Shaun the Sheep: Immersive Experience
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Liverpool
Department Name: Architecture
Abstract
Proposed Activity:
Our aim is to deliver a world-first in research innovation (i.e. technical, methodological, creative application) that will transform the delivery of Aardman's high-end animation work (Shaun the Sheep) from a currently linear and pre-rendered end-user product (e.g. TV/cinema screen-based) into a non-linear, real-time, responsive, spatially immersive experience; one that can be enjoyed by a wide (family) audience in China (without the need for headsets, gloves or pre-rendered animation) whilst recognising China's cultural context and values in the realisation of this work.
Rationale and Research/Industry Context:
The animation market is increasingly challenged by changes in media consumption and modes of distribution. This innovation will focus on the development of shared experiences for the family entertainment market that will turn the passive observers of screen-based storytelling into active participants. We will create a novel digital-physical spatial experience that embodies the spirit, ethos and participatory nature of games, built around interaction, responsiveness and immersion. With the global games audience estimated between 2.2 and 2.6 billion (UKIE), and a significant number of these in China, we believe that this project will catalyse the development of transformative approaches to engaging animation audiences in novel, and more participatory, experiences.
Research Aim:
This research links three significant domains of knowledge in the family entertainment market which can be expressed as a simple equation: Audience + Animation + Space + Games Technology = narrative, interactive, spatial experiences. Facilitating this, the project will combine research and creative practice expertise from the fields of animation, architecture, creative media arts, theatrical arts, engineering, AI and robotics as well as gaming.
Combining immersive spaces with real-time audio-visual content has precedence, predominantly within media art installations, however, our audience-focussed, spatially immersive, and responsive approach to storytelling differs substantially from what we might have called in the past "immersive cinema". Furthermore, due to the application of a quasi-intelligent system (supported by AI) we are developing new territories for Aardman and the wider animation sector.
By combining the "scalability" of film/animation with the "intimacy" and responsiveness of immersive experiences, we are seeking to redefine the term "mixed reality" (as a family experience with no headsets, no gloves and no mobile phones), providing a scalable concept that could generate significant impact within and beyond the creative industry sector. In the context of this project, we are calling our approach "responsive cinema".
Research Questions & Methodology:
Our research raises critical practice-based research questions in the following six areas: WP1 Story & Conceptional Realisation; WP2 Dynamic Content Creation; WP3 Game & Interaction Design; WP4 AI & Sensoring; WP5 Target Audience; WP6 Space Integration - all of which will require a uniquely tailored, interdisciplinary methodological approach.
Our aim is to deliver a world-first in research innovation (i.e. technical, methodological, creative application) that will transform the delivery of Aardman's high-end animation work (Shaun the Sheep) from a currently linear and pre-rendered end-user product (e.g. TV/cinema screen-based) into a non-linear, real-time, responsive, spatially immersive experience; one that can be enjoyed by a wide (family) audience in China (without the need for headsets, gloves or pre-rendered animation) whilst recognising China's cultural context and values in the realisation of this work.
Rationale and Research/Industry Context:
The animation market is increasingly challenged by changes in media consumption and modes of distribution. This innovation will focus on the development of shared experiences for the family entertainment market that will turn the passive observers of screen-based storytelling into active participants. We will create a novel digital-physical spatial experience that embodies the spirit, ethos and participatory nature of games, built around interaction, responsiveness and immersion. With the global games audience estimated between 2.2 and 2.6 billion (UKIE), and a significant number of these in China, we believe that this project will catalyse the development of transformative approaches to engaging animation audiences in novel, and more participatory, experiences.
Research Aim:
This research links three significant domains of knowledge in the family entertainment market which can be expressed as a simple equation: Audience + Animation + Space + Games Technology = narrative, interactive, spatial experiences. Facilitating this, the project will combine research and creative practice expertise from the fields of animation, architecture, creative media arts, theatrical arts, engineering, AI and robotics as well as gaming.
