The XR Stories & SIGN Podcast XR Stories

In the last episode of this series, we meet Greg Mothersdale, R&D Producer at Media Cymru and Laura Hawkes, freelance producer and founder of Real Story Studio to explore what the future of VP looks like for the creative industries in the UK. We delve into cross-sector innovations, how to harness opportunities, and what we need to do better.

We meet Phil Holdgate from ITV Studios and SAIL and Jon Swords from the University of York to talk about VP and sustainability. Phil and Jon share their insights on the sustainable production practices offered by VP, the challenges of evaluating the environmental impact of film and TV, and why sustainability should be the north star to guide and shape decision making for the whole production supply chain.

We meet Anna Einarsdottir from the University of York and Christina Nowak from Anna Valley to talk about Virtual Production and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). We consider the potential of the VP industry as an opportunity to remove some of the inequalities that exist in the screen industries and explore how we can avoid exacerbating existing EDI issues.

We meet Jude Brereton, Professor of Audio and Music Technologies at the University of York and Amanda Huxtable, Co-Founder of Vanitas Arts, to explore whether the UK’s Virtual Production space is at risk of stalling as soon as it has set off. Amanda and Jude share their insights on some of the challenges faced by companies and creatives working in VP and we delve into issues including the recruitment and retention of skilled workers, and barriers to entry.

We meet Florian Block, Professor in Digital Creativity at the University of York, R&D Lead for AI & Immersive at Dock10, and Co-Founder/MD of Fast Forward, to explore how we can successfully integrate VP with Artificial Intelligence. We delve into the impact of AI systems, the opportunities that AI offers to the creative community and issues including authenticity and regulation.

We meet Melissa Terras, Professor of Digital Cultural Heritage at the University of Edinburgh, to talk about how we can use VP technologies to transform the way that we access the past. We explore the challenges of creating immersive experiences for cultural heritage and Melissa shares her insights on data ethics, IP, and monetization.