Contact: Dusky Edwards Company: Violet Sky Management Ltd Tel: 0121 526 3243 Mob: 07581 878799 email info@violet-sky.com web www.violet-sky.com

Violet Sky Management Ltd encapsulates the ethics of Artist Management, cultivating the creativity of “The Talented” and directing them through the minefield called Media and Music.

Here at Violet Sky you will always find an honest answer to every question asked, with Dusky Edwards spearheading this dynamic company, success comes handover fist on the bottom-line.

Dusky knows the dawn of a New Era is approaching in this Industry, one of Honesty and Integrity with a diversification from normal paths of revenue streaming. So watch this space as she brings one of her new rock bands, Hope.Order.Truth (H.O.T) to your senses with professionalism, creativity and dramatisation.

Violet Sky Management Ltd “Excellence and Talent is Key”

This month’s monthly networking will follow on from the 'Developing a TV Drama Series' event which we have supported Screenwriters’ Forum in running.

This is a great opportunity for those who attended the event to continue discussion and for those who are unable to attend to find out what was discussed.

It’s also a fantastic opportunity to meet new contacts, share information and find out what’s happening at the forum and in the region.

This is a free event that is open to all (cash bar). Please rsvp so we have an idea on numbers. We look forward to seeing you there.

You are invited to the following event:
Forum Monthly Networking - April 2010

Date:
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM (GMT)

Location:
Fazeley Studios
191 Fazeley Street
Digbeth
B5 5SE Birmingham
United Kingdom

Can you attend this event? Respond Here

Innovation Vouchers A Unique Opportunity for SMEs

This website provides information about the Innovation Vouchers Scheme formerly known as the INDEX (Innovation Delivers Expansion) Scheme, and invites Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to apply online for an Innovation Voucher.

Innovation Vouchers is a unique demand-led innovation voucher scheme that invites SMEs to apply for a £3000 voucher to purchase academic support from 1 of the 13 universities in the West Midlands.

Innovation is not just about technology but also the management of the innovation process. It is about doing things differently to improve effectiveness and/or efficiency.

If you own or manage a small or medium sized company (up to 250 employees) and you want to improve your business performance through innovation, you could be eligible for an Innovation Voucher.The Innovation Voucher scheme aims to build links between universities and SMEs through creating a demand led approach to supporting innovation.

The scheme is now open to new applications. The application form is available on line from today the 7 April 2010 until 1pm on 26 April 2010. The Innovation Voucher Advice Centre is available to support you with your application by phoning 0121 204 3883 or emailing enquiries@innovationvouchers-wm.com

Stimulating Demand High Growth Programme (SDHG) a free one-to-one business mentorship support programme for 90 small and medium sized businesses based in Birmingham

Starting in March 2010, companies trading for six months or more will have the opportunity to work with Deloitte, one of the country’s leading professional services firms, and the Academy for Chief Executives to build customised development plans and receive dedicated coaching and mentorship for up to 12 months. The programme is designed for entrepreneurs and management teams seeking sustained guidance on particular business issues, or dedicated support to navigate their companies through the necessary – and often rewarding – challenges of growth.

To find out more, please join us at an introductory half day event on 22 April 2010 at the Deloitte office, 4 Brindleyplace, Birmingham B1 2HZ. To register, or to simply find out more, please email birminghamSDHG@deloitte.co.uk or call 0121 695 5580.

The SDHG programme is free to all participants thanks to grant support from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. The programme is delivered by Birmingham City Council and Deloitte with the Academy for Chief Executives.

Flip Animation Festival 2010 calls for Submissions

FLIP Animation festival is back. From Thursday 4 to Saturday 6 November 2010, Light House will play host to the annual celebration of all things animation, now in its 7th year. The call for submissions has now been made. FLIP, and the festival organisers, would like to invite animators to submit animated films of up to 15 minutes in length. For more information on FLIP Animation Festival visit the website.

The Open Shorts section features the annual FLIP awards and categories this year include Best of Festival, Best British and International Film, Stop Motion and Best Newcomer. Films will be judged by a panel of professionals and experts, with the winners being announced at the festival. For full details on how to submit a film, please see the submissions page on the website.

