Monday, 19 July 2021
Researchers at the University of Nottingham have supported the development of a new web platform to host immersive events. It features a video audience where people can appear to watch performances and interact with the live acts.
The new web platform, StreamPark has been created for national organisations, recognised theatres, and communities to come together at interactive digital parks, and will host UPBEAT Festival of Culture, Learning and Wellbeing on 22nd July.
The platform has been created by Joel Hall and supported by researchers from the University of Nottingham’s Mixed Reallity Lab. It is being implemented as an extension to the Streampark web platform to enhance and support the experiences of performers, producers and both local and remote audiences, and represents a new way to consume streamed content together.
Dr Paul Tennent
This project is part of Horizon Digital Economy research into the future of festivals and how technology can enhance the live experience. Dr Paul Tennent is leading the project, he explains: “This project is centred around the fact that festivals and live events are social experiences. Rather than thinking of how to stream content to individuals, we focus on how digital technologies can support the wider social experience of festivals in terms of rich communication between performers and audiences, social interaction among attending friends and family, the sense of being in and belonging to a wider crowd, and support for teams of producers and community volunteers. This is the first step in a project which seeks to rethink the way we experience streamed content together – starting with the web, and moving into VR/360 approaches as the project progresses.”
UPBEAT, forms an interactive ‘digital park’ and will include local artists, community groups, schools and some of Nottingham’s well-known arts organisations, including Nottingham Playhouse, Inspire Music & Youth Arts, Inspire Libraries, and both the University of Nottingham and Trent University. Building on previous StreamPark festivals, here there are more opportunities for interaction – both with a video audience wall, so audiences and performers can see who’s watching (assuming they want to share), and in chat at festival, stage and group levels. Upbeat will help researchers understand how groups consume online festival experiences together and inform the design of our platform.
The event has something for everyone including music, theatre, dance, comedy, poetry and art and centres around a live singing event with inspirational singing leader, vocal coach and choral director Mark De-Lisser.
For more details and to get your FREE ticket visit www.stream-park.co.uk and follow @upstreampark @nottsmusichub and @HorizonDER on social media for some exciting announcements! If you are a school, teacher or student you can email nottsmusichub@inspireculture.org.uk. For general enquires please email admin@stream-park.co.uk and look out for recognisable faces in the coming weeks announcing exciting elements of the festival!
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Paul Tennent on paul.tennent@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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