GPS Film - Location-Based Mobile Cinema Premieres in Singapore :: September 4, 2008; 2:00 pm :: Kay Ngee Tan Architects Gallery, 16-17 Duxton Hill.

GPS Film is new media artwork from filmmaker Scott Hessels that invents a new way of watching movies based on the viewer’s location and movement. Using a GPS-enabled PDA or mobile phone, the audience creates a new type of film experience that reveals the story through their journey. Released as a free, open-source application, the project will premiere on September 4, 2008 along with the first film made specifically for the system, Singaporean filmmaker Kenny Tan’s chase comedy Nine Lives.

The GPS Film application, source code, and “Nine Lives” are available for free download on the project website. The application allows for a developer to create story spaces of any size. The movies are also interchangeable and easily matched to any place. The software default is currently Nine Lives — a prototype film comedy that can unfold in nine directions depending on the viewer’s journey around downtown Singapore.

Scott Hessels is an internationally recognised media artist and filmmaker who merges cinema with new technologies to create innovative media experiences. For GPS Film, he collaborated with film and engineering students at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

The project uses emerging technologies to bring story into real space; neighborhoods, architecture, and landscapes become part of the cinema experience. Movies can be personalized and localized. Storytelling becomes a physical, viewer-controlled experience; a journey of fiction ties directly to a journey of fact.

A press conference will be held September 4 at the gallery with the artist, filmmakers, and programmers present as well as handheld devices for demonstration. The presentation starts at 2:00 pm, but the device will be available for trial and demonstration till 4:00 pm.