Creatives in South Wales have been awarded funding to turn their ideas into reality.
Clwstwr, which is led by Cardiff University in partnership with the University of South Wales and Cardiff Metropolitan University, is a Research & Development (R&D) programme working to nurture media production around the Welsh capital.
The 2021 Clwstwr cohort is made up of freelancers, startups, festivals, production companies, creatives studios, games developers and technologists.
The latest cohort of creatives will explore areas including: virtual production, photography, virtual and augmented reality to create new products, services and experiences.
Projects will also address post-COVID ways of working, routes to employment and career development, environmental sustainability and inclusion in the media sector.
Sugar Creative, Small and Clever Productions, Yeti Media and the IRIS Prize are among those who will embark on gamechanging innovations.
Several of the successful recipients have already undertaken seed R&D with the Clwstwr programme and now have received funding to take their idea to the next level. These projects include: Inclusive Film from theatre company Hijinx, Kids News from TV news presenters Hannah and Lewis Vaughan-Jones, production company Triongl’s Digital Toolbox for Multi-language Productions and Green Screen Wales from Little Bird Films.
Professor Justin Lewis, Clwstwr Director, said:
“The 2021/22 Clwstwr cohort contains an exciting variety of projects that we hope will lead to an uplift of the media sector’s innovation capabilities in the region as well as a raft of new products, services and experiences. Key themes in this round include virtual production, inclusion in film and TV, post-COVID festivals, net zero, augmented reality and innovations in storytelling.
“These exciting projects will not only enhance and diversify the screen and news sectors as we move towards net zero, but they will also improve people’s understanding of their environment, enhance the audience experience for deaf and visually impaired audiences, create new revenue streams for charities, and improve healthcare training in the NHS.”
Award-winning developers of games and augmented/mixed reality experiences Tiny Rebel Games are one of those companies chosen for the 2021 Clwstwr cohort.
Co-founder Susan Cummings said:
“Tiny Rebel Games is very excited to have been selected for the Clwstwr cohort 2021. This funding will help us to pursue advanced R&D in AR for both mobile and wearable devices, using cutting-edge technology, along with our award-winning skills in game development and storytelling, to bring a thought-leading vision for how we think about game play experiences in augmented reality.”
Clwstwr is funded through the Creative Industries Clusters Programme and is part of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy and by Welsh Government through Creative Wales.
Visit www.clwstwr.org.uk to find out more.
