Film, streaming, gaming, TikTok, YouTube, AI… the way we watch and share stories is changing fast.
We are partnering with Playland and Artswork on Screen Culture NXT, a series of creative workshops exploring the future of film, TV and digital culture in Portsmouth.
The ideas that come from these sessions will help shape future Making Waves events and activities.
“More than half (52%) of 18–24-year-olds now rely on social media, video platforms and AI chatbots as their main source of news.”UNESCO, Media and Information Literacy
Get involved:
📅 19 September, 11am to 4pm
For young people aged 11 to 16
📅 26 September, 11am to 4pm
For young people aged 16 to 30
Of all the things I imagine myself doing at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning, taking an Immersive Theatre class in a brewery was not one of them and yet now I can’t imagine a better way to spend my weekend.
I was lucky enough to be able to take part in the Interactive Theatre workshop run by the Making Waves Film Festival in conjunction with immersive theatre director Joe Hufton. It was a fantastic experience during which I learned a number of new techniques, made connections, learned from industry professionals, and above all, had a lot of fun!
From professional actors to people just there for a laugh, 30 of us gathered together to learn the ins and outs of producing an immersive theatre experience. We warmed up our (somewhat rusty, in my case) improvisation skills by telling stories to one another based on things in the room. From dinosaur uprisings to portals in fridges, we heard it all.
After we were feeling sufficiently creative, we were split into groups to create semi-scripted scenes to guide an audience along a narrative journey. The storyline of the day centred around a gang preparing for the ultimate job (cue terrible mobster accents all round) so after a very important discussion on who would be on Team Weaponry and who would be relegated to Team Tech, we got cracking.
I have to say, it’s been a while since I’ve properly been able to play with a new concept. While initially somewhat depressing, Joe’s mantra of ‘whatever you make the first time will almost certainly be rubbish’ turned out to be shockingly freeing. Having permission to make something more than a bit rough around the edges and for that to be completely OK was something I think we could all do with a bit more of in life.
And, for me, that mantra turned out to be one of the key points of the workshop. Don’t waste time standing around wondering what it would be like if you tried something, just try it and see for yourself.
The Acting & Directing for Immersive Cinema Experiences workshop was part of a preparation process for Pompey Dogs, a live cinema screening of Reservoir Dogs (1992) at Staggeringly Good Brewery as part of this year’s film festival. You can find out more by taking a look at the event programme.
On Saturday 4th November, the Making Waves Film Festival hosted our one-day live cinema Creative Producers Lab and launched our BFI Film Audience Network-funded Community Curated Live Cinema Exhibition project.
After initial introductions, 3 workshops covered how to market, design and perform in an immersive cinema experience, each of which focused on bringing the 1991 film The Commitments to life with their chosen subject. An understanding of marketing, designing and performing in cinema commenced the workshops before discussing The Commitments and how it could be translated into the Portsmouth & Southsea area. The film is set in Ireland and has themes of Irish Nationalism and disconnection to their identity and as a result leaves main characters feeling inspired by African-Americans, and more specifically, Soul music. The title references the name of the band in the film that performs in and around the fictional town of Barrytown, invented by the author of the book, The Commitments, Roddy Doyle.
Utilising these themes, attendees of each workshop came up with ways in which to bring the film to life, starting with the venue. Since members of the band in The Commitments spend most of their music career performing in bars or warehouses, looking at a local event space, like the Staggeringly Good Brewery in Southsea, it makes sense to look for a venue with a similar look and feel. This space would need to facilitate live music as well as food and drink stations to further tie in themes of Irish culture to the event. For example, hosting a run of Battle of the Bands nights sponsored by MWFF would draw attention to the immersive experience and allow the event to gain traction through a unique marketing funnel.
Inviting local food and drink vendors like Pie and Vinyl to replicate classic pub food in a similar style as seen in the film would enhance the experience. This would also give local businesses a chance to make an income and bring together several Portsmouth and Southsea institutions.
Since such a vast percentage of this area’s population are students, the attendees included several ideas to give opportunity to those interested and provide them with a platform. Examples included putting on a competition for students to design a logo for the evening/event which would be used in all forms of marketing.
