The new CATH (Collaborative Arts Triple Helix) Project

From Susannah Goh- at Birmingham Science City

CATH is a new AHRC-funded research project led by do.collaboration (University of Birmingham) in partnership with the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester.

As a cultural, digital or creative industries company, we would like to offer you the opportunity to work with new colleagues across the West and East Midlands creative and cultural sectors and academics from the University of Birmingham and Leicester, to develop new digital projects and partnerships .
 

CATH will enable partnerships to develop a digital prototype, be it an app, a web tool or another digital concept, that has the potential for further development. CATH aims to foster partnerships that lead to sustainable projects and the CATH team will be available to advise how to fund projects beyond the prototyping phase.

This unique project allows:
1.    Cultural organisations to develop collaborative partnerships with digital companies and academics to develop new audiences, improve audience experience, test new concepts and ideas relating to creative practice, and develop new forms of income generation
2.    Digital SMEs to collaboratively Research and Develop digital apps or tools which could have a wider commercial application within and beyond the cultural sector
3.    Academics to develop new pathways to impact for their research and enrich their understanding of the benefits of collaborative work across sectors.

The CATH project launch event will be held on Wednesday 15 May 2013 11am till 4pm in the Chowen Prototyping Hall at the University of Birmingham.

To register your interest and receive further information please visit http://cathlaunch.eventbrite.com/

Radio To Go - Digital Media Business

Radio To Go's latest blog post is an interview with violinist Erica Nockalls. I enjoy Robin's informal interviews, examples of which sit alongside the occasional opinion post. If you have any interest in the music scene- local, national or international- have a look around the Radio To Go site
www.radiotogo.com

Millennium Point

A very hearty thanks to Millennium Point who are kindly hosting the Digital Media Businesses Steering Group meeting today.
What a super multi-use building it is. I'm impressed with the integration of education, entertainment and public space and fascinated by this artwork in the park to the front

Events listing

An invite to next week's Digital World 2013 'Understanding the Data Revolution' from Michael Overduin at Science Capital included this amazing list of events (many of which are free) which I couldn't resist sharing with you:

• Harry Scarbrough on ‘Transfer’ or ‘Translation’? How Knowledge Is Shared Through Social Networks at Keele University on April 16 (free)
• Open House for those seeking start-up funding or expansion capital from the Mercia Fund in Henley-in-Arden on April 16 (free)
• Climate Change Conference with a focus on low carbon technologies, smart cities and trade with China at the NEC on April 17
• Jeremy Watson, Arup Director of Global Research on Opportunities for Research and Innovation in the Built Environment at Aston University on April 18 (free)
• David Bailey on Drivers of Change in the Global Auto Industry at Coventry University on April 18 (free)
• Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP on Challenges ahead for the Global Economy at Aston University on April 22 (free)
• Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director-General at CERN on understanding of our universe at the University of Birmingham on April 22 (free)
• Carol Dyhouse on Girl Trouble: Panic and Progress in the History of Young Women at the University of Birmingham on April 24 (free)
• Faith in Health and Healing Conference on health, dying and human flourishing by the Anglican Health Network at the National Motorcycle Museum from April 24-25
• Institute for Advance Studies on Sex and the City: Promoting the sexual health and wellbeing of adults at the University of Birmingham (free)
• Rt. Hon. David Miliband on working together to avert the £28 Billion time bomb that youth unemployment could become, Lunar Society dinner at the Botanical Gardens on May 2
• Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on The NHS: Is it being used as a test-bed? by LFIG at Bevan Brittan on May 3 (free)

Digital Media start-up? Could you use this opportunity?

UK start ups with a winning idea in ICT could win an opportunity to pitch to 200 potential investors at Global Corporate Venturing's London symposium in London on 21-22 May 2013.

Although the emphasis is on ICT, we're sure that there are many Digital Media Businesses who fit the bill. Check out the full article here

Event News - BAFTA Creative Skillset Guest Lecture: Mike O’Leary and Alexandra Wall

Another event, details sent to us by Dave Taylor at BCU:

Thurs 9 May at 6.00pm 

Address: Birmingham City University, City Centre Campus, Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment, Level Two Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham B4 7XG

BAFTA Creative Skillset Guest Lecture: Mike O’Leary and Alexandra Wall on Cross Platform Content

This FREE event is open to Birmingham City University students and members of Creative Networks. Tickets are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Join the BAFTA-nominated team behind the ground-breaking online world of Misfits, social media producer Alexandra Wall and writer Mike O’Leary, as they deliver the BAFTA Creative Skillset Guest Lecture on Cross Platform Content.

In their BAFTA Creative Skillset Guest Lecture Alexandra and Mike will discuss the craft and business of cross platform drama - how to create engaging content to find new audiences, as well as offering up ideas on how to devise a content strategy, social media presence and online narrative for your idea.  