Combining immersive spaces with real-time audio-visual content has precedence, predominantly within media art installations, however, our audience-focussed, spatially immersive, and responsive approach to storytelling differs substantially from what we might have called in the past "immersive cinema". Furthermore, due to the application of a quasi-intelligent system (supported by AI) we are developing new territories for Aardman and the wider animation sector.
By combining the "scalability" of film/animation with the "intimacy" and responsiveness of immersive experiences, we are seeking to redefine the term "mixed reality" (as a family experience with no headsets, no gloves and no mobile phones), providing a scalable concept that could generate significant impact within and beyond the creative industry sector. In the context of this project, we are calling our approach "responsive cinema".
Research Questions & Methodology:
Our research raises critical practice-based research questions in the following six areas: WP1 Story & Conceptional Realisation; WP2 Dynamic Content Creation; WP3 Game & Interaction Design; WP4 AI & Sensoring; WP5 Target Audience; WP6 Space Integration - all of which will require a uniquely tailored, interdisciplinary methodological approach.
Planned Impact
1. LINKING RESEARCH & INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
a. Creation of a new Joint UK-China Lab:
This project will enable a new collaboration between three academic partners; the University of Liverpool (UoL), Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) and the Industry partners (Aardman, Media Industry Association and Digital Fun). This links up six research centres/institutes, utilising their complementary expertise for an applied research project with high level industry partners.
b. Offering new Business Services:
Our project will develop a series of innovations that will be of value to the wider screen and animation industries, including the use of 'real-time' games engines for immersive animation experiences, the application of artificial intelligence for creating dynamic experiences and the spatial interpretation of screen-based media experiences.
c. Engaging Beneficiary Groups across Industry and Academia
Our publishing and dissemination plan (book; journal articles; film; conference) will be organised in partnership with Immerse UK and its network to ensure the project has impact within academia and the creative industries.
d. Market Implementation and Knowledge Transfer
Immerse UK will assist us in reaching out to further UK companies to ensure it has impact for UK creative industry stakeholders and policy makers. They will also help in identifying implementation and knowledge transfer opportunities from our research in the emerging immersive marketplace.
2. CREATIVE ECONOMY IMPACT
a. UK Business Impact Abroad
The project offers a global commercial opportunity in line with the UK Government's Industrial Strategy concerning the development and exploitation of immersive content and technologies. Our direct route to economic impact will be through collaboration with Aardman on a piece of research innovation for which, as our previous research (AHRC Network Grant) has shown, there is considerable demand in China.
b. Securing UK Business Investment
We have already established links to large investors in the culture/entertainment/tourism sector (e.g. China Media Capital (CMC); Dingsheng Cultural Investment Company; Shanghai Yorkie Investment Management Co.Ltd.; Zhejiang Cultural Tourism Investment Group; Shanxi Cultural Tourism Group), some of whom already show a commitment to bringing the IP/results of our research to market.
c. UK Family Entertainment Sector Impact
Aardman is a flagship company for a much wider sector in the UK, focusing on stories and animations for children and families - a sector for which the UK is known globally. Operating at an international level with global partners, an ambitious project like this will likely act as a catalyst for other screen-entertainment companies to embrace new forms of storytelling in a spatial environment.
3. TECHNOLOGICAL IMPACT and NEW TECH IP
This project enables high level technical and research expertise to innovatively fuse animations, games technology, spatial design, experience design, computer science and theatre practices in order to generate new real-time applications for immersive experiences. It is anticipated that this inter-disciplinary approach will lead to both creative and technical innovation that carries new IPs in ways that are relevant for a wide range of screen-based animation/entertainment companies and audiences.
