Looking through innovation hubs that caters towards creative entrepreneurs and the like did I stumble upon a place called ‘Brookfield Institute’ which caters to innovation and entrepreneurship. Being that it was across from the Ryerson School of Performance at the Atrium on Bay did I see it a lot. However, by looking and researching the place more did I get a tip from the Ryerson School of Performance’s desk receptionist Michelle Samuels that the Transmedia Zone that Ryerson cultivates has exactly what I am looking for in terms of being an innovation hub.
With that being said, the Ryerson Transmedia Zone is in my opinion a great place; a great creative and entrepreneurial incubator for many students aka startup ventures. Scavenging through the website did I find that its main goal is to be an innovation hub/incubator for media and storytelling. Being that’s its a Ryerson project, it does cater towards students as well as industry members. It not only gives a place for students and the like to work on projects they deem worthy and useful to use in the space.
The space itself is in my opinion top notch and great. It provides a space to work such as a regular work space, a meeting room, production facilities such as music and editing rooms as well as others. Being that it’s a space that fosters creative growth and innovation, having spaces that entice those in media is always a plus.
Looking and scavenging through the website for information, I have found a list of areas of interest that the space fosters which includes:
- Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR),
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning,
- Hybrid Experiences that integrate digital and physical elements,
- Narrative driven maker projects & hybrid objects,
- Immersive theatre, Room escapes and Experience design,
- Innovative web series & web content best practices,
- Social media innovation,
- Live video innovation & best practices,
- Online civility and community practices,
- Open source iteration & development (open agile production methodology),
- Interactive documentary & digital journalism,
- Game design and the pervasive application of game mechanics,
- Social activism & community engagement,
- Canadian voices and aboriginal storytelling.
Another aspect I think is great that the space does is by having staff that are well versed in their respective areas of expertise. Looking through the staff list (http://transmediazone.ca/staff/) and viewing the biography of the director Ramona Pringle, I read that she has a background in “multiplatform productions” also having produced work for CBC, TVO and CTV. Another person who is the Director of the Music Den (will get more into it) has over 20 years of experience practicing law within the music industry having been the V.P. of Legal & Business Affairs at top Canadian record companies BMG and EMI. By looking at these two directors as well as reading the biographies of others did I find that this place is no joke. Gathering Ryerson alumni who have achieved success in their respective fields as well as gathering outside industry professionals does it say something about the legitimacy of how this space can foster innovative growth.
I had stated earlier about the Transmedia Zone’s Music Den which is exactly what it sounds like being a place to foster musical growth for students and the like who wish to pursue a career in this field. The Music Den itself is it’s own initiative while also being part of the Transmedia Zone. Initiatives such as Maker Space, The Music Den, and the Allan Slaight Radio Institute collaborate with the Transmedia Zone to foster a safe space for people, especially students, to work on their own projects while also providing an easy way to garner industry help and assistance.
The Music Den provides the few who are selected to be part, a way to help grow ideas whether it’s business or technology to its full potential within the music industry. It provides many audio/video facilities as well as editing suites and equipment.
While The Music Den caters to music industry hopefuls, Maker Space caters to those who are very hands on with hardware, physical technology. The Space’s main use is for those who want to build/make things. Things ranging from computers and the technological like.
The Allan Slaight Radio Institute focuses more on radio-centric individuals. The space garners top of the line facilities focusing on all areas of radio from production to distribution and management.
The Transmedia Zone, offers a space for like-minded people to gather and play with innovative ideas. It also garners a realistic outlook into these ideas through experimentation with facilities and equipment or through mentor ship with industry professionals. Being that’s it’s still part of Ryerson University, it contains a school like atmosphere where all ideas are accepted and innovation and creativity are welcomed with open arms. University fosters growth amongst people, the Transmedia Zone fosters this growth not only on the knowledge side of things but fosters life growth as well.
Now with the Transmedia Zone fostering the creative growth in all these areas of concentration and planning to expand to more, it’s hard to compete with this type of innovation hub/creative incubator. It’s essentially a space for people who want to improve or experiment in media related projects.
For this to be replicated by another space would take time and money. To replicate all the facilities does require many tools and money to have all the equipment and concentrations as well as fostering them with top notch gear. Areas of concentration range from music production, music business, radio, social media, live media, game design, virtual reality, algorithms, crowd funding, and many more. I consider the Transmedia Zone a unique space that I myself find to be the exact place that I am looking for. In a world that doesn’t foster creativity but fosters ways to just make money, a safe space like this is great.
With that being said, replicating a space like this isn’t impossible, it’s just that it’ll take a lot of time over years to get a space with the right facilities and equipment as well as the right mentors with decades of experience. In my opinion, those two factors make it a great innovative hub to thrive in.
Looking at the featured projects tab on the website (http://transmediazone.ca/featuredprojects/), it shows how creative and innovative the end results turn out. With new technology always coming out, this innovation hub will always thrive and churn out great projects.
