Future Tuesdays returns with Rebecca Hume, CEO TapSOS! 13th Sep 22, 12Noon

Future Tuesdays is pleased to present Rebecca Hume, CEO of TapSOS Ltd, in-person at Ormeau Baths, Belfast on 13th of September 12 Noon.

Join us for a new season of Future Tuesdays with an in-person event at Ormeau Baths. Featured this months is founder, CEO of Belfast-based TapSOS Ltd Becca Hume will be speaking on recent developments to enhance users’ experience when interacting with 999. The company’s app TapSOS was developed to allow non-verbal contact of emergency services. 

Curious about users’ behaviours and needs, Becca founded a technology company, designing products and services for better inclusion. Her technology company is mostly known for their non-verbal emergency reporting app, TapSOS. 

TapSOS is the only UK company to be accredited by BAPCO, DCMS and is integrated with BT 999 for all four emergency services. 

Becca believes in ‘being the change you’d like to see’ and is passionate about design for those most vulnerable in society and to be a voice for those unheard. 

Becca was awarded the 2020-2021 Women in Innovation award through Innovate UK and during 2020 expanded the innovation for domestic abuse reporting, in response to the impact of COVID-19.  

Please note, this will be an In-Person event at Ormeau Baths. Refreshments will be provided.  

Let us know if you have any access or dietary requirements in order to attend this event. Contact info-futurescreensni@ulster.ac.uk for any queries or requests. 

Register for tickets here. 

VP Futures: A Co-Production & Training Programme, Announces Two Winning Companies

VP Futures is an exciting co-production training & development programme between StoryFutures Academy (The UK’s National Centre for Immersive Storytelling) and Future Screens NI supported by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Epic Games. The innovative partnership was designed to deliver a package of targeted virtual production training, development and production support for the creative screen industries in the UK.

The VP Futures programme was inspired in response to the needs identified in the StoryFutures Academy Virtual Production Skills report. The VP Skills Mandala featured in the report was used to create a bespoke VP Skills Development pipeline for each company, from which a unique training programme was designed to meet the needs of each individual team. Following a hugely competitive selection process, StoryFutures Academy and Future Screens NI were able to support eight companies through a two month development zone, where they tested new ideas, upskilled their teams and received extensive in-depth mentorship from our partners – ILM and Epic Games. They have also had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience within a Virtual Production studio in both London and Belfast. 

It has been an incredible journey so far and StoryFutures Academy and Future Screens NI are delighted to announce the two companies who we have awarded funding into the VP Futures Production Zone and who will now be able to test out new research, ideas and put their new skills into action through the filming of their VP projects.

Image Credit: ‘Stone Hearts and Careless People’, Aura Digital

Aura Digital Studios Ltd

‘Stone Hearts and Careless People’ is a supernatural romantic tragedy set in a world similar to our own. Utilising In-Camera VFX, it follows our protagonist as they discover the beautiful tragedy of living.

“The mentorship we have received from VP Futures has been invaluable and helped us manage the steep learning curve. This opportunity has accelerated our company's understanding of virtual production workflows and methodologies. This has opened entirely new avenues for the company as well as augmenting our pre-existing workflows to be faster and more efficient.” Eva Robinson, Co-Founder, Aura Digital Studios Ltd

Image Credit: ‘The Surreal Life’, ft. Actor Max Lohan.

Sunnyside Productions

‘The Surreal Life’ tells the story of a great, undiscovered surrealist, who shaped some of the 20th century's greatest masterpieces. 

“VP Futures was an incredible opportunity to go from almost zero knowledge about filming for Virtual Production to a really solid grounding in the terminology, techniques and potential of a VP shoot. The mentorship from ILM and Epic Games, as well as the mentorship from the project leaders, was exceptional. Jon Gilbert, Screenwriter, Sunnyside Productions

We were supported at all times and the learning curve was phenomenal; we went from being near-total novices to (not quite) experts in six weeks! As a crash course in VP, it was both intensive and highly rewarding and has left us feeling confident and inspired to continue our journeys into shooting with VP. Andrea Miller, Producer/ Director, Sunnyside Productions

Ben Morris, Creative Director, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) - London

"It's been a totally inspiring and rewarding experience to meet, mentor and be part of such a forward looking programme as VP Futures by StoryFutures Academy and Future Screens NI. Each group brought so much to the table in terms of ideas and enthusiasm to learn about the new and highly dynamic world of Virtual Production. As world leaders in this space we are thrilled to see and be part of training and mentoring the next generation of Virtual Production specialists in the UK." 

