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FoST Summit

Our annual FoST Summit was designed to further attendees’ understanding of the art, science, and business of communication in the twenty-first century and beyond.

Launched in 2012 as a one-day, invitation-only summit for 300 people, the FoST Summit went on to expand to a two-day gathering for upwards of 600 people. Top thinkers and practitioners from diverse fields gathered to share ideas and experiences on everything from the new/old oral tradition to narrative in console games and the biochemical impact of stories on the human brain to cutting-edge collaborative storytelling projects and many other hot topics.

Guests enjoy a meal at the garden party. (group, people, woman, many, festival, celebration, party, man, ceremony, restaurant, leader, adult, military, family, crowd, group together, religion, recreation, food, wine)
Person speaking at the event. (people, adult, man, woman, indoors, group, room, education, meeting, sitting, business, teamwork, furniture, cooperation, facial expression, chair, portrait, leader, office, wear)

In the spirit of discovery and inspiration, the FoST Summit aimed to break the fourth wall and make attendees a vital part of the conference rather than passive consumers of information. In advance of the summit, the featured FoST speakers presented their topics in short films distributed to participants online. Guests selected which discussions they wanted to attend and then took part in intimate, hour-long roundtable conversations with their chosen speakers, each limited to approximately twenty participants.

The summit’s model leveraged the unique contributions of every guest, fully anticipating that lively exchanges and cross-pollination among different perspectives, fields, and sets of expertise would result in a richer experience for everyone. Guests had ample opportunity to get to know one another and the speakers. The ultimate goal was to cultivate unexpected insights and meaningful connections between both people and ideas in an interactive and dynamic atmosphere.

Person, president, shares his perspective on the importance of having a team of dedicated individuals. (adult, group, woman, man, education, meeting, people, room, indoors, furniture, facial expression, employee, office, chair, table, conference room, child, business, league, teacher)
A group of young people in costume. (woman, man, people, child, family, indoors, adult, togetherness, education, love, explain, internet, girl, fun, student, business, looking, adolescent, technology, college)

In addition to the roundtables, the FoST Summit featured one-of-a-kind immersive experiences, hands-on workshops, live performances, and the Story Arcade, an interactive exhibit that featured the latest and greatest in interactive and immersive storytelling technologies.

A man uses a virtual reality headset during the event. (B Ploystation CRRRRT,man, people, woman, landscape, portrait, adult, safety, indoors, family, outdoors, business, looking, machinery, travel, drag race, wear, healthcare, young, financial security , anonymous)
The cast of the musical. (performance, music, ballet, concert, people, stage, theatre, theater, singer, art, light, man, musician, band, public show, woman, group, dancer, ballerina, couple)

Past FoST Summit speakers, workshop leaders, and performers included former Vice President Al Gore; Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda; Disney animator and director Glen Keane; Angela Ahrendts, former SVP of Retail at Apple; author Margaret Atwood; filmmaker Darren Aronofsky; choreographer Bill T. Jones; Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud; and Todd Yellin, VP of Product at Netflix.

Person, a professor, speaks to the audience. (portrait, man, people, business, meeting, adult, religion, league, leader, politician, indoors, church, competition, blur, movie, woman, street, landscape, festival, city)
The balloon is lit up at night. (balloon, hot-air balloon, sky, no person, travel, sunset, outdoors, people, tree, moon, dawn, recreation, architecture, fun, evening, airship, city, festival, light, dusk)

“10 Most Innovative Conferences of 2016”

–Inc.
Person performs during the opening night of his performance. (abstract, data, desktop, people, graphic, vector, technology, art, business, computer, World Wide Web, man, illustration, internet, electronics, display, facts, technical school, network, line)

“7 Emerging Conferences Every Advertising Professional Should Know About”

–AdWeek
A man takes a photo of a woman with a camera. (lens, journalist, people, woman, paparazzi, street, man, girl, portrait, adult, action, fall, landscape, blur, city, outdoors, park, digital camera, zoom, movie)

“It’s hard to imagine how they’ll top it next year, but I certainly wouldn’t want to miss finding out.”

–Forbes
Person speaking at the event. (performance, concert, music, festival, stage, musician, band, singer, audience, people, piano, jazz, light, indie, man, theatre, instrument, theater, auditorium, rap)

“We’ve seen the future of storytelling and it’s f@#%ing awesome.”

–Vice
A group of people sitting on a couch in a park. (Microsoft Story Lounge,woman, people, man, sit, relaxation, family, summer, togetherness, leisure, adult, girl, love, furniture, picnic, couple, grass, nature, garden, fun, recreation)
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