The Arts and Humanities Research Council is calling on researchers and creative industries professionals to apply to host a new creative facility for the UK’s renowned screen and performance sectors. The Convergent Screen Technologies And performance in Realtime (CoSTAR) programme is a total investment of £75.6 million and will consist of a central hub and experimental studio fitted with real-time digital technologies. Applications close 2 Feb 2023.

As part of a series across the UK, next week's events in Manchester and the Midlands will offer more information on the programme and the application process, as well as a presentation, panel discussion, networking and Q&A:

 Tues 1 November, Manchester (10:00am - 1:00pm) - Register
 Thurs 3 November, Stratford-upon-Avon (10:00am - 1:00pm) - Register
 Tues 15 November, London (10:00am - 1:00pm) - Register

Ahead of COP 27, the Creative PEC (funded by AHRC) and Julie's Bicycle have launched a landmark new report bringing together a sector by sector overview of the creative industries, and the huge amount of activity taking place to work towards net zero. The report unveils creative sector innovations in production, design and supply, highlights barriers to progress and identifies where further action is needed. It is hoped the report will highlight gaps in knowledge, demonstrate where sectors can learn from each other, and serve as a much needed call to action.

➤ Read report

A report published by UAL Fashion, Textiles and Technology Institute (FTTI) in partnership with British Council, share the findings and case studies from a first-of-its-kind programme nurturing international cooperation around ethically responsible and socially engaged fashion and textile design.

The New Landscapes: Fashion, Textiles and Technology Catalyst R&D Grant Scheme pilot programme brought together 5 UK fashion and textile SMEs and counterparts in Official Development Assistance countries, to work on mutually beneficial projects that promote the cultural, social and environmental values of a sustainable global fashion and textiles sector.

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XR Stories is launching OpenXR 2 on Monday 31 October, a funding call for SME businesses in the Yorkshire and Humber region, to develop R&D projects that focus on prototype immersive and interactive story experiences or storytelling tools and platforms. Applicants can bid for up to £25,000 to explore innovation in screen-based storytelling through technologies that fall under the extended-reality (XR) umbrella. 

➤ More info & apply

Researchers from XR Stories and sister project, the Screen Industries Growth Network (SIGN) are exploring how virtual production is being adopted in the film and television industries and the implications this has for storytelling. Nina Willment and Jon Swords introduce the idea of virtual production and highlight productions that have adopted the approach.

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Join Bristol + Bath Creative R+D on the 10 & 11 November to explore the future of creative technologies. After four years of research and development they invite you to ask, what’s the future of creative tech for Bristol and Bath? Together with artists, technologists, academics and producers they will imagine collective futures, discuss how to build more equitable economies and consider how audiences can really be understood. 

➤ More info & register

The Belfast XR Festival kicks off its inaugural year on Weds 9 November at The Black Box in Belfast, dedicated to showcasing the best of local and international immersive technology content. The festival is part of the Belfast Film Festival and supported by NI Screen and Future Screens NI. Its ambition is to create an unmissable annual gathering for XR that inspires storytelling. 

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Future Screens NI Director Professor Paul Moore, has published an article for the PEC on the recent Northern Ireland Creative Industries branch of an initiative by the Department of Communities. Titled “How a placed-based employment programme is bringing creative workers back to Northern Ireland”, the article addresses how the work done on behalf of the Creative Industries Clusters Programme laid the groundwork for Future Screens NI unique foundation to facilitate the Creative Industries DfC’s employment scheme.  

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Katie Moffat, Head of Sector Engagement (Europe) at Subtrakt, recently attended two conferences - Kulturkraft in Copenhagen and BEYOND in Cardiff. Katie has written a short blog to share the key takeaways from both events. These were largely around the themes of sustainability and the future - and of course you can't avoid talks about the metaverse when looking ahead! You can register to be be notified when BEYOND conference sessions are available to view on demand. 

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Many of the XR Stories team attended this month’s BEYOND conference in Cardiff to showcase work and introduce future plans including the EPSRC funded XR Network+ virtual production in the Digital Economy project, led by the University of York.

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Belfast based AI developers Humain have designed new techniques to explore a machine learning approach to automatically create facial rigs for animation. The Future Screens NI awarded R&D project focused on developing techniques that have proven disruptive in other industries and applying these learnings to the media and entertainment industry. The Project Facsimile R&D project sought to create algorithms and cloud computing pipelines to establish a high-quality facial database to support training the algorithms. Once the project has been completed, the results will have far-reaching impact on how film, animation and video games’ computer-generated characters are created. 

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Disability-friendly game developers Soft Leaf Studios has been featured in a recent Xbox Accessibility Spotlight celebrating Disability communities and sharing some new updates. The showcase features a segment from their Future Screens NI project Stories of Blossom. 

➤ Watch now

The next 'Future Tuesdays' industry showcase event, 'Understanding Virtual Production and its Opportunities', from Future Screens NI will be held at Ulster University, Belfast Campus on the 8 November. The speakers, including Prof Declan Keeney, Prof Peter Richardson and Executive Producer, StoryFutures Academy Fiona Kilkelly, will discuss critical factors businesses should consider when making the leap into Virtual Production, and explore the knowledge, understanding and skills development needed to do this successfully. The event is sold out but register for the waiting list below. 

➤ More info & register

Join Creative UK (28 February - 3 March 2023) for this hybrid event that brings together the UK's finest and most interesting creators, innovators, leaders and emerging talent. The event aims to reimagine, redefine and reignite the future of our world-leading Creative Industries. Expect unexpected connections, metamorphic products and services and laser-sharp insights. 

➤ Find out more

Creative Edinburgh Awards 2022

The Creative Edinburgh Awards will be held in person at Summerhall on 18 November 2022. As well as showcasing all nominees and announcing the winners, the evening will celebrate 11 years of Creative Edinburgh and 10 years of Creative Edinburgh Awards. Expect dancing, a free welcome drink, performances and a live ceilidh band. 

➤ More info & tickets

Attend this free festival of art and culture over three weekends in October and November, in St Helens and Knowsley. Take Over is packed with performance, visual art, interactive experiences, workshops and films, all of which are free to attend, although booking is recommended.

➤ Details & booking