Help bring location-based entertainment to SXSW!

There is no doubt that South by Southwest is an amazing festival, full of innovative ideas and creative technologies, not to mention an array of new music and films. We here at Thinkwell think that the one thing that’s missing is a discussion about location-based entertainment and how fans use and interact with spaces, so we’ve proposed two panel ideas addressing this very topic.
We need your help getting them added to the 2015 SXSW Interactive lineup, so please vote online via the SXSW PanelPicker for our proposed panels using the links below.
Theme Park Transmedia: Changing Space with Story
By Creative Director Kate McConnell
Transmedia has been a media buzzword for the last few years, but change and innovation can be slow in coming to location-based experiences where the long lead time and construction conundrums shape brick-and-mortar adaptation. Recently theme parks, museums, and cultural attractions have begun embracing transmedia techniques, creating experiences that engage new audiences in interactive ways, attempt to harness the power and possibilities of user-generated content, and make guests feel as if they are in a living and ever-changing space. This session will explore the latest hits and misses in location-based transmedia experiences, examine audience expectations for immersive storytelling, and open up the discussion for the future of experiential design for theme parks and beyond. Vote for Kate’s panel here.

 
Cosplay Colonists: User-Creation in Brick & Mortar
By Senior Creative Director Dave Cobb
Increasingly, fans are not content to merely consume entertainment, but desire to co-create and contribute their own creative output based on the things they love. Movies, music & games have all been transformed by this user-driven conversation. But what about location-based, brick-and-mortar places like theme parks, cultural attractions, museums, clubs, theaters, festivals & events, which are a huge part of consumers’ entertainment diet? How can location-specific entertainment adapt to the rise of the creative audience? We’ll explore the ways in which fans creatively express themselves in specific locations, through role-playing and user-generated environmental experiences, living out their fantasies in the real world, leading to intersections of audiences and destinations that have never before existed. Vote for Dave’s panel here.