News Article
Get paid to innovate with digital media with Melt
Published: 15 June 2006
By: Susi O'Neill
Melt have launched their £50,000 R&D fund - blue sky thinkers in film, tv, games, theatre, music and digital media are sought to join with South Yorkshire practitioners to develop innovative digital media products.
Melt launch event
1st June saw the official launch of the 2006 Melt awards programme for digital content research and development, now in the second year of its three year programme. Movers and shakers from the worlds of film, digital media, theatre, arts, film, TV and gaming from Yorkshire and beyond including reps from Warp, Channel 4 New Media, Short Circuit Films and Screen Yorkshire gathered at the hip Workstation, Sheffield to toast the launch with thai curry and vodka lashed into Ian Anderson of Designers Republic's 'Love Being' limited edition Coke-bottle (which he claimed were going for £30 on Ebay). The night proved that digital content is no longer the domain of the uber-geek in backroom offices and that Sheffield is now very much on the map as a trend-setting hub for innovation.
Melt 2005 award winners
Last year's call saw over 100 innovators pitching blue sky visions using digital technology to inspire, create and connect. From this creative pot, three commissions were made: Lost Angels, a multi-player game using mobile technologies; Genie, a RFID (location software) project for exhibition spaces to let children interact with a virtual genie; and a project by theatre innovators Dead Earnest to develop new performance content for digital platforms. A number of tantalizing digital playthings were displayed during the launch including Carbon Based Games's Tile Toy - a new content platform of digital light boxes that can be used for game play or education. Two light boxes cubes reading 6 and 5 when placed together miraculously turn to 1 and 1. This is when ICT transforms into FUN.
How East Midlands media companies can get involved
Between 1st June and 31st July 2006, Melt have an open call for such visions marrying technical innovation with creative exploration. The scheme is intended to support companies in South Yorkshire who must be the lead for a Melt application, however, collaborators from outside the region are encouraging to get involved by offering their services - for example, graphic designers, games makers, music, software development, marketing - to partners in the region via a quick flirt on Melt's online dating base, where you can browse partners in South Yorkshire and make contact. Current 'dates' include an independent film company who want to explore personalized mobile content, a web company who want to explore murder myself multiplayer gaming, and a web company who want to explore collaborative narratives.
Once you've found your perfect partner in South Yorkshire the process is simple, quick and digital: just fill in an online proposal form saying what your project is, why it is innovative, and how it demonstrates market potential - in less words than a sheet of A4. Of these ideas, 15 to 20 will be given £1000 to develop their idea to full proposal with industry mentoring and support. Five to 10 projects will be given up to £50,000 to fully develop through R&D phase. Melt benefits from industry support from Pact, Channel 4, Orange, BBC and regional funding bodies.
To inspire you to develop winning Melt proposals we are partnering with The CIQA, Lovebytes, Orange and Learning Light to present a programme of three Melt Inspiration Sessions each of which focus on different areas of opportunity for content innovation. 22nd of June for i For Architecture, 6th July for Mobile Content - A Moveable Feast and 13th July for Gaming? Are you Serious? All sessions run from 6:00 - 9:00pm at The Hubs in Sheffield.
Want to find out more and get dating with South Yorkshire innovators? Visit the Melt website
If you're interested in being involved with the project and are based in the East Midlands, please also contact Susi O'Neill, EM Media's Interactive Executive (email: susi.oneill _at_ em-media.org.uk, Tel: 0115 934 9097) who can provide more details on the project and how you could get involved.
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