XR Innovate Training Programme
Online & Across Northern Ireland
Admission: Free
An exciting new XR training programme for Northern Ireland’s creative sector will take place across the region throughout 2025.
This free programme will offer XR training and development opportunities, giving filmmakers, producers, artists and creatives the skills and confidence needed to leverage the latest immersive technologies.
Participants will engage in industry-led masterclasses and a tailored training programme, with the opportunity to join an intensive development lab later this year.
This programme is aimed at established creatives as well as those who are keen to explore XR technologies but who are uncertain about where to get started.
Masterclasses
Join online and in-person masterclasses with leading XR practitioners from across the UK and Ireland who will showcase innovative projects. These sessions will inspire creatives to realise the potential of immersive technologies.
Learn more and sign up below.
Training sessions
Five day-long training sessions will take place online and around Northern Ireland exploring production techniques and immersive technologies. These hands-on workshops will be delivered by professionals working at the cutting edge of XR, showcasing skills in Unity/Unreal games engines, photogrammetry, spatial audio and motion capture.
Dates and facilitators will be announced soon.
Development Lab
Participants who have actively engaged in masterclasses and training workshops will be invited to take part in a development lab. Led by industry experts, this three-day intensive will support participants to create their own immersive prototypes and creative outputs. The lab will support creatives from ideation through to development, while also exploring areas such as distribution, commercialisation, audience insights, and opportunities for collaboration.
Dates and facilitators will be announced soon.
The XR Innovate training programme is open to a wide range of creatives including those from the screen industries looking to transition into immersive technologies or pursue CPD opportunities, those eager to explore immersive in their creative practice, and students and graduates seeking to gain practical skills to begin their careers.
Masterclass 1
Shifting Screens: The Future of Immersive
The opening masterclass sets the tone for the XR Innovate programme by exploring where immersive technologies are heading creatively, culturally, and practically.
As digital tools become increasingly embedded across film, theatre, gaming, and live performance, this panel brings together leading voices in immersive arts, sound design, academia, and innovation to reflect on the state of the sector.
Masterclass 2
Hearing the Space: Spatial Audio in XR
This masterclass delves into the role of spatial audio in XR and the emotional and narrative impact of binaural sound. Led by DARKFIELD’s Victoria Eyton, the session explores how immersive sound design can create presence, manipulate perception, and drive audience experience, particularly in non-visual environments.
Masterclass 3
Directing the Invisible: Crafting Stories in XR
Explore the unique creative challenges and opportunities of shaping narratives when the audience becomes part of the space.
Led by award-winning XR filmmaker Dee Harvey, the session will delve into how direction operates in virtual and interactive environments, from guiding attention through gesture and gaze, to sculpting presence and performance within a 360° world.
Masterclass 4
Access All Realities: Equity and Representation in XR
Explore how to build ethical and equitable XR experiences from the ground up — centred on lived experience, community voice, and inclusive design principles.
Led by XRDI (XR Diversity Initiative), the session invites creatives, technologists, and producers to critically examine who is included in XR spaces, whose stories are being told, and what systemic barriers remain.
Masterclass 5
Mixed Signals: Navigating MR/AR Creatively
Participants tare invited to step into the creative world of Mixed and Augmented Reality (MR/AR), guided by Belfast-based studio Boom Clap Play, known for their bold and imaginative work across animation, immersive storytelling, and creative technology.
Funders
The XR Innovate programme is funded by Northern Ireland Screen, supported by the BFI and The National Lottery.