4. CULTURAL IMPACT
Liverpool has a deeply established relationships and partnerships with Shanghai; they are twinned cities since 1999 and both UoL and LJMU have strategic links at both a teaching and research level (e.g., the UoL's joint university in Suzhou (XJTLU). This project offers an opportunity for these links to be extended into meaningful creative industry collaboration. Our project is also about the translation of British humour and the UK animation industry's distinctive style for a Chinese audience, which has important cross-cultural implications.
a. Creation of a new Joint UK-China Lab:
This project will enable a new collaboration between three academic partners; the University of Liverpool (UoL), Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) and the Industry partners (Aardman, Media Industry Association and Digital Fun). This links up six research centres/institutes, utilising their complementary expertise for an applied research project with high level industry partners.
b. Offering new Business Services:
Our project will develop a series of innovations that will be of value to the wider screen and animation industries, including the use of 'real-time' games engines for immersive animation experiences, the application of artificial intelligence for creating dynamic experiences and the spatial interpretation of screen-based media experiences.
c. Engaging Beneficiary Groups across Industry and Academia
Our publishing and dissemination plan (book; journal articles; film; conference) will be organised in partnership with Immerse UK and its network to ensure the project has impact within academia and the creative industries.
d. Market Implementation and Knowledge Transfer
Immerse UK will assist us in reaching out to further UK companies to ensure it has impact for UK creative industry stakeholders and policy makers. They will also help in identifying implementation and knowledge transfer opportunities from our research in the emerging immersive marketplace.
2. CREATIVE ECONOMY IMPACT
a. UK Business Impact Abroad
The project offers a global commercial opportunity in line with the UK Government's Industrial Strategy concerning the development and exploitation of immersive content and technologies. Our direct route to economic impact will be through collaboration with Aardman on a piece of research innovation for which, as our previous research (AHRC Network Grant) has shown, there is considerable demand in China.
b. Securing UK Business Investment
We have already established links to large investors in the culture/entertainment/tourism sector (e.g. China Media Capital (CMC); Dingsheng Cultural Investment Company; Shanghai Yorkie Investment Management Co.Ltd.; Zhejiang Cultural Tourism Investment Group; Shanxi Cultural Tourism Group), some of whom already show a commitment to bringing the IP/results of our research to market.
c. UK Family Entertainment Sector Impact
Aardman is a flagship company for a much wider sector in the UK, focusing on stories and animations for children and families - a sector for which the UK is known globally. Operating at an international level with global partners, an ambitious project like this will likely act as a catalyst for other screen-entertainment companies to embrace new forms of storytelling in a spatial environment.
3. TECHNOLOGICAL IMPACT and NEW TECH IP
This project enables high level technical and research expertise to innovatively fuse animations, games technology, spatial design, experience design, computer science and theatre practices in order to generate new real-time applications for immersive experiences. It is anticipated that this inter-disciplinary approach will lead to both creative and technical innovation that carries new IPs in ways that are relevant for a wide range of screen-based animation/entertainment companies and audiences.
4. CULTURAL IMPACT
Liverpool has a deeply established relationships and partnerships with Shanghai; they are twinned cities since 1999 and both UoL and LJMU have strategic links at both a teaching and research level (e.g., the UoL's joint university in Suzhou (XJTLU). This project offers an opportunity for these links to be extended into meaningful creative industry collaboration. Our project is also about the translation of British humour and the UK animation industry's distinctive style for a Chinese audience, which has important cross-cultural implications.
Organisations
- University of Liverpool (Lead Research Organisation)
- Goldsmiths University of London (Collaboration)
- Shanghai Theatre Academy (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Dingshen Culture Investment (Project Partner)
- Multimedia Industry Association (Project Partner)
- Digital Fun (Project Partner)
- Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC) (Project Partner)
- Aardman Animations Ltd (Project Partner)
- Liverpool John Moores University (Project Partner)
Publications
Koeck, Richard
(2023)
Shaun the Sheep: Immersive
Hiton C
(2023)
Prototyping Large Scale Projection Based Experiences in VR
Hilton C
(2023)
Simulating Location-Based Experiences in VR
| Title | Shaun the Sheep Immersive: Real-time Interaction Testing for Full-scale Immersive Experiences |
| Description | Behind-the-scenes film shot in a VP studio that shows a vertical slice and mechanism of our real-time interaction scenarios completed in Unreal Engine. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The film has been shown worldwide at international conferences, and symposia as well as to industry partners. It explains the technical mechanics of our unique proposition and changes people's perception of Aardman's animation work and future visitor attractions. |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/787541424 |
