Body/Mind/Change Cronenberg Transmedia Experience TMC Resource Kit Case Study created by Siobhan O'Flynn A Transmedia Storyworld Experience, designed by CFC Media Lab & Lance Weiler for TIFF's David Cronenberg Showcase Series, in Toronto 2013-2014

1. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
cronenberg
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Transmedia experience

2. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
“JOB OPPORTUNITY / RESPONSIBILITIES
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The development and production of a
sophisticated augmented reality game
(ARG), Body/Mind/Change
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Responsibilities
• Leading brainstorming sessions,
discussions, and consultations with the TIFF
Gaming & New Media Think Tank and key
project staff, the consultant will facilitate
final creative development of Body/Mind/
Change.
• Assisting in the selection of qualified
creative professionals (e.g. agency) who can
lead production.
The Project and Production Manager will also
be tasked with securing discounted services
and in-kind contributions.
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• Working with TIFF staff and the selected
agency, the Manager will serve as production
manager to keep the project moving ahead.
• Maintaining a detailed critical path and up to
date budget, maintaining close contact with
TIFF’s fundraising departments.
• Leading user and technical testing, with
input from various stakeholders at TIFF.
• Leading a phased launch, with the initial
content ready for users to explore by
September 2012. The rest of the game will
launch in phases across 2013, with full
launch in September 2013.” TIFF
January 3, 2012,
Transmedia World IS A BUZZ…

3. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
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What is it?
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“We looked for an innovative way of taking
the Cronenbergian storyworld and extending
from his films into the gallery, and out of the
gallery again, and into the minds of his
fanbase,” says Ana Serrano, the Canadian
Film Centre’s (CFC) Chief Digital Officer and
executive producer for Body/Mind/Change, a
virtual and real world extension of the film
exhibition, "David Cronenberg: Evolution.”
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http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/not-your-fathers-film-retrospective-tiff-extendscronenbergs-oeuvre-with-bodymindchange
…developed by TIFF [Toronto International
Film Festival] as one of a number of events
showcasing the work of David Cronenberg,
running 2013-2014.
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4. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
How?
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extend the storyworld
draw on recurrent themes in
Cronenberg’s work:
the visceral disturbing body
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revive characters, most notably, Max
Renn from Videodrome, though other
character references can be found
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invent new characters
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human/tech hybrids
mutation
evolution
create a physical Lab
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BMC founder and Chief Science
Officer Janna Sensum
Dr Emily Grosvenor
create & run a MOOC
‘mine’ data & create a personalized 3D
printed object

5. http://www.fastcocreate.com/3021398/when-the-quantified-self-gets-creepy-turning-david-cronenbergs-science-fiction-into-reality#4
BODY/MIND/CHANGE

6. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
How?
"We're collecting certain data points, and in
the museum space, we're 3D printing PODs
based on your emotional intelligence," said
Lance Weiler, the creator and creative director
of the project. "Data is being generated about
our lives all the time, so I thought it would be
fun to have it manifest in something real.”
http://www.3dprinterworld.com/article/david-cronenberg-wants-graft-3dprinted-pod-your-body

7. funding
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CANADA INTERACTIVE FUND
Department of Canadian Heritage
Government of Canada
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TO: TIFF
Toronto International Film Festival Inc.
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FOR: Body Mind Change
The Worlds of David Cronenberg
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$43,573 (2011–2012)
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$362,636 (2012–2013)
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http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=667919
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BODY/MIND/CHANGE
* Identified funding

8. cronenberg evolution
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May 23, 2012
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NEWS RELEASE.
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TIFF CELEBRATES DAVID CRONENBERG WITH
NEW EXHIBITION
TIFF will also create an online experience with a
multi-platform augmented reality game, The
Worlds of David Cronenberg, that will complement
and enrich the exhibition using a combination of
social media technologies. A dedicated film
programme with newly struck 35mm prints and
new digital versions of select films will accompany
the exhibition
TIFF’s first ever major original touring exhibition
launches in Fall 2013…. Through the presentation
of artifacts, props, documentation and audio-visual
interviews, as well as reconstructed set-pieces
from Cronenberg’s films, the exhibition parallels his
growth as a filmmaker with his ongoing
examination and interpretation of human
evolutionary possibilities, tracing his work from a
focus on biological change towards examinations
of shifting psychological states…
Read more at http://www.xavierpop.com/2012/05/23/this-is-very-very-cooltiff_net-celebrates-david-cronenberg-with-the-launch-of-the-first-ever-original-touringexhibition/#BOObIKs7P7yBKcdw.99
The Worlds of David Cronenberg

