Future Tuesdays presents Ulster Touring Opera with Dafydd Hall Williams, 18 Jan 2022

Future Screens NI’s creative industries talks Future Tuesdays hosted Artistic Director of Ulster Touring Opera Dafydd Hall Williams. Dafydd presented recent Augmented Reality research and development projects, the February 2022 Ulster Touring Opera touring event and plans for the future.

Dafydd Hall Williams trained at the Oxford School of Drama before attaining a BA and MA at Aberystwyth University. Dafydd has worked in a wide range of artistic and managerial roles at companies in the UK and Ireland such as Welsh National Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, English Touring Opera, Buxton Opera Festival and Northern Ireland Opera. Since 2015, Dafydd has been a Visiting Director at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, directing Opera Scenes performances with undergraduate and postgraduate Vocal Studies students.

In 2019 Dafydd founded UTO, the only dedicated cross-border opera company on the island of Ireland. The company aims to increase access to opera across the province of Ulster through live touring and immersive technology experiences. UTO’s flagship live tour ‘A Night at the Opera’ will visit four venues in Northern Ireland and three venues in the Republic of Ireland in February 2022. UTO will also launch its App on Apple Store later in Spring 2022, which will be home to the company’s augmented reality experiences developed with the support of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Future Screens NI, NI Screen and Digital Catapult NI.

Joining Dafydd via recorded video was baritone Ross Ramgobin.

A graduate of Brunel University and London's Royal Academy of Music and National Opera Studio, Ross Ramgobin was nominated for a WhatsOnSrage Breakthrough Award.

Recent engagements have included the title role in Grange Park Opera's film of Owen Wingrave, Prince Arjuna in Satyagraha and Schaunard in La bohème for English National Opera, Papageno in The Magic Flute for The Royal Opera's Christmas Concert and Alberich in Birmingham Opera Company's RhineGold. Upcoming engagements include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro for the Israeli Opera and concert debuts with Britten Sinfonia, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Radio Filharmonsich Orkest of The Netherlands, as well as a return to The Royal Opera.

Ulster Touring Opera is a participant in the XRX Programme, a partnership of Future Screens NI, Northern Ireland Screen & Digital Catapult NI aimed at supporting companies working on innovative ideas within the XR industry. UTO is also the recipient of several Future Screen NI funding streams.

Future Screens NI’s Future Foundation offers Access to Inspire Wellbeing to mentors & mentees

Future Screens NI’s creative industries mentoring programme Future Foundation has launched Access to Inspire Wellbeing, an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for all Future Foundations mentors and mentors across Northern Ireland.
Partnering with Inspire Wellbeing, EAP offers 24hr telephone support, confidential counselling up to 6 x 1-hour sessions and access to an online hub.
Access to Inspire Wellbeing - Employee Assistance Programme

We are delighted to share the news that we have partnered with Inspire Wellbeing to offer the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for all Future Foundations mentors and mentees across Northern Ireland.
 
EAP will provide each of you with the following:

• Confidential counselling service - independent counselling and support complementary to Future Foundations participants.

  • Each person will have access to a 24 hour telephone support line and up to 6 x 1 hour confidential counselling sessions applying the brief solution focused model.

  • Everyone can self-refer and the counselling can be delivered, in your own time, either over the telephone, or via online video throughout Northern Ireland (in person sessions currently on hold due to Covid safety recommendations).

• Access to the online Hub.

• Receive monthly e-zines from Inspire (which we will include a link to in future bulletins).

Future Tuesdays presents Turf with Ara Devine on 14 Dec 2021

On the 14th of December 2021 Future Screens NI’s creative industries project showcase hosted Ara Devine with his award-winning short Turf. For the talk, Ara and the film’s producer Isabella Djalili-Devine were in conversation with VR feature writer/director Dee Harvey discussing the film, working through the pandemic and future plans.  

Ara Devine is an artist, filmmaker and PhD researcher at Belfast School of Art, Ulster University. He is a graduate of Fine Art Media and Visual Culture from the National College of Art and Design. In 2017 his film The Irish Question was shortlisted for the RDS Visual Art Awards. In October 21, Turf was awarded Louth International Film Festival Winner of Best Short Fiction. In November, Turf has been selected for Belfast Film Festival, Richard Harris International Film Festival and Foyle Film Festival. Find out more about Ara Devine here.

Dee Harvey is a writer-director specialising in immersive storytelling and cinematic VR. Dee is the creator of films If and Heartbeat. She is currently completing her Future Screens Future Fellowship, between University of Ulster's Screen Academy and Queen's School of Arts.

Isabella Djalili-Devine is a Belfast-based freelance editor for film and TV. Isabella has worked for a variety of production companies and broadcast channels including: the BBC, Virgin Media, Erica Starling Productions and Waddell Media. Isabella holds a BA in Practical Filmmaking from Met Film School, London, and an MA in Documentary Film from the University of the Arts.

Turf was funded by Future Screens NI’s Future Creatives scheme.

For a link to the talk see below. The short film is currently in consideration for film festivals. The film has been removed from the link at their request.

Nice One Productions develop a promo for Pixel Perfect a games production answer to Factual Entertainment.

Belfast-based television production company Nice One Productions has completed Future Screens NI funded R&D on television programming to enhance the public’s perception of video games and game production. Through a series of UK-wide surveys of general public’s perceptions of video games and video game development and conceptual research, Nice One Productions developed Format Bible, Sizzle Reel and pilot footage to pitch a TV competition show featuring teams of video game developers create original games in just 48 hours. The aim is to produce a show which will show the games industry in the most positive light to an audience, who have minimal industry knowledge. Looking at current tastes in programme consumption the team concluded that formatted entertainment is watched with more frequency than documentaries, and that a Factual Entertainment show about indie game development would be an appropriate solution.

 For more information on Nice One Productions visit here.

Jordan Whitefield completes R&D on video workshop needs of businesses with social progress interests.

What Elephant CE Jordan Whitefield recently completed her Future Screens NI project developing workshops to assist companies in raising awareness of social injustice and using storytelling to encourage social progress. Whitefield worked with Causeway Enterprise and Ormeau Baths to develop future courses and programmes through two focus group meetings for NI creative practitioners to facilitate services as a creative video producer. The workshops facilitated two focus groups, piloting a version of a lunchtime video marketing workshop. The workshops resulted in the development of two service offerings for low on resource organisations and individuals/micro businesses.

This project was funded by Future Screens NI’s Future Creatives award. The Future Creatives award offered an opportunity to awardees to advance their research and development programmes, advance their career ambitions and develop cutting edge technical solutions in their work. Open to PhD researchers, early career researchers, early career industry applicants, start ups, individuals and free-lancers, the successful applicants were awarded £5,000 which could be set against enhancing existing research plans as part of a PhD, independent research, product development, innovation or professional development.

The Future Creatives scheme was designed to enable participants to make a step change in their research and innovation by enhanced leadership and collaboration skills and developing new practices in the field of creativity and technology.

For more information on What Elephant and Jordan Whitefield visit here.