A five day educational residency designed to give artists the skills and tools for utilising immersive technologies, contemporary design approaches, interactive production tools, playfulness and adaptive storytelling in their work.

Led by Myra Appannah and Simon Wilkinson, two of Europe’s most notable people in live performance VR, who will share their knowledge to build communities and skills so that creatives can not only be a part of a changing creative industry, but can take it anywhere they want.

The Storyhack residency will give artists the knowledge, skills and tools to begin to use new technology and interactivity in their work in a fundamental and transformative way.

Creatives must move beyond disciplines to capture new audiences and expectations. And so this intensive course is designed for those working across a spectrum of platforms – music, theatre, cinema, visual and live arts.

The course will support artists in reaching contemporary expectations for immersion, interactivity and meaningful engagement in culture.

THE CONTENT
AUDIENCE TRENDS
A dissection of current audience trends as a means for artists to understand the role of interactivity and immersion in creating a more meaningful exchange with their own audiences.

STORY CREATION
Work through practical exercises to learn the fundamentals of story creation for interactive and immersive spaces including sessions covering;
interactive design //
dealing with complexity in branching narratives //
transmedia storytelling //
speculative design //
visual Scripting for interactivity //

PRODUCTION
At the heart of the system of technical skills which resident artists will learn sits Unity Games Engine, free software which allows makers to create interactive and immersive content from
virtual reality and smartphone apps to video games and augmented reality. In addition we will cover 3D modelling, photogrammetry and strategies for avoiding the need for code.

TECHNOLOGY
Explore the kinds of immersive technologies currently available for artists to use. This will include an analysis of the relative strengths and weaknesses of competing virtual and augmented reality headsets, sensors, 3D audio systems and associated accessories.

SHOWCASE
Throughout the week resident artists will collaborate in small groups to develop concepts and prototypes for new interactive artworks. This enables them to try out aspects of the thinking and skills which the residency delivers in preparation for a closing showcase where they can present and explain their work.

DIGITAL POWERHOUSE IS POWERED BY QUT.