| Description | OVERALL GOALS We set out on this R&D project with ambitious goals. Our aim was to pursue practice-based research and to deliver a prototype for world-first in research innovation (i.e. technical, methodological, creative application) that would have the potential to transform the delivery of Aardman's high-end animation work (Shaun the Sheep) from a currently linear and pre- rendered end-user product (e.g., TV/ cinema screen-based) into a non-linear, realtime, responsive, spatially immersive experience; one that can be enjoyed by a wide (family) audience in China (without the need for headsets, gloves or pre- rendered animation), whilst recognising China's cultural context and values in the realisation of this work. Combining immersive spaces with realtime audio-visual content is of course not entirely unprecedented - predominantly within media art installations - however, our audience-focused, spatially immersive, and responsive approach to storytelling arguably differs substantially from what we might have called in the past "immersive cinema". Furthermore, due to the application of a quasi-intelligent, realtime system (supported by Machine Learning/AI), we were developing new territories for Aardman and the wider animation sector. By combining the scalability of film/ animation with the intimacy and responsiveness of immersive experiences, our project sought to redefine the term mixed reality (as a family experience with no headsets, no gloves and no mobile phones), providing a scalable concept that could generate significant impact within and beyond the creative industry sector. One might call such a new approach in the film and animation industry a new form of "responsive cinema". OUTCOMES This R&D project resulted in a number of positive outcomes which we hope will be further amplified in the future. First of all, Shaun the Sheep: Immersive Experience allowed us to form a new, highly interdisciplinary and diverse project team which will hopefully continue to collaborate in the future. It consisted of two major UK universities - the University of Liverpool and Goldsmith - who brought complementary expertise to the project spanning from architectural design, with an emphasis on immersive design and computer science, with an emphasis on virtual reality. Furthermore, it allowed us to work with a highly motivated and supportive team of the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA), who contributed to the project with their knowledge of the cultural context, animation and immersive technology. One of the side benefits of this collaboration was that we could help our STA partners to build a state-of-the-art XR lab at their new campus. Last but not least, this academic partnership benefited immensely from working with a globally leading creative industry partner, Aardman. In practice, this meant that the project benefited not only from working with a recognisable brand, but also and quite concretely from working with a large team of experts that spanned well beyond our initial scope and expectations. The Aardman team working on this project provided invaluable expertise and leadership in project management, storytelling, digital production, as well as commercialisation. In turn, this close collaboration with our industry partner allowed us to carefully listen and subsequently respond to professional expertise or market demands. Since it was beyond the scope and reach of this R&D project to deliver a final, polished product, we indeed allowed ourselves to explore, reach limits and occasionally fail in coming up with single answers to inter-connected problems. Yet, this has also been the strength of the project and framework under which the AHRC allowed us to work collaboratively. The strength of this project lies perhaps in having looked at so many aspects, thereby demonstrating the dependencies and interconnectedness of decision-making, resulting in a quite comprehensive understanding of what would amount to a highly attractive immersive visitor attraction. We believe that this knowledge will have a lasting impact on Aardman. We have seen already that Shaun the Sheep: Immersive Experience has led to a change of culture inside Aardman. Our project helped to introduce the possibility of more digital and hybrid dissemination channels for Aardman's animation products as well the incorporation of realtime, game- engine-driven, technologies for content production which nevertheless, truly carry the Aardman signature craftsmanship, humour and wide public appeal. Arguably the most opportunity for overt audience interactions would occur during the immersive show in the auditorium. The advantage of this space is that the auditorium is a controlled environment, with a clear entrance and exit, and designed in such a way that the audience would be encouraged to position themselves in a particular way. All of this helps when dealing with sensors and algorithms that are trying to gather and interpret data. Having this said, there is another side to this. Being an audience member inside an immersive theatre is a perceptual act. The challenge in terms of the design of an interaction scenario is therefore not so much a mechanical or technical one - with enough budget all kinds of interactive effects could be created. Instead, we recognised the importance that the overall immersive and indeed the story experience needs to remain uninterrupted. This could almost be seen from a film language point of view. Much like a continuity edit in film, within an immersive story space, one has to find