San Juan, Puerto Rico-April 3 - The first meeting of Story Code: Puerto Rico will take place on April 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, located at Barrio Monacillos, Río Piedras, Old State Penitentiary. The event will explore immersive experiences with Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Transmedia Documentaries. “We welcome filmmakers, advertisers, game developers, programmers, designers, graphic novel artists, entrepreneurs, educators, scientists, journalists, writers, and anyone in the Puerto Rican community of creative rebels who are interested in exploring emerging technologies to tell stories for 21st century audiences”, declare Raúl Ríos-Díaz, organizer of Story Code:Puerto Rico.

StoryCode: Puerto Rico is part of a global movement and network for cross-platform, immersive and interactive storytellers that want to offer great stories with new experiences that includes Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. Our chapter in Puerto Rico is inspired by open-source culture, a commitment to shared learning and the power of creativity. StoryCode is a not-for-profit dedicated to the future of cross-media storytelling, with chapters in NYC, DC, Los Angeles and Europe. In Latin America, Puerto Rico joins Perú, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

“Our group empowers creatives and content creators working in Puerto Rico to prototype their ideas using emerging technologies and tell engaging digital stories”, said Ríos-Díaz about StoryCode:Puerto Rico. Ríos-Díaz is a Puerto Rican filmmaker and transmedia producer of Alt165 Media Creations and the founder of ZIPDatum, a Location Intelligence platform that recently was selected in the exclusive group of startups of Parallel 18, an emerging companies accelerator.

To join the StoryCode local group, you could register in the Meetup.com platform at https://www.meetup.com/StoryCode-Puerto-Rico . For more information about the movement visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pg/StoryCodePuertoRico or contact the organizers: StoryCodePuertoRico@gmail.com

Mike Knowlton is the co-founder of StoryCode and a 20-year veteran of digital production based in New York City. Currently working for Campfire, Knowlton has worked with Ríos-Díaz in the creation of the local chapter of StoryCode: Puerto Rico. According to Knowlton, “StoryCode is an open-source, global community for emerging and established cross-platform and immersive storytellers”. Welcoming StoryCode: Puerto Rico, he added that “our chapters all around the world share information, technology and connections to many of the leading creators of immersive media. On the whole StoryCode chapters bring together storytelling and technology and create a community ripe for innovation and connection.”

The organizer of StoryCode: Puerto Rico, explained his vision for this organization: “I lived for several years in Washington DC while completing my MFA on Film and Electronic Media from American University, where I immersed myself in transmedia storytelling and the way emerging technologies can help us reach new audiences. It has been my dream for the last 2 years to create this group and so far the response in the island has exceeded my expectations. The creative community in Puerto Rico is ready to embrace the future.”

Ríos-Díaz concluded: “Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and other immersive technologies is changing the way we do films, advertising, journalism, education and opening path for artist. As Benjamin Franklin once said, ´by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,´ and if we fail to prepare the technical revolution that started, we will not be part of it. I do believe Puerto Rico has the talent, the tech savvy, and are strategically position to compete with more expensive markets, with the unique advantage of being located at the center of both the US and Latino Market.”