Creative Projects

Here are a selection of projects I have developed, written and directed. They involved working across a range of mediums, including: games, podcasts, publishing, events, and VR/AR. The through line is a deep interest in storytelling.

(Note: If you’re curious about my music and the songs I write, here’s a link that takes you to a separate page about songwriting….). And/or you are interested in my background on-camera, there is a page on presenting and acting.

Storytelling

Storytelling is at the heart of much of my work. Here is a selection of projects I have developed and directed.

Wrote and directed ‘One Day’ for 2269

Wrote and co-directed this promo for PlayStation’s Wonderbook

Wrote and directed ‘Mad Factory’ for The Third Floor

Wrote and directed ‘Hansel v Gretel’ an interactive story for PlayStation

Here’s a short clip of ‘Funny Notion’, a song I wrote about a summer road trip

Led a team of artits, designers and programmers to create a fully immersive and interactive world in virtual reality

‘2DO Before I Die’ book

I wrote a book called 2DO Before I Die. It was one of the first of its kind, deriving its stories from user-generated content via a website and blog I set up with my friend Chris Day. Designed to help people record & share the pursuit of personal ambitions both huge and tiny, it was published in the US & UK by Time Warner. The book has since been translated into nine languages.

International press included radio interviews on NPR and BBC, features in Metro and Men’s Journal and a TV interview on Channel 5 News. I wrote, pitched and sold the treatment to the publisher, and edited all contributed stories. Amazon.

‘The Greatest Party of All Time: 2269’

With my friend Peter Dean, I co-founded an unusual and award-winning project encouraging long-term thinking and collective storytelling.

Successfully launched on Kickstarter, and featured at length in The Boston Globe, 2269 is designed to be passed from one generation to the next. For more, visit: 2269.co

Podcast Creator & Host

I love podcasts. I have created and hosted two of them.

My first, Crowd Scene, (Apple link) is a podcast about entrepreneurial artists, designers and inventors. More recently, I’ve launched ‘The 2269 Podcast’ (Spotify link) where guests select favourite things to pass on to their descendants.

Both feature entertaining, inspirational interviews with people seeking to make a difference with their work and art.

Interactive Narratives

I’ve written and directed multiple ‘interactive narratives’ Each is an original project, designed from the ground up, marrying storytelling with a certain level of participation from the audience, The interactive element I’ve learned has it’s own rewards and challenges. In the process, I’ve worked closely with Pixar, BBC, CNN, ITV, Sony PlayStation, The Third Floor and others.

  • At Sony, I wrote and directed an interactive story called 'Hansel VS Gretel'. Somewhow this was seen by Pixar who then asked to work with me and my team. We had an amazing experience working with Pixar's story departement for 18 months on a Toy Story project.

  • I was the Exec Development Producer for Magic Lantern in the production of an original interactive drama for the BBC. We got to develop an original story, cast some great young actors, and learn how to weave interactivity into a story.

  • Inspired by a documentary I saw, I pitched, sold and directed 'The War Room' for CNN. Unique for its time, it was an interactive campaign room that followed the news of a real US presidential campaign.

  • I was asked by the Head of Children's ITV to adapt a series of kids TV shows for online entertainment. The result was Granadaland - developed and produced for ITV

  • Following success at Mesmerise, I was asked by its CEO to create and lead and brand the Atmospheric Studio, a concept team developing cutting-edge interactive formats

  • I was the Head of VR at The Third Floor -- the world’s largest visualisation studio. I led a talented team in the development of original and adapted productions. I also directed several company promo reels showcasing work with Marvel and Disney.

  • Venture Beat publsied a piece I wrote about the importance of designing virtual spaces with a 'human touch'. I felt that much of the work in this space was generic and cold and had vast room for improvement.

  • I sort of have a co-write with Stephen Hawking! The 'Time Traveler Reception' was his idea. My friend Peter Dean designed the layout of the invite and I wrote a critical line that Hawking approved: “A reception to be held in the past…” Among other locations, the poster hangs in Stephen Hawking’s home and in Stephen Colbert’s office.

  • 'After Life' - I wrote and directed a team in the development of an ambitious, interactive VR narrative. Initially based on Sony Pictures IP, we took it an intriguing new direction combining narrative and gameplay.

  • This amazing projects was called Storyteller - an ambitious PlayStation project. I co-wrote and directed a series of original, interactive, 'fractured fairytales'. This led directly to work with Pixar's story team. This is concept art by Luke Newell, from one of our stories.

  • I led Sony’s concept team in the development of a social interactive game inspired by role-playing board games. We called it 'Critical Choice'.

  • I directed the initial prototypes for JK Rowling's ‘Book of Spell, which led directly to her extensive creative engagement with the project.