Day One @ BEYOND 2020: Divergence – normal programming has been interrupted

Hosted by this year’s MC Joanna Abeyie MBE, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Blue Moon, BEYOND is an exciting opportunity for the creative industries to come together to share research and personal insights to stimulate and support creative innovation. As well as to showcase projects breaking the mould in the creative industries, with an incredibly imaginative response to the pandemic.

The first day of BEYOND 2020 certainly did not disappoint, with over 700 delegates from across 20 countries, day one on 30th November of this four day conference proved to inspire, educate and challenge in sessions that addressed how we can collectively build back better, a focus that many of us – both personally and professionally – have had to consider this year following the impact of Covid-19.

Based around the theme of Divergence, the first day of BEYOND looked at innovations in the way the world of Esports is responding to the pandemic, unveiled research on how audiences are communicated with, what happens when theatre and immersive collide, a deep-dive into The Tempest with Tender Claws & Royal Shakespeare Company, and how virtual production has and will continue to transform how we experience – and create content in – the arts, along with many more innovative and thought-provoking perspectives.

With over 175 speakers, including renowned names and new voices working across highly regarded and innovative new projects, it was impossible for day one to disappoint. MC’d by Joanna Abeyie MBE (Blue Moon), we heard from James Dean (ESL UK), Samantha Gorman (Tender Claws), Sarah Ellis (Royal Shakespeare Company), Matthew Shaw (ScanLAB Projects) as well as creative experts from ReKTGlobal, Hotdrop, i2 Media Research, Newzoo, Nesta, Nexus Studios and many more.

Delegates also had the chance to Meet the Researchers and Makers in sessions with the talent behind the R&D projects featured in the Immersive Futures Lab and ECR Poster Exhibition.

DAY ONE @ BEYOND: ON-DEMAND

In case you missed any of the amazing sessions, delegates can catch up on all the action via the on-demand videos, including:

WELCOME TO BEYOND WITH PROF ANDREW CHITTY

A warm welcome to BEYOND 2020 from Professor Andrew Chitty, Challenge Director for Audience of the Future and Creative Industries Clusters Programmes.

Watch now.

ESPORTS: RESPONDING TO THE PANDEMIC

Exploring the evolving relationships between organisers, players, audiences and advertisers, to gauge the response required for the sector to survive and thrive, with gaming experts Anna Baumann, ReKTGlobal, Heather Dower, Hotdrop and James Dean, ESL UK. Watch now.

CREATIVE DIVERGENCE: TOUR OF THE FRONTIERS

Panel session with Jung-In Jung and Lynda Clark from InGame offering a tour of the best of this work, from the worlds of gaming, theatre, VR, music, film, TV and visitor experiences, from the UK and beyond.

Watch now.

AUDIENCE RESEARCH: LANDSCAPE OF A PANDEMIC

How has lockdown impacted audience engagement across the Creative Industries, with key research insights from a spread of expert sector representatives.

Watch now.

To watch all of the videos from day one at BEYOND, keep an eye on https://beyondconference.org/ondemand/

There’s still time to grab a ticket, to access the BEYOND on-demand videos and catch the rest of the live conference, running from 30 November – 3 December 2020. You can also follow all the action via #BEYONDconf on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.