SXSW: Tom Bradbeer’s Austin odyssey – last day

Tom Bradbeer, a Digital Creative and Copywriter at Longtail, is in Austin for SXSW Interactive and writing for Campaign Brief.

The Austin adventure draws to a close.

They do things big here in Texas and SXSW is no exception. It’s been a non-stop adventure filled with panel discussions, keynote speakers, workshops, networking, tech discoveries and inspiration. But it’s not over yet, I still have one more day to make the most of.

I thought I’d kick day five off with a laugh, courtesy of Funny or Die. And laugh I did, they opened with “a little thing we threw together”, that little thing turned out to be the first screening of a brand new episode of Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis and his guest Barak Obama. Definitely check it out if you haven’t already, many a chuckles to be had.

Following that, 5 members from Funny or Die directed a ‘Have You Seen This Funny Video’ session. Now don’t get me wrong, I love funny videos. A compilation of goats on slides can be the perfect thing to get you through the day, but for a session officially labelled ‘How To Win The Internet In 60 Minutes With Funny Or Die” I was expecting a little more insight into their process. Then again, with a platform like Funny or Die, why complicate it? Think of something funny and make it.

For the first time during SXSW, I didn’t have to run out the door in search of the next session. I kept my lazy ass seated and waited for Yoni Bloch, the CEO of Interlude. This master and pioneer of interactive video is responsible for a number of well known projects including the Bob Dylan “Like A Rolling Stone” video.

The idea of choosing your own adventure is far from new, but the way Yoni is able to create a seamless experience is incredibly impressive. I could spend hours watching and playing with these videos, and as Yoni pointed out, people spend a huge amount of time with this type of content. In the case of the Bob Dylan video, on average, viewers watched for six times longer than the full length of the actual song. He also has an Authoring Suite called Treehouse that allows you to easily create and map non-lineal stories. Music videos are just the beginning, this is definitely something to keep an eye on.

Now I had to choose an adventure on my own. Popcorn or Trade Show? Why not both? As I walked around the SXSW Trade Show munching on my free popcorn, which tasted way better than purchased popcorn, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. It’s a carnival for geeks and tech heads, with endless isles of new apps, programs, products, technology and games. My favourite? Discovering how motion tracking technology worked and the wearable toy that creates sound effects to your movements. Parents everywhere are going to love this one!

My last interactive session for SXSW was here, The Smartest Dumbass, a game show that pitted interactive and film professional against each other. A lot of laughs and an opportunity to learn a little about how other people in our industry work.

As I was leaving I overheard that Neil Young’s keynote session had been moved, to right next door. There’s some opportunities you can’t pass up and this was definitely one of them. I’m a big fan of Mr Young and it was awesome to see him on stage again, this time without the vast array of instruments, just him and his new product called Pono. Pono offers a new way to listen, or should I say experience, music. It pulls a middle finger to mp3 by calling back to the analog days were you could hear the warmth and character of the music.

Yes I know, this has nothing to do with interactive or advertising, but none the less, it was inspiring to see someone so passionate about changing the norm. It was the perfect way to wrap up the week. I was reminded of the people who spoke about their work, the nature of the industry and its future, of the connections I made with such a diverse range of people and most of all, the new things I learnt.

New and exciting things come from people who are willing to take chances and people who can see potential where others may not. My gratitude goes out to everyone at Longtail for giving me the experience and opportunity of a lifetime, and Campaign Brief for letting me share it with you. I hope you were able to take something away from it, and if you didn’t, well start pestering your boss about sending you to Austin just like I did. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.

For the last time from Austin, Texas, I bid y’all a friendly farewell.

Tommy.