This year, for the first time, FLIP is accepting submissions from young people. Animators aged 18 and under will be able to send in their short animated films. A young person's panel will judge the entries, and choose a selection to be shown at a special showcase at this year's festival.

FLIP would like to say a big thanks to Von Graff Studio for this year's festival branding. Founder Rob Hildreth, developed the concept and designed the artwork. Keep checking www.flipfestival.co.uk for variations on the theme in the run up to the festival.

To keep up with all the latest news on FLIP Animation Festival 2010 contact us on flip@light-house.co.uk or visit the website

LIGHT HOUSE ARE NOW BOOKING FOR...

Introduction to High Definition
Tues 27 April, 10am - 4pm
A one day seminar discussing the differences between standard and high definition production processes and technologies.
Tutor: Sai Smith.
Cost: £45 + VAT.
Contact Light House Box Office on 01902 716055 to book a place or for more information visit www.light-house.co.uk

Light House The Chubb Buildings Fryer St Wolverhampton WV1 1HT t: 01902 716055 e: info@light-house.co.uk www.light-house.co.uk

www.hitl.washington.edu/home/

Over a career of 42 years, Professor Furness has been exploring and developing technology for channelling bandwidth to the brain and between brains.  His work has encompassed fighter cockpits, virtual reality, retinal displays, educational tools, medical simulators, pain, phobias, molecular modelling, scanning fibre endoscopes and entertainment systems.

As an introduction to his presentation, Professor Furness joked about the question his wife asks each day as he leaves for work “what are you doing today to save the world?” To put this into context, he told a story about joining a Drawing evening class, together with his wife, as they found themselves having more time once their children had left the family home. Tom described the process of ‘learning how to see’; the teacher had told him that we all know how to draw but not necessarily how to see. It was a case of releasing an innate ability and this is how he sees his work, finding ways of unlocking intelligence and linking minds.

Marking the phases of his career with descriptions, Tom talked about the first stage as ‘Sharpening the sword’ working for the Department of Defence (USAF), at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. His work centred on developing advanced cockpits for fighter aircraft, he developed a new family of virtual interfaces that evolved into what we know today as virtual reality. Tom summed up this phase by saying that he learnt that good interfaces empower people; VR works and enables people to learn quickly.

The Pentagon wanted to demonstrate the advances that had been achieved so Tom and his colleagues were filmed by TV crews for a full three days, after broadcast he was deluged by callers with all sorts of questions. Parents of children who had cerebral palsy, surgeons who wanted a means of detailed examination that could also be used for learning purposes, anaesthetists and fire-fighters all contacted him to enquire whether VR might provide a solution to their particular problem.
  
Tom felt that the best way to navigate a way through these possibilities and develop solutions was away from the confines of the military. Consequently he embarked on the second phase of his career which he labels ‘Sword into ploughshare’. He joined the academic staff at the University of Washington, Seattle, which is rated at No.1 in the USA for Research. He says he never worked harder but the results were very satisfying. One of the first patented products was a pair of VR Goggles retailing at $799 which were a commercial disaster when they didn’t sell by the million as expected. However, some of the few that did sell were being used by Dentists as a distraction for young patients who were watching movies and playing Nintendo games whilst being treated. A later model retailed at $199 and prospects brightened.
 
The next development saw the creation of the Virtual Retinal Display and Tom showed a clip from the BBC’s ‘Tomorrow’s World’ where this was demonstrated. The idea of dispensing with screens altogether and using low powered lasers to project straight onto the eye was transformational in terms of what has now become possible. Through the HITLab in New Zealand Tom met students who were working with augmented reality – mixing real and virtual imagery. We saw a video clip where this concept was used to create a ‘Magic Book’, reading Cinderella for example becomes a whole new level of experience when, with the aid of special glasses, the reader/viewer can see the castle and with the flip of a switch can go into it and move through it. Much of this work is available to view on the website www.hitlabnz.org

The HIT Lab NZ conducts research with new emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality, Next Generation Video Conferencing, Immersive Visualisation and Perceptual User Interfaces. Interaction Design techniques are used to adapt these technologies to the needs of end users and solve real world problems. The end goal is to improve the user experience with technology.

Tom next talked about his ‘Ploughshare lessons’ phase and ‘Saving the world with technology’. With a population now living longer, our world is getting smaller all the time leading to a renewed interest in new worlds. VR is proving useful to the activity of exploration in the simulation of environments. These are now so immersive that the experience of standing on Mars and walking around that planet can be ‘realistically’ created.

