Ravensbourne announced today that it will be taking 3D Storytelling to the Cannes film festival in May, following on from the great success of the 3D Storytelling event held in London in January.

London based freelancers and small-to-medium sized creative companies are invited to connect with Ravensbourne’s Directors of 3D Storytelling during the festival and discover the range of free initiatives and business support available in developing 3D knowledge. The aim of the programme is to assist those companies in unravelling the mystery of 3D, and to show how great stereoscopic content can be developed across all aspects of the storytelling process, from pre-production through to post, engineering and delivery.

The activities that Ravensbourne will be involved in during the festival include:

* 3D MOTs. These exclusive sessions for London based freelancers and small-to-medium sized creative companies will offer a taste of the free tailor made 3D consultancy and business support services that Ravensbourne offer. The scheme supports individual companies by looking at how their current slate of projects could be developed, shot and edited in 3D.

They will also be hosting a panel discussion and One to one Surgeries at the UK Film Centre.

* Turning a Gimmick into a Storytelling Tool. This panel discussion will look at how filmmakers can enhance their film content with 3D. Hosted by Ravensbourne, Skillset and Women in Film and Television, it will also ask what the impact of 3D is on the overall creative process and how 3D enhances that process.

* One to one Surgeries: Industry colleagues are invited to come and meet James Uren, Senior Broadcast Lecturer at Ravensbourne and member of UK Screen Association’s 3D working group. With new opportunities emerging through 3D and digital production seek the advice you need and ask any technical or creative questions you may have about 3D.

Carrie Wootten, Co-Director, 3D Storytelling says: ‘Following the great success of our 3D Storytelling events in London, the Cannes Film Festival will be an opportunity for us to take our knowledge of the technical and creative issues around 3D, connect with further industry practitioners, and promote our free industry consultancy service, 3D MOT. This is a great opportunity for eligible companies to access free bespoke business support and advice on how to 3Dify their outputs. We are also partnering with Women in Film and Television in Cannes this year, and hope that we will be able to reach a diverse range of companies who can make use of our services.’

James Uren, Co-Director 3D Storytelling adds: ‘The fact that 28 3D films were released in the UK in 2010, representing a 24% market share, demonstrates that 3D is becoming more fundamental to the business models and sustainability of UK film production companies.’ He continues ‘3D is here to stay but there are some serious concerns both technically and creatively from filmmakers, broadcasters and audiences. This emerging area, although challenging, provides an opportunity for the UK to take the lead in both film and broadcast. At Ravensbourne we are trying to assist companies to reach their full 3D potential by providing support and opportunities for new understanding and collaborations. ’

Alan Gardner, business incubatee at Ravensbourne commented ‘As a result of the networking opportunities at the 3D Storytelling event in January, I am now producing and directing a 3D film about the new LG 3D phone, for Inition. The amazing thing is that neither the phone nor the film requires glasses to view the 3D. Instead each frame is shot with 8 cameras and is shown on a lenticular screen. The project has required a high degree of innovation and is moving the world of 3D ever closer to the holy grail of glasses-free 3D. Having attended many of the free courses run by the CDT programme, I have been able to understand the rapidly changing landscape of media technology, to keep my skills up to speed, and ultimately to capitalise on this career-enhancing opportunity.’

Anyone interested in finding out more about and taking part in the 3D and other Ravensbourne events in Cannes should contact Carrie Wootten c.wootten@rave.ac.uk

www.3dstorytelling.co.uk
www.ukfilmcentre.org.uk