Film Festival Nominations Open - Registration Update

May 7th, 2008

We’re thrilled to be putting together the 2008 Flashforward event. It is going to be an incredible year for Flashforward, thanks in part to the great people at Lynda.com who have been supporting us as we work to transition the team and lock down the details for 2008.

Film Festival nominations are now open! Visit the Film Festival page to nominate the best FlashTM work in each of our 10 categories.

To keep you up to date with the latest we’re working on:

The dates have been set and the venue has been chosen in San Francisco. Stay tuned for an announcement regarding venue and online registration opening soon. In the mean time, prices have been set and pricing information is now available online.

Stay tuned for an announcement regarding venue and online registration. We plan to have registration open by May 19.

We are accepting a few more speaker topic submissions. Visit the Session Submission Form page if you’re interested in speaking or if you’d like to request a particular speaker or topic for this or a future event. We’ll be showcasing both the top talent known in the industry and up-and-coming talent from in and outside the industry. The deadline for speaker submissions is June 2.

Organizations interested in sponsoring the 2008 event should contact sponsors@flashforwardconference.com.

More information coming soon about speakers, venue, and our vision for the 2008 event. Any immediate questions should be directed to info@flashforwardconference.com.

We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco in August!

Beau Ambur Acquires Flashforward Conference and Film Festival

March 11th, 2008

Leading Industry Innovator Metaliq Named Conference Sponsor

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (March 11, 2008) – Beau Ambur, CEO of Metaliq, announced today the acquisition of the Flashforward Conference and Film Festival. Metaliq, Inc., known for its cutting edge innovations for interactive technology, will be a Flashforward Conference premier sponsor. The next conference is scheduled for August 20-22, 2008 in San Francisco.

The Flashforward Conference is the world’s original conference dedicated to interactive platforms. It was developed nine years ago and has been managed by lynda.com events and Lynda Weinman since 2005. Lynda recently transitioned the conference to Beau Ambur and Metaliq because of Beau’s impressive track record and his leadership role in the Flash® industry.

“The Flashforward Conference and Film Festival is a historic event as the longest-running and largest gathering of Flash designers and developers in the world,” said Lynda Weinman, Co-Founder of Flashforward and lynda.com. “As the co-founder, it’s extremely important to me that the torch carry forward to a respected industry insider who will run the conference for the benefit of this talented and diverse audience. Beau Ambur is among an elite group of the most forward-thinking Flash developers, who understands community and how important this event is to this industry. It’s an honor to pass the conference on to someone who is uniquely qualified to bring new ideas and vitality to an event that is near and dear to so many hearts.”

“We see this as an incredible opportunity to lead this year’s conference and believe Metaliq’s support will ensure even more cutting edge advances within the industry,” said Metaliq CEO & Founder Beau Ambur. “Metaliq will lend its innovative approach and inventive focus to enrich the conference while furthering Lynda’s mission to offer diverse knowledge and inspiration for everyone in the Flash® community, and will remain dedicated to a balance between designer and developers alike.” Metaliq’s unique and forward-thinking approach continues to extend and define what is possible in interactive technology on multiple platforms including Adobe Flash® and Microsoft’s Silverlight™.

The Flashforward Conference will be held August 20 – 22 in San Francisco, CA. The Flashforward Conference was the first event in the world focused on Macromedia, now Adobe, Flash®. The Film Festival showcases talent and presents awards to those leading in innovation and design. More details about Metaliq and the conference can be found at http://www.metaliq.com or http://www.flashforwardconference.com.

ABOUT METALIQ AND BEAU AMBUR

Metaliq is a solutions company specializing in industrial strength creative, code, and consulting. As a leading application development firm specializing in data-driven user experiences, Metaliq employs a team of top developers who identify, create, and implement innovative business solutions. Metaliq prides itself in developing industrial strength code and creating usable, intuitive and visually appealing applications. Metaliq works closely with top industry organizations to take their applications further, enhancing existing tools and identifying optimal implementations for our clients.

Metaliq CEO & Founder Beau Ambur is dedicated to innovative technology and creativity. As a top developer in the interactive industry, Beau has used nearly every version of Flash across various platforms. Prior to working with Flash, Beau worked with Director and Shockwave and has also contributed to the release of a number of Adobe, and formerly Macromedia products. Among his other professional interests are speaking internationally on interactive technologies, which starting as a speaker at the very first Flashforward Conference in 2000, and he continues to speak frequently as a leading expert in the field. His awards and recognition include the Webbys, FWA, Flashforward Film Festival and Communication Arts Interactive Annual.

Flashforward Has a New Owner!

March 11th, 2008

Hello!

This email brings big news. Flashforward has a new owner! After running the conference for the past eight wonderful years, I’m excited to announce that a new owner will be taking over: speaker, industry expert, and cutting-edge Flash developer Beau Ambur.

I first met Beau a decade ago at the Macromedia User Group, where he served for years as the organization’s leader and speaker liaison. I was instantly struck by his intelligence, drive, and passion for our industry, and we’ve been friends ever since. Beau and his company Metaliq have consistently pushed the edge of Flash technology, and truly understand its roots, its potential, and its future. It was very important to me, as I searched for a new conference owner, to pass it on to someone who was a true industry insider, who understands the needs of the community, and the significance of what’s yet to come.

The next Flashforward Conference and Film Festival will be held August 20-22 in San Francisco; the location will be announced soon.

To reach someone at Flashforward, send an email to info@flashforwardconference.com.

It’s been an honor to run Flashforward, and I thank you all for some of the greatest moments of my life. I am moving on to devote full time to my other career: running lynda.com! I hope to see you at a Flashforward soon; this time I’ll be an attendee!

My best,
Lynda

Link Roundup: Flashforward2007 Boston

September 27th, 2007

Links!

Heartfelt thanks to the speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, judges, finalists, and attendees who took part in Flashforward2007 Boston. Your enthusiastic participation is what makes the event worth producing, and we hope you came away feeling educated and inspired by everything you experienced. From our perspective, the Flash platform and the Flash community have never been more vibrant. Thank you for letting us be a part of it.

If you missed the event or want to relive it from another perspective, here are some links worth visiting; we’ll update this post as more are discovered, so please share yours in the comments if they aren’t here already.

Updated 15 October, see [NEW] items below.

interviews, podcasts and video-blogs

image galleries

press & blogs

This post will be updated as new links are discovered. Please post yours in the comments!

Aral Balkan interviews Kevin Lynch

September 21st, 2007

lynch-interview.png

Aral Balkan spent some time chatting on-camera with Kevin Lynch yesterday and posted the results earlier this morning. It’s an excellent, lengthy conversation, enhanced with URLs and illustrations of the subjects being discussed, and you should definitely check it out.

Well done Aral, and thanks again to both you and Kevin for joining us at Flashforward!