10132759Using 'THE PRESENT' to test brand new ways of working that will innovate immersive/spatial entertainment into the transmedia futureClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKOur Leamington-based LGBTQIA+ disabled-led micro-company, helmed by University of Warwick graduate, Robyn Winfield-Smith, will create **'THE PRESENT', a Proof Of Concept Demonstrator Film testing new workflows that integrate different live-action image capture techniques into a single immersive spatial entertainment experience** for mixed-reality head-mounted devices such as AppleVisionPro+OculusQuest3\. **This 9-minute immersive film features an LGBTQIA+ neurodivergent character with hypermobility spectrum disorder, will be live-action filmed on-location in Birmingham city centre** in January 2025, and is part of our company's flagship cross-medium IP universe spanning theatre, film, HETV and immersive games. The imaginative and uplifting story of THE PRESENT sees two young scientists harnessing their queer agency and quantum ingenuity to triumph in the face of homophobic violence (hate crimes against LGBTQIA+ people more than doubled from 959 to 2,041 in the West Midlands 2019-2022). **Our production methodology prototypes new affordable workflows with as-yet-unreleased technology** that will enable us and other independent production companies to more affordably enter the spatial entertainment market. Since our pivot from live theatre into virtual production, realtime filmmaking and immersive entertainment, we've worked hard to upskill our people and build exciting relationships with world-class vendors, collaborators and mentors. As our 2022-23 ScreenSkills training commissions attest, **we've swiftly become experts in an emerging and 'liminal' field, and our unique mix of skills and diverse perspectives has fuelled the development of a distinctive and formally innovative transmedia slate.** **We're excited to bring THE PRESENT to life as a 180 immersive experience combining 3D stereoscopic footage with formal innovations** such as multiple 'bounded' windows or virtual screens exploring what cinematic 'split-screening' looks like in an immersive setting, theatrical devices such as revolving floors - imagine being transported to the exuberant rainbow rings of Birmingham's Hippodrome Square to watch a scene unfold, and that huge circular floor then rotating to reveal a new scene that passes theatrically by as we experience the spatial equivalent of a montage - and the use of spatial audio to gently support the viewer's experience through the story. In creating THE PRESENT, **we will broaden and lift the currently limited range and quality of spatial content**, responding to vociferous demand from early adopters of Oculus and AppleVisionPro. **We'll also support other independent creative SMEs - in the cluster and beyond - in entering the emerging market of spatial content creation**, by prototyping replicable and financially-accessible workflows, shared through our learning dissemination package and bespoke B2B consultancy.