Create your own 30-second digital vision of Canada with Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad

    Best of Canada CODE Remixes to be shown to the world on public screens at
    Games time

    VANCOUVER, July 23 /CNW/ - The photographs of children playing in prairie
grass are from a Saskatchewan woman, the words, superimposed on the sweeping
blue sky, were written by a Quebec City teen and the music connecting them has
an East Coast lilt.
    Combine them and you have something wholly new, yet instantly familiar: a
30-second digital collage spliced together by Canadians like you through a
brand new remix application making its debut today as part of Canada CODE at
www.vancouver2010.com/code. Canada CODE is part of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural
Olympiad, presented by Bell.
    "Canada CODE has broken new ground in the digital realm by giving
Canadians an opportunity to creatively share with each other and the world,"
explained Burke Taylor, vice-president, culture and celebrations, for the
Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter
Games (VANOC). "Our new remix application takes that potential to a whole new
interactive level that's designed to be as simple and inclusive as possible."
    "Canada CODE has also had the benefit of great support from our signature
sponsor Bell and the National Film Board of Canada as we look to find new ways
to involve Canadians," he continued.
    These Remixes are the next step in an invitation issued to Canadians
earlier this spring by CODE, the Cultural Olympiad's digital edition, to
create an online portrait of the country. Since then, contributors from
British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador have uploaded photos and text to
the website while thousands have viewed the content. By doing so, they have
become a part of Canadian and Games history - the ambitious digital project is
a first for the Games.
    With the launch of the remix application, contributors can now create
stories with each other's content. A collection of these digital collages will
be displayed on screens at Celebration Sites and venues during the Vancouver
2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
    With the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as a major collaborator,
award-winning filmmakers Denys Arcand and Mina Shum, and legendary storyteller
Roch Carrier are among those who share inspirational and practical tips to
feed the creative spirit of Canada CODE contributors. To add to the mix,
composer Dennis Burke used material from the NFB sound library to create over
30 musical soundscapes for contributors to use as audio tracks. The NFB tips
can be viewed at www.vancouver2010.com/code.
    "With Canada CODE, Canadians can come out and show the world what we're
made of - beyond those well-known images of imposing moose and snow-capped
mountains," said Rae Hull, director of CODE and originator of Canada CODE.
"The remix application reflects a particular Canadian trait: getting together
to make things happen. Through Canada CODE online and the Remixes on the big
screens, we can show a little of that collective spirit to the world."

    How to use Canada CODE's remix application

    1.) After clicking through to Canada CODE from
        www.vancouver2010.com/code, launch the Explore button and you'll find
        the Remix tab at the top. Use the cursor to select and drag a 30-
        second soundscape from the audio library into the mix zone.

    2.) Select content, either your own or favourites from among the Canada
        CODE submissions, and drag them into the mix zone. The duration that
        you want content to appear on screen can be adjusted by pulling at
        the edges of each individual item.

    3.) Text can stand on its own or be superimposed over a photo, Effects
        can be dragged in to alter the transitions between content and there
        are other available features to increase the creative possibilities.

    4.) Submit your remix - it's that easy and your digital creation could
        help welcome the world's visitors to the Games in 2010. Submissions
        are welcome through to Games time.

    About the Cultural Olympiad

    The Cultural Olympiad, presented by Bell, is a series of
multidisciplinary festivals and digital programs showcasing the best in
Canadian and international arts and popular culture. Launched in 2008, the
program culminates in the 60-day Cultural Olympiad 2010 (January 22 to March
21, 2010), which begins before and continues throughout the Vancouver 2010
Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. CODE is the Cultural Olympiad's digital
edition, a series of programs developed to creatively engage national and
global audiences through the use of digital technology.

    Partnerships

    Bell

    Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers and
business with solutions to all their communications needs, including Bell
Mobility wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite
television, Bell Home phone local and long distance, and IP-broadband and
information and communications technology (ICT) services. Bell is proud to be
a Premier National Partner and the exclusive Telecommunications Partner to the
Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Bell is wholly owned by
BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). For information on Bell's products and services,
please visit www.bell.ca. For corporate information on BCE, please visit
www.bce.ca.

    Government

    The Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad is grateful for the support of the
Government of Canada and the governments of all of Canada's provinces and
territories and their respective cultural agencies: British Columbia, Alberta,
Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince
Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and
Yukon. In addition to the Cultural Olympiad's government and corporate
partners, CODE is proudly supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the
National Film Board of Canada. New Media BC and Wavefront Innovation Society
are also both active participants in the project. The National Presentation
and Touring Program is generously supported by the Canada Council for the
Arts.

    National Film Board of Canada

    The world changes, our stories live on - that's the National Film Board
of Canada's pledge to Canadians as it marks its 70th anniversary in 2009 with
a new national online Screening Room and a slate of bold, innovative
productions. Canada's public film producer and distributor, the NFB produces
and distributes social-issue documentaries, auteur animation, alternative
drama and digital content that provide the world with a unique Canadian
perspective. In collaboration with its international partners and
co-producers, the NFB is expanding the vocabulary of 21st century cinema and
breaking new ground in form and content, through community filmmaking
projects, cross-platform media, interactive cinema, stereoscopic animation -
and more. Since the NFB's founding in 1939, it has created over 13,000
productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and more than 90
Genies. To watch over 1,000 productions online or for more information, visit
www.nfb.ca.

    About VANOC

    VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging
of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The
2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from
February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic
Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

For further information: Media contacts: Erin Mikaluk, VANOC
Communications, Tel.: (604) 403-2471, E-mail: erin_mikaluk@vancouver2010.com;
Janet Miller, VANOC Communications, Tel.: (604) 403-3546, E-mail:
janet_miller@vancouver2010.com