After the workshops, we were joined by Professors Sarah Atkinson and Helen Kennedy who gave attendees an insight into the world of live cinema using their extensive research of one of the leading companies in this industry, namely Secret Cinema. Looking at the immersive cinema experience from more than just a design perspective meant that attendees could learn more about engaging audiences and the specific type of live cinema they desire to achieve.
It was an extremely productive day, we are now steaming ahead with plans for the screening of The Commitments at a popular local venue in March 2024. Watch this space for further updates.
Professor Sarah Atkinson & Professor Helen W. Kennedy
on Saturday 4th November 10:00am-16:30pm at the University Learning Centre, Winston Churchill Ave, Portsmouth PO1 2DH (Opposite the Ibis Hotel).
Are you ready to dive into the world of immersive events, where imagination knows no bounds?
If so, then why not join us for a day of inspiration and innovation at our one-day live cinema Creative Producers Lab. This unique event is designed to empower creative minds like yours, exploring the art of crafting thrilling experiences and how to manage the intellectual property (IP) for the film you’re screening.
Get ready to unlock the secrets of immersive storytelling through practical workshops, enlightening panel discussions, and captivating presentations. Discover the art of marketing your live cinema events to captivate audiences and leave a lasting impression. Learn how to create immersive environments that transport viewers into breathtaking alternate realities. Unleash your inner performer as we delve into the intricacies of acting in immersive settings, where every moment is an opportunity for connection.
Our line-up of industry experts will guide you through the dynamic landscape of live cinema, sharing their invaluable knowledge and expertise. There will be an opportunity for a Q&A panel with our experts, plus a show and tell event which will challenge the workshop participants to pitch their ideas to our panel of experts.
This is your chance to connect with like-minded professionals, exchange ideas, and ignite your creative potential. With hands-on workshops, insightful discussions, and real-world case studies, you’ll leave with practical skills and a renewed sense of excitement to craft extraordinary live cinema experiences.
Join us at Unlocking Creativity: Crafting Engaging Live Cinema Experiences and be part of the movement that is reshaping the boundaries of storytelling. Secure your spot now and get ready to unleash your creativity like never before. Don’t miss out on this exhilarating opportunity to be at the forefront of immersive events in the world of cinema!
This is an in-person event aimed at amateurs, professionals, enthusiasts, academics, students, creators, and makers. Anyone with an interest in exploring live cinema production of any background is welcome to take part, no previous experience is required.
Marketing Immersive Events: Delve into the dynamic world of immersive, experiential, and themed entertainment marketing in this hands-on workshop. Hone your skills with practical exercises and real-world scenarios, ensuring you’re equipped to captivate audiences and create unforgettable experiences. Elevate your marketing prowess and bring stories to life like never before.
Designing Immersive Experiences: Master the art of crafting immersive and experiential designs that captivate audiences. A practical skills-building session, participants will get their hands dirty, transforming creative concepts into tangible themed experiences. Dive in and bring stories to life!
Performing in Immersive Environments: Join our workshop on performing in immersive settings. Learn practical techniques for acting in 360-degree environments. Through hands-on activities, gain the skills needed to engage audiences in these unique spaces. Ideal for performers looking to adapt and thrive in modern immersive experiences.
Lucy Ridley (Creative Director Interactive & Immersive Experiences): Over the past 14 years Lucy has created everything from large scale immersive shows for Secret Cinema to work in schools, street performances, experimental clown pieces and brand activations. Lucy has led creative and performance direction for over twenty Secret Cinema productions including; Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Stranger Things with Netflix, Blade Runner, Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, The Handmaiden by Park Chan-wook, Dirty Dancing, Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove, Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever, and Back to the Future. At the core of her work is a commitment to making play inclusive and accessible to everyone. Her work has reached hundreds of thousands of people across the world of all ages and walks of life.