The VP Futures programme was broken down into two stages:

Stage 1 ‘The Development Zone’ brought companies through a 6-week training and development programme, where teams got hands on with VP technologies, had 1-2-1 mentorship with experts from Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Epic Games, supported by a series of Masterclasses with: Xavier Martin-Ramirez (Content Creation / FX Supervisor, ILM), James Mohan (Content Creation / VAD, ILM), Adam Grint (Virtual Production Supervision / VAD, ILM) and Ben Morris (Creative Director, ILM - London) and Kinga Kliss (Virtual Production Lab Assistant, Epic Games), Nancy Xu (Virtual Production Producer, Epic Games). The participants were also able to learn more about mocap and performance capture, with remote sessions provided by Alex Counsell (Technical Director of CCIXR) and John Dower (Co-Founder, Mocap Vaults). 

The 8 Development Zone companies included:

• Sunnyside

• Aura

• Engine House

• Draw & Code

• Liminal Stage Productions

• Retinize

• Soluis

• TAUNT

Stage 2 ‘The Production Zone’ offers the two winning companies funding and the opportunity to go into production on a VP Shoot, one in London and one in NI. These 2 projects will act as demonstrators for the innovative use of VP in the creative content sector and we will look to identify follow-on developmental training capacity building opportunities. The VP shoots will be taking place during July & August 2022 at National Film & Television School in Beaconsfield & Ulster University Virtual Production Studio in Belfast.

Fiona Kilkelly, Executive Producer, VP Futures, StoryFutures Academy

“VP Futures has shown, for the first time, the wide range of innovative thinking and new R&D emerging from SMEs looking to work in VP and real-time technologies. The programme is building capacity in companies to deliver new R&D requires rapid and intensive skills development and the opportunity to get hands on with technology in a risk free environment. From skills development to production; the success of VP Futures lies in being able to provide comprehensive support throughout this journey.”

Dr. Declan Keeney, Director of the Ulster Screen Academy at Ulster University and CI of Future Screens NI commented:

“This has been an incredibly successful and ground-breaking programme. Working closely with our world class academic and industry partners, we are changing the face of virtual production in the UK and Ireland. Now, eight companies are emerging in the sector with new skills and capabilities in VP. Both companies now funded for production represent an exciting future for the creative industries and we will continue to build on the success of VP Futures going forward to support other companies in their adoption of virtual production pipelines.”

Prof. Peter Richardson, Virtual Production Lead, StoryFutures Academy added:

“This partnership with ILM, Epic and the eight companies is an important step towards addressing the urgent need for the UK film and TV industry to step up to the challenge that VP offers. The vital learnings and insights from the programme will be made available free to the industry over the next few months.”

VP Futures Co-Production and Training Programme Team during week 5 of the programme pictured at the Virtual Productions Studios on Ulster University’s Belfast campus with Ben Morris & Danielle Legovich from ILM and Ben Lumsden, Nancy Xu & Kinga Kliss from Epic Games.

For the latest Virtual Production skills development and training opportunities, please follow @storyfuturesa and @futurescreensni.

Filmmaker Ara Devine in conversation at difficult conversations symposium.

Filmmaker and Future Screens NI funding recipient Ara Devine recently spoke with Paul Moore about the Future Creatives funded film short Turf for the difficult conversations symposium. The symposium was a collaboration between the University of Canberra, Ulster University and the British Council structured to ask what role can the arts and creativity play in navigating unresolved concerns, ongoing debates and controversial questions for our communities?

