Tagged / film

Interdisciplinary research team to create short film using artificial intelligence in AHRC-funded project

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research

Researchers from BU will create a short film entirely using artificial intelligence (AI) to explore the creative and legal issues surrounding the use of these tools in media production.

The research project has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and will investigate the use of generative AI tools in media creation – focusing on collaboration, creativity, and representation. This includes concerns about copyright, job security, and other ethical and legal challenges.

Multiple screens in a computer generated landscape

“There has been a lot of thinking about responsible AI and the way it is used and implemented, as well as the implications for things like production and jobs and how roles in the industry will be affected,” said Dr Szilvia Ruszev, Senior Lecturer in Post Production, who is leading the project.

“We hope that through the discussions and the use of these tools, we can develop a more nuanced understanding of how we can still be creative and use AI in a responsible way.”

The BU research team also includes Dr Maxine Gee (Principal Academic in Screenwriting), Professor Xiaosong Yang (Professor of Computer Animation and Deputy Head of Department), Dr Tom Davis (Associate Professor in Music and Audio Technology) and Dr Melanie Stockton-Brown (Principal Academic in Law), as well as partners from the University of Michigan, USA and Zhejiang University, China.

They will use generative AI tools at each stage of the production process, such as the script writing, image creation, sound and music, and for the post production on the film.

They will also evaluate these tools from the perspectives of representation, collaboration and creativity as well as exploring key legal aspects, including copyright.

At each stage of the process, the team will hold workshops which will include talks about the issues being investigated and hands-on experience with helping to create the AI-generated film. The workshops will be open to BU staff and students, as well as industry stakeholders and policymakers.

Dr Ruszev said: “Fictional media has a history of shaping societal understanding of stereotypes through media representation but the data used to create content through AI is not objective and so we are looking at what sort of impact that will have on the representation of identities and groups.

“There are also issues around copyright to explore – such as who owns the idea, and the ethical and legal challenges that need to be addressed.”

The project has received over £170,000 in funding from the AHRC as part of the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) programme, which will support the development of responsible AI and how it can be embedded across key sectors.

Professor Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the AHRC, said: “The impact of AI can already be felt in many areas of our lives. It will transform our jobs and livelihoods, and impact on areas as diverse as education, policing and the creative industries, and much more besides.

“The research which AHRC announced today will provide lasting contributions to the definition and practice of responsible AI, informing the practice and tools that are crucial to ensure this transformative technology provides benefits for all of society.”

Conversation article: The Legend of Zelda film – past adaptations have gotten Link’s character wrong

BU research, Featured, Research communication, the conversation

Dr José Blázquez writes for The Conversation about the upcoming live-action film of The Legend of Zelda and some of the potential challenges adapting this beloved videogame…

The Legend of Zelda film: past adaptations have gotten Link’s character wrong

José Blázquez, Bournemouth University

The Legend of Zelda (first produced in 1986) is one of the most beloved videogames around the world, so when Nintendo announced the development of a live-action movie a couple of weeks ago, it inspired a lot of speculation (and fear) about how they might pull off a film.

Despite being haunted by the infamous adaptation made 30 years ago, the recent The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a global family hit. However, for some fans – myself included – it failed to deliver a compelling story about its central characters, which are some of the most iconic in videogame history. If Nintendo’s aim is to put smiles on every fan’s face, then adapting The Legend of Zelda will be a real challenge.

Set in a fantasy medieval world, the game series follows Link, an Hylian elf-like hero, and Zelda, princess of the kingdom of Hyrule. The stories differ from game to game, but often involve Link’s quest to rescue Zelda, defeat Ganon (the main antagonist of the series) and save Hyrule. They also tend to feature stories around the Triforce, a divine artefact formed by three equilateral triangles, each of which represent a virtue (power, wisdom and courage). The triangles can grant a wish to players who possess them all.

There is not a magic formula for a good adaptation and the process is made more complicated by such a vast, narrative-rich source material. Like many other fans, I would like to see a film that echoes what I felt when playing the games and preserves its DNA.

Losing Link

The original game was first released in 1986 and since then, another 19 games have followed (excluding spin-offs, remakes and re-releases). The latest instalment, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, has become one of the most lucrative.

From the vibrant landscapes and welcoming inhabitants of Hyrule to the daunting puzzles in dungeons and caves, feelings and emotions are the essence of Zelda’s storytelling. Recent titles have provided an expanded view of the settings, underpinned by open worlds offering a vast array of side quests, locations, monsters and non-playable characters.

A major part of getting the adaptation “right” will be in how the film chooses to portray Link.

Link is an archetype of a hero. He is brave, pure and communicates non-verbally in the games. His muteness is one of his most recognisable traits and one which helps anyone to identify with the character during the gameplay.

