9 episodes

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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The StoryFutures Academy Podcast StoryFutures Academy : National Centre for Immersive Storytelling

    • Education
    • 4.8 • 6 Ratings

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.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Episode 1 - Making Immersive Stories: What is the future of storytelling?

    Episode 1 - Making Immersive Stories: What is the future of storytelling?

    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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    • 26 min
    Episode 2 - Making Immersive Stories: Getting Started

    Episode 2 - Making Immersive Stories: Getting Started

    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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    • 25 min
    Episode 3 - Making Immersive Stories: Augmented Reality

    Episode 3 - Making Immersive Stories: Augmented Reality

    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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    • 34 min
    Episode 4 - Making Immersive Stories: The Producer’s Role

    Episode 4 - Making Immersive Stories: The Producer’s Role

    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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    • 28 min
    Episode 5 - Making Immersive Stories: Writing for characters in VR

    Episode 5 - Making Immersive Stories: Writing for characters in VR

    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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    • 25 min
    Episode 6 - Making Immersive Stories: Audience Insight

    Episode 6 - Making Immersive Stories: Audience Insight

    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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    • 24 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
6 Ratings

6 Ratings

Livvyhink ,

Fantastic Insight into Immersive

If you’re a beginner to virtual, augmented or mixed reality, this is a great jumping off point from StoryFutures Academy! Looking forward to the rest of the episodes

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