Dan Zen Creative Technology Presentations

DAN ZEN

Dan Zen is an Inventor who works with creative technology.  He is a futurist working with short stories to advance invention.  He uses philosophy as a creativity framework and gives talks, presentations and classes concerning creativity and advanced interface technologies.

PRESENTATIONS

Dan Zen is very busy building however on occasion, he does talk at conferences, user-groups, workshops, schools and the like. Here are some examples of past engagements. Please contact door at danzen.com to discuss possibilities.

Commercial Creative Technology – Keynote at CreateInTO (CITO) – 2014

http://www.meetup.com/CreateInTO/

Commercial Creative Technology Diagram

Commercial Creative Technology Icons – Dan Zen

Dan Zen Museum Launch – 2014

http://danzen.com/museum BlogPost and YouTube Video

Dan Zen Dances Psychedelic in the Clouds at the Extravaganza

Canadian New Media Award Winner Dan Zen on Dan Zen

DEMO CAMP DEMOS: DRONER, TILTY, KITTY TARTAN, TOUCHY, OPARTICA TUNNEL  – 2014, 2013, 2012

http://droner.mobi http://tilty.mobi http://kittytartan.com http://touchy.mobi http://opartica.com http://softwarehamilton.com

Mediated Reality: Past, Present, and Future – Function Keys Conference – 2012

http://danzen.com/mediatedreality

Mobile Techniques: Making of Hipster – FITO – 2012

http://hipster.mobi/hipster/talk/

Creativity and New Forms of Mobile Games – Keynote Hamilton DemoCamp – 2011

http://wp.me/p9ja-8Z

CyberSpace Meets Social Change – TalkMedia at Art Gallery of Hamilton – 2010

http://danzen.com/intro [click the logo to toggle interface]

Developing iPhone Applications – mDot Mobile Technology Group – 2010

Creating in WordPress – Toronto WordCamp Presenter – 2009

Inventing for the Web – EntMent Entrepreneur Group – 2009

FITO Educational Panel – 2008, 2011

Gesture Technology – FITO 2007

Zen Mix Vlogging Tool – Dorkbot Toronto 2006

ENDORSEMENTS

Dan Zen is unquestionably a gifted thinker. It is a pleasure to tell you that Dan Zen is also an extremely engaging speaker. He explains his complex, intriguing explorations with such clarity and unbridled enthusiasm that the audience can not help but be captivated; and it is obvious his listeners are of paramount importance to him. To that end, his talks are inclusive, making each audience member feel that they are a participant in the entertaining experience regardless of their level of knowledge about the given area. Equally enjoyable is witnessing his delight in sharing his thoughts with others and encouraging them to think, to be creative.

If there is an opportunity to have the incredibly inventive Dan Zen speak, or present, my recommendation is to seize it.

As the host of “In Conversation: TALK MEDIA” presented by The Factory: Hamilton Media Arts held November 19, 2010 at The Art Gallery of Hamilton, the above reference is written from personal experience.

Best regards,

Denise Dickie
Host, In Conversation: TALK MEDIA
Professor – Media & Entertainment Mohawk College
Former Media Relations Manager and Producer CHCH TV

AND

Dan Zen blows my mind! I am always intrigued and delighted by the expansion I feel when I engage in Dan’s ideas. His talk “Creativity and New Forms of Mobile Games” was brilliant. I learned things about creativity that I had never considered before and that is saying a lot since I have devoted my life work to creative expression!

When I first decided to attend Dan’s talk I worried that it would be too technical for me. I was relieved when he included interactive exercises to express his ideas in a way that made sense.

I would highly recommend a dose of Dan Zen to anyone who wants to expand their mind and open up to their creative potential.

Laura Hollick
Soul Artist and CEO
http://www.soulartstudio.com

Half Century Celebration and Dan Zen Museum Launch Red Carpet Extravaganza

Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl280Rrn2do for the Dan Zen Museum Launch and 50th Birthday party. Here is a Video Table of Contents:

1. surreal-like introduction – well, why not – I am chronicling my past.
2. an upstairs section with the physical inventions
3. happy birthday and opening speech in Theatre
4. split screen with talk from theatre booth mixed with dancing
5. concluding theatre talk
6. Dan Zen museum Website promo

MISSING: interviews and parts of speeches and here and there.

