Adventures in StorytellingAdventures in Storytelling
Nerve Centre, Magazine Street, Derry~Londonderry
Foyle Film Festival, Ulster University and Immersive Arts presents Adventures in Storytelling...
Immersive arts is changing the way we make and experience stories, making art with technology to actively involve an audience.
This event is open to artists, tech enthusiasts, emerging and established creatives. Explore how cutting-edge technology and creativity are being used in arts and culture and connect with like-minded creatives.
10.30am Welcome
Eavan King, Industry Programmer, Foyle Film Festival
Jim Curran, Course Director, BSc Cinematic Arts, Ulster University
Colm O’Donnell, Immersive Arts Producer, Nerve Centre
Exploring XR & Digital Art with DAS (Digital Arts Studios)
10.45am
Join Richard from DAS (Digital Arts Studios) for an insightful session into the cutting-edge world of XR (Extended Reality) and the support available to artists working with immersive technologies. In this talk, Richard will introduce the DAS XR Lab project, a dedicated space for artists exploring VR/AR experiences, interactive virtual worlds, and 3D model scanning.
Richard will showcase recent work produced by DAS-supported artists and demonstrate how creators can leverage tools like Blender, Unreal Engine, and Unity to bring their virtual visions to life. With a hands-on approach, attendees will have the opportunity to witness live demonstrations of scanning technology using iPads, as well as experience an artist's work via a Quest 3 headset, cast on the projector for all to see.
This session is perfect for artists and technologists interested in learning how to access resources for XR creation, even without significant financial backing. Attendees will also have the chance to download scanning software and get involved during the session.
Meet Richard Davis
Richard Davis is an artist, animator and musician based in Belfast. Originally graduating with a BA in Animation from Norwich University of the Arts, he has created many 2D animated music videos for Northern Irish acts including Snow Patrol.
He began to explore digital art while completing a Masters in Digital Media Arts at University of Brighton. During this time he explored his songwriting with the visual arts, developing sculptural installations, and instruments using interactive technologies in order to rethink how we can listen to and physically engage with music.
These concepts were developed into a practice-based PhD in Music which he completed in 2023 at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen’s University. His research explored how interactive technologies can be integrated into music performance to improvise and experiment with songwriting and voice. Richard currently works as Creative Technician for the Digital Arts Studios in Belfast.
Virtual Production: The Future of Storytelling
11.30am
Donal Phillips, Business Development Manager from Queen’s University’s MediaLab will share an insightful exploration of virtual production and its transformative impact on the film and theatre industries. This session will look at how cutting-edge technologies, are revolutionising the creative process from pre-visualisation to final production. Donal will discuss the opportunities and challenges of integrating these tools into modern workflows and showcase how the MediaLab is fostering immersive storytelling.
Meet Donal Philips
Donal Phillips is Business Development Manager for the Creative Industries and provides project management on the Medialab initiative and strategic support on industry engagement. Donal’s background in the creative industries is predominantly in games development where he has worked on a number of high profile projects including the Harry Potter and Sesame Street franchises.
An interest in innovation, entrepreneurship and start-ups led him to taking a role with NI Screen, as the lead for the Interactive Sector. Queen's MediaLab is a new interdisciplinary research facility which draws creative & engineering expertise around virtual production & immersive technologies. Their mission is to be the catalyst for creative and critical engagement at the nexus of digital design, virtual world-building, game technology and the expanding Metaverse.
Destination Animation
1.30pm
Cheers Dog Ears, Northern Ireland Screen & National Talent Academy for Animation in Conversation
Derry~Londonderry is a small but vibrant hub for international names in animation and games development. Emerging technologies in VR and games are rapidly changing the creative landscape for animation story makers and the skill sets needed to grow the sector.
Join Emmy nominated Director John McDaid from Dog Ears, Kerry Michelle O’Brien Interactive Manager Northern Ireland Screen, and Deirdre Barry, Programme Director from the National Talent Academy for Animation to find out more about the technical and creative opportunities to drive talent and build the creative economy from small to mighty in the North West.
Meet John McDaid, Kerry Michelle O’Brien & Deirdre Barry
John McDaid | Creative Director Dog Ears
John was a multi-disciplinary designer for 14 prior to joining Dog Ears as Creative Director in 2012, going on to design children’s books and produce Ireland's first picture book app before moving into animation production. John was Producer on two Seasons of Emmy Award Nominated Netflix show, Puffin Rock, as well as Puffin Rock and the New Friends. John is currently Directing an animated short film, for release in 2025. Dog Ears is an award-winning creative studio based in Derry who believe in the power of stories on paper, devices, and screens of all sizes.
They are passionate about the work they create, the company having been born from the desire to make beautiful engaging content for children. Dog Ears have published picture books, hosted story festivals, published apps and digital games and co-produced two series of the Emmy nominated pre-school show, Puffin Rock, with partners Cartoon Saloon and Penguin Random House. They also produced Puffin Rock and the New Friends, the first animated movie ever made in Northern Ireland, and have wrapped production on a new 2D animation for a major streamer.
Kerry Michelle O’Brien | Interactive Manager
Kerry was appointed Northern Ireland Screen Interactive Manager in October 2023 and is the organisation’s sector lead for the interactive sector delivering the interactive talent development functions. Kerry is the first point of contact for interactive enquiries with particular emphasis on guiding and developing the work and careers of new and emerging interactive development talent; attending international events to promote Northern Ireland Screen’s interactive slate and talent to the global market.
Prior to joining Northern Ireland Screen Kerry has over 30 years’ experience in screen technologies across games, VR, film, and television having worked with Nvidia, Sony, Foundry and Adobe.
Deirdre Barry | National Talent Academy for Animation
Deirdre is Programme Director of the National Talent Academy for animation, an initiative by Screen Ireland, managed by Animation Ireland, providing support and training opportunities to Irish-based creative talent. Deirdre has been in the industry for over 25 years. She began her career in Los Angeles and has been working in Ireland since 2001 where she has produced and exec-produced on numerous animation series including Flix, Sir Mouse and the Warner Bros Flintstones spin off Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs.
Innovative Motion Capture & AR in Storytelling with C21 Theatre Company, Aura Digital Studios
2.30pm
C21 Theatre Company, in collaboration with Aura Digital Studios is pushing the boundaries of immersive storytelling with Deaf artist Paula Clarke through innovative use of motion capture and augmented reality (AR) technologies. One of their latest projects involved creating a site-specific, signed story performance in British Sign Language, using Rokoko motion capture gloves to capture the intricate movements of Paula Clarke’s performance.
This cutting-edge project was designed to be deeply relevant to the Deaf community, with the performance being accessible to the public via a cross-platform app (Android and iOS) developed using Unreal Engine.
Through this innovative use of motion capture and AR, C21 Theatre Company and Aura Digital Studios will share how they breaking new ground in how stories can be told and experienced, creating a meaningful connection between technology and community-driven narratives.
Meet Stephen Kelly & Sinead Burns
Stephen Kelly | C21
Stephen co-founded the C21 Theatre Company in 2005. The company, that champions new writing, has toured extensively and explore opportunities nationally and internationally. He has produced and directed over 30 productions since its formation.
Some of Stephen’s highlights include a 2019 international tour to Melbourne, Australia with the high-profile production May the Road Rise Up by Northern Irish playwright Rosemary Jenkinson. He then led the same show to Brussels in February 2020 for the NI Showcase at the Brussels Platform in association with the NI Executive. In 2020-21 throughout the pandemic Stephen and c21 continued to produce quality work and with ‘Through the Glass – The Reminiscence Project’ it produced an award-winning project (Thrive Audience Delight Award 2021 and Arts and Business NI Innovator Award Winner 2022). In August 2023 he led a team of d/Deaf and hearing artists to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the brand new 2023 piece Expecting. The critically acclaimed production made its world premiere in Belfast in May 2023 and very quickly received an invitation to perform at the Keegan Theatre, Washington DC in May 2024. He led a team of six on the tour, which included a collaboration with Gallaudet University for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Sinead Burns | Aura Digital Studios
Sinéad Burns is the co-director of Aura Digital Studios, financial manager for the Belfast XR Festival, and an award winning creative technologist. Aura Studios uses a range of innovative technologies from XR, Realtime Rendering and Virtual Production to make content for Animation, Interactive, Film & TV and Games. Some recent achievements include; being commissioned by EU HUB-IN to work in partnership with The Museum of the Royal Navy to bring the stories of a decommissioned World War One battleship to life through Geo-location AR that was showcased at New European Bauhaus Brussels 2024, facilitating the ICVFX for the first broadcast commercial shot on an LED Wall in Northern Ireland, UKRI Creative Catalyst award 2023 for a software development solution for Virtual Production data management and winning VP Futures 2022 — a groundbreaking UK industry accelerator ran by Future Screens NI and StoryFutures Academy, in partnership with Epic Games and Industrial Light and Magic. Aura regularly guest lectures and delivers training on Virtual Production in Northern Ireland, with speaking highlights including SxSW 2023, Belfast Media Festival 2022, EGX 2022, Beyond Conference Belfast 2021 and Beyond Conference Cardiff 2022. Awards and festivals: European XR Award 2023 Nominee, Official Selection FIVARS 2023, Official Selection Cornwall Film Festival 2023, Official Selection Stereopsia 2023, National Winner UK Virtual Production Futures 2022
Guerrilla Techniques for Film Production | Chee Keong Cheung
3pm
In his upcoming feature film, Bad Day at the Office, Chee Keong Cheung takes action filmmaking to a new level with the use of GoPro cameras and an innovative POV approach. By placing the audience directly in the shoes of the characters, this immersive technique offers a unique viewing experience, delivering high-octane action from a first-person perspective.
Chee’s decision to use custom-designed GoPro rigs allows for fluid, real-time movement, amplifying the intensity of the action sequences while maintaining a sense of realism. Drawing from his extensive experience in action storytelling across several feature films, Chee employs this cutting-edge technology to heighten emotional engagement, making the viewer feel like an integral part of the story. This groundbreaking use of POV not only showcases his commitment to pushing the boundaries of the action genre, but also reflects his passion for creating visceral, cinematic experiences that stay with audiences.
Meet Chee Keong Cheung
British filmmaker and CEO of Action XTreme, Chee Keong Cheung has over 20 years industry experience as a writer, director, producer and distributor, Chee brings unparalleled insight into crafting exhilarating action sequences and project development.
Action Xtreme is the first major action studio in the UK, a global entertainment company with a targeted focus on grassroots talent growth, training, and developing film, TV and online action content for a worldwide audience. Their debut film, the action thriller Every Last One of Them, featured an impressive cast including Oscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Jake Weber (Meet Joe Black) and Taryn Manning (Orange Is the New Black). They currently have three films in post-production: the sci-fi horror The Experiment, starring Rhona Mitra (Underworld: Last of the Lycans) and Famke Janssen (X-Men); the POV action thriller Bad Day at the Office, starring John Hannah (The Mummy) and Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill); and the Nigerian-set action thriller Son of the Soil, starring Raz Adoti (Black Hawk Down).
Keep Updated
Sign up for latest events and news updates.
