Matt Littler is founder and CEO at ARK Immersive, a VR production house in Liverpool.
Matt has more than twenty years experience behind and in front of the camera, well-known for playing the role of Max Cunningham in Hollyoaks.