Thanks to the Staircase and amazing staff, Catherine for much of the footage, Christine for the YesUmNo, Ada for the music, RoseAnne, Madeline, Elliot, David, Cheryl and all who helped move and put up with the moving (still ongoing).  Also, thanks all for the wonderful presents – I am just about to get thank-you messages out.  Thanks for all those who sent wishes but could not be there – the 100’th party will be a cape and sash theme.

A few clarifications, I say that I am the world’s number 1 psychedelic dancer according to Google – not the best psychedelic dancer – that credit goes to each and every person who dances psychedelically. And… the unfortunate new name of Interactive Multimedia is Interactive Multimedia Management (not Business) we are fighting it http://danzen.com/petition/imm.  Also… it was great to see the TRANSLATION TUBE being used – but… there was a stone in one end so that it balanced when sitting on the table – if we only took the stone out, the whispers would have been much much better.

 

The Dan Zen Museum is up and running but some final tweaks and edits are still to do before it replaces the main Dan Zen interface.  The URL is http://danzen.com/museum and I still have 50-100 more stories to add to the stairs.  Thanks again to all who came out and sent wishes and made it one of the best nights of my life 😉

Supplemental links:

Facebook Event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/207807509414895/

Pictures by Todd:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danzen/sets/72157642442992504/

Staircase Theatre:
http://staircase.org

YouTube Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl280Rrn2do

Dan Zen Museum:
http://danzen.com/museum

Dan Zen Creativity Framework:
http://danzen.com/creativityframework

Dan Zen Facebook Page:
http://facebook.com/danzenpage

Touchy on Dragons’ Den CBC

Touchy, the mobile game from Dan Zen will be featured in a short segment on CBC’s Dragon Den on January 18th, 2012 at 8PM.

Touchy – visit http://touchy.mobi – is available on the Apple iTunes store and Android Market. It is a social game where players physically try to touch each others’ mobile screens. So it is a game of reaching and protecting – with shrieks of laughter!

Arlene and Robert play Touchy on Dragons' Den

Arlene and Robert laughing after a game of Touchy

The pitch went well – but I was called in the day after a three day conference with late parties each night and this was just after a long open house – after I stopped talking, I could hardly get my mouth open – all I could do was nod and smile! Oh well – Inventor Dan Zen.

Touchy Inventor Dan Zen on Dragons' Den CBC

We would love your help getting Touchy out to the people – please check out the game on iTunes and Android Market – just search for Touchy – links are available at http://touchy.mobi, leave a review and tell anyone who you think would like to play – it is hard getting the message out to the youth – the primary market.

If you are interested in getting involved in an upcoming Touchy Tournament – find us on facebook and leave a message on the Wall – http://facebook.com/touchymobi – all the best!

-12-

Dan Zen Talk – Creativity and New Forms of Mobile Games

Dan Zen will give a talk at the Arnie Student Pub on December 5th 2011 at 6:30 as the keynote to the Software Hamilton DemoCamp.

The talk will go over using Hierarchies as a creative framework. So rather than approaching the subject philosophically, it will be a more practical guide with an explanation of terms and isomorphisms of hierarchies.

The talk will include a set of 20 hand illustrated and colored examples with similar style to the poster except done in black with white.

Dan Zen will connect everyone at the event physically and use this experience to explore creating new forms of mobile games and apps.

For more information and to register for free…

http://danzen.com/create

-11-

Dan Zen to talk at WordCamp Toronto Open Source Festival May 8-10

The Toronto WordCamp is May 8-10th and you can get your tickets for $50 – amazing price… $35 for students and $185 group rate for up to 7 employees.

http://phug.ca/wordcamptoronto/

WordPress is the most popular Web content admin system famous for its bloggers and open source community.  This blog is a WordPress blog

Sounds like a great event to get our students and friends out to and you can’t beat the price.  As a matter of fact… if we can we should try and sponsor the event.  I have put in a request to marketing and we will see what happens.

Hope to see you there – leave a comment if you and a group are coming.  Oh… I am giving a talk there from a content creator standpoint at least.

Dan – 09

Dan Zen Wins Sheridan Chess Tournament

Dan Zen was able to remain undefeated in the 2008 Sheridan Chess Tournament in Oakville Ontario.

“It was a great tournament although the highlight for me was the second place game which was a crazy back and forth battle!”