VR is also proving its worth to healthcare; we saw a video clip case study of a child with leukaemia who with the aid of a headset game was less aware of painful treatment taking place. Similarly, VR Pain Distraction is an effective tool in the treatment of burns victims. Another video demonstrated this with the use of a virtual world game ‘Snow World’, the power of consciousness being altered considerably so that a patient literally stops thinking so much about any pain that may be endured. Tom expanded on these ‘unexpected outcomes’ and the serendipity value of these ‘saving the world’ lessons. He commented on the fact that he found these emerging solutions inspiring and that this optimism could be harnessed to even greater purpose and ultimate benefit for all of us. He explained how he found academia to be fulfilling and that the tension surrounding problem solving encourages the ‘push’ of teaching with the ‘pull’ of the application.

The following passage is taken from the HITLab website www.hitl.washington.edu/home/ Professor Furness' research interests centre upon empowering people by developing tools that engage, enlighten and even entertain. To be useful, he believes that these tools should be configured to 'impedance match' the perceptual and cognitive abilities of the human thereby providing optimal pathways to get bandwidth to the brain and between brains. He sees this as a quest for the ultimate interface. He also feels that technology should be used to solve pervasive problems in the world such as world hunger, renewable energy, desolating diseases such as AIDS, aging, illiteracy etc. Tom Furness also fears that our technology may be causing more problems than it is solving, e.g. pollution and global warming, genetically modified food etc. He sees his quest as helping to make the world a better place by the enlightened use of technology, bringing minds together to solve these problems.

Lastly, Tom talked about his ‘Becoming economic’ phase. He talked about the problems that face the world, all of which break our hearts, and he made a proposal to change this paradigm. He suggests that by enlisting the help of just 1 million gamers who would each contribute $30 (which could perhaps be levied at game buying stage) that could be used to mobilise their participation and fund research, a real difference could be made to alleviate some of the problems we face.

Three days after Tom’s presentation, in the Observer newspaper, there was a report on the ‘One Laptop Per Child’ (OLPC) education initiative that has delivered 1.4 million laptops to children in 35 countries including Haiti, Afghanistan, Brazil and Uruguay. The article talked about Rwanda, the east African country, ravaged by genocide 15 years ago, aiming to transform its impoverished agrarian society. OLPC’s plan is to give 100,000 children free computers (target cost $100 each) and watch them help Rwanda become a leading knowledge-based economy, turning the idea of ‘techno-utopianism’ into a reality. As Tom Furness suggests, this is the belief that science and technology can bring about profound beneficial change.  (OLPC is an initiative founded in 2005 by Nicholas Negroponte as an independent offshoot of the MIT MediaLab. It’s a non-profit organisation, funded by member organisations including eBay, Red Hat and Google).

Tom spoke of ‘turning the hearts of children’ – empowering them to explore, create, share and understand our world. Creating a platform to take risks via funding research in technology and enriching the lives of younger pioneers. Hi cited the example of Randy Pausch, the professor whose last lecture ‘Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams’ became a runaway phenomenon on the internet and was turned into a best selling book.  Pausch talked about goals he had accomplished, like experiencing zero gravity and creating Disney attractions, and those he had not, including becoming a professional football player. He used rejections he was handed when he applied for jobs at Disney to comment on the importance of persistence. "The brick walls are there for a reason ... to show us how badly we want something," he said. "Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough”.

Speaking of the future, Tom insists that we invent it to meet our demand for new experiences. The iPhone is a good example, in the way it’s put together with an intelligent interface. The iPad may be the latest manifestation with so many on pre orders and 300,000 selling on the first day of launch. The film ‘Avatar’ also raises the bar, the message is definitely in the medium and it’s great to be able to inhabit imagined worlds, it doesn’t require too great a leap to imagine our world improved for real as well as virtually.

Tom’s presentation was absorbing, inspiring and, with a lively Q & A session, engaging and thought provoking for all of us. This was a most memorable Creative Networks event and we owe Tom a huge thank you for taking the time to talk to us. We did film the proceedings and hope to make the resulting programme available on our website in due course, it’s well worth seeing.