an interaction language that protects and preserves the spatio-temporal and narrative unity of the experience. During the course of this development, we became also aware that the realisation of an interaction scenario is not only a technical question. Instead, in our case quite particularly as it was designed for a Chinese audience, it became a problem that needed solving which was filled with cultural implications and unknowns. How, for instance, would a Chinese audience member react if that person would be singled out and asked to interact with an on-screen character in front of an audience? Through interviews and testing in a bespoke VR envirioment, we gained invalable knowledge which allowed us to think carefully about the types of interaction scenarios one would want to develop in such a setting, for instance, if it would be an individual or group interaction. More infomation: http://www.cava-research.org/research-projects/shaun-immersive Full scale test of Prototype: https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZpwRF0Z56MObTOSggzcng1yV0sewbeNBpv7 |
| Exploitation Route | We developed with Aardman a pitch deck and trailer that allow them to pitch the ideas to potential funders, not just in China, but also in other countries. We are hopeful that our ideas or some of our findings will feed into an immersive experience/visitor attraction in the foreseeable future. Link Trailer: https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZsCRF0ZftubGsLCRfRxNSGSm7aKeyuaGNn7 |
| Sectors | Creative Economy |
| URL | https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZILn50Zc9gjwepYMpuBD3xE8rKb40lHgh67 |
| Description | We have collected statements from Aardman, such as from our senior producer Lorna Probert, where they says, for instance: "The project enabled us to explore the possibilities for Shaun the Sheep in the immersive space and both promote the potential internally and provide us with the fantastic materials to be able to open the door and start discussions with new and existing international attractions, venues, distributors, operators and other partners which we hope longer term will lead to new opportunities for the IP in this sector." Here is a list of further impact statements from Aardman. * Impact on content creation & plans for more digital/immersive outputs (diversification of portfolio) Immersive/ realtime content has become even more established as a key strand of our portfolio we must consider to reach global audiences effectively. We now have a growing portfolio of Interactive Entertainment. * Changes to operational/managerial thinking The project has given us a greater understanding of the opportunities around these kinds of experiences which now can form a part of our strategic planning. * Investment in new staff at Aardman The project has definitely highlighted the value of the realtime expertise we already have within the studio and how this team can contribute more widely to other types of productions. In showing the value this also helps us be able to invest in growing this expertise either through training or hiring. * Changes in operations and investment Aardman now has a grown appetite for further real-time content production. We now have internal investment in realtime R&D and how it can be utilised within our productions and to further exploit and support our IP. * Understanding Chinese Audience and market We have a better understanding of the Chinese audience and how to cater our content to them. We see opportunities to tailor the Shaun brand to an audience increasingly accustomed to interactive and participatory media experiences. * Creating new IP and economic return The project has opened doors and started new conversations to new/existing international attractions, venues, distributors, operators and other partners > new opportunities for the IP in this sector. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Creative Economy |
| Impact Types | Cultural Economic |
| Description | Public Lecture: History of Immersive Experiences, Mar 2021 |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Title | VR Barn Simulation |
| Description | We have created a bespoke realtime VR simulation of a barn with certain dimensions and content that can simulate a physical location based experience. The model is necessary to understand our narrative and design implications and can be used for user tests. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The model is constantly refined and can be used for user testing, giving us and Aardman important information as to what potential problems and solutions we can develop to create a seamless immersive experience in China. |
| Description | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Organisation | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I approached Goldsmiths, University of London to become a co-investigator in our UKRI. Our team at CAVA worked with Prof Pan (Goldsmiths) and Aardman on location-based and VR storytelling innovations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Prof Pan (Goldsmiths) and her colleagues co-developed our VR simulation tool as well as most other aspects of our research. |
| Impact | We worked together on the project report, workshops, symposia, and conference presentations. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) |
| Organisation | Shanghai Theatre Academy |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This network grant led to a collaboration and partnership with the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) in the form of a separate AHRC grant "Shaun the Sheep: Immersive Experience" which was won as a result. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) hosted a series of meetings at their new campus and helped up to arrange meetings with at that time prospective commercial partners. |
