling he gave over the past couple of days. He will highlight some results from the participants.
• Caspar Sonnen: IDFA DocLab provides a showcase of the latest developments in the fields of Virtual Reality (VR) and documentaries online.
• Dutch producers and creators will share their experiences. Eefje Blankevoort (Prospektor) will talk about the Asylum Machine and Love Radio; Kadir van Lohuizen about PanAm and the storytelling strategy of agency Noor Images; Bregtje van der Haak about her Multiple Journalism initiative; Submarine production house will discuss The Last Hijack and Refugee Republic, Robert Overweg about his art project Flying and Floating and TripleIT.
• American photographer Peter DiCampo will discuss two of his projects: Everyday Africa, a group project that uses Instagram and Life Without Lights, an ongoing multimedia project on the social and economic impact of energy shortages in countries like Ghana, Nepal, Great Britain.

Day program Friday 22 May
A large number of visiting speakers will be present to discuss the practical aspects of making and distributing multimedia projects. The workshops will be presentations in which various professionals share their experiences with working methods and used techniques. Visitors can choose from two program elements.

Specialists:

• Sara Kolster (interactive designer) & Anoek Steketee (photographer): TRANSMEDIA in their project Love Radio.
• Bregtje van der Haak (film maker) & Richard Vijgen (information designer): DATA VISUALISATION in their project Atlas of Pentecostalism.
• Robert Knoth (photographer) & Peter Claassen (video editor): CURATING AND EDITING in their project Poppy.
• Aart Jan van der Linden (developer) and Yaniv Wolf (interactive producer): INTERACTION DESIGN in their project Refugee Republic.
• Pieter ten Hoopen (photographer) analyses his MULTIMEDIA project Hungry Horse.
• Peter DiCampo (photographer) analyses one of his MULTIMEDIA projects.
• Daria Scagliolia & Paul Swagerman: WORK IN PROGRESS about their project Vertical Citizens.
• Robert Overweg: INNOVATION (artist, virtual worlds).
• Bjarke Myrthu & Eirik Backer: introducing the BLIND SPOT app, giving more meaning to social media.
  You can find more info about the day program here

Schedule
Evening program: 21 and 22 May 20h00 – 22h00
Day program: Friday 22 May: 09h00 – 17h00
On both days, the official programs will be followed by opportunities for drinks and a chat.

Ticket Sales
Tickets can be ordered online through Pakhuis de Zwijger.
http://bit.ly/1aDlXOl

PhotoStories was made possible thanks to generous support from: Stichting Democratie en Media, DuPho, Stimuleringsfonds voor de Journalistiek, the Dutch Film Fund.