The Screen Industries Growth Network (SIGN) and XR Stories have launched a new research and development (R&D) project, Extending Emmerdale, in collaboration with the ITV Emmerdale team.
Extending Emmerdale will fund and support two projects to develop new digital storytelling experiences for Emmerdale. Each project will produce a user-tested prototype to be released as public-facing experimental work. These will explore how the Emmerdale storyworld could be transformed by interactive and immersive audience experiences.
John Rose-Adams, Creative Producer at XR Stories, said, ‘The booming experience economy, the increasing capability of mobile devices, and the rise of screen tourism all signal a great time to explore what more can be created with Emmerdale IP. XR Stories and SIGN are best placed to support the development of new interactive and immersive content with our track-record in driving collaboration between traditional production and media organisations, and delivering ground-breaking innovation in storytelling.’
Emmerdale’s Head of Production, Nader Mabadi, said, ‘We’re all aware the nature of our industry is changing rapidly as is how people are watching and consuming content. Working with the team at XR Stories and SIGN to explore the extension of Emmerdale into the metaverse is a really exciting project. It’s the perfect example of bringing one of the UK’s most loved programmes into a new and vibrant ‘universe’ giving us unending opportunities to expand and create hybrid content for our audience.’
To find out more about Extending Emmerdale, please contact [email protected].
Image credit: ITV Studios