Although we barely know anything about his past, Link is somehow given depth by the players’ actions, who decide if they want to spend hours talking and helping villagers in side quests or embody an introvert hero who simply sticks to the main plan. This approach used in the games is not easily transferable to other media and, unsurprisingly, previous adaptations diverted from this path.

Earlier official adaptations of the game series were deemed non-canonical and distanced themselves from the source material in different aspects and degrees.

Many Zelda games have their own manga adaptations, which follow the original game storylines and add depth and provide backstories to the main characters. In the manga, Link talks, expresses emotions with facial expressions and is given a more rounded personality. We also learn about his past, providing more context about how the hero came to be.

The animated series was released in 1989, alongside Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, and lasted only 13 episodes due to the negative reception. In this adaptation, Link has brown hair and eyes (in contrast to his blonde hair and blue eyes in the games) and is chatty and immature.

While protecting the kingdom and the Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon, he is truly invested in flirting with Zelda, who – far from being a damsel in distress – rejects all his attempts to get a kiss. This diverts from the games, which have never depicted Zelda as Link’s love interest.

In Hollywood’s hands

In 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported that Netflix was preparing a live-action series based on The Legend of Zelda, which was described as “Game of Thrones for a family audience”. This was eventually denied by Nintendo.

Game of Thrones is notoriously dark, bloody and highly sexual, it’s hard to imagine what it looks like re-imagined as family entertainment. The Zelda series does feature more complex stories, which sometimes get quite dark (such as Twilight Princess and Majora’s Mask).

However, it’s difficult to imagine Nintendo moving away from light, family fun – it’s what they do best. Players will also expect them to produce a film with a PG rating. They tried a flirty Link before and it didn’t quite work – here’s hoping they leave that iteration alone.

Nothing has yet been said about the plot of the film adaptation, but Nintendo has confirmed that it will be directed by Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy). It will be produced by Shigeru Miyamoto – co-creator of the game series and one of the most influential and acclaimed game designers of all time – and Avi Arad, chairman of Arad Productions Inc. The company has been involved in a long list of videogame, anime and comic adaptations. Miyamoto has also said that he has been working on the theatrical adaptation for many years.

It seems to be in safe hands and hopefully Nintendo has learnt from past failures. The least we can hope for is that with Miyamoto on board the legendary world of Zelda will be able to inspire similar feelings in viewers as the games have for nearly 40 years.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.The Conversation

José Blázquez, Senior lecturer, Bournemouth University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

How AHRC-funded Film RUFUS STONE inspired a proposed project on the Next Generation

BU research, Research news, Uncategorized

AHRC blog has just published an article on a potential new project on youth, gender and sexuality proposed by a team at Bournemouth University. The AHRC supported short film RUFUS STONE  is seven years old this year. Our screenings of this film’s story, particularly to young people, have impressed upon us how a supposedly ‘old’ story – the film is set in rural Britain more than 50 years ago – still resonates with young people today.

Our proposed project, “Rufus Stone … the next Generation’ – will contribute to knowledge on the substantive topic of ‘Post-Millennials’ or ‘Generation Z’ (GenZ), focusing on their anxieties and ambiguous approaches around gender and sexuality. 

Because GenZ is the first generation to be totally hooked up to technology since birth, we want to work with mobile phones and iPads and social media over several months in sessions with youth to produce their own film/video about their lives and relationships.

We’re currently applying for funding to work with young people aged 16-18, involving them in telling their stories, co-created by involving them in every stage of production. We are at the bidding stage now. If you would like to express an interest in joining  the team, please contact Kip Jones for a chat.

RUFUS STONE to be Highlighted at ESRC Festival of Learning on the 7th November

Uncategorized

esrc-fest

You are cordially invited to attend the gala 5th Anniversary Screening and Reception for the award-winning research based biopic, RUFUS STONE.

The Event will be held at the historic Shelley Theatre in Boscombe              

7 November from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m.

rufus-shelley

Over the past five years, RUFUS STONE has been viewed in academic, community and service provider settings throughout the U.K. Uploaded to the Internet for just over a year, the film was viewed on line by more that 12 thousand viewers in 150 countries. It has won serveral film festival awards and was shortlisted for the AHRC Anniversary Prize in 2015.

The three-year research project behind the film’s success was part of the New Dynamics Programme of ageing in 21st Century Britain, supported by Research Councils UK. This event will hallmark this achievement and continue the film’s impact in the wider community.

We expect the gala event to atract an audience of the film’s cast and crew members, past participants in the research project, community workers and service providers, and a range of citizens, young and old, gay and straight, with an interest in LGBT history and the contributions that the film has made to myriad diversity efforts. Whether you have seen the film before, or this will be the first time on a large theatre screen, you will enjoy the occasion.

