About Crossover
Latest News! Over the next 6 months there will be a number of Crossover Labs presented in the UK and around the world.
The first lab will be Crossover Nordic between 15 - 19 September. Crossover Docs will be held 5 - 10 October and Crossover Kids will be held from 30 November - 5 December, with more Crossovers to be announced soon. For more information about Crossover Labs please read below.
Crossover is an international programme designed to explore the creative and the commercial challenges of developing content and services for digital media.
Crossover is a unique series of creative ‘laboratories’ in which experienced and talented professionals from different sectors of the audio-visual industries work alongside international experts and mentors to develop ideas for innovative cross-platform programmes, products or services.
Crossover Labs focus equally on process and outcome. Practical and dynamic, the Labs:
- Equip participants with the knowledge and skills to develop new media projects;
- explore new techniques for developing multi platform programmes and services;
- encourage fresh thinking about interaction with viewers and users, through user-centred design processes;
- provide a framework the development of concrete projects
- result in the building of pitches and early stage concept prototypes.
The first Crossover was run in the United States by Weblab and subsequent labs have been organised in Australia and the UK. The 2008 programme combines this experience with skills and methodology developed by Unexpected Media since 1996 in labs for a range of organizations including the BBC, Channel 4, Microsoft, Just B, Sagasnet, the Rotterdam Film Festival, X Media Lab, Reed Midem, Ogilvy and NESTA.
Crossover Labs are directed by Frank Boyd of Unexpected Media and produced by Heather Croall, Director of Sheffield Doc/Fest.
The supporters for each Crossover Lab are regionally specific, and are acknowledged in Partners.
Testimonials from past participants
“The process / environment combination is a killer app. To be able to guarantee such a valuable output from the initial concepts is priceless for people trying to work with/sell ideas.”
Bryan Reynolds, Gamesauce
“Labs are a fantastic format for getting different creative minds to think, explore and collaborate on new ideas. The world of cross- platform content and distribution demands a range of skills from technical, creative, artistic and business contexts. Crossover is a perfect environment for talent to get together and really understand how creativity works in each others’ fields. I’ve found the Lab format the most effective and productive way of identifying and developing new ideas from cross-platform teams, and its a format we will be using more at Channel 4 as part of our cross- platform strategy.”
Matt Locke, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4