Simon Micarone - Gaming Event Organiser

Interview from Yug - Wednesday, 18 February 2009 @ 11:11pm

Simon Micarone is the brainchild for some of the biggest video game parties and events in Australia. All you readers know how passionate I am about combining gaming and gettogethers in typically non-stereotypical gamer geek environments - well Simon takes that concept and multiplies it by 100.

Through his company RINSED, he's produced World Cyber Games '07 and '08, the recent Great Aussie Guiter Hero Tournament in Sydney's Hyde Park, the Gears of War 2 crate that was at GAME1 and eGames and Xbox Sounds - the promotional event for Lips that recently featured the Pussycat Dolls performing live at the Sydney Opera House.

I managed to get in touch with Simon and hit him up for a few questions before his next event, the continuation of Xbox Sounds - this time featuring Fall Out Boy playing on the deck of the HMAS Tobruk with the Sydney Harbour Bridge as their backdrop!

Q. Can you give us a bit of a introduction about who you are and your company, Rinsed

I head up Rinsed Studio, a boutique agency that specialises in producing events and brand experiences.

Despite a diverse range of work, the main focus for the business is to think about gaming in a different way.

Q. How did you get into the industry?

It has been a natural progression with out view of an end point. I started out in media working in the Marketing and Programing department for Channel 7 and then left to travel overseas. I was based in Amsterdam and did not have the language skills at the time to work in media so I started to focus more on production. I made a couple of short films, music videos, created a series for MTV and produced some on-air promos.

By the time I got back to Australia I had quite a broad range of skills which was hard to articulate in an interview. I was going for a digital role at Channel [V] and despite not getting the job the Program Director gave me the opportunity to Project Manage a TV concept called Band in a Bubble.

That was my first contract and where Rinsed Studio really started.

The Pussycat Dolls performing at Xbox Sounds

Q. Do the bands and celebrities you work with play the systems they promote?

As a general statement I would say yes, but it differs from person to person. I mean you probably won’t see the Pussycat Dolls playing Call of Duty - but they absolutely love Lips.

Then you have people like Snoop Dog who love gaming so much he has a console set up back stage at every one of this gigs.

Q. What high profile events have you organised in the past?

Probably the highest profile event in terms of media coverage would be Xbox Sounds. The premise for the series is putting major recording artists in iconic Australia locations. The program has brought together some fantastic partnerships including Tourism Australia, Video Hits, Nova and NineMSN.

Check out: www.rinsed.net

Q. Where do you come up with the ideas for these events?

The most important element is that a client has to have a need. Once that has been determined you start to think about all the ways you could possibly fulfill that need. Sometimes the process can be extremely collaborative other times it could be a situation where you just have to make something happen.

Q. What’s the craziest moment you’ve ever been a part of at an event you’ve run?

'Look up and Smile' it would have to be with out a doubt. The event was devised to launch Windows Vista and the objective of the project was to encourage Australians to interact with the new operating system through participation, obseravtion and experience.

The idea was to create these large scale artworks (sort of like crop art) and photograph them using satalites and high altitude photography. I was running three sites simultaneously one in remote Western Australia in a town called New Norcia, one on Kirra Beach in QLD and the other in Centennial Park in Sydney. All was going well in WA and QLD, but 15 minutes out from flight time in Sydney we still had not received approval to fly over Centennial Park. We were down to our last 5 mintues so I made the call to get the plane airborne and remain in a holding pattern.

Should we have not got that shot a major element of the program would have been missing. Anyway a minute from deadline we received clearance for the pass.

Closest call ever!

'Look up and Smile' New Norcia, WA - Guiness Record for largest ever Aboriginal Artwork

Q. How do you think gaming and gamers are viewed by the general public?

The term gamer probably has the same meaning as it always had: Generally a person who is spends a lot of their leisure time playing video games. Typical game would be a first person shooters and they compete reguarly online or at LAN events.

In my opinion the perception of ‘gaming’ however has really changed over the last few years. There is a broader base of people playing video games and it is no longer considered an isolated practice more a social one.

Nintendo has done a brilliant job getting females and family into gaming and games such as Guitar Hero are helping to create a new perception about video games.

These days games incorporate so many elements of traditional art, whether it is a rapper doing a soundtrack for a game, actors doing voice overs or sports stars performing infront of greenscreens - we can related to games better.

Q. What upcoming events do you have on the cards?

My next event is the second installment of Xbox Sounds and this time the iconic location is the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We are working inconjunction with the Royal Australia Navy to stage a concert with Fall Out Boy aboard HMAS Tobruk.

The next Xbox Sounds events features Fallout Boy

Q. How can people attend these events?

The only way to get tickets to this event is to check out www.xboxsounds.com.au

Excellent stuff Simon, thanks very much for your time! If you want to know more or keep on top of future events, visit keep your eyes on www.rinsed.net