Dan Zen is the creator of the simple chess application called Flat Chess at http://www.flatchess.com.

Dan Zen Gives Pecha Kucha Talk on Focuso at FITO, Toronto Flash User Group

Inventor, Dan Zen gave a Pecha Kucha talk Nov 28th, 2007 at FITO the Toronto Flash user group, largest of its kind in the world: http://www.flashinto.com. The event was packed and was held at the Pixel Gallery in Kensington Market, Toronto – (Element156 – Digital Media Center, 156 Augusta Avenue Just North of Dundas, Just West of Spadina – a great gallery to check out!)

Pecha Kucha, apparently Japanese for chit-chat involves showing 20 slides for 20 seconds each, traditionally with a format of no speaking or sound – however, we have westernized it to include speaking and sound. The gist of Dan Zen’s Pecha Kucha is as follows:

Focuso Pecha Kucha Talk

http://www.danzen.com/focusotalk/

As interactive designers and developers, we often build features with a foreground and a background where the content for the foreground is created by the user.  We design the background or the environment.

If the foreground is considered in focus, the background might be considered out of focus. It is the context for the content.

Focuso is the art and philosophical aspect of out of focus or Focus out – Focuso. In particular, it can be demonstrated by photographs that are purposely out of focus for artistic reason.

This Pecha Kucha talk shows how Focuso has been used in a number of Dan Zen features, often as background, yet it stands alone as an art form as the pictures to the right attest.

It is hoped that the samples will encourage designers and developers to think about focus as a way to handle background much like we drop opacity. These days, with the blur filter in Flash, it is very easy to do – but of course, there is always the camera!

Dan Zen

http://www.danzen.com
mad inventor
meets Internet
finds peace

Professor & Industry Liaison,
Sheridan Interactive Multimedia
http://imm.sheridanc.on.ca
Canadian New Media Awards Programmer of the Year 2002

Focuso.org
Dan Zen Flickr

Light Show for Christmas Psychedelic Band

I have been working on a tool in Flash to put shapes that move to music on top of pictures and apply blend modes and filters – I hope to launch it in the Spring.

One of the filters that I am experimenting with is the displacement filter. This light show comes from my experimentations and was used as a light show for the psychedelic band, Christmas / Reign Ghost from the 70’s and late 60’s at Sneaky Dees this weekend. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS at the bottom of the show to see different pictures:

http://www.danzen.com/lightshow/

My friend Gaven Dianda, who was in thee Gnostics and a few other bands with me is in a band called Saffron Sect and they played backup to Bob Bryden for the show. He played some really nice guitar and the crowd loved it.

Here is a link to a YouTube video of the show. The sound was great but the sound in the recording is distorted. I was manning the show so I could not take much video and it is just with my little camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNUxCHoT5Ok

It was a cool show!

Dan Zen to Give Video Motion Cursor Talk to FITC, the Toronto Flash User Group

FITC, the Toronto Flash User Group and one of the largest Flash user groups in the world, has its meetings the last Wednesday of the month at the Resistor Gallery at 284e College St. (just west of Spadina). This month’s talk is on Wed. May 20th from 7-11.

Dan Zen will present at 9pm on the video motion cursor class developed in Flash ActionScript 2 to capture video motion and convert the motion to a cursor or cursors that can rollover and hold to effect interactivity such as activating buttons, or controlling character movement, etc.

An example can be found here.

We hope that all interested come and see how the video motion cursor class is made.

Canadian New Media Awards Judge

I have been selected for the 2007 Canadian New Media Awards (CNMA) Selection Committee. The awards are like the Canadian Oscars for New Media 😉 http://www.cnma.ca

Dan Zen – Dorkbot

Dan Zen is giving a talk at the Toronto chapter of Dorkbot tonight at 7:00 or 7:30 at Interaccess – also speaking is friend Matt Mazur.
More Information

The talk is about Zen Mix – the vlogging tool for vloggers to let them put Web video on a picture and apply cool effects. http://www.zenmix.com

Please see Dan Zen’s vlog, Zen Vlog for examples. Recent examples include the second installment of META the nano anti-gravity mystery, Recreational Ravines – turn the ravines into Ewok villages!, a fascinating fact about the world population, and more! Vlogging is easy, fun and quick – try Zen Mix! Hmmm, sounds like a jingle.