Sarah Atkinson (Professor of Screen Media, King’s College London): Sarah has published widely on the impacts of digital technologies on film, cinema & media audiences, and screen production practices & industries. She has addressed her subject through analyses of narrative, text, process, industry, apparatus and audience. Sarah has undertaken extensive work into the Live Cinema economy and has worked on a number of funded immersive media projects including a Virtual Reality diversity initiative, a project which explores artificial intelligence and conversational interactivity in games and ‘XR Circus’ which brought together circus artists with immersive technologists.
Helen Kennedy (Professor of Creative and Cultural Industries at the University of Nottingham): Helen has been researching the intersection of film and games through the phenomena of live, experiential and immersive Cinema which has led to a number of publications. She collaborated with Professor Sarah Atkinson from King’s College London to co-write, direct and produce a short film about this research entitled – Live Cinema: Walking the Tightrope Between Stage and Screen (2019) which was nominated for Learning on Screen Best Film Award 2020. Together they recently published a further volume on live cinema “Secret Cinema and the Immersive Experience Industry” (2022).
There is a wealth of documentation of all the events and collaborations that Sarah and Helen have undertaken together on their website.
Lab Collective (interactive theatre makers): Lab Collective will be facilitating our designing immersive experiences and performing for immersive environments workshops. They create interactive, visceral live experiences that tread the line between theatre, game and installation, empowering audiences to collaborate in our performances. We share our work in physical spaces and virtual worlds, exploring and playing across technologies and disciplines to generate an innovative theatrical experience.
Find out more about The Lab Collective on their website.
As many fellow cinema-goers fear, the future of cinemas in today’s era of streaming service giants appears uncertain. Still, hope clings on that going to the cinema doesn’t have an expiry date any time soon. The good news is that a cinema crisis isn’t near and there is so much to look forward to. At the “Wave Makers Creative Producers Lab: What is the Future of the Cinema?” event at the University of Portsmouth on 18 February, the potential for immersive cinema to be part of that ongoing success was put to the test.
The Creative Producers Lab had a successful turnout and opened with attendees engaging in workshops that explored event marketing, event management and community & live cinema programming. The event marketing lab, hosted by Bill Sainsbury of Making Waves Film Festival and Malisa Chafer of No.6 Cinema, covered the basics of marketing film events and introduced some key marketing principles such as AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action) and the marketing 5 P’s.
Community and Live Cinema Programming, hosted by Neil Ramjee of BFI Film Hub SW, covered how to build an audience and gave an outline of what is considered to be ‘best practice’. A pivotal topic covered in the lab was considering how to host an event that honours accessibility, especially for those with particular needs and those who live with neurodiversity. The session explored how cinema experiences affect these groups of individuals and how they function at a cinema event like this when there are overwhelming stimuli such as flashing lights and loud volume that can startle those with sensory issues.
Event Management looked in detail at one of the most exciting aspects of the day’s topic: the experience, planning and management of an immersive event. Dividing the planning between two teams and taking the 1973 release That Will Be The Day; one team explored the environment and more logistic side of the event whilst the other built a story around the immersive cinema experience that would take the audience on an adventure. The session ended with a call by the organisers to put this show on in Portsmouth and everyone seemed keen to be involved.
The afternoon panel session featured an impressive array of speakers on the topic of live and event cinema. As the director of Compass Presents, Tara Sachedeva, and Creative Producer of Creative Giants Arts, Charlotte March, explained in their panel presentations, immersive cinema is becoming more popular and intriguing than ever before. Immersive Cinema takes cinema and makes it into a live, engaging, sensory experience that brings audiences in to feel a film in a way that brings them in further than ever before. At events like those staged by Secret Cinema, films like Singing in the Rain, Wes Anderson Films and vintage films like Grease can become alive in the most indulging manner that could be imagined.
In Portsmouth, this magic is being bought into our city through local organisations like DVMISSION and No.6 Cinema. No.6 Cinema’s arthouse and niche cinema picks are accompanied, at times, by their creative volunteers’ ideas through costume, and decor all adding to the atmosphere of the experience. DVMISSION, the riveting, annual 48-hour-filmmaking festival has for many years been adding immersive performances into their screening ceremonies. Last year, they had zombie-like performers creeping around the venue and plus a remarkable puppet that dominated the entire show.
