Hotrocket: Producers

Hotrocket principals Ken Bautista and Jason Suriano

Ken Bautista, CEO & Creative Director

KEN BAUTISTA has over 8 years experience in the interactive industry. He co-founded Hotrocket in 2001 after graduating from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor's Degree in Education, with a specialization in instructional technology and learning resources. He was soon recognized with a Young Entrepreneur Award of Distinction and was featured in the Edmonton Journal's "30 Under 30" to watch in 2001.

Since then, Ken and his business partner, Jason Suriano, have produced and directed several interactive projects through Hotrocket, working with partners such as the TELUS World of Science, Science Alberta Foundation, Government of Alberta, Telefilm Canada, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, HIP Architects, Blister Entertainment and FOG Studios.

These productions include "StreetSmarts", an online game that teaches young kids about traffic and street safety; "Tilley", a series of interactive webstories that introduces preschoolers to reading; and most recently, "The Central Institute for Exploration (CIE)", a cross-platform game that uses websites, mobile phones and real-world locations to engage kids in the world of a secret agency dedicated to exploring the past, present and future.

In 2007, Jason and Ken were selected to pitch CIE to a jury of senior industry executives in front of the entire conference delegation at the 8th annual KidScreen Summit in New York. The project won both "Best Pitch" and "Most Viable Property". CIE was also 1 of only 2 projects in Canada to be supported by the TELUS Innovation Fund, which invests in new forms of original and ground-breaking interactive entertainment content. CIE also led to the company being recognized as "Most Promising Company of the Year" at the annual Canadian New Media Awards.

Ken has been invited to speak at several international events including the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum in Hong Kong, Vancouver International Digital Festival, and Interactive Screen at the Banff New Media Institute. He has presented on several topics including emerging business models in digital entertainment and cross-platform content for youth audiences. He was also selected to jury the Canadian New Media Awards, Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association (AMPIA) Awards, and nextPITCH at nextMEDIA.

Ken has produced several industry workshops on production financing, story development, and interactive design, bringing in speakers from companies including Pixar Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Animation, and BioWare Corp. He has also led several international digital media missions to Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Washington D.C., New York City, Austin, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Ken is currently lead interactive strategist at RED The Agency, as part of an acquisition in June 2008. He also recently served as President and Chair of Digital Alberta, the provincial industry association for digital media. He has also served on the Alberta Film Advisory Council, Canadian Interactive Alliance, Alberta ICT Council, Canadian Heritage Trade Team Working Group for New Media, and nextMEDIA Advisory Board. Ken currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta with his wife Amy, a robot vacuum, and always a Starbucks in hand.

Jason Suriano, President & Executive Producer

JASON SURIANO started his career in the interactive industry as a production manager in 2003, after graduating from the University of Alberta with a Master of Arts Degree in Humanities Computing. He was the first graduate of the new program which converged technology with literature, philosophy, project management, content development and writing. His resulting thesis, "The Sign-ificant Body: Finding Corporal Meaning in Literature, Film and Cyberspace" led to employment with Athabasca University as a technology research assistant and a stint as a Faculty of Arts technology mentor at the University of Alberta's Technologies for Learning Centre.

In 2003, Jason was hired by the Heritage Community Foundation. During his time with the non-profit organization, Jason successfully initiated and launched several products and programs. "Edukits" was a series of interactive learning resources that explored topics such as the Aboriginal Youth Identity series, The Famous 5, Women of Aspenland, Alberta Naturally and Alberta's Petrolium Heritage. In his first six months with the program, he raised over $1M in production financing through public and private sources.

In 2004, Jason joined forces with Ken Bautista at Hotrocket to produce and direct several interactive projects. They have worked with partners such as the TELUS World of Science, Science Alberta Foundation, Government of Alberta, Telefilm Canada, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Blister Entertainment, HIP Architects, and FOG Studios.

These productions include "Step Into the Trades", a game that introduces young kids to the building trades and apprentice; "StreetSmarts", an online game focused on traffic and street safety; and most recently, "The Central Institute for Exploration (CIE)", a cross-platform game that uses websites, mobile phones and real-world locations to engage kids in the world of a secret agency dedicated to exploring the past, present and future.

Jason is currently the interactive production manager at RED The Agency. He recently served as Executive Director for the Alberta ICT Council, the provincial industry body for information and communications technology. Jason lives in Edmonton with his wife Jennifer, son Ethan and an affinity for the Philadelphia Eagles.