Consensus 2023: AMGI Chief Creative Officer Colin Brady Shares the Studio’s Vision for Web3 Entertainment
The AMGI team headed down to Austin, Texas, to mingle with the industry folks at CoinDesk’s Consensus, the largest crypto gathering bringing together all facets of the blockchain and crypto community. It was the perfect place to exchange ideas with web3’s best and brightest, from fellow animators and game developers to policy experts and venture capital firms. The gathering offered an opportunity to network and share experiences with other attendees, each of whom is working to innovate and grow their own respective domains within the blockchain industry.
Now in its 10th year, the conference attracted leading speakers from the world of NFTs and blockchain gaming, including Yuga Labs’ Daniel Alegre and Spencer Tucker, Yat Siu of Animoca Brands, digital artist and CyberBrokers founder Josie Bellini, and Shiva Rajaraman of OpenSea, as well as Hollywood greats who have made the shift to web3, such as producer Dave Broome and Marvel Studios’ David Maisel. Consensus also featured Edward Snowden, Balaji Srinivasan in the middle of his $1 million bet, and William Shatner. Yes, even Captain Kirk was there.
The AMGI team was excited to participate and speak alongside such luminaries, sharing insights into the animation process and the possibilities of blockchain technology for the future of gaming.
In a recent interview with CoinDesk in the lead-up to Consensus 2023, AMGI Chief Creative Officer Colin Brady spoke about the freedom in storytelling, character design and animation that web3 offers, and how it attracts great talent. He also discussed the resistance of large studios to using new technologies and how this affects innovation, emphasizing the benefit of having small team pods so that teams can work efficiently with faster decision-making and greater flexibility in the workflow.
Colin believes that by having an innovation and technology arm that is free to take risks and solve problems independently, studios like AMGI can continue making new breakthroughs. Embracing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) will also enable studios to save time and improve productivity.
This conversation continued on Day 2 at Consensus when Colin joined the panel “Are Audiences Ready for Hollywood 3.0?” on the Metaverse and Gaming Stage to explore the convergence of web3 technologies, animation and storytelling in the entertainment industry. He was joined by web3 entertainment industry experts, Luisa Huang and Andrea Berry, who brought a wealth of experience to the discussion. Luisa, the COO and co-founder of the web3 animation studio Toonstar, brings her background from Disney and Warner Bros. to develop projects such as the community-driven animated web3 series The Gimmicks and Space Junk. Andrea, Head of Business Development at Theta Labs, has over 15 years of experience creating online video strategies to help media companies transform their business through emerging platforms.
The panel, moderated by Cam Thompson, Web3 Reporter at CoinDesk, discussed how to harness the potential of decentralized storytelling to enable collective creativity. While decentralization has become a popular rallying cry within the crypto community, the panel examined why early experiments in this space have yet to gain widespread adoption.
During the discussion on future challenges and opportunities, Colin highlighted AMGI’s approach of integrating new technologies into its projects, such as using blockchain to deliver true digital property rights to players of My Pet Hooligan (MPH) and AI to augment their animation process. By employing a strategy that prioritizes fun, the studio ensures that blockchain tech will be accessible without becoming a barrier for those who simply want to enjoy the game.
Colin emphasized that web3 and AI are the great equalizer. “How do we give voice to those people that have really good ideas?” he asked, suggesting that the world’s most talented creators may emerge from countries that do not receive as much recognition from the entertainment industry, like Indonesia, the Philippines or Nigeria. “AI is a big, big help for that. I’m personally not scared of AI and might be one of the few people that are not that worried about it replacing them as a creator.”
Stressing the need for change in the way the industry views new technology as subtractive rather than additive, he cited how Steven Spielberg, who Colin worked with as the animation supervisor for the extended version of “E.T.,” is known for being a master of cinematic visual storytelling despite not being skilled at drawing. For Colin, tools like AI magnify individual voices, making it possible for more people to tell their unique stories.
After the panel, Colin was invited to the Speakers AMA Stage where he took questions from the audience on the status of My Pet Hooligan, the future of web3 gaming, and his history in animation working with the likes of Steve Jobs at Pixar. He emphasized the potential for collective decision-making tools and community-driven storytelling to enhance the gaming experience and promote player engagement, which the AMGI team has been achieving with MPH by supporting faction activities and featuring user-generated graffiti on the buildings of Hooliland. Drawing on his experience in the animation industry, Colin explained how NFTs could be used to create new types of games that are more interactive and immersive than traditional ones. He also discussed the importance of partnerships and collaborations as they are the key to reaching new audiences.
For AMGI, Consensus 2023 was an opportunity to connect with the MPH community, build meaningful relationships with industry peers, and share its vision of empowering dreamers and doers to make groundbreaking content by merging artistry and technology. The event not only provided a platform for the team to showcase their expertise in animation through the My Pet Hooligan game, but it also enabled them to exchange ideas with fellow innovators about new developments in the industry. As Colin and the AMGI team continue to lead the charge in revolutionizing the entertainment industry, they look forward to sharing more creative milestones with the studio’s community and challenging the limits of their craft to tell new stories through immersive experiences.
For more information about AMGI Studios, visit its website, YouTube and Twitter.
Also check out the My Pet Hooligan Orange Paper, website, Discord and Twitter.
