Big North West media hubs join disruptive VR movement

A new VR studio combining the industry expertise of five media firms has linked up with two big North West innovators in its first raft of partnerships.

Established today (October 20), Disruptive Reality is made up of Digital Jam Ltd, Amplified Robot/Medical Realities, Revolution Software, Augusto and Spearhead Interactive, which have come together to focus on immersive entertainment – a new category within the growing virtual reality (VR) sphere.

Central to the movement will be Disruptive Reality’s collaboration with organisations across various industries, potentially allowing brands, studios, production houses and other companies to develop all-new and unique lines of revenue through the power of VR and immersive technologies.

On the back of its launch this week, Disruptive Reality has announced inaugural partnerships with The Landing innovation hub and media services firm dock10, both based at MediaCityUK in Salford.

The founder of Digital Jam Ltd, Disruptive Reality chief exec Tanya Laird, said: “By bringing together cross industry immersive technology expertise we have been able to create an entirely new line of revenue for existing franchises or new intellectual property that clearly demonstrates the commercial value of VR and immersive formats as a new line of business within existing monetisation models.

“This could mean anything from creating live action 360Ëš movies that allow a user to feel like they are participating rather than observing, through to escaping from a horror movie in real life thanks to Immersive Theatre techniques.”

She added: “The virtual reality industry is still emerging and ripe for new innovative formats - ones we intend to explore at Disruptive Reality.”

The Landing’s CEO, Jon Corner​, commented: “At MediaCityUK we have fantastic interconnections with companies driving different aspects of the VR and AR technology jigsaw.

“But I see our Disruptive Reality partnership as a way of opening doors for new ideas and types of content to be explored by emerging talent.”

He continued: “The facilities here at The Landing will enable that talent to access technology and the expertise of the Disruptive Reality coalition. It’s a unique partnership for the UK and I’m delighted to be joining the coalition.”

Richard Wormwell​, dock10’s head of 360Ëš production, said: “360 VR and AR is on the brink of becoming the most exciting new technology development in a generation and through partnering with Disruptive Reality we plan to develop streamlined workflow and production techniques to deliver to this rapidly evolving business and place Manchester firmly on the map of the VR Community.”

Disruptive Reality has also partnered with eSports firm ESL UK.

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