Tag: Innovation

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The Interactive Filmmaking Lab shortlisted for Scotland Start-Up Awards 2025!

We are thrilled to announce that the Interactive Filmmaking Lab® has been named a finalist ahead of the Scotland final of the UK StartUp Awards – and not in one, but two categories: Creative StartUp of the Year in Scotland and Media & Entertainment StartUp of the Year in Scotland!

The UK StartUp Awards was launched to recognise the booming start-up scene, which has accelerated over the last few years with over 848,000 new businesses founded in the UK in 2024. By joining over 750 businesses that have collectively created more than 4,600 new jobs and generated annual sales of £200 million, we are proud to contribute to the vibrancy of the UK’s start-up scene.

Dr Polina Zioga, founder of the Interactive Filmmaking Lab®, said:

I am incredibly proud of our journey. Being shortlisted is a tremendous honour that recognises our commitment to pushing the boundaries of interactive media and cutting-edge technologies for interactive storytelling, data visualisation, and audience research.

This nomination validates our unique approach – blending cognitive sciences, emerging technologies and over 15 years of creative professional experience – to deliver innovative solutions that engage audiences and drive impactful results.

It marks a significant milestone in our journey to redefine interactive storytelling and audience research across the industry.

Celebrating its fourth year, the UK StartUp Awards, created in collaboration with the team behind the acclaimed Great British Entrepreneur Awards, continues to highlight the success of innovative new ventures.

As Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, the creator of the UK StartUp Awards, highlights:

This year’s finalists embody the very best of entrepreneurial spirit – spotting opportunities and, through dedication, skill, and resilience, turning them into thriving ventures that are making a tangible difference in their industries.

We are honoured to be recognised by an awards programme supported by Airwallex, Ideas Fest, Join Talent, and V Rum – a testament to the vibrant ecosystem fuelling innovation across the UK.

This year’s regional UK StartUp Awards finalists can be found online at https://startupawards.uk/regional-finalists-2025.

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About Events Interactive Filmmaking Interactive Media News Research Services

2023: A Year of Interactive Innovation, Commemoration, and Collaboration

As 2023 comes to a close, we reflect on the milestones, developments, and tributes that have defined our journey at the Interactive Filmmaking Lab. From pioneering new services to honouring the legacy of an admired colleague, this was a year of innovation, commemoration, and collaboration.

New Services Launched:
After more than five years of dedicated research and development, we have launched our new services in impactful interactive production, consultancy, and audience research, designed to meet the needs of businesses, organisations, and professionals. Read more…

DCAC 2023 – Bridging Technology, Art, and Culture:
We unveiled our new project ‘This Place Has Its Own Air’, a data-driven video-installation and proof of concept for urban air quality data visceralisation, at the 5th International Conference on Digital Culture & AudioVisual Challenges (DCAC 2023). The project uses real-time air quality data, to enable viewers to have a real-time glimpse of the air they breathe and reflect on the need for reducing the pollution of their environment. Read more…

#IFM2023 – Care, Collaboration and Craft:
The #IFM2023 5th Interactive Film and Media Annual Conference explored ‘Care, Collaboration, and Craft’ in the realm of interactive film and media, bringing together contributions and exhibitions from over 50 presenters from 30 universities and labs worldwide. Read more…

Remembering Professor Patricia Zimmermann:
Professor Patricia Zimmermann, Longtime Professor of Screen Studies at Ithaca College and named in 2021 as the Charles A. Dana Professor of Screen Studies in recognition of her significant contributions, was the epitome of the teacher-scholar. For the Interactive Film and Media Journal Board, and us at the Interactive Filmmaking Lab she has long been a source of knowledge, inspiration, and generous support. Read more…

#IFM2024 – Shaping the Future:
The #IFM2024 6th Interactive Film and Media Conference has announced a call (extended deadline: 8 January 2024), focusing on the themes of ‘Communities – Structures – Entanglements’. Academics and practitioners are invited to submit proposals that blend critical analysis with creativity, push the boundaries of conventional thinking, and contribute to the discourse on the evolving landscape of interactive film and media. Read more…

As we write the final chapter of 2023, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our collaborators, our partners and all of you that have supported us during our journey. Here’s to a year well-lived and to the exciting stories that lie ahead!

Warmest Wishes for a Happy New Year!

