We’re delighted to reveal our Round 4 Resident Entrepreneurs! Here’s the scoop on the latest bunch of fantastically talented individuals and organisations we are supporting to develop innovative creative products, services and experiences…

Cinetopia

Cinetopia produce film focussed events and activities in Edinburgh and beyond, catering primarily for film industry professionals with an emphasis on freelancers, emerging professionals, students, and film enthusiasts who are seeking deeper engagement with the sector. Their Resident Entrepreneur project will focus on the development of Cinetopia Connect, a new virtual film community hub.

Cinetopia Connect will use data from Cinetopia’s community to make tailored connections in the same way as many dating apps, by asking users for their preferences and using this information to link each person to the right match, material, and opportunities. Their aim is to build a data-driven, tangible tool that will help their community connect more effectively with each other. cinetopiashow.com/

Social Convention

Social Convention started life as a production company before pivoting into a digital platform, developing formats and technologies for live online events and social experiences. They run digital open studios (LABS) where artists are given digital space and support in which to experiment, make new work and directly engage audiences outside of venues and the never-ending scroll of social media.

Through their RE project Social Convention will develop marketing tools for their broadcast platform, creating a digital equivalent to conventional platforms for audience discovery, typically driven by festivals and venues. Their aim is to produce an artist friendly platform that lowers creative technical barriers and increases audience reach. socialconvention.org/

The Flock

The Flock is an ethically driven women’s magazine site that launched in June 2020. Established as an advertising-free platform, The Flock offers the user experience of a traditional magazine while removing the detrimental influence traditional advertising so often has on both editorial integrity and reader wellbeing. Without advertising and with only one staff member, the platform has been able to reach more than 20,000 women per month in its first six months.

The Flock will use their Resident Entrepreneur funding to explore innovative reader-funded models that ensure sustainability and allows them to pay contributors at a fair rate for their work, while eschewing traditional advertising models. flockmag.com.

Prewired

Prewired is a programming club for young people under the age of 19, based at CodeBase in Edinburgh.

Prior to Covid-19, Prewired operated on a face-to-face basis with close interaction between young people and volunteers. However, the current crisis has challenged Prewired to recreate that experience online.

Through their RE project, the Prewired team aim to develop Prewired++, a vibrant and inclusive online community that encourages creativity, autonomy, mutual respect, and teamwork. By moving online, Prewired++ aims to reach young people who may not have previously accessed their services, providing a space for them to be confident in what they love doing, whether it’s learning to code, illustrating websites, or making music for games. www.prewired.org/

ArtThou

ArtThou is an art platform where collectors, new art buyers and corporates can access some of the most sought-after contemporary artists. There aim is to develop new ways to build sustainable income streams for artists and put the new wave of Scottish visual artists on the map. Through their Resident Entrepreneur project they will develop their network of creatives and build the first version of their client facing web app.

The ArtThou app will enable businesses to search for and lease artworks to display in their work spaces from up and coming artists who match with their business values. This model will allow them to provide artists with much needed regular income based on artworks leased. www.artthou.co.uk.

lonely carp

Callie Rose Petal is an award-winning trans* activist and recording artist, releasing material under the moniker ‘lonely carp’.

In her work, Callie proudly centres her artistic voice as a trans* woman with a disability, sharing this intersection of experience that has prevented a medical transition and using it as a springboard for criticising transmedicalist ideology and dismantling the patriarchal norms that perpetuate transphobia.

Callie’s RE project will focus on the research and development of a listening platform that provides a novel modality of absorbing music as a listener, creating music as an artist, and supporting artists work. Using Callie’s own music/sound design and animations from collaborator Nisan Yetkin, this data-driven experience will be an innovative take on a visual album that she hopes to scale up, allowing artists to produce their own musical work in the same way. patreon.com/lonelycarp

Looper

Looper is a cloud-based AI-powered 3D modelling software, developed to accelerate architectural design towards net zero. Co-founded by Yiqiang Zhao and Sashwat Ganguly, Looper helps architects quickly find the cheapest way to fit their projects energy efficiency protocols at an early design stage.

Through their Resident Entrepreneur project, the Looper team will develop their web-based 3D software and optimise performance via rigorous testing with several architect collaborators in the UK. After acquiring feedback and carrying out some intense fine-tuning, Looper will start the public beta of their product in July 2021. www.looper.design/

Bliind Desiign

Bliind Desiign provide technical support for emerging networked or “Live-to-Digital” performances, developing open-source software to aid in the delivery of a bespoke design service for live music and theatre.

Through his Resident Entrepreneur project, Bliind Desiign founder Louis McHugh will focus on the innovation and design aspects of his service, creating a set of open source software tools that can help others realise their creative ambitions.  Louis’ RE project will also consider how the digital economy can intersect with live performance to create new, more sustainable revenue streams.

Chara AI

Chara AI is a Scotland based Artificial Intelligence company founded in 2020. They focus on interpreting stories and ideas when in development, to help creative businesses meet the demands of video streaming platforms.

Chara AI uses machine learning techniques to answer a difficult question – how do we evaluate a creative work without bias? Their Resident Entrepreneur project will explore the specific needs of video platforms and the thousands of writers that supply stories for film and TV production. They hope to combine human expertise with an Artificial Intelligence system to create Screen Score, an innovative product that could help bring diverse new talent to the screen. https://chara.ai/

If you would like more information about any of our Round 4 Resident Entrepreneur projects, please contact creativeinformatics@ed.ac.uk. Applications for the next round of Resident Entrepreneurs will open in April 2021.