R.S.V.P. Places are limited to 150 seats only! Please register on the Eventbrite site as soon as possible to avoid being disappointed.

skip-harry

TV, Film and Photoshoot Networking Event

Business Engagement, Events, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team

events

When: Wednesday 21 September 2016

Time: 6.00pm – 9.00pm

Where: Aruba Beach Restaurant – Pier Approach, Bournemouth, BH2 5AA

Book your tickets here.

About:

Dorset Film Office aims to support, develop and build a strong creative community.  Don’t miss out on ethe Dorset Film Office launch.

  • Need to find out about more opportunities?
  • Want to find more work in your local area?
  • Looking to increase lead generation?
  • Looking to raise brand awareness?
  • Looking to grow your network and forge new relationships?
  • Want to create strategic alliances?

Click here fore more information or phone 01202 980000

Book your free ticket to secure your place: Dorset Film Office Launch

 

BFI London Film Festival announces 2016 dates and major new filmmakers bursary

Funding opportunities, Research news

The 60th BFI London Film Festival will run 5-16 October 2016 and is launching a major new initiative to support British filmmakers with an annual £50k bursary award.

As the deadline for this is very tight, this coming Friday 17th June, please get in touch with Eva Papadopoulou email: epapadopoulou@bournemouth.ac.uk so you can complete an expression of interest in relation to the Bursary.

full call available at BFI

AHRC Research in Film Awards opens for submissions

Funding opportunities, Research news

AHRC_logo_anniversaryThe Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is launching its 2016 Research in Film Awards in a bid to find new and emerging talent that straddle the worlds of both film making and arts and humanities research.

The 2016 awards will be judged by panel of academics and film industry experts. Awards will be made in five categories (see below) and the winner in each category will win £2,000 towards their future film-making activities.

  1. Best Research Film of the Year
  2. Doctoral Award
  3. Utopias Award: Imagining our Future
  4. Innovation Award
  5. Inspiration Award – Best film inspired by the arts and humanities (public category)

To get a feel for the what the Research in Film Awards are all about, watch this short highlights film from the 2015 event.

The call for applications closes at 5pm on 1 July 2016

For more information about this call, please visit the funding call page.

 

Creative England – latest funding opportuntites

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer

Creative England is dedicated to the growth  of the creative industries. A key aim is to investin talented people across games, TV, film and digital media.
Latest funnds, garnts and loans currently available by Creative England and their partners can be found here.
If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact RKEO with adequate notice before the deadline.

Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer

You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

IRW: Take a trip to the flicks part 2

BU research, Research communication

Interdisciplinary Research Week film:

Who: Are you there? Lizzie SykesLSykes

Where and when: Coyne Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus, 16:00-18:00

What: In 2014 Lizzie Sykes was awarded an Arts Council funded residency at Mottisfont, a National Trust property and gardens in Hampshire. Mottisfont is a place where artists have met and worked for hundreds of years.

‘Are You There?’ is a short film made from inside the Mottisfont residence. It is performed by Louise Tanoto, and is a response to how it feels to be alone in the house and to be inescapably linked to it in a private and intimate way: -free from expected codes of physical behaviour that such a formal space normally represents.

Following the film there will be a chance for Q & A.

Book your place

IRW: Take a trip to the flicks part 1

BU research, Research communication

Interdisciplinary Research Week film:

Who: Raven on the Jetty feature film, Written and Directed by Professor Erik Knudsen EKnudsen

Where and When: Talbot Campus, Tuesday, 26th January – 16:00-18:00

What: In the midst of separation, one boy’s silent longing has the power to change everything.

On his ninth birthday, Thomas travels with his mother to visit his estranged father who, since an acrimonious divorce, has abandoned urban living in favour of an isolated rural life in the English Lake District. The bitter separation of his parents is not something Thomas understands, nor does he understand his own dysfunctional behaviour as a silent cry for help. As a digital native city boy, Thomas’s encounter with the natural world, and his gradual understanding of the pivotal connection he provides for his, ultimately, lonely parents, leads to realisation and discovery. There are things his parents don’t know about each other that only he can reveal. Perhaps he has the power and the means to change everything. (Fiction: 88 minutes. 2014).Raven on the jetty

Following the film there will be a Q & A Session with the Director.

Book your place

Get your cultural fix at the IRW

BU research, Research communication

The Interdisciplinary Research Week (IRW) has a number of cultural highlights for everyone’s tastes. Free popcorn will be available at the films as well as refreshments. The events include:InterdisResWeek2

Tuesday 26 January 2016

Written and Directed by Professor Erik Knudsen

Raven on the Jetty

PG16, Talbot Campus, 16:00-18:00

In the midst of separation, one boy’s silent longing has the power to change everything.