| Impact | to be added later |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | 2019 MPE and MeCCSA keynote |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Koeck delivered a keynote at the 2019 MPE and MeCCSA Practice Network Symposium held at the University of Kent in June 2019. The symposium explored the interaction between word and image in media-based practice research. As creative practice has increasingly found a home within academia, and as digital technologies have made possible new methodologies and forms of output, the hegemony of the written word within arts and humanities scholarship has been challenged from different directions. From curated exhibitions, through audiovisual essays and interactive websites, to sound art, practice research now challenges the logocentric focus of humanities research across all media. Prof Koeck spoke about immersive experiences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://cstonline.net/cfp-mpe-and-meccsa-practice-network-annual-symposium-2019-shaping-knowledge-en... |
| Description | AHRC Symposia, Crafting Immersive Experiences for Future Global Audiences (London, March 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | AHRC Symposia (2023, March), entitled 'Crafting Immersive Experiences for Future Global Audiences', hosted by Koeck and Pan with presentations of the project team and Aardman. Fora, London. The event was attended by UKRI as well as representatives from the film, theatre, animation and games industry. Funded by the AHRC UK/China Partnership, this event will bring together experts in the field of immersive arts and entertainments to discuss the latest developments and trends, with a focus on creating immersive experiences that will appeal to a global audience. ? This symposium is connected to two ongoing AHRC UK/China Partnership projects: Shaun the Sheep: Immersive Experience led by Prof Richard Koeck, University of Liverpool and Immersive, Immersive, Innovative, and Interactive Experience (IIIE) led by Prof Sylvia Pan. Both projects are operating on the forefront of digitally immersive, location-based and remote experience through media such as projections and VR. The symposium provided a platform to report from our ongoing research and share some of the preliminary results with the wider academic and digital creative community. The symposium gave us the opportunity to also invite a wider community of practitioners to give us their critical views as to how such work is relevant to their current and expected future practices. A special thanks goes to our line up of expert presenters and panelists, such as Weijia Ma (Shanghai Theatre Academy), Ngaio Harding-Hill and Gavin Strange (Aardman), Clarice Hilton (University of Liverpool), Alastair Eilback and James Bailey (FeedAR), Dan Tucker (Immersive Assembly), Jonny Freeman (i2Media), Rosaline Coleman, William Latham (Goldsmiths). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://www.cava-research.org/news-page |
| Description | Aardman/STA Creative Partnership Meeting, 18 March 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This network grant enabled us to have a series of dedicated partnership meetings between the University of Liverpool, Aardman and STA to exchange knowledge in terms of business / academic capability, technological expertise and a shared understanding of future collaboration opporunties. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.cava-research.org/news-page-201719 |
| Description | Beyond Conference, Nov 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A two day conference in November 2023, where thinkers, makers, investors and researchers across the creative industries come together to explore the relationship between creative research and business innovation; organised by UKRI. Presentation Title: Shaun the Sheep in Shanghai. Team speakers included Ngaio Harding-Hill (Aardman). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://beyondconference.org/archive/b20/ |
| Description | City Ideas | The World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF) in Chengdu, Nov 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Professor Koeck presented the results from a recently completed AHRC-funded collaborative project that produced the concept and prototype for a ground-breaking, cutting-edge, location-based immersive experience. Entitled Shaun the Sheep: The Immersive, this involved working with leading animation studio, Aardman, creators of Wallace and Gromit, to produce an interactive experience for families to enjoy in China. WCCF is the leading global network of civic leaders from over 40 creative cities across six continents, providing a way for policymakers from cities around the world to share research, innovation and intelligence. The forum explores the vital role of culture as an organising principle for the sustainable city of the future. Professor Koeck was therefore invited to give a keynote as part of the WCCF's Film & Digital Innovation Salon, held at a historic site in Chengdu. In his speech, he highlighted the need for and the value of cross-cultural collaborations in the creative industries. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/humanities-and-social-sciences/news/articles/school-of-architecture-brin... |
| Description | Exhibition at 'Bridging Creativity: Celebrating UK-China Collaboration in Arts & Innovation', Shanghai, March 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 16 March, UK Research and Innovation China held its first reception after COVID, themed in "Bridging Creativity: Celebrating UK-China Collaboration in Arts & Innovation" at the Hellas House in Shanghai. This event brought together key stakeholders including academics, government officials, and business partners in the arts and creative field, aiming to showcase the achievements and impact of UKRI-funded projects in the arts and creative field and explore potential opportunities for further bilateral collaboration in the field. The event was opened by Professor Changing Huang, President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy and partner of CAVA's AHRC project Immersive: Shaun the Sheep with Aardman. In the past 15 years, UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Innovate UK, and EPSRC have closely worked with Chinese counterparts to bring together researchers and creative businesses in both countries to generate creative products and technologies, discover new markets and advance mutual understanding of UK and Chinese cultural heritage. From museum exchange and joint cultural performances to gaming and sustainable fashion, UK-China collaboration in creative industries has been underpinned by many broad-ranging and mutually beneficial UKRI funding programmes. CAVA and Aardman worked with UKRI to present their work at this high-profile event that also celebrated the diplomatic relations and creative industry collaborations between the UK and China. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://www.cava-research.org/news-page |
| Description | Exhibition at UK pavilion at the China International Fair For Trade In Service (CIFTIS), Sep 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Time & date: 02-06 September 2023 ? Earlier this September, the work of Aardman and research collaboration with CAVA was exhibited at the UK pavilion at the China International Fair For Trade In Service (CIFTIS), organised by the Ministry of Commerce of The People's Republic Of China and The People's Government of Beijing Municipality. The high-profile summit was opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping via video. The event was attended by the Foreign Secretary and the Department of Business & Trade Minister Lord Johnson. It provided Aardman and our joint R&D project an outstanding opportunity to spotlight the UK's strengths in research, innovation, and soft power in the creative industries at the highest level in China. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://www.cava-research.org/news-page |
| Description | IEEE VR 2023, 30th Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces, March 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presentation by: Hilton, C., Pan, X., Koeck, R., & Yu, H. (2023, March). Simulating Location-Based Experiences in VR. In 2023 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW) (pp. 119-122). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://ieeevr.org/2023/ |
| Description | IEEE VR 2023, 30th Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces, March 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The IEEE VR 2023, the 30th IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces took place from March 25th through March 29th, 2023 at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel in Shanghai, China. Clarice Hilton (UoL) represented our UKRI team as part of the workshop/poster presentation and showed examples of how VR and machine learning can be integrated. Workshops. (VRW, pp. 1005-1006). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://ieeevr.org/2023/ |
| Description | Interaction Workshop at Aardman, 01 Jul 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof Koeck organised a workshop at Aardman in Jul 2022 that focussed on recent developments and findings from our "Remote Experience" and "Real-time Interaction Scenarios" workpages. A team from Aardman engaged in the development and testing of prototypes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | New Media Performance Innovation International Expert Workshop, Nov 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The "New Media Performance Innovation International Expert Workshop" is an annual academic workshop and exchange organized by the Shanghai Theatre Academy, the National Digital Performing Arts Lab (DPA), the Shanghai Virtual Performing Arts Lab (VPA), and the College of Creative Studies (affiliated with the Shanghai Theatre Academy). Prof Liu Zhizin, Chair of Creative Technology (Shanghai Theatre Academy) kindly invited Nagaio-Harding Hill (Aardman), Marina Guo (CAVA) and Richard Koeck to give a presentation at the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) to talk about their collaboration on the AHRC-funded project, Shaun the Sheep: Immersive Experience. The event was held at STA in Shanghai, who reported an increased interest in pursuing practice-based research in immersive experiences, which subsequently led to the building of a new XR lab at STA. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.cava-research.org/news-page |
| Description | Public Lecture: History of Immersive Experiences, Mar 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | This public lecture by Prof Richard Koeck presented ground-breaking innovations and spectacular failures in the history of immersive experiences and a peep into the future. We often think of immersive or location-based experiences as relatively new forms of public entertainment driven by technological innovation such as Augmented (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR). In fact, there is a rich history of purpose-designed, audio-visually immersive architectural settings, such as the Panorama, Mareorama and Cineorama, that were concurrently developed alongside the cinema and which were shown to the public in London and Paris in the 18th and 19th centuries. Coming to this topic from a practice-based, architectural as well as media archaeological angle, Professor Richard Koeck, Full Professor and Chair in Architecture and the Visual Arts, will also provide a glimpse into what kind of ground-breaking location-based experiences we might expect to see in the near future. The lecture was followed by a Q&A session with three fantastic panalists from world-leading creative practices: Ngaio Harding-Hill (Head of Attractions & Live Experiences, Aardman); Gavin Strange (Director & Designer, Aardman Animations); and Rosalind Coleman, Producer (Punchdrunk). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.cava-research.org/research-projects/public-lecture-immersive-experiences |
| Description | Public lecture: The History and Future of Immersive Experiences |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | To be filled out at at later stage. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.cava-research.org/research-projects/public-lecture-immersive-experiences |
| Description | Research visit to Shanghai Theatre Academy, Shanghai, March 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | In March 2023, CAVA team member Alastair Eilbeck went to Shanghai and visit our partners at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. He used his time to demo and seek feedback on one of the work packages - Remote Experience. The |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Story Workshop with Shanghai Theatre Academy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | About 10 members from the Shanghai Theatre Academy attended our workshop with Aardman animation. We discussed the story development for Chinese audiences in a particular cultural context. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | UK-China Collaborations Event in Shanghai / Industry Visits |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | UK-China Collaborations Event in Shanghai. ?Prof Richard Koeck has been invited as a UK delegate by the AHRC/UKRI to present the results of a recent network grant with the film/animation studio Aardman and the Shanghai Theatre Academy as partners. Their joint work was presented at a Showcase Reception, as well as the High-Level Forum and Workshop (Portman Ritz Carlton) in Shanghai. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | UK-China Collaborations Event in Shanghai / Showcase Reception |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | UK-China Collaborations Event in Shanghai. ?Prof Richard Koeck has been invited as a UK delegate by the AHRC/UKRI to present the results of a recent network grant with the film/animation studio Aardman and the Shanghai Theatre Academy as partners. Our joint work was presented at a Showcase Reception, as well as the High-Level Forum and Workshop (Portman Ritz Carlton) in Shanghai. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | UK-China Collaborations Event in Shanghai / Workshop 03 Dec 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | UK-China Collaborations Event in Shanghai. ?Prof Richard Koeck has been invited as a UK delegate by the AHRC/UKRI to present the results of a recent network grant with the film/animation studio Aardman and the Shanghai Theatre Academy as partners. Their joint work was presented at a Showcase Reception, as well as the High-Level Forum and Workshop (Portman Ritz Carlton) in Shanghai. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | UK-China Creative Partnerships Workshop June 21 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The UK-China Creative Partnerships Workshop was an event led by UKRI aimed as creating an exchange between academics and industry partners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | VR & Machine Learning Workshop, Sep 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | As part of our AHRC project collaboration with Goldsmiths, the University of London is an important partner, CAVA/University of hosted a 2-day workshop on the integration of machine learning into VR and location-based immersive experiences. External guests included Pan, X and Gillies, M and members of the Digital Innovation Factory (visit on site & demo), University of Liverpool. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.cava-research.org/news-page |
| Description | VR Audience Tests Nov 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | CAVA team member Clarice Hilton undertook audience tests with a group of selected users to test or VR simulation tool in Unity. Knowlege generated from these tests fed back into the development of interaction scenarios for our location-based experience prototype. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | XR prototype demo at St George's Hall, June 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Professor Koeck, Pete Woodbridge and other colleagues from the Centre of Architecture and the Visual Arts (CAVA) have collaborated with Culture Liverpool, Immersive Storylab, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, CineTecture and Draw & Code to develop a ground-breaking participatory and immersive mixed reality experience. The results from this project directly influenced our methods and work on Shaun Immersive in China. Woodbridge was CI on this network grant and would become CI on the project "Shaun Immersive". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.cava-research.org/research-projects/st-georges-launch |