Broadcast & virtual production included in £180k Media Cymru funding round

Media Cymru has announced £180,000 of seed funding for 18 projects in the fields of virtual production, broadcast, and more.

The funding is to carry out early-stage research, development and innovation, and the projects were chosen from applicants to the Media Cymru Innovation Pipeline. The scheme was announced earlier this year, and sought applications from creative freelancers and SMEs across Wales with ideas for innovative new product, services or experiences in the media sector. 

Each project is awarded up to £10,000, and has three to five months to be completed - with assistance from partners PDR and the Alacrity Foundation.

Successful seed funded projects in virtual production include: research into how traditional lighting approaches and new technologies can merge to create a sustainable future product; exploration into how quickly movie-quality content can be produced using virtual production; and development of a commercially sustainable and socially profitable immersive room solution that lowers the barriers of access to both the creation and consumption of shared immersive experiences.

Meanwhile, there are also projects exploring bilingual esports production in Wales and a remote multi-camera broadcast training platform, as well as non-broadcast and production projects such as looking at using AI to support the catalogue music space; immersive audio experiences in queer spaces and communities; the application of virtual reality in restorative justice and rehabilitation within the context of criminal justice; and developing social learning tools in interactive educational settings.

Following completion of successful seed funded projects, applicants may apply for development funding of up to £50,000, launching in July 2023. The development funding will target RD&I projects that demonstrate clear potential for a tangible product or service. Wales-based creative freelancers and SMEs can find out more about that here.

Lee Walters, senior R&D producer and funding manager at Media Cymru, said: “The first Media Cymru Seed cohort contains an exciting variety of projects that will not only enrich and diversify the sector as we move towards net zero and a more inclusive media landscape, they will improve people’s understanding of virtual production, explore immersive technologies and experiences, enhance the experience of remote learners, create new opportunities in esports and bridge the gap between digital and physical prop assets.

“I look forward to seeing what ideas these Welsh freelancers and SMEs uncover during their early-stage R&D projects.”

Media Cymru was set up in 2022, and is led by Cardiff University. It aims to turn Cardiff and the surrounding capital region’s media sector into a global hub for media innovation with a focus on green and fair economic growth through a series of funding rounds, training, research and opportunities to help develop innovation capacity within businesses and individuals in the media sector.