Contents:

1. Media Sandbox projects' progress
2. Next events
3. In the press
4. Your input

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1. Media Sandbox projects' progress

We’ve had a busy May at Media Sandbox. Our six commissions continue researching the opportunities posed by multi-platform technologies and we’re pleased to share their progress…

HMC, Drake Music and bibic’s research led to swift development of a version of ‘Cyber-therapy’ called ‘Visual Voice Pro’. Legendary music producer Jools Holland helped to launch the software at London’s Rich Mix Studios. The launch was an excellent opportunity to promote the project and gave people the chance to try out the software. See pictures on our Flickr group

C6 and Steal from Work are ones to watch this June. They’re preparing to host a city wide exhibition of public art works in Bristol, to officially launch ‘Street Art Dealer’. They’ve engaged a number of exciting artists and will showcase several uses of QR technology to engage the public in a treasure hunt of art on the streets.

They need your help – 'Street Art Dealer' are appealing the general public to host a work on their wall (walls must ajoin public space). If you have a wall to lend, please email them at: walls@streetartdealer.com

AntiVJ have been on the road around Europe and Canada for most of the month. The opportunity to produce visuals for the 'Nuits Sonores' festival in Lyon, France, provided the perfect platform for a successful test of ‘Mapping Software 1.0’. They’ve posted a few pictures and videos on their project journal.

Indie Mobile and Nomos Media have worked hard on the development of their projects this month: Indie Mobile and Destar Limited have completed the first phase of ‘The Generator’. The team are now planning focus group testing and discussing exciting possibilities for a launch campaign with key artists. Nomos Media have also completed development of ‘AudioEnable’. Since chatting with Media Sandbox advisor Richard Hull of HP Labs, they've made some modifications to the user interface and the online Virtual Studio editing platform. Testing is underway, and so far, so good. They plan to handover to a selected school for user testing in the next couple of weeks.

U-Soap Media have continued to test out game scenarios for ‘Viral Spiral’ with the support of some fantastic volunteers. The tests have thrown up many interesting questions for the team and provoked some fascinating thoughts on why a resurgence of live TV is inevitable. Read more on their project journal.

Throughout May, all the projects have pushed their concepts into working prototypes. The teams are moving forward at significant pace and we’re really excited by the ideas that are beginning to manifest. With one month to go, the teams are focused on bringing their projects towards meaningful conclusions. To follow their progress, remember to check their Project Journals regularly …

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2. Next events

We’ve made a few changes to our planned Media Sandbox events over the coming months, to ensure we create events that are of maximum benefit to the participants, the scheme and the wider community.

29 June | Watershed | Drinks Party| 6-10pm - On Monday 29th June, we’re hosting an informal drinks party at 6pm, Watershed, Bristol. Please join us to celebrate the success of this years’ scheme and chat with the participants about their plans for the final showcase later in the year. Tickets for the event are available through our Eventbrite, online ticketing system: http://drinksparty.eventbrite.com

September, TBC | Watershed | Final Showcase Event - The Media Sandbox final showcase event will now be held in September, on a date to be confirmed. We’ll post more details about this soon, so watch out for information.

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3. In the press

Check out the buzz around HMC’s ‘Visual Voice Pro’. The project has been profiled in the Western Morning News, on Channel Bee and in various blogs and magazines. You can check out the links to articles on the Media Sandbox website: http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk/buzz/

The Guardian Tech’s podcast team paid a visit to Bristol in May to find out about our hot tech talent. Dropping by the Pervasive Media Studio, they interviewed both past and present Media Sandbox participants, plus two Media Sandbox Advisors, Gavin Henderson of Presentable TV and Dan Efergan of Aardman Animations… Listen

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4. Your input
As well as reading the journals online we would encourage you to add your suggestions and thoughts. This is not a closed research process and the projects will respond to your comments.

We have set up a tag for delicious so if you see a useful website, please include the tag 'mediasandbox'. There is also a flickr group to add pictures to. This will help build a body of knowledge from which everyone can benefit.

You can subscribe, unsubscribe etc. or introduce your friends to the mailing list here: http://lists.mediasandbox.co.uk/listinfo/discuss

The next newsletter will be in a month, bringing you updates from the next journal entries and more news about events.

Best wishes,
Victoria

Media Sandbox is managed by iShed working with South West Screen with support from South West Regional Development Agency and Watershed.