Exploring complex topics, from reconciliation and truth-telling in the context of colonialism to polarising social or political issues, this symposium featured exchanges between leading artists and researchers from Australia and Northern Ireland about difficult conversations we, as a globally connected society, need to have today.

More information and a recording of Ara and Paul’s conversation can be found here.

The difficult conversations symposium was a live-streamed panel discussion featuring a conversation between university leaders and artists from Canberra and Ulster opening on 24 March 2022.

The Future Creatives scheme from Future Screens NI had been designed to enable participants to make a step change in their research and innovation by enhanced leadership and collaboration skills and developing new practices in the field of creativity and technology

This year’s BEYOND conference 2022 to be held in Cardiff, Wales 18-20 October.

This year’s BEYOND conference on Creative Industry and Business innovation will be held in Cardiff, Wales 18-20 October.

We are excited to showcase last year’s BEYOND Conference sizzle reel to provide a taste of what to expect in October.

The BEYOND Conference is an exciting opportunity to hear developments in cutting edge technology, research, policy and innovation in the Creative Industries. This is chance to explore the relationship between creative research and business innovation and to network with top representatives from the respective fields in the UK and abroad.

To receive more information sign up for BEYOND updates at this link.

We look forward to seeing you all in Wales!

Announcing the Puttnam Scholars Programme Awardees for 2022!

Following a competitive application process for the third year running, Atticus Education, Fís Éireann (Screen Ireland), Northern Ireland Screen and Future Screens NI are delighted to announce this year’s eight Puttnam Scholars. 

This cross-border initiative offers promising filmmakers access to interactive online masterclasses with Oscar-winning producer David Puttnam (Midnight Express, Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields) and each a €1,250 scholarship from Atticus Education towards their career development. The scholarship bursaries are supported by Accenture in Ireland. 

The eight participants (four from Northern Ireland and four from the Republic of Ireland) are all emerging writers, directors or producers who have made, or are in the process of developing, their first feature or television drama. Chosen by Future Screens NI and four Irish higher education institutions, the participants are: 

· Dee Harvey Writer/Director, selected by Future Screens NI

· Jules Charlton Producer, selected by Future Screens NI 

· Margaret McGoldrick Writer/Director/Producer, selected by Future Screens NI

· PJ Hart Writer/Producer, selected by Future Screens NI 

· Tara Hegarty, Writer/Producer, nominated by Technological University Dublin 

· Lia Campbell, Writer/Director/Producer, nominated by Institute of Art, Design & Technology Dun Laoighaire 

· Turlough Ó Cinnéide, Director, nominated by Technological University of the Shannon (formerly Limerick Institute of Technology). 

· Mark Smyth, Writer/Director, nominated by Dundalk Institute of Technology 

In addition to the scholars, Future Screens NI has nominated Filmmaker & Producer Colum Eastwood as a representative and mentor.

David Puttnam said, “I’m seriously impressed with the calibre of applicants wishing to join our list of Puttnam Scholars this year. We now have eight highly qualified participants, bursting with talent and enthusiasm, and ready to embark on the next phase of their filmmaking journey with Atticus Education - I hope we do them proud!” 

A 2021 Puttnam Scholar, Ali Doyle (Head of Development, Wild Atlantic) said of her experience, "Being selected as a Puttnam Scholar was both an incredible honour and an invaluable experience. Across each masterclass, not only did I learn and strengthen my knowledge in these dedicated fields, but the awe-inspiring passion of David Puttnam and each of the invited guests, acted as a reignition of why we make movies and TV, how through these audio-visual mediums, we can teach as much as we can entertain. To all the Puttnam Scholars of 2022, congratulations, you deserve this and enjoy every second of it!" 

Over the course of the sessions, Lord Puttnam will explore the following themes: The Power of Identity; The Evolution of Creativity; Fact or Fiction; Builders and Brokers; Music and Meaning; and Interpreting the Future. The sessions are designed to enhance participants’ understanding of the creative process and the cultural context within which the screen industries operate. 

Seminars have in the past included conversations with several special guests, each providing insights into their own careers and thoughts on the industry. Guest have included Lenny Abrahamson, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Greengrass and Mark Cousins.