Thanks also to the Creative Industries KTN and Bristol Media, who helped the event go off with a bang.

We were thrilled to announce that Media Sandbox 2010 will open for applications in March/April. Please keep an eye on this website and sign up to our mailing list for the latest news.

This years’ theme is: Pervasive Experiences

We’re looking for ground-breaking ideas that dovetail mobile, wireless and sensory technologies with content and context, to create meaningful experiences.

For more info visit the 2010 Sandbox page or download a PDF

Sandbox Surgeries will also begin this week. These drop-in sessions will be held at the Pervasive Media Studio and offer the opportunity to discuss any aspect of the scheme, such as the application process, potential ideas or partnerships. Surgeries will be held every thursday lunchtime until 28th January (with the exception of the 24th and 31st December). More info and registration details on our events page.

If you have a brilliant idea, this might be the perfect opportunity to pursue it…

Simon have also designed a brilliant game especially for the event. Based on the classic 80's board game ‘Guess Who?’, we'll be challenging you to become super sleuths in the race to win a £25 iTunes voucher. You’ll also meet some interesting people along the way.

For info, the agenda is looking something like this:

6.00pm  Registration, drinks & nibbles
6.30pm  Welcome from CI KTN's John Cass, followed by a short talk from Wired's David Rowan
6.40pm  Lightening talks on recent projects from Simon & AntiVJ
6.50pm  More drinks, nibbles and a chance to play 'Who is this?'
7.45pm  Exciting announcement about next year's Media Sandbox scheme
7.50pm  Lightening talks on recent projects from youarehere & Mobile Pie
8.00pm  More drinks, nibbles and more 'Who is this?'
8.30pm  Announcement of the game winner plus thanks from CI KTN

If you haven’t booked yet, don’t worry there’s still time. For more information and to register, please visit our events page: http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk/events/

We look forward to seeing you there.
Victoria

7 December 2009 | 18:00hrs | Watershed, Bristol | Free, booking required

Digital Content will change more in the next seven years than the last 20.  Are you ready?

What's going to happen to TV & Film? Could you spot the next Spotify, iplayer or wii? What will become of news? Are you ready to get the most out of next generation networks? How do we unlock the power of social media?

Working in collaboration with the Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network (CI KTN) and Bristol Media, we're co-hosting the Digital Lounge, an exciting event to be held at Watershed on 7th December.

The event will be an opportunity for you to get involved and help develop the themes and ideas being explored by the Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network as part of a UK wide project on technology focused innovation.

Following the success of recent Media Sandbox and Technology Strategy Board projects, the Digital Lounge will feature project highlights from Simon Games, Mobile Pie, youarehere and more. The event will offer a chance to hear about immediate funding opportunities and network with other leading innovators.  We'll also announce the latest news on next yearsʼ Media Sandbox scheme.

Drinks and light bites will be served.

To register please visit: http://digitalloungebristol.eventbrite.com/

This event is organised by the Creative Industry Knowledge Transfer Network, in collaboration with Media Sandbox and Bristol Media.

It is supported by Digital Communications KTN, Digital Systems KTN, Simon, TIGA, IPA and PACT.

What’s the future of digital content? How will people experience it? How will it be distributed? And where are the opportunities for small producers within this landscape?

The event will be an opportunity for you to get involved and help develop the themes and ideas being explored by the Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network as part of a UK wide project on technology focused innovation.

Following the success of recent Media Sandbox and Technology Strategy Board projects, the event will explore the opportunities and challenges faced by the creative industries as they push the boundaries of technology-focused innovation. The evening will include a showcase of project highlights, plus open discussion with participants and commissioners. Media Sandbox 2010 will also launch, with exciting details about this years’ scheme and how to apply.

If you have a brilliant idea, this might be the perfect opportunity to pursue it.

We’ll be updating the website with more information and how to sign-up over the next few weeks, so do sign up to our mailing list to make sure you receive the latest news. Alternatively, please email Victoria if you have any questions or would like to discuss an idea.

I've spent a good deal of time this summer putting together a publication that showcases the results of two years of the Media Sandbox scheme.  I've worked with some really great people on it - so thanks to Steve Wright who produced the articles; Toby Farrow who produced the photography; writer and commentator Bill Thompson who provided a short contextual essay; and of course to all the participants from the two years of the scheme who have been brilliant to work with.

I'd especially like to thank John Durrant from BDH, who really kindly re-worked one of the images from the Happytowns project for the front cover.

Thanks also go to this year’s panel of Industry Advisors for their valuable contributions; and to our funders – South West Screen, SWRDA & Watershed - for their continued support.

