Perspective Media: Personalised Video Storytelling for Data Engagement is an EPSRC funded research project exploring how personalized, interactive video stories can provide more accessible, informative and pleasurable ways for the public to engage with the increasing amounts of data that exist about us in modern society. In collaboration with our partners BBC R&D, The Open Data Institute, The Digital Catapult, City of York Council, BAFTA-winning immersive media producer Catherine Allen and others, we aim to exploit the power of video storytelling for engagement and literacy with data, and the potential of data analytics to reveal new opportunities for storytelling.

To kick-off the project, we are hosting a 1-day research workshop at the University of York. This workshop will bring together academics, stakeholders from the creative industries and experts in data engagement to explore the opportunities and challenges posed by data-driven video stories. We will begin by sharing and discussing our research vision and plans. The remainder of the day will then be dedicated to the hands-on, experimental development of ideas and concepts for Perspective Media content, and the interrogation of those ideas in terms of the aesthetic, practical and ethical challenges they reveal. The workshop is the first in a series of activities that will be held over the next 18 months, including hackathons and the collaborative production of experimental content. We hope that you can join us to explore the potential of this exciting new content form.

We hope that you will be able to join us in York!

Jon Hook & Shauna Concannon