Scheme offers £2m of benefit in-kind funding to virtual production concepts
Virtual production incubator Pathway Indie has revealed its mentors and industry partners.
The scheme, which was launched in December and opened applications earlier this summer, offers £2 million of benefit in-kind funding to media start ups that are looking at virtual production concepts. Its mentors include figures from the film, television, video games, tech, intellectual property and virtual production services, and it can be seen in full below.
Pathway Indie was created by Manchester virtual production facility Pathway, and the studio’s co-founder, Nathan Newman, said: “Through Pathway Indie we are particularly interested in how Virtual Production techniques and technology can help creative entrepreneurs develop and prove their ideas to investment decision makers in time efficient ways. Our roster of mentors will be on hand to help realise the visions of media founders and to widen access to an ever growing pool of opportunity provided by production technology.”
Pathway Indie mentors
Amanda Nevill CBE - Strategic advisor to the international screen industries and former BFI chief executive of 17 years. Nevill will share with Pathway Indie mentees her depth of experience and knowledge from the executive levels of the industry.
Sebastian Fleer - An experienced product director and producer from the video games industry (Ubisoft, Koch Media, Jagex), Fleer has worked on IPs such as Rainbow 6 and Dead Island while being responsible for 9-figure revenues. Via Pathway Indie, Sebastian will offer his experience and insight on Product-Market Fit for cross-media IP strategies.
Bedos Mavambu - As a visual effects coordinator and virtual production specialist, Mavambu has worked with DNEG and Lux Machina on high end television shows and feature films such as Hijack, House of the Dragon, Master of the Air and Death on the Nile. He will help to offer VP focused advice to mentees.
Erica Wolfe-Murray - An intellectual property entrepreneur and consultant, Wolfe-Murray is a specialist in business growth through cultural media and innovation. She brings knowledge in how to align creative media IP with scalable revenue opportunities.
Ben Smedstad - Over the last 30 years Smedstad has worked as a creative lead across AAA video game development (BioWare, Relic) and publishing (Activision Blizzard, EA, SEGA), AR and VR (Facebook), and on concept development for television. He will share his expertise as a cross-media executive creative director.
Stacia Pfeiffer - As a cross-discipline producer and creative director for XR storytelling Pfeiffer has worked across television, virtual reality, immersive installations and live projects. Recently, she worked as a VP producer on television show Hijack for Apple TV and brings her producing skills to Pathway Indie as a mentor.
Martin Bryant - A seasoned consultant, writer and education in the fields of media and technology, Bryant was formerly the editor-in-chief for publication The Next Web. As founder of early-stage tech startup platform PreSeed Now, he brings a unique perspective to creative media start-ups to Pathway Indie.
Bradley Harris - A specialist in real-time art and performance capture, Harris has worked across virtual reality experiences and AAA video games on console and mobile for franchises such as Star Wars. He offers mentees expert knowledge in developing real-time environments and character performances for virtual production.
Meanwhile, industry partners will also offer the successful applicants advice and equipment. These include HP, Sony, Panavision, Kodak, Nvidia, Zeiss, RED, Drop City, Neuron AV and AV Stumpfl’s Pixera.
Newman added: “Our facility in Manchester is brimming with innovation and technology. The support of such prestigious industry collaborators is a clear signal of support to independent creative entrepreneurs.”
Those interested in Pathway Indie can apply here.
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