The publication can be viewed online through the Yudu publishing platform, (hard copies available on request).

We hope you enjoy it.

Organised by iShed with South West Screen, Media Sandbox supports a handful of UK based technology companies each year, providing them with the time, space, support and financial security to research cutting edge technologies and develop innovative ideas to professional standards. As part of my four day work experience placement at the Pervasive Media Studio, I was invited to attend the Media Sandbox Showcase. This was held to celebrate six projects researching emerging possibilities in multiplatform technologies, awarded funding and mentoring from industry experts in January of this year.

The showcase opened with a speech on the ethos and goals of Media Sandbox from Victoria Tillotson, Project Manager at iShed. Soon after, those awarded help from Media Sandbox in 2009 gave presentations explaining their original ideas, and how the accolade, with its benefits, helped them reformulate and execute these. They were then questioned by industry experts (including Mark Leaver and Clare Reddington) and an audience made up, in part, of those vying for Media Sandbox support in 2010.

The projects that enjoyed 2009 Media Sandbox backing included a collaboration between HMC Interactive, Drake Music and bibc, investigating how stimulation through sensors, light and sound can enhance the health of children with physical and learning disabilities, a new software designed to revolutionise projection by AntiVJ, and a tool to help musicians and record labels promote artists via alternative and compelling online/SMS based campaigns, presented by Indie Mobile.

The event also marked the launch of the first Media Sandbox publication, archiving the first two years of the scheme, and the impact it has had on the creative industries in the South West of England.

Written by Robert Harrison.

Robert has worked with the Media Sandbox team this week in a voluntary capacity, as part of his coursework at Colyton Grammar School.

If you missed the Showcase, it will soon be available to watch online at dShed, so watch out for updates.

The creative media industries are going through a period of rapid change. The uncertain economic environment has made it harder to find the time and space to dedicate to nurturing new ideas. The Media Sandbox development scheme was set up to give new ideas a safe environment in which to grow. Sandbox made six awards earlier this year, to innovative projects researching emerging possibilities in multiplatform technologies. From HMC, Drake Music and bibic’s  multi-sensory environments for children with additional learning needs to Indie Mobile’s new music focused campaign tool, all the projects respond directly to the challenges of modern society.

This event celebrates the achievements of those six commissions and will include a showcase of all six, plus open discussion addressing the challenges posed by multiplatform technologies. The event will also coincide with a launch of a new publication that celebrates two successful years of the Media Sandbox scheme and an exciting announcement about next years’ scheme.

16:00hrs:
Project presentations and panel discussions with Nicole Yershon, Director of Innovative Solutions at Ogilvy; Richard Hull, Researcher in Pervasive Technologies at HP Labs; Mark Leaver, Director of Development at South West Screen; and Clare Reddington, Director of iShed.

18:00hrs:
Evening Reception including informal demos of this years’ projects and the launch of the Media Sandbox Publication. Drinks and light bites will be served.

If you would like to attend, please reserve tickets online at http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk/events, or call Watershed Box Office directly on +44 (0)117 927 5100.

Visit: http://www.dshed.net/talks/antivj/

International visual label AntiVJ create monumental projections in public spaces, combining powerful video projectors with digital mapping techniques and holographic illusions. Stepping away from conventional techniques, the artist’s offer an alternative perspective on social spaces and cultural communication.

This event will include a showcase of AntiVJ’s recent projects, plus an in conversation presentation between AntiVJ members Nicolas Boritch, Joanie Lemercier, and Watershed’s Head of Programme, Mark Cosgrove. They will discuss how artists are utilising today’s emerging technologies, and what impact this might have on the future of gaming, fashion, architecture and advertising.

Tickets to this event can be booked through Watershed Box Office: http://www.watershed.co.uk/exhibits/2028/

FFI: http://www.antivj.com

There will also be an opportunity to see a demo of AntiVJ's new experimental stereo and tracking prototype:

In order to celebrate two successful years of Media Sandbox, we’re pleased to announce that we have commissioned an exciting publication to be launched at our Showcase Event later in the year.  The publication will celebrate the impact of the Media Sandbox scheme by telling the stories, highlighting the successes and sighting the legacies. Working with Bristol based designers Wildfire, photographer Toby Farrow and writer Steve Wright, this will be a read not to be missed.

The Media Sandbox Final Showcase Event & Publication Launch will be held on October 20th 2009 at Watershed. We’ll post more details soon, so watch out for information.

Best wishes,
Victoria