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Conference Events Interactive Filmmaking Interactive Media Methods News Research

#IFM2024 Call For Proposals

The #IFM2024 Interactive Film and Media Conference 2024 will take place online, from the 12th to the 14th of June 2024, and has announced a Call for Proposals (deadline: 18 December 2023) focused on the themes of ‘Communities – Structures – Entanglements’. These themes present a rich ground for exploration, innovation, and critical examination in the rapidly evolving interactive film and media domain.

Academics (faculty, researchers, and Ph.D. students), and practitioners (filmmakers, artists, VR and game designers, media producers, etc.) are invited to submit proposals that blend critical analysis with creativity, push the boundaries of conventional thinking, and contribute to the burgeoning discourse on communities, structures and entanglements in interactive film and media. While presenters are encouraged to consider this year’s themes, proposals on matters relevant to the IFM community and beyond are welcome.

Possible topics may include but are not limited to:

  • Innovation in current and emerging structural design in interactive storytelling.
  • Empowerment of communities’ agency and participation in interactive narratives.
  • Visualisation techniques for conceptualising narrative structures.
  • The implications of structures and entanglements in shaping interactive experiences.
  • Role of technology, including AI, in amplifying or restricting agency, whether individual or community-oriented.
  • Impact of cultural and sociopolitical contexts on agency and entanglements.
  • Collaboration and co-creation in building innovative platforms.
  • Case studies highlighting the successful implementation of new structural concepts.
  • Ethics and responsibilities in facilitating agency, navigating entanglements, and designing structures.
  • Exploration of how VR and AR technologies create immersive environments that leverage agency, structures, and entanglements for a richer user experience.
  • Community’s role in shaping inclusive structures and agency within interactive narratives.
  • Societal connections and values in interactive entanglements and their influence on content and experience.

Tribute to Patty Zimmermann:
In honour of distinguished professor and friend Patty Zimmermann, the IFM community will celebrate her contributions to strengthening communities, her careful structuring of entanglements, and her commitment to empowering people to speak. Sessions of the conference will be dedicated to our esteemed colleague, relentless scholar, dedicated social advocate, and a pioneering force in cultivating cross-platform and interdisciplinary engagement.

Full Free Admission:
No fee is charged for presentation and attendance at this conference or publication in the journal.

For full details, visit:

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Interactive Filmmaking Interactive Scriptwriting News People Publications Research

New Year New Publications!

Here at the Interactive Filmmaking Lab, we have started the New Year with new publications! Hot off the press:

Clarke, A. and Zioga, P. (2022) Scriptwriting for Interactive Crime Films: the Case of Scapegoat. Interactive Film And Media Conference 2021: New Narratives, Racialization, Global Crises, And Social Engagement, Online. Interactive Film and Media Journal, 2(1): 106-121. doi: 10.32920/ifmj.v2i1.1524.

In recent years, the increasing number of interactive films being released, has highlighted the need for further development of methods and criteria that can guide the earlier stages of development, such as the scriptwriting process. Following the framework of interactive storytelling as a spectrum, it is acknowledged that writing a script for an interactive narrative that involves branching path options, or multiple endings, is becoming more common and presents its own challenges. […]

The article is published as part of the Proceedings of the ‘III Interactive Film and Media Conference (#IFM 2021)’ that took place in August 2021. You can read here: the full article and the editorial.

Clarke, A. and Zioga, P. (2021) ‘Celtx Gem split screen view of Scapegoat script’​.​

Also, in press:

Zioga, P. and Vélez-Serna, M.A. (2021 In Press) ‘Interaction Design for Audiences: A Proposition for Building Resilience and Recovery for COVID-safe Independent Cinemas’. In: Proceedings of Audiences Beyond the Multiplex: Understanding the Value of a Diverse Film Culture. Studies in the Digital Humanities. Sheffield: The Digital Humanities Institute.

[…] interaction design and technologies can help independent cinemas to engage and galvanise new audiences to patronise COVID-safe venues. From low-end online platforms to high-end immersive experiences, new technologies are transforming connectivity across society, and have the potential to support access for D/deaf, neurodivergent, and disabled audiences, but adoption by exhibitors is so far limited. We outline the research needs and priorities in this field. These include identifying facilitators and obstacles to industry adoption of interactive forms, and mapping experiences and attitudes across the sector. Together with directions for immediate practical solutions, it is crucial to gather critical data for future research use, in order to pave the way for long-term solutions and design innovation, so that the sector can build resilience, recover and reach underserved audiences.

The article will be published as part of the Proceedings of the Conference ‘Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse film culture’ that took place in March 2021. You can read the full article here.