Multimedia:
Multimedia forms a large section of the space Future Screens NI works in, with a particular view to how this sector is being innovated upon. Some of this innovation comes from new technologies such as 360 cameras, VR/AR headsets, Realtime Rendering pipelines ect. and how they can be used to change the shape of the industry, but these innovations also come from how this technology can be utilised in ways that were previously not possible, by employing newly emerging techniques. Some of the most interesting companies we work with are combining both of these methods to create entirely new workflows and products that can lead the industry in a new direction and also put the Northern Irish creative sector as a whole firmly on the global stage.
Retinize: Retinize is a multi-award-winning immersive media studio, creating VR and AR experiences for clients like National Geographic, BBC, Seagate, BMW, National Museums NI etc.
Their mission is to create new and incredible immersive experiences that push the boundaries of what the viewers/users are typically expecting from similarly designed content and what the medium (VR/AR) is currently capable of. The overall goal for Retinize is to harness this newly expanding medium by using a full spectrum of available technologies to get the absolute best out of the content. To do this they use state of the art 360 video, 3D stereoscopic vision and spatial sound to truly immerse the user in breathtaking content. By doing this they believe that they will be able to get more people to fully embrace a new form of story telling that is able to instantly transport a user to an entirely new world.
Retinize initially began as a spinout from Wild Rover Productions which had been well established in Northern Ireland since 1999 as a film and production company. From here Retinize established their own roots in high end global film and television before going on to explore more tech focussed projects which include VR/AR experiences that were created for National Museums NI and Tourism NI in addition to further utlising the technology for animation techniques and more advanced production that can not only be used internally for the creation of high end video pieces but also has the potential to change how the industry as a whole thinks about animation techniques and production.
For More on Retinize: https://www.retinize.com
ALT Animation: ALT is a collective of creative professionals who joined forces to create a production studio focused on delivering high quality story driven animated content, using efficient production pipelines to provide creative solutions and compelling content for global audiences of all ages across multiple platforms. Formed in 2016, ALT Animation is made up of Animation Producers, Tim Bryans and Andrea McQuade and Creative Director Lee McQuade. Together they have over 30 years of experience in the creative industries during which they have produced dozens of hours of award winning broadcast animated content, helped to raise in excess of £15 million in production finance, developed numerous iOS Apps as well as created and produced campaigns and adverts that have been viewed right across the globe. They have worked for international broadcasters such as CBBC, Disney, Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, RTE, KiKA and Channel 4, and global brands such as Unilever, O2, Mars and Vodafone combining their production management and creative experience to deliver award winning material with exceptionally high production values.
Their newest project “The Hearios” is an exciting stop motion animation and live action mixed media series aimed at a pre-school audience featuring a family of musical moles who teach children the important developmental skill of active listening.
Since their formation, ALT Animation have been focused on developing a slate of animated properties for the global market. In 2017 ALT Animation optioned an idea for an animated series from children’s author and music expert Ann Bryant.
Working with Ann and Mark Gordon of Score Draw Music, ALT have developed the idea into The Hearios, a property with true international appeal which promises to couple compelling animated content with a very valuable message for a modern pre-school audience.
In the current market, the competition for commissions from broadcasters and SVODs is extremely high with production companies from around the world competing for the relatively small number of shows that get picked up every year. The children’s department at the BBC receive over 1,000 pitch documents every year, from which they will commission 3 or 4 projects. Whilst the BBC are obviously the market leader in children’s animation, this level of uptake is indicative of the competition that animation producers face to get their content out into market.
In order to make The Hearios stand out from its competitors, ALT are proposing to bolster their current proposition by carrying out user testing with our target audience, in collaboration with QUB, to provide information about the existing listening skills and vocabulary of pre-schoolers and how they are affected by the central conceit of the show. The series has been designed to improve children’s active listening skills which have been shown to assist with their development in areas such as speech, language skills and memory. ALT propose to carry out some user testing in order to establish the effectiveness of the show in capturing children’s attention to the sounds presented and their development of a vocabulary of sounds. Educational aspects of a series are of huge importance to broadcasters, especially public service broadcasters who have a particular remit to inspire and educate their audiences.
For More on ALT Animation: https://www.altanimation.com
Italic Pig: Italic Pig is an innovative games studio based in Holywood that specialise in high-concept narrative adventures packed with snappy dialogue, irreverently-epic plot lines and experimental game mechanics.
The premise for their new VR game “The Infinite Hotel” came from working within VR’s key limitation - physical space - rather than fighting against it with workarounds like teleportation, autorun or stick controls. Italic Pig’s The Infinite Hotel is a character-driven VR adventure that boasts “A grand scale adventure in a room scale space”. Set in a hotel with an infinite number of floors, the player takes on the role of elevator operator to the weird and quirky staff and patrons of the universe’s most luxurious holiday resort. Though The Infinite Hotel has achieved recognition, the current Character Generator does not function to the level Italic Pig wish to provide. Italic Pig aim to create a second generation Character Generator that uses fewer assets in an innovative method, and uses machine learning to create believably randomised characters (known as “Randos”) that are appealing to the player.
The game won The Big Indie Pitch at PocketGamer London and earned a highly regarded Best In Play award at GDC San Francisco. Both Oculus & HTC have shown genuine interest, and the demo has been compared to “stepping into a Pixar film”. Italic Pig have been recognised as NI Game Studio of the year. Infinite Hotel was nominated for Best Immersive Game at the upcoming Raindance Film Festival 2019.
The Trailer for The Infinite Hotel can be accessed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kavlSIDXzo
For More on Italic Pig: https://www.italicpig.com
For more information on the projects that have been funded through future screens NI and how to go about applying for funding yourself please follow the link below