To book - http://bafta.ticketsolve.com/shows/873492709/events  using the promo code: misfits

In partnership with Birmingham City University and Creative Networks

 

Event News- Film and Visual Arts Degree Show

Dave Taylor from Birmingham City University has sent us details of the FVE final year shows:

24 April 2013 6pm - 8.30pm Films produced by final year students of the Film, Production and Technology and the Film, Technology and Visual Effects courses - at the Electric Cinema. Seating limited, to book-email your name as the subject to degreeshow@mail.com

Event News - The way we’re living, the films of Marc Isaacs

Details of the April Event sent to us by Creative Networks Online:

THURSDAY 25 APRIL 2013, 5.45PM UNTIL 8.45PM - www.creativenetworksonline.com
Birmingham City University, Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham B4 7XG including the music network 4pm until 5.30pm - www.birminghammusicnetwork.com and Birmingham Screen Image Network 4pm until 5.30pm - www.bsin.co.uk

The way we’re living, the films of Marc Isaacs. Speaker: Marc Isaacs
Since 2001 Marc Isaacs has made more than ten creative documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4. His films have won Grierson, Royal Television Society and BAFTA awards as well as numerous international film festival prizes. “Isaacs has an astounding gift for getting people to open up to him and he uses film the way a skilled artist uses paint. The result is beautiful, heartbreaking and profoundly humane.” Times Online

The Road: A Story of Life and Death is Marc’s new film currently on release nationwide. The road in question is the A5, the 300-mile Roman legacy connecting Holyhead to Marble Arch. Marc installed his camera at various points to record its many travellers, weaving together numerous poignant stories of loss and the search for belonging, into a tapestry of human experience. It’s a film that forces us to recognise the struggles and preoccupations of its characters as our own. As proposed by his 2001 documentary Lift which sought out characters in a tower block, Marc may be British cinema’s pre-eminent people person, locating strangeness, melancholy and joy in the urban landscape, and those who inhabit it. He is a guest lecturer at the London Film School, the National Film and Television School and Royal Holloway University. www.marcisaacsfilms.com

Join us for this Master class to hear Marc talk about his approach to making documentaries. See clips from his films and ask questions. Creative Networks brings together all parties involved in screen and sound media in the West Midlands, promoting both successful business development and collaboration.

To join us for this FREE event, please email creative.networks@bcu.ac.uk or call 0121 331 5400. Alternatively, register online at our website www.creativenetworksonline.com

Cluster 2020 - Data for Competitive Advantage

The Digital Media Businesses Special Advisor, Chris Price has brought to my attention this exciting project from Cluster_2020.

We live in a data rich age yet many creative businesses- including those in the digital media sector-could use a little extra help in finding the facts and figures to help them work out the future direction of their business.

If you're a data expert who could help SMEs in the West Midlands sift through the wealth of information available, I've uploaded the call for Data Experts document to the Digital Media Businesses website.

Cluster 2020 are tendering to hire four data experts (freelancers or companies) to work with them on an experiment to use a variety of data types to bring competitive advantage to creative and digital businesses. Each expert will work with two businesses and will need to be able to work in the Birmingham and Manchester areas of England from May to June 2013. They’ll also be able to participate in plans to establish a new market place for data services.

The closing date for this tender is 17.00 GMT on Friday 19th April 2013. The tender and briefing document can both be accessed here. They contain full details of how to apply or contact for more details.

This is a great opportunity to explore next generation business support through new uses of data services, helping businesses grow and helping data experts access new markets for their services. 

Event news -LAUNCH: Meet The Games Press!

Are you in Games sector? Then this event could be just what you need to understand how to get your story in the media, and we've been offered a great discount! Digital Media Businesses who use the promotional code 'Digital' to book this event will be entitled to 50% off the booking fee.

 LAUNCH: Meet the Games Press

Tuesday, 9 April 2013 from 10:00 to 17:30
Birmingham Science Park Aston
Holt Street, Faraday Wharf
Birmingham
B7 4BB

One of the best ways to generate interest in your latest product is to get media coverage about your game or games business.  If utilised correctly, unbiased media coverage by respected media in the online and physical press can have a huge impact on your business.

So how do you get journalists to write your story?  What makes them tick?  How has the media world changed? Should you be focusing on industry or consumer games press? How important is twitter, LinkedIn and other forums?

This year, to answer these questions, we have assembled two panels of game-media giants from industry and consumer press, including; Talal Musa, Daily Mail;  Keith Stuart, The Guardian; Will Freeman, Develop magazine, Alex Wiltshire, Edge Magazine as well as communication experts from studios such as Codemasters and Blitz to name a few.

Keynote presentations from industry experts will inform you how journalists view the world; the importance of relationship building and PR strategy.

Find out what makes them buzz, what they want to write about, and what annoys them!  The journalists will also be on hand to provide one-to-one sessions at the end of the day.

This year's LAUNCH: Meet the Games Press event is sponsored by Creative England, who will be on hand throughout the day to discuss how its work in the industry can help, including access to funding.

Read more and sign up here