Whilst DVMISSION and No.6 Cinema bring their experiences alive on a smaller budget, Charlotte explained during her panel presentation that the giant, mega-millions shows she works in are becoming more expensive to stage as they become more popular and less niche. Venues are charging more for rent as they are becoming aware of how much these shows make. And with the cost of living crisis ongoing, attending these kinds of shows is becoming as expensive as going on a holiday.
Even with its’ difficulties, the immersive cinema industry has a massive amount of potential to broaden its activities across the UK in all shapes and forms. For example, neurodiverse screenings can grant accessibility to neurodiverse individuals who want to be able to go to the cinema and be able to be themselves without being frowned upon. BFI Film Hub Southwest Community Manger Neil Ramjee told us that:
“With screenings aimed for neurodiverse adults in the last couple of years, the majority of the films shown have been made for children. Whilst all neurodiverse people operate on a degree of levels, neurodiverse people have astounding abilities and remarkable skills and are entitled to have an accessible cinema experience rather than have to stay home because they are ‘too disruptive’ to go to the cinema.”
Neil Ramjee, Community Manager, Film Hub Southwest
Neurodiverse screening entails individuals being able to stim, tic and move around without receiving complaints. These screenings take into account sensory issues and play no ads at the beginning of the film. Some organisations also have begun posting photos online of every seat in their theatre to help neurodivergent audiences know what their seat will look like before going to a show, what their view will be and give them ease.
The future of cinema is immersive and accessible. But with all the ideas and possibilities in front of us, is the classic cinema included in these plans? Well, if the future is accessible, surely, it must be.
Join this WAVE MAKERS CREATIVE PRODUCERS LAB, a one day event at the University of Portsmouth with speakers from the world of cinema exhibition asking if live cinema is the way forward for the cinema experience. Supported by BFI Film Hub SW, the day will include practical sessions on how to run a successful event.
Are you a cinema fan looking to experience film exhibition in exciting new ways?
Or are you an event producer looking for new opportunities to curate and create innovative cinema experiences?
Then this may be the event for you!
Why ask this question now?
The landscape of cinema exhibition has changed over the last few years, in part due to the pandemic which understandably saw a shift towards consumption of streaming content and a general change in audience behaviour. But there has also been a move away from ‘theatrical windows’ for the release of feature films reflecting a challenging new marketplace with the rise of the digital disruptors Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and others. The collapse of the DVD market this has brought about has put further pressure on distributors to seek out new models for exhibition and audience engagement.
On the other hand, there have been a number of success stories for live, event, immersive and expanded cinema. From 2019 onward the expansion of large-scale immersive cinema experiences led to a widespread recognition for live cinema as an exciting new opportunity for cinema exhibition. Organisations such as Secret Cinema have led the way in moving live cinema from the margins to the mainstream. Putting live and event cinema at the forefront of the newly emergent experience economy.
Is live cinema the way forward for innovative curation of the cinema experience?
This one day event is going to ask this very question with speakers from the world of cinema who are curating and creating events that offer new ways to experience cinema.
During the morning workshops you can build your personal skills in event management, exhibition marketing and community cinema programming. Aimed at anyone with an interest in putting on their own live cinema events these sessions will be hands-on and practical.
Then in the afternoon there will be an opportunity to share in the wisdom of people expert in the field of cinema exhibition including: Tara Sachdeva (Compass Presents), Charlotte March (Creative Giants Art), Malisa Chafer (No6 Cinema) and Roy Hanney (MWFF). A series of short talks by each of our speakers followed by a Q&A, the session will ask the question: what is the future of the cinema experience.
Programme
09:30-10:00 Registration
10:00-12:00 Parallel Workshops (chose from one of three sessions)
Session A: Event Management with Roy Hanney (MWFF) & Ajay Parakeh (Kabuki Productions)
Session B: Event Marketing with Bill Sainsbury (MWFF) & Malisa Chafer (No6 Cinema)
Session C: Community & Live Cinema Programming with Neil Ramjee (BFI Film Hub SW) & Yael Freidman (University of Portsmouth)