On his ninth birthday, Thomas travels with his mother to visit his estranged father who, since an acrimonious divorce, has abandoned urban living in favour of an isolated rural life in the English Lake District. The bitter separation of his parents is not something Thomas understands, nor does he understand his own dysfunctional behaviour as a silent cry for help. As a digital native city boy, Thomas’s encounter with the natural world, and his gradual understanding of the pivotal connection he provides for his, ultimately, lonely parents, leads to realisation and discovery. There are things his parents don’t know about each other that only he can reveal. Perhaps he has the power and the means to change everything. (Fiction: 88 minutes. 2014).

Following the film there will be a Q & A session with the Director.

Thursday 28 January 2016

Lizzie Sykes

Are You There?

Coyne Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus, 16:00-18:00

In 2014, Lizzie Sykes was awarded an Arts Council-funded residency at Mottisfont, a National Trust property and gardens in Hampshire. Mottisfont is a place where artists have met and worked for hundreds of years.

Are You There? is a film made from inside the Mottisfont residence. It is performed by Louise Tanoto, and is a response to how it feels to be alone in the house and to be inescapably linked to it in a private and intimate way; free from expected codes of physical behaviour that such a formal space normally represents.

Following the film there will be a chance for a Q&A session

Friday 29 January 2016

Emerge music group performance

Allesbrook Theatre, Talbot Campus, 17.30 – 18.30

BU’s Emerge Research Centre has a research music performing group, a creative space where each person develops their own instruments and music based on personal research into sound as well as gesture and technology as part of their creative practice.

The experimental music and sound-art event features a soundtrack of electronic atmospheres, noisescapes, pulses and rhythms, tones and drones. It will include an exploration of hardware-hacked devices, simple electronic instruments, data networks and basic sensors to augment and inform laptop improvisations, immersive fixed-media soundscapes and live visuals.

Performers include:
Anna Troisi, http://www.annatroisi.org/
Antonino Chiaramonte, http://www.antoninochiaramonte.eu/
Rob Canning, http://rob.kiben.net/
Bill Thompson, www.billthompson.org
Ambrose Seddon, http://www.ambroseseddon.com/
Tom Davis, http://www.tdavis.co.uk/

Visuals by Kavi, https://vimeo.com/user324972

Click on the event titles above to book your tickets.

Get your cultural fix at the IRW

BU research, Research communication

InterdisResWeek2The Interdisciplinary Research Week (IRW) has a number of cultural highlights for everyone’s tastes.  Free popcorn will be available at the films as well as refreshments.  The events include:

Tuesday 26 January 2016             

Written and Directed by Professor Erik Knudsen

Raven on the Jetty

PG16, Talbot Campus, 16:00-18:00

In the midst of separation, one boy’s silent longing has the power to change everything.

On his ninth birthday, Thomas travels with his mother to visit his estranged father who, since an acrimonious divorce, has abandoned urban living in favour of an isolated rural life in the English Lake District. The bitter separation of his parents is not something Thomas understands, nor does he understand his own dysfunctional behaviour as a silent cry for help. As a digital native city boy, Thomas’s encounter with the natural world, and his gradual understanding of the pivotal connection he provides for his, ultimately, lonely parents, leads to realisation and discovery. There are things his parents don’t know about each other that only he can reveal. Perhaps he has the power and the means to change everything. (Fiction: 88 minutes. 2014).

Following the film there will be a Q & A session with the Director.

Thursday 28 January 2016            

Lizzie Sykes

Are You There?

Coyne Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus, 16:00-18:00

In 2014, Lizzie Sykes was awarded an Arts Council-funded residency at Mottisfont, a National Trust property and gardens in Hampshire. Mottisfont is a place where artists have met and worked for hundreds of years.

Are You There? is a film made from inside the Mottisfont residence. It is performed by Louise Tanoto, and is a response to how it feels to be alone in the house and to be inescapably linked to it in a private and intimate way; free from expected codes of physical behaviour that such a formal space normally represents.

Following the film there will be a chance for a Q&A session

Friday 29 January 2016                            

Emerge music group performance

Allesbrook Theatre, Talbot Campus, 17.30 – 18.30

BU’s Emerge Research Centre has a research music performing group, a creative space where each person develops their own instruments and music based on personal research into sound as well as gesture and technology as part of their creative practice.

The experimental music and sound-art event features a soundtrack of electronic atmospheres, noisescapes, pulses and rhythms, tones and drones. It will include an exploration of hardware-hacked devices, simple electronic instruments, data networks and basic sensors to augment and inform laptop improvisations, immersive fixed-media soundscapes and live visuals.

Performers include:
Anna Troisi, http://www.annatroisi.org/
Antonino Chiaramonte, http://www.antoninochiaramonte.eu/
Rob Canning, http://rob.kiben.net/
Bill Thompson, www.billthompson.org
Ambrose Seddon, http://www.ambroseseddon.com/
Tom Davis, http://www.tdavis.co.uk/

Visuals by Kavi, https://vimeo.com/user324972

Click on the event titles above to book your tickets.