StoryFutures Academy: Industry Centre of Excellence in Immersive Narrative

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StoryFutures Academy is a genuine HEI-Industry collaboration between trainers and producers to develop the storytelling techniques and languages that will shape the future of immersive narrative. Led by the National Film & Television School and Royal Holloway, our bid is founded on research and training knowledge that places storytelling at its heart. We will provide core screen sector talent with the tools, space, creative freedom and cross-sector work structures to unlock the creative and commercial potential of immersive production. Partnered by Sir Lenny Henry, Destiny Ekaragha, Alex Garland, Georgina Campbell and more we will lead a charge of UK creative talent into immersive that embeds diversity into the development of the medium across writing, directing, producing, performance, cinematography, editing, animation and VFX.We will deliver training in action, providing opportunities for creatives to learn through taking part in immersive productions that tackle key creative and technical challenges. We link this to R&D in business model innovation and audience insight that combines electronic engineering, neuro- and cognitive psychology with long-sighted ethnography to provide a catalyst for growth of creative industries. We de-risk immersive production through 4 workstreams that provide £1.25m for collaborative projects with immediate impact: 1. Embedded Placements: Promoting talent development and commercial vitality by enabling placements of screen sector talent on immersive productions for cross sector innovation and work-based learning;2. Collaborative Co-productions: Co-producing immersive experiences that tackle sector wide creative and technological barriers to growth, upskilling core screen sector workers via access to hands-on learning on live productions that build a cross-sector talent pool;3. Experimental Labs: R&D-based productions that expose core screen sector talent partners to immersive and push technological and creative boundaries; 4. Developmental Training: Training a next generation of immersive storytellers and trainers that cascades knowledge to HEIs, FECs and industry across the country.We are unique in our industry credibility and relationships. The NFTS was awarded the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema in 2018, and it is the only institution in the UK where industry already invest over £1.5m annually in CPD level training courses, enabling us access and partnership with internationally renowned on- and off-screen talent. Our partners are world-leaders in how story and new technologies combine to produce compelling and novel immersive experiences, including immersive theatre (Punchdrunk), VR (Rewind), gaming (Sony IE), film (BFI), television (Sky VR), advertising (McCann) visual effects (The Third Floor, Double Negative), performance capture (Imaginarium). We bring them together with advanced Original Equipment Manufacturers (Microsoft, Plexus) and sector experts (Digital Catapult) to place story and technology in tandem to explore, research, train and develop cross sector storytelling talent and business models. SFA will create over 60 ICE productions and generate nearly 1,000 direct beneficiaries. It will cascade benefits, insights and opportunities via collaborations with regional partners, including NFTS' base in Scotland alongside TRC Media and UK Games Fund as well as access to nationwide labs via Digital Catapult, and co-production bases in Manchester (McCann) and Yorkshire (BFI). It also gains significant advantage from the economies of scale and access to talent achievable from our Gateway Cluster base with its easy flows of talent and work in and out of London. StoryFutures Academy can make the UK a world-leader in immersive because it has unmatched access to mainstream creative screen sector talent, companies and technologies, allowing it to translate experimentation, training and R&D into tangible economic and creative ROI for the whole of UK Plc.