Dhahran-beth agency-March 4, 2024
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) announced many variables that the creative solutions residency program will witness during its fourth edition, for which registration is still open until the end of May 2024, most notably the reception of entries from all over the Middle East and North Africa, after the turnout of many interested in immersive technologies and virtual reality, and the high number of applicants annually, the program is also preparing to participate in the LEAP conference from March 4-7 in order to identify new opportunities and communicate with technology experts in the world.
The Center explained that the special residency program for creative solutions will be during this year in a new version that differs from previous years, such as working to expand the areas of offering the program to be more comprehensive in terms of ideas, as participants can join in the form of teams and groups after it was limited to individuals, and the closing of the course will be announced in conjunction with tanwin creativity conference, in addition to highlighting the distinctive models submitted by previous applicants to the program, while all participants who did not reach the finals stage will be given the opportunity to work on submitting their projects again; to achieve the requirements of the program based on the use of technologies immersive And digital media in the hands of competent experts.
Among the most prominent projects that reached the last stage in the previous cycle, the winning audiora project Sultan bin Massoud, a professor at Princess Noura University, initiated the idea of integrating sound, which gives the opportunity to see thousands of images and learn about the cultural heritage in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through audio experiments, explaining: "I stand in front of students to teach courses, most notably audio production and film production, and I am looking for everything that can enhance aspects of my knowledge and passion, as I convey to them the most prominent developments in the world of immersive technologies, and through my participation in the residency program for creative solutions in Ithra, I found despite the distance between Riyadh and Dhahran".
Based on his experience in the field of audio production, which spans more than 20 years, Sultan participated in the program and is also keen to transfer knowledge to his students, according to the new technologies and new worlds in the film production industry, as virtual reality production associated with Immersive Technologies has become an opportunity for creativity and innovation for film and animation producers that cannot be provided by traditional means.
The immersive audio experience that Sultan delivered to her and initiated its production includes ancient historical events, most notably the Battle of Fath Riyadh, which is one of the historical symbols of the beginning of the third Saudi state.he is also preparing to produce audio-visual experiments that took place in areas including : Diriyah, Alula, Mecca, and Medina.
It is worth mentioning that the residency program for Creative Solutions focuses on storytelling and designing digital products using immersive technologies such as augmented, virtual and mixed reality, where the training of applicants lasts for 4 months, during which they can delve into the creative process by discovering the entrepreneurial, technical and narrative foundations at the hands of local and international experts; up to the production of prototypes and at the end of the program, the models are displayed in an exhibition targeting investors and experts in the field of technical industries.