About edge21 Studio
edge21 Studio was founded by a freelance filmmaker and digital practitioner Rebecca Hardy in 2020, prompted by the work she was doing around her app idea: Reel Reality. The studio researches, develops and produces multi-platform projects born out of a passion for film, TV and digital. Prior to setting up edge21 Studio, Rebecca worked in the industry for over 20 years on a self-employed basis.
I'm a massive film and TV geek
Both areas are huge passions of mine. I am obsessed with things like behind the scenes and filming locations. I’ve known about filming locations in and around Cardiff for a long time. Whenever I’d walk around Cardiff Bay, I'd see people pointing out different locations, saying things like, 'that's the entrance to Torchwood', or, 'that's Ianto's shrine!'
I liked seeing this, but as a fellow enthusiast, I wondered if there could be something to accompany that fan tourism activity – something to refer to, or to guide you through locations, and immerse you in the experience so that you’re a part of it. There are lots of different websites with information on filming locations, but some of it is conflicting and a bit dull. I felt it needed pulling together so someone could experience that in a fun way, beyond a run of the mill locations app.
With this concept for an immersive filming locations app, I applied to Clwstwr
Clwstwr's approach to funding and R&D was rather refreshing and different, in that it gave me the freedom to go to them with an idea that I felt I could get to market, even though I didn't know exactly how it'd work. I needed play space to work out the best way forward and do some user research.
I went on a two-day Ideas Lab session with Clwstwr
I loved the Lab; it really opened my eyes to a lot of different things and helped me see how R&D might work for my idea. Then, I applied for seed funding. I was super chuffed to get that little pot of money, to be able to realise the idea and have some time to do the research.
With the seed funding, I did a feasibility study
I researched loads of film and TV location apps, seeing what was on the market. There wasn't anything out there like what I was proposing to do. That was a good start. I also worked with Sugar Creative, an innovation company, who gave me their thoughts on whether the proposed product seemed viable. There were different apps on the market across different countries to do with similar topics, which confirmed that there was a healthy appetite for this type of app.
My research made it clear that this was a very viable opportunity
Once I finished the seed funding project, I applied to Clwstwr for project funding to enter the next stage of R&D. I wanted to take the app, called Reel Reality, to a commercial prototype stage. I was very happy to receive funding. To distinguish between my freelance work and my R&D surrounding the app, I set up a limited company to house the app and any similar projects in the future.
Working again with Sugar Creative, we narrowed down on what we wanted in the app
We had to figure out what would work and what wouldn't. I was really keen to include video content, with the idea that when you go to a filming location, you can unlock video content connected to that location on the app. I wanted to develop little documentaries that were exclusive to the app.
We considered what would be most interesting to include and how to connect various locations down Cardiff Bay. We then spent a very long time, with support of another freelancer, researching all the locations and cross-referencing every single fact. That took longer than I thought it was going to!
Once we’d figured out where to include, we started on content creation
We did some filming down the Bay, including a three-minute documentary style piece with the person who decorates Ianto's Shrine. Even that short film was a lot of work, due to filming regulations and the fact it was just me down there filming. It soon dawned on me that this was a huge project, and I had to be quite realistic about where to put my energy. The key thing was to get it off the ground and working with original, exciting content.
The real innovative aspect of the app is the augmented reality set builder
I was inspired by watching people play Pokemon Go; I was fascinated with how it makes people move on to the next location to try to find something within the app. We incorporated a similar element into the Reel Reality app: at each location, in augmented reality, you can collect either a character, prop or piece of set and build up your own collection of augmented reality items.
You can then build your own film set in AR at the location you're in. For example, if you were at a film location for Being Human, you might get a werewolf to add to your collection. You could then put the on-screen werewolf in the location through AR via the phone camera, screenshot it and share it with others. Users will want to collect as many things as they can, so they'll go around the locations gathering AR elements then enjoy putting them together in their AR sets.
Making the prototype took quite a long time to develop and test geographically
I've been down to Cardiff Bay more times than I can count. I’d play with it, test it, see how well it worked, tweak it, then repeat again and again. It was a lengthy process. In total, I think it took around a year to do the research, build then launch Reel Reality in app stores. All of that time was well spent; it was part of the R&D phase, and it was great to have that flexibility to be able to try stuff and realise what would and wouldn't work.
Clwstwr has completely changed my business and how I work, in a positive way
It's enabled me to develop things I would never have dreamt to be able to do without that support. Having Clwstwr back this project meant huge amounts to me as an individual. I loved that they genuinely wanted you to succeed for yourself, and how they understand that R&D sometimes means that things go right or wrong, but both are okay. It doesn't matter if it doesn't come out quite how you expect it - the point is that you're researching and developing to find the best solution, answer or result.
Reel Reality has great potential; we have lots of plans
Moving forward, we're going to develop another zone in addition to Cardiff Bay, Cardiff city centre, which we hope to release in Summer 2022. Beyond that, we’ll look at other potential zones across the UK to develop so that it becomes a UK-wide resource. We've had interest from other regions that have seen the app doing well on the store and want something similar for their zone, but we're prioritising Wales to start with. There are other things I'd love to do with the technologies in it to make it even more of an immersive and personalised experience.
Film and television have been in my life for so long
To be able to work and do something that feeds into the fan side of my passions is really lovely. It moves me away from being the creator of content to the consumer of content, and asks me to consider what people would want for this experience, coming into different areas to go to these locations. I like thinking about what I can add to that experience to help fans feel a part of it and have more fun. Being able to help people have fun and find their community of fellow fans is so rewarding, and I’m excited about what’s to come.