In this episode, we'll be talking about sources of funding and looking at how some makers are trying to create sustainable business models. We have three guests to guide us through this emerging ecosystem.We'll hear from Mike Jones, a producer at Marshmallow Laser Feast about the location-based entertainment model, and to Dave Ranyard, CEO of Dream Reality Interactive who's been successful at creating mobile augmented reality games. We're also joined by immersive expert Liz Rosenthal, VR Programmer of the Venice Film Festival and founder of Power to the Pixel.

With Liz Rosenthal, Mike Jones and Dave Ranyard

Liz Rosenthal, CEO, Power to the Pixel

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-rosenthal-70b8b22/

Mike Jones, Senior Producer, Marshmallow Laser Feast

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-jones-7802431b3/

Dave Ranyard, CEO, Dream Reality Interactive

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveranyard/

Credits:

Presenter: Shehani Fernando

Producers: Chris Hogg & Shehani Fernando 

Assistant Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producer: Will Saunders

Editing and sound design: John Wakefield & Matt McGuinness

The title track is ‘A Thousand Years’ by David A Molina

Other music: ‘Broke Fashion’ by Anitek courtesy of Free Music Archive

Additional music by Neil Cullen

Clips from ‘We Live in an Ocean of Air’ courtesy of Marshmallow Laser Feast

Clips from ‘Singheads’ courtesy of Dream Reality Interactive

Resources: 

Liz Rosenthal

http://www.powertothepixel.com/

Creative XR: https://creativexr.co.uk/about-creative-xr/

Venice Festival VR Section: https://www.labiennale.org/it/cinema/2020/venice-vr-expanded-web-section

Marshmallow Laser Feast: https://www.marshmallowlaserfeast.com/

Phi Centre: https://phi-centre.com/en/

Dream Reality Interactive: https://www.dreamrealityinteractive.com/

Innovate UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk

Immerse UK: https://www.immerseuk.org/

Digital Catapult: https://www.digicatapult.org.uk/technologies/immersive

Audiences of the Future: https://www.immerseuk.org/audience-of-the-future/about-audience-of-the-future/

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People often see immersive technology as a way of entering new worlds to experience things that they would never normally get to do in real life. While there is certainly much out there to delight and entertain, immersive stories can also enable a glimpse into someone else's world or provoke new perspectives on social or political issues. This week we look at the issue-based work of two XR makers: Francesca Panetta, who led the Guardian’s VR studio and more recently has been dabbling in deep fake technology; and Karen Palmer, whose body of recent immersive work deals with race, ethics and AI to challenge our own implicit biases.

With Francesca Panetta and Karen Palmer

Francesca Panetta, Artist & Journalist

https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesca-panetta-895b457/

Karen Palmer, Artist

https://www.linkedin.com/in/storytellerfromthefuture/

Credits:

Presenter: Shehani Fernando

Producers: Chris Hogg & Shehani Fernando 

Assistant Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producer: Will Saunders

Editing and sound design: John Wakefield & Matt McGuinness

The title track is ‘A Thousand Years’ by David A Molina

Other music: ‘Allston Night Owl’ by Blue Dot Sessions courtesy of Free Music Archive

Additional music by Neil Cullen

Clips from ‘In Event of Moon Disaster’, courtesy of MIT Centre for Advanced Virtuality 

Clips from ‘6x9’ and ‘Sea Prayer’, Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2020

Clips from ‘Riot’ courtesy of Karen Palmer.

Resources: 

In Event of Moon Disaster - co-directed by Francesca Panetta & Halsey Bergund, an MIT Centre for Advanced Virtuality Production

https://moondisaster.org/

6x9: A virtual experience of solitary confinement

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2016/apr/27/6x9-a-virtual-experience-of-solitary-confinement

Experience all The Guardian’s 360 content

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa_1MA_DEorE_Qwa-4uURxeOvRxYfqA-6

Karen Palmer

http://karenpalmer.uk/

Thoughtworks Arts

https://thoughtworksarts.io/

Immerse News

Creative discussion of emerging non fiction storytelling (and great newsletter)

https://immerse.news/

MIT’s Docubase of new forms of documentary storytelling

https://docubase.mit.edu/

VR Non-fiction - A Mediography

http://vrdocumentaryencounters.co.uk/vrmediography/

Virtual Reality: Immersive Documentary Encounters research project

http://vrdocumentaryencounters.co.uk/

Canny AI

https://www.cannyai.com/

Respeecher - Voice cloning

https://www.respeecher.com/

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Whether the first immersive experience you are making is for people in their living rooms or launching at a museum, understanding how your story is going to be experienced and who you're going to target is a huge question that should be dealt with upfront rather than after you've built it. This week we enlist the help of Catherine Allen from Limina Immersive, Executive Producer, Zillah Watson and our own Dr Laryssa Whittaker from StoryFutures to find out exactly what questions you should be asking your audience and how to attract more people to your content.