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“Body/Mind/Change (BMC), a digital extension of
David Cronenberg: Evolution, immerses audiences
in a "Cronenbergian" world inspired by the film
Videodrome, re-imagined for the 21st century and
brought to life across three platforms — online,
mobile, and real-world — through an "artificial
intelligence recommendation engine" called POD
(Personal On-Demand).
Co-produced by CFC Media Lab with creative
direction by Lance Weiler, Body/Mind/Change
features plot lines and game mechanics involving
biotechnology start-ups, body enhancements, and
emotional learning systems, and presents the
plausible science fiction found in Cronenberg's
work as scientific fact.”
http://tiff.net/cronenberg/bodymindchange
(2011)
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pod (personal on-demand)
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10. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
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“TORONTO, October 30, 2013 – The first
interactive story experience to generate a physical
object, Body/Mind/Change, a TIFF and Canadian
Film Centre's Media Lab (CFC Media Lab) coproduction starring David Cronenberg, is now open
for adventurers who want to explore the plausible
science fiction found in Cronenberg's films as fact.
Follow the master's lead at
www.bodymindchange.ca to create a next
generation bio-tech recommendation engine,
called Personal-On-Demand (POD).”
CFC CREATES
http://cfccreates.com/about_us/announcements/item.php?id=item256
Cast cronenberg

11. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
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“TORONTO, October 30, 2013 – “The narrative
begins with the activities of BMC Labs, a fictional
biotech firm that has partnered with David
Cronenberg to develop biotech accessories
inspired by the intellectual property found in his
films such as Scanners, Videodrome, and eXistenZ.
Journeying through this multi-platform, immersive
narrative ride, players will experience first-hand the
emotional steps involved in merging with
technology to transform and evolve oneself, one of
the key themes Cronenberg explores in his works.”
CFC CREATES
http://cfccreates.com/about_us/announcements/item.php?id=item256
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design a biotech lab

12. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
“Registered participants will be guided through an
episodic interactive narrative that functions as a
simulator for training their PODs. Completing this threepart experience will guarantee the user a unique 3Dprinted POD generated from their behaviour during the
simulations. As the participant interacts with their POD's
training online, the system collects data that determines
the size, shape, and nature of their physical POD.
By November 1, the BMC Labs installation located in
the CIBC Canadian Film Gallery on the 4th floor of TIFF
Bell Lightbox will display the first series of “growing”
PODs. Over the next three months, this inventory of
PODs will increase as participants engage, allowing
them to observe their PODs growing in the Lab.”
CFC CREATES
http://cfccreates.com/about_us/announcements/item.php?id=item256

13. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
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“To execute the complex multi-media production,
CFC Media Lab worked with Lance Weiler as
creative director and pulled together a team of
collaborators representing some of the most
innovative North American companies and artists
in the digital space.”
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CFC CREATES
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http://cfccreates.com/upload_files/BMCLabs_Open_Final.pdf
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Photo: http://stabletalk.cfcmedialab.com/2014/02/12/hosts-successfullyimplanted-pods-bmc-labs/

14. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
“… a large-scale collaborative project involving
some of the most innovative digital media
companies and artists”:
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Writers, Atley Loughridge & JC Hutchins
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Additional Writing, Lance Weiler and Chuck Wendig
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Game Designer, Nicholas Fortugno
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Composer, Brendan Canning from Broken Social
Scene
Film and SFX Production & Post-Production, 1188
Films
Website Development & Design, Northern Army
Physical Computing & Exhibition Design, Aesthetec
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See more at: http://stabletalk.cfcmedialab.com/2013/09/05/cfcmedia-lab-co-produces-bodymindchange-starring-david-cronenberg/
#sthash.wRn9eSmT.dpuf

15. cronenberg trailer

16. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
“Earlier this year, without much fanfare, DCronenberg quietly licensed the fictional technology and science
found within his films Shivers, The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome and eXistenZ for a mind-bending eightfigure sum. While it is common for a film’s IP to make its way into other mediums, such as books, television
or games, it is highly unusual for a film’s fictional elements to become actual biotechnology. The deal was
struck by a stealth Los Angeles-based biotech startup called Body Mind Change Labs. BMC intends to turn
Cronenberg’s science fiction into science fact. The company’s first release is called POD (Personal OnDemand), a next-generation recommendation engine inspired by Cronenberg’s eXistenZ that helps its hosts
discover what they need, love or desire, effortlessly.”
April 23, 2013
http://filmmakermagazine.com/68303-pod-wants-to-know-you/#.UwK2AUJdVan
Lance Weiler ingame

17. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
“Standing within BMC’s office, I can’t help but feel I’m in a David Cronenberg film. Everywhere I look there
are monitors. In front of each sits an employee transfixed by a steady stream of images. For a moment I’m
reminded of the scene in Videodrome where James Woods’ character Max Renn visits the Cathode Ray
Mission, but before I can make out what is on the monitors, I’m quickly escorted into a room. Inside, a
business affairs person asks me to sign what is the longest NDA I’ve ever seen. I’m given a list of things that
I cannot do while visiting, as well as being presented with an even creepier release form if I’m interested in
touring BMC’s lab. I forgo the tour of the lab, as I’m not comfortable with a clause in the release that states,
“53.8 percent of visitors could be susceptible to an airborne infection.” ”
April 23, 2013
http://filmmakermagazine.com/68303-pod-wants-to-know-you/#.UwK2AUJdVan
Lance Weiler ingame

18. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
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Through 3 online simulations, POD recipients educate an artificial intelligence entity, Kay. ‘Hosts’ answer
emotional response questions after viewing short films that echo Cronenberg’s films with a layer of David
Lynch.
Canadian actor & long-time Cronenberg collaborator Art Hindle and Natalie Krill, alumnus from the CFC
Actors Conservatory program, are featured.
bmc labs
Kay

19. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
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“I hope what we can do is create an
interesting and engaging experience
someone can step into,” says Weiler.
“Doing it in a way that isn’t driven by
codes and puzzles, but do it in a way that
is experiential, almost hallucinatory.”
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With that in mind, Serrano adds, "The
experience also includes clues hidden in
some of our videos, photos, soundtracks,
and text for our hard core fan to decipher.
These clues, if deciphered properly, could
lead you to higher levels of POD-host
status.”
http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/not-your-fathers-film-retrospective-tiff-
play with arg content

20. “The POD is a personal, on-demand recommendation engine that uses artificial
intelligence to understand what you want, desire or need before you do.’”
bmc labs biotech implant
http://www.fastcocreate.com/3021398/when-the-quantified-self-gets-creepy-turning-david-cronenbergs-science-fiction-into-reality#4

21. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
“Standing within BMC’s office, I can’t help but feel I’m in a David Cronenberg film. Everywhere I look there
are monitors. In front of each sits an employee transfixed by a steady stream of images. For a moment I’m
reminded of the scene in Videodrome where James Woods’ character Max Renn visits the Cathode Ray
Mission, but before I can make out what is on the monitors, I’m quickly escorted into a room. Inside, a
business affairs person asks me to sign what is the longest NDA I’ve ever seen. I’m given a list of things that
I cannot do while visiting, as well as being presented with an even creepier release form if I’m interested in
touring BMC’s lab. I forgo the tour of the lab, as I’m not comfortable with a clause in the release that states,
“53.8 percent of visitors could be susceptible to an airborne infection.” ”
April 23, 2013
http://filmmakermagazine.com/68303-pod-wants-to-know-you/#.UwK2AUJdVan
pod (personal on-demand)

22. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
pod (personal on-demand)

23. pod (personal on-demand)

24. kay (personal on-demand)

25. pod (personal on-demand)

26. pod (personal on-demand)

27. pod (personal on-demand)

28. simulation 3 complete

29. the mantle clinic… Dead ringers
The Mantle Brothers

30. BODY/MIND/CHANGE

31. bmc labs facebook

32. pod delivery

33. udemy mooc
biotech online course

34. biotech online course

35. Murdin Biotechnology Consulting Inc
advised on the BioNanoHybrid
curriculum.
According to Andrew Murdin, Pres.,
the course material is about 85% real.
Wonder what will happen if someone
stumbles on this & thinks the last 15%
is bonafide…
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biotech online course

36. interactive mooc

37. interactive mooc

38. BODY/MIND/CHANGE
max renn - videodrome
tumblr

39. max renn - videodrome
twitter

40. max renn - videodrome

41. KAY CLOUDCAST

42. SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
‘merge with David Cronenberg by
sharing your darkest desire’

43. SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

44. COUNTER INSURGENCY

45. #BIOHAZARD
BMC LABS TIFF bell Lightbox

46. pod implantation

47. next… Europe…

48. Photo: http://www.xavierpop.com/2012/05/23/this-is-very-very-cool-tiff_net-celebrates-david-cronenberg-with-the-launch-of-the-first-ever-original-touring-exhibition/
due to the ongoing/future life of this project, there is much more to share
but not yet…. David wouldn’t like it

49. the Cronenberg body/mind/change
Case Study is released under a NonCommercial
ShareAlike Creative Commons license to be shared,
remixed and expanded non-‐commercially, as long as
you credit the TMC Resource Kit, the creator of the
Case Study, Anthea Foyer and/or Dr. Siobhan O’Flynn,
and license your new creations under the identical
terms.
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Images from third parties retain original copyright.

50. Get in Touch
contactus
TMC Resource Kit
info@tmcresourcekit.com
tmcresourcekit.com
the Cronenberg body/mind/change
Case Study was prepared by:
Dr. Siobhan O’Flynn

51. Tmcrkpartners
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