Interested in learning to develop immersive content? Ideate is a new programme for Greater Manchester-based creative businesses looking to expand into immersive storytelling. Bringing together leaders from across the ever-growing world of immersive – from AR/VR, to audio and sound design, theatre and experiential events – to provide expert advice on creating innovative cross-platform content.
This is the ideal programme for creative businesses working in screen industries such as film, TV and games through to theatre, live events and cultural organisations who are looking to take the first step into immersive content production.
Mentoring
Creative England’s Ideate mentoring programme is looking for Greater Manchester-based creative businesses looking to delve into the world of immersive. The mentoring programme allows those leading the way in this emerging sector to provide advice to businesses on how to develop a new immersive experience.
Ten companies will be selected to work with their own immersive consultant for up to 12 hours of mentoring over 6 months. Our industry experts come from leading organisations in the sector such as BBC, FutureEverything, Immersive Storylab and Manchester Metropolitan University. Selected businesses will also receive access to an exclusive hands-on bootcamp in association with StoryFutures Academy, where they will have the opportunity to experiment with the latest immersive technologies and experience ground-breaking techniques and practices.
This programme is ideal for marketing & digital agencies, arts & cultural venues, TV/Film production companies and live events businesses who are interested in how immersive technology such as AR, VR and XR can enhance their creative products and experiences for clients, visitors and audiences. *
*Ideate is a non-monetary business support programme. All costs for the mentoring support (up to 12 hours) and the StoryFutures bootcamp are fully funded. Ideate cannot fund any additional costs associated with taking an immersive experience/product to market.
Examples of how immersive technology is used across creative disciplines:
- Film e.g. Through the Masks of Luzia – a VR film by Felix and Paul Studios for Cirque du Soleil
- Live events/theatre/installations e.g. We Live in an Ocean of Air exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery by Marshmallow Laser Feast
- Brand promotional tools e.g. the Dulux Visualiser App
- Visual arts e.g. Other Spaces by The Store X The Vinyl Factory & United Visual Artists
- Surroundscapes (e.g. Digital Catapult & BPI)
Criteria
- Applicants must be businesses (SMEs or Sole Traders) registered to a Greater Manchester address or be trading out of Greater Manchester (e.g. your office is based here or you conduct a significant portion of your work here)
- The company must meet the European Union’s definition of an SME (you must have fewer than 250 employees and annual turnover less than €50 million). For more information: https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=3123
The deadline to apply for the Ideate Mentoring Programme is 12pm Friday 28th February.
Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
Ian Forrester – Senior Producer, BBC R&D
Ian Forrester is well-known on the digital scene in the UK and Europe. Based in Manchester, he works for the BBC’s R&D Future Experiencesteam and specialises in open innovation and new disruptive opportunities.
Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
David Johnston – Senior Product Manager AR/VR, BBC R&D
As the Senior Product Manager for Future Experiencesfor Virtual & Augmented Reality, David looks at how immersive technologies can be applied to areas of the BBC and the wider digital economy.
Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
Rose Kay – CEO, Immersive Storylab
Rose is the CEO of Immersive Storylab, a company making storyworld XR experiences. Immersive Storylab deliver projects exploring the potential of mixed reality to create innovative, imaginative cinematic-theatrical events which enchant unexplored spaces with story.
Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
Paul Bason – Director of Digital Innovation, Manchester Metropolitan University
As the Director of Digital Innovation at MMU, Paul is responsibile for building relationships with broadcasters, agencies and other companies in the North West’s digital media sector. He also leads aspects of MMU’s new School of Digital Arts.
Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
Sharon Clark – Creative Director, Raucous
Sharon is the Creative Director of Raucous, a theatre company that fuses performance, music, film and creative technology.She is a resident at the Pervasive Media Studio, Associate Artist at the egg, Bath and lecturer at Bath Spa University.
Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
Alison Norrington – Founder, storycentral
Alison Norrington is a writer/producer, CEO, Founder & Chief Creative Director of storycentral, a London-based entertainment studio that incubates and develops ground-breaking transmedia properties with global partners in film, television, publishing and gaming.
Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
Claire Tymon – Executive Director, FutureEverything
Claire is a creative entrepreneur who delivers creative urban projects and embeds co-design and participation at the heart of her practice. Since joining FutureEverything, Claire has taken a lead role in business development, fundraising and evaluation methodologies.
Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
Irini Papadimitriou – Creative Director, FutureEverything
Currently Creative Director at FutureEverything, Irini Papadimitriou is a curator and digital culture manager. Irina co-curated for the Arts & Culture experience at Mozilla Festival, co-founded Maker Assembly, and has been a recipient of curatorial research programmes.
Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
Jamie Finlay – CEO, We Make Audio
Jamie Finlay established We Make Audio in 2019 after ten years of working in music and sound design. His work has spanned multiple disciplines; from games and VR, to experiential design, film and installations.
The programme kicks off with a two-day bootcamp where attendees will hear directly from industry experts at the forefront of creating new immersive content.
- Immerse UK’s Fiona Kilkelly will explain the bigger picture when it comes to making money from immersive content.
- Gain hands on experience of developing a new immersive product under Immersive StoryLab’s Rose Kay.
- Hear about available immersive production funding and free training opportunities with StoryFutures, the National Film and Television School and Royal Holloway University of London
- Meet Ideate’s mentors with a panel session featuring speakers from BBC R&D, Future Everything and SODA
Following the bootcamp, businesses will be given the opportunity to apply for the Ideate mentoring programme, where ten companies will be taken forward to develop their own cross-platform product with up to 12 hours of 1-2-1 mentoring sessions with industry experts including the BBC, FutureEverything and Immersive Storylab.
Our kick-off two-day bootcamp will be on the 13th & 14th November – spaces are limited and strictly available to Greater Manchester-based businesses.
You can no longer register your interest for this bootcamp.
Ideate is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and run in partnership with Manchester Growth Hub and Northern Powerhouse.