Dr. Laryssa Whittaker, Research Fellow, StoryFutures 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laryssa-whittaker-09499034/

Catherine Allen, CEO, Limina Immersive

https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinedjallen/

Zillah Watson, Executive Producer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zillahwatson/

Credits:

Presenter: Shehani Fernando

Producers: Chris Hogg & Shehani Fernando 

Assistant Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producer: Will Saunders

Editing and sound design: John Wakefield & Matt McGuinness

The title track is ‘A Thousand Years’ by David A Molina

Additional music: Plate Synthesis by Blue Dot Sessions courtesy of Free Music Archive

We would like to thank the National Gallery for allowing us to use the Gregorian Chants from the Virtual Veronese Project: It was sung by Veneti Cantores Choir, whom we also wish to thank.

The music is an extract from the liturgy for Ash Wednesday, from the manuscript: Mantua, Archivio Storico Diocesano, A2, 1561. 

Resources: 

Virtual Veronese:

https://www.storyfutures.com/news/storyfutures-presents-virtual-veronese

Beyond the early adopter: widening the appeal for virtual reality by Catherine Allen (Dec 2020)

https://pec.ac.uk/policy-briefings/beyond-the-early-adopter-widening-the-appeal-for-virtual-reality

The Immersive Audience Journey Report (July 2020)

https://audienceofthefuture.live/reports/immersive-audience-journey/

Audience testing resource

https://medium.com/pintsizedrobotninja/vr-a-different-world-a-different-way-of-testing-6c91010bcb8b

StoryFutures Research

https://www.storyfutures.com/showcase

BBC’s distribution through libraries VR Project

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/vr-local-libraries

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This week, we're talking about the role of writers in immersive storytelling. Some of the biggest IP on the planet is beginning to wake up to the possibilities that virtual reality can offer. In the last few years, Star Wars and Doctor Who have launched VR experiences for the Oculus Quest. Writers are going to have an increasingly important role in the creation of new character-led experiences. This episode brings together the sage voices of Adam Ganz, Head of the Writer's Room at the StoryFutures Academy, Kerry Kolbe a TV writer who is making the leap into writing for VR, and finally Russ Harding, the man entrusted by the producers of Peaky Blinders to bring the world of 1920's Birmingham onto a headset near you.

Presenter: Shehani Fernando, 

Producers: Chris Hogg & Shehani Fernando, 

Assistant Producer: Max Bower,

Executive Producer: Will Saunders, 

Editing and sound design: John Wakefield & Matt McGuinness, 

The title track is: ‘A Thousand Years’ by David A Molina, 

Additional music: Neil Cullen & ‘Algea Tender’ by Blue Dot Sessions courtesy of the Free Music Archive

Special Thanks:

Peaky Blinders Clip provided courtesy of Caryn Mandabach Productions www.peakyblinders.tv

SFA Writer’s Room: https://www.storyfutures.com/academy/experiment/writers-room

Peaky Blinders: https://peakyblinders.tv

Maze Theory: https://www.maze-theory.com/projects

Sun Ladies VR Piece: https://www.luciddreamsprod.com/#video2

Punchdrunk: https://www.punchdrunk.org.uk/

Playstation VR Worlds: https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/games/playstation-vr-worlds/

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An immersive producer is a key role in any XR project - so what does it take to become one yourself?  What are the nuts and bolts of delivering a project to budget, and what technical knowledge do you need to be able to translate what clients want to developers? This week we have two guests that have worked on some ground-breaking immersive projects, Katie Grayson from Passion Experience, and executive producer Zillah Watson. Both of them share their top tips on the different phases of production and discuss the making of the BBC’s Emmy-nominated ‘Dr Who: The Runaway’.

Zillah Watson, Executive Producer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zillahwatson/

Katie Grayson, Passion Pictures

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-grayson-42b8447/

Credits:

Presenter: Shehani Fernando 

Producers: Chris Hogg & Shehani Fernando 

Assistant Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producer: Will Saunders

Editing and sound design: John Wakefield & Matt McGuinness 

The title track is: ‘A Thousand Years’ by David A Molina

Additional music: Neil Cullen

Thanks:

Clips from Congo VR and Dr Who: The Runaway, courtesy of the BBC

Clip from Critical Distance courtesy of Vision 3

Thanks to Satore Studios for use of the Swan AR clip

Resources:

Passion Pictures - http://www.passion-pictures.com/experience/  @passionpictures

BBC’s Congo VR Piece: https://canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/congo-vr/ 

Dr Who: The Runaway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RPe6aNiotA

Hololens 2: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens/buy

Critical Distance: https://www.vision3.tv/VR-3D-projects/post.php?permalink=critical-distance

Satore Studios: https://satorestudio.com/ @satorestudio

Guide to virtual production: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/virtual-production

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With the worldwide value of the Augmented Reality market set to exceed $50 billion by 2024, our guests this week help us to understand what forces are driving this dramatic growth, and what opportunities there are for immersive storytellers like yourself. We begin with Alex Fleetwood, Head of Niantic's London Studios, the company behind Harry Potter’s Wizard’s Unite and the worldwide phenomenon that is Pokémon Go. We’re also joined by Susan Cummings and Taavi Kelle who are going to take us on an AR adventure with Wallace and Gromit.

