XR Stories

About

Telling stories is a vital means by which we make sense of the world around us. Technology and storytelling have always gone hand in hand, with each new medium offering new ways of telling stories and engaging audiences.

XR Stories will harness the latest digital technologies – and especially immersive and interactive tools and techniques – to develop innovative and commercially viable models for the next generation of screen storytelling.

The cluster’s goal is to establish the Yorkshire and Humber screen industries cluster as the UK centre of excellence in immersive and interactive digital storytelling.

The Programme

The partnership will build on the recent investment in, and growth of the screen industries in the Yorkshire/Humber region. XR Stories will provide the necessary further support, investment and expertise to facilitate the R&D that many companies lack the capacity to undertake on their own.

The programme will enable partners to co-create innovative storytelling tools and models for the future, upskill and expand the workforce and ensure the growth of this dynamic regional economy.

XR Stories have established a substantial programme of funding, responsive to the needs of industry.

Regional businesses will have significant opportunities to bid for those funds. Initial projects include developing second-screen narrative experiences; VR storytelling; interactive and immersive story-worlds; personalised and responsive television narratives; the use of big data and artificial intelligence to shape content creation and delivery; and the development of tools for producing and delivering such experiences. New themes will emerge as new challenges are identified.

The Partnership

XR Stories is led by the University of York, in partnership with Screen Yorkshire and the British Film Institute. It brings together film, TV, games and digital media businesses from across the Yorkshire and Humber region, in collaboration with leading national and international companies and organisations, and a consortium of regional universities.

Credits

XR Stories video produced by Joe Rees-Jones, Ed Whyte and Clau Nader.