XR Stories funds seven new R&D projects

XR Stories has awarded funding to seven new research and development (R&D) projects through our Open XR funding call. These awards have been made to creative SMEs in the Yorkshire and Humber region and the projects focus on prototype immersive and interactive story experiences or storytelling tools and platforms. All the projects will be supported by the academics from the University of York.

The first project Flood, by Sheffield-based digital experience agency Megaverse in collaboration with XR studio Stare At The Wall, will focus on live interaction between the audience and actors. The project will explore how actors and audiences can remotely communicate both verbally and physically with one another through motion-tracking technology and live audio feeds in a VR performance.

Tell-Tale Rooms is a project by Sheffield-based production company Tyke Films and celebrates the life of artist Eden Kotting, through an immersive VR storytelling experience.

Monoliths by York-based Pilot Theatre explores the use of virtual reality and audio soundscaping (audio that listeners would normally hear in an environment), to create an immersive storytelling experience. The project celebrates the stories of three young women whose origins are tied to the Northern landscape where they have grown up.

These Gardens Grew From Ghosts by Hull-based media artists Studio McGuire is a VR experience project that guides the audience through the fragile memories of Marie – a model maker who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

XR Ballet is a collaborative project with Northern Ballet and Backstage Academy that explores how extended reality can impact ballet performances. This project will enable Northern Ballet to reach audiences outside the traditional theatre setting in ways that will create unforgettable theatrical experiences and sustainable routes to market in the future.

Personasmith is a gaming project by Leeds-based VR digital experience studio Thunkd. The project will enable exploration of a new gaming concept in a high quality, short-form format.

The final project is The Burning Room from writer Jeremy Dyson and producer Jon Aird, working with York-based VR and immersive experiences studio BetaJester. The Burning Room is a comedy-horror that explores how emotional stories can be experienced and delivered through virtual-reality experience.

Work has already begun on all the projects, which are due to be delivered in 2021.

Published on 27 September 2021