With Alex Fleetwood from Niantic, and Susan Cummings and Taavi Kelle, from Fictioneers.

Alex Fleetwood, Head of Niantic's London studio - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexfleetwood/

Susan Cummings, Fictioneers - https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanicummings/

Taavi Kelle, Fictioneers - https://www.linkedin.com/in/taavikelle/

Presenter: Shehani Fernando

Producers: Chris Hogg & Shehani Fernando 

Assistant Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producer: Will Saunders 

Editing and sound design: John Wakefield & Matt McGuinness 

The title track is: ‘A Thousand Years’ by David A Molina 

Additional music: Neil Cullen & 'Time to Leave' by Ketsa, courtesy of the Free Music Archive

Resources:

Niantic: https://nianticlabs.com/en/ @nianticLabs

Pokémon Go: https://pokemongolive.com/en/ @pokemongoapp

Pokéman Go Fest https://pokemongolive.com/en/events/fest/2020/

Tiny Rebel Games: https://www.tinyrebelgames.com/ @tinyrebelgames

Fictioneers www.fictioneers.co.uk @fictioneersLtd

The Big Fix Up: https://www.thebigfixup.co.uk/ @thebigfixup

Beasts of Balance: https://beastsofbalance.com/ @beastsofbalance

Spark AR - https://sparkar.facebook.com/ar-studio/

Snapchat Lens Studio - https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/

Niantic's Real World Platform - https://nianticlabs.com/en/blog/nrwp-update-110619/

Niantic's Creator Platform - https://niantic.dev/ 

Thanks:

Special thanks to Fictioneers, Aardman Animations and Niantic for the use of audio clips in this episode.

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This week, we look at how to take your first tentative steps into making immersive content and thinking spatially. But where do you begin? Do you jump into a game engine, or go up into the loft to find your old lego? To help us decide, we’ve enlisted the help of Kim-Leigh Pontin, Creative Director at Nexus Studios and Verity McIntosh, Senior Lecturer in Virtual and Extended Realities at the University of the West of England.

Presenter: Shehani Fernando,

Producers: Chris Hogg & Shehani Fernando,

Assistant Producer: Max Bower,

Executive Producer: Will Saunders,

Editing and sound design: John Wakefield & Matt McGuinness,

The title track is: ‘A Thousand Years’ by  David A Molina,

Additional music: Neil Cullen

Other clips from our introductory montage courtesy of The Guardian, NASA, Common Ground

With thanks to Sky for permission to use a clip from 'Discovery of Witches - Hiding in Plain Sight VR' and Ellie Richold for the 'Virtual Love Islands' clip

RESOURCES

Virtual Love Islands VR Piece: https://www.ellierichold.co.uk/arvr

Nexus Studios: https://nexusstudios.com/

Discovery of Witches VR Piece: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/942242895886564/?locale=en_GB

Britannia VR Piece: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/2084154688334944/?locale=en_GB

Tilt Brush: https://www.tiltbrush.com/

Quill: https://quill.fb.com/

Unity: https://unity.com/

Unreal: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/

Medium (sculpting tool in VR) - https://www.oculus.com/medium/?locale=en_GB

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In our first episode, we delve into what the opportunities are for immersive storytelling. We speak to Becky Gregory-Clarke, Head of Immersive at StoryFutures Academy about the potential of this relatively new industry, and hear from Professor James Bennett, Director, StoryFutures and Co-Director, StoryFutures Academy about their mission and where he thinks the future is going. In addition, we’re joined by Darren Emerson from East City Films who talks about his recent VR experience, Common Ground, set in the Aylesbury Estate in South London.

Credits:

Presenter: Shehani Fernando

Producers: Chris Hogg & Shehani Fernando

Assistant Producer: Max Bower

Executive Producer: Will Saunders

Editing and sound design: John Wakefield & Matt McGuinness

The title track is ‘A Thousand Years’ by David A Molina

Additional music by Neil Cullen

Clips from 1943 Berlin Blitz courtesy of the BBC

Clips from Common Ground, courtesy of East City Films

Other clips from our introductory montage courtesy of The Guardian, NASA, Common Ground

RESOURCES

For more information on things discussed in the episode, see the links below:

Story Futures Academy - The National Centre for Immersive Storytelling

StoryFutures - funded by the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

You can see 1943 Berlin Blitz, courtesy of the BBC

Find out more about Darren Emerson’s experience, Common Ground by East City Films

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Welcome to the new StoryFutures Academy podcast.

This 8-part series, hosted by immersive director Shehani Fernando, gives listeners a practical look at how VR and AR productions actually get made. If you want to begin creating your own immersive stories or learn more about the XR sector, this is the podcast for you. With the help of some of the biggest names in the industry, she explores practical tips, case studies and the challenges that make this a really exciting area to work in.

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