Digital Creative Network West- Showcase talks, Drinks + Pizza

Description

The DCN is an exciting opportunity to convene large anchor organisations, startups and academia and accelerate innovation in west London.

West London is one of the most important global clusters for creative industries with a competitive advantage of superior connectivity, major studios, international screen corporates, strong ecosystem and in-demand talent. We are seeking to promote innovation and collaboration amongst industry, academia and government to address the shared priorities of increasing the supply of skilled workers, increasing studio space, and fostering sustainability.

Join us for a series of inspirational talks from industry leaders with sector-leading expertise to serving film clients worldwide, Esports giants and more! Followed by Q&A & networking opportunities to meet like-minded creatives in the borough.

Who should come: All those who work in TV/Film, media, gaming, advertising and the wider digital creative space in West London (or close enough!) – regardless of size of organisation. If you love innovation, care about collaboration, want to solve common challenges and enjoy meeting like-minded creatives, this is the place for you.

SPEAKERS

Stephen Maud, (Founder & MD) – CLOUD NINE PRODUCTIONS

With 25 years in the business, Steve’s passion for filmmaking and out-of-the-box thinking drives the creative integrity of every project at Shepherds Bush-based Cloud Nine. His experience includes time at Penguin Random House, Comic Relief, British Airways and the Malaria Consortium.

Mike Obi (Founder & MD) – White City Warehouse + Blacklisted Digital

Mike is our host for our evening at the warehouse – a 4,123 sqft adaptable build is a cultural platform that speaks to today’s makers and audiences, one that adapts and responds to the changing creative environment. He will also be sharing the work of his digital marketing business Blacklisted Digital.

Junaid ‘Jay’ Syed (Creative Director / VFX Supervisor) – BLAM PICTURES: Blam is a multi-award winning creative production company specialising in content involves mixing live action with Visual Effects and CGI Animation. Jay has over 15 year’s VFX experience, includin TVCs for Nike, PlayStation and films Interstellar and Jupiter Ascending. Apart from VFX, he is also a short film director.

Gulliver Moore (Founder & MD)- SUNDAY TREAT

Gulliver Moore is the Managing Director and Founder of Sunday Treat, a creative production agency based in Huckletree White City. With over a decade of experience as a director of global content for brands Gulliver, along with his co-founder Oliver Clubb, transitioned from their successful director-cinematographer duo to establish Sunday Treat.

Sunday Treat specializes in video marketing with an ethos of “Find the Fun” in every project. They focus on exploring the human and creative elements, delivering exceptional results for clients such as Google, Revolut, and the NHS.

Dan Webb (Co-founder & CEO) – EXISTENT

Dan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Existent, a company transforming XR application development. With years of software engineering experience on projects from third-party widgets to ecommerce sites for top brands, Dan brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. Existent offers an end-to-end framework for spatial applications integrated with Unreal Engine 5, enabling creators to develop immersive VR experiences swiftly and efficiently.

Leah Kurta (Head of Business Development and Research) – EXISTENT

Leah is a psychology, human-centred design and innovation specialist. As Head of Business Development and Research for Existent Leah works with immersive businesses, academia and the creative tech community to uncover the tools, training and support needed to empower the next generation of spatial computing experts. She regularly hosts industry events to build developer and creative communities and as a researcher she explores economic, market and user insights to inform the development of spatial computing and emerging technologies. Leah is also completing a PhD in user experience of immersive technology at Goldsmiths University of London.

Diversity and inclusion and the ethical development of immersive technologies are central to Leah’s practice. In particular she advocates for gender diversity across the immersive sector and is co-founder of Ida XR Studio, a community for women, non-binary and trans people working in XR

Yush Kalia (Executive Producer) – DIMENSION STUDIOS

Yush is the Executive Producer at Dimension Studios, a leader in volumetric content and immersive experiences. With expertise in real-time engines, XR headsets, digital humans, AI, and 5G, Yush is driving the future of Mixed Reality and spatial computing, transforming traditional media.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART (RCA)

Team Whale Fall:

Janmejay Singh is an award winning filmmaker, immersive storyteller and Climate and Peace activist, currently enrolled in the MA Digital Direction at the Royal College of Art.

Selin Öztürk, an artist with a background in interior architecture, pursued an MA in Digital Direction at the Royal College of Art, London.

Riya Mahajan is a Graphic designer and 3D visual artist from India currently pursuing an MA in Digital Direction at the Royal College of Art in London.

Armelle Mihailescu is a Multimedia Artist in the Digital Direction course in London at the RCA, who’s using video games and interactive/immersive experiences to explore deep themes close to her heart, such as ecology, escapism and spirituality.

Whale Fall is an immersive experience that addresses the issue of marine pollution and its effect on whales, in the form of an interactive Virtual Reality experience, a 360 documentary and an immersive ambisonic sonic installation. It has been showcased at the IRCAM forum in Paris, at SXSW Festival’s RCA Showcase, and as a workshop for Green Futures Day at the RCA.

More details: https://www.whalefallproject.com/

PROGRAMME:

17:30 – Registration

18:00 – Short talks and Q&A

19:15 – Drinks, pizza and networking

20:30 – Event ends

The Digital Creative Network Community: The West London Boroughs (via West London Alliance), West London Business, Film London and London and Partners, are working together to promote the West London sub-region as the “Screen Capital”, a globally significant cluster recognised as a world-leader for talent, innovation and sustainability in the TV/Film industry.

West London and the surrounding environments have a competitive advantage with superior connectivity, major studios, international screen corporates, strong ecosystem and in-demand talent. While this cluster has grown organically over the years, there is now a need for collaboration amongst industry, academia and government to address the shared priorities of increasing the supply of skilled workers, increasing studio space, promoting networks, innovation and sustainability.

If you’re not on the DCN mailing list, then you’re missing out! Sign up here.

KINDLY HOSTED BY: White City Warehouse