What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 12 February 2018

Welcome to another week and it's all about Skip Rizzo this week as we get set for the VR Expo & Awards from 8-10 March 2018.

Albert "Skip" Rizzo received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Dr. Rizzo conducts research on the design, development and evaluation of Virtual Reality systems targeting the areas of clinical assessment, treatment and rehabilitation - and you will have the opportunity to meet him at the VR Expo in person very soon.

He is also working with a team that is creating artificially intelligent virtual patients that clinicians can use to practice skills required for challenging clinical interviews and diagnostic assessments (sexual assault, resistant patients, suicide lethality, etc.). 

His cognitive work has addressed the use of VR applications to test and train attention, memory, visuospatial abilities and executive function. In the motor domain, he has developed VR Game systems to address physical rehabilitation post stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury and for prosthetic use training. He is also investigating the use of VR for pain distraction at LA Children's Hospital and is currently designing game-based VR scenarios to address issues of concern with children having autistic spectrum disorder. 

His research also involves designing and evaluating 3D User Interface devices and interaction methods and he has created a graduate level Industrial and Systems Engineering course at USC entitled, "Human Factors and Integrated Media Systems". In the area of Gerontology, Dr. Rizzo has served as the program director of the USC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and is currently conducting a VR study of visuospatial and wayfinding ability with persons with Alzheimer's. He is associate editor and on the editorial board of several VR and CyberPsychology journals, notably with MIT press, and has created his own Listserve (VRPSCYH).

Book Now to Enjoy the Godfather of VR in Nottingham Coming Soon! 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 29 January 2018

 

Welcome to another week and it's all hands on deck for the Nottingham Media Festival this week.If you haven't already booked then make sure you get on board for a truly amazing time.

The Festival is running from 8-10 March and there are a range of great events taking place, which in addition to our free venue finding service, we are managing here at Cloud 9 Towers. 

The VR Expo & Awards is a brand new event concept embracing all aspects of  Immersiv  Technologies. With panel sessions, workshops, an exhibition, VR in Music, career clinics and an awards ceremony celebrating innovation, this three day event is not to be missed.

The Nottingham International Microfilm Festival returns to the City for the third time, bigger and better than ever. With more content, a packed programme including a summit, awards ceremony and workshops, plus a special film competition,  this truly international event is a must for any Short Film enthusiasts.

The Fresh Creative Awards are in Nottingham for the first time, celebrating the Best of British and strengthening the UK's platform as a world leader in the creative industries. No boundaries, no categories, just a showcase of the very best ideas from Great Britain & a great big Awards ceremony to recognise the winners on Thursday 8 March.

There are two opportunities to enjoy the Short Film Show as part of the Nottingham Media Festival. The first is an informal and relaxed evening at the Nottingham Contemporary where we will be screening three hours of short films back to back from the official selection of The Short Film Show. Stay a little or stay for the duration and enjoy the selections from the TV series in all of their glory on the big screen.   

The Lego Legends competition invites individuals and teams to submit their designs for display as part of the festival with a range of great prizes available. Open to any age group this is a chance to show off your skills and design expertise to a  wide audience and have some fun!

Plus we have a new initiative, introducing SLICE: Student Lives in the Creative Enterprises, which are a series of engaging coffee mornings and one on one afternoon teas as part of the Nottingham Media Festival. These are not your traditional lectures, but intimate events designed to enable students to enjoy a real opportunity to have a chat over cake with the very people who can help to shape your future. 

Check out the Festival website for full details of the events! 

 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 15 January 2018

Welcome to another week and it's slightly manic here at Cloud 9 Towers. 

The Fresh Awards closes this Friday, and we are also close to deadlines for submissions for the VR Expo Awards and the Nottingham  International Microfilm Festival ahead of the Nottingham Media Festival in March of this year.

Additionally, our free venue finding service is certainly being well utilised by a raft of clients so we are busy sourcing some great venues for clients locally, nationally and globally.

We are also gearing up for the Alliance of Independent Event Agencies New Year's Honours which take place this Friday at the Holiday Inn in Peterborough. It's fancy dress and the theme is P for Peterborough, so we imagine there will be a raft of Pirates, Policeman and Penelope Pitstop costumes doing the rounds.

Let's be honest here as there are few social situations can be more fraught than a costume party! What if you’re the only person who dresses up but worse, what if you’re the only one who doesn’t? We thought we would look up some classic fails when it comes to dressing up and found a very entertaining article in The Guardian which we thought we should share, especially as it mentions Pirates!

The chap in question is Olly Dixon, who went to a Vogue Party dressed as a pirate...

"My partner was working at Brazilian Vogue as art director, and I was a freelance graphic designer. We had been living in Sao Paulo for a few months, and life was pretty good, but we were young and didn’t have much money so I always felt a little like a fraud among the fashion/art scene people of Brazil. This was highlighted most spectacularly at a party Vogue hosted.

The invitations were of course in Portuguese, but we understood them to a point. The dress code said “Black Tie or Fancy Dress”. I didn’t have a tuxedo so was reluctant to go, but my wife was keen to make a good impression and encouraged me to go for the fancy dress option. I figured it would be fun and to be honest we didn’t give it that much thought – we were from London, we went to loads of parties, we were used to this sort of thing.

I opted for a pirate outfit: cut-off jeans, flip flops, and a hook hand and sword I had purchased from a local toy store a few hours before the party. Eye liner, eye patch, bandana. My wife wore a beautiful vintage ball gown. Ready to go.

The party was held at Hotel Unique, a huge modernist luxury hotel and it was hosted by Naomi Campbell. Gilberto Gil was performing. We turned up on the red carpet, and not being celebrities we were of little interest to the paparazzi, but I did feel we had a certain presence and caught the eye. We entered.

I’m not saying all 600 people turned and looked at me, but it did feel like that. The editor of Vogue rushed towards us. “What are you doing ? Why are you dressed as a pirate? And why are you wearing flip flops to this party?”

“I’m in fancy dress. On the invitation it said Black Tie or Fancy Dress …”

“What? No, no, no. Black Tie or Dress Fancy – wear your finest clothes, or expensive robes. Not ‘Fancy Dress’.”

I pointed at guy dressed as a Sheikh. “What about that guy, he’s dressed up.”

“No, he’s an actual Sheikh.”

On closer inspection, his robes were made of fine golds and luxury materials. We exchanged a nod of mutual respect (that’s how I saw it).

It actually worked out well; I brought a smile to faces, and got talking to lots of different people. We even met Naomi Campbell, who thought it was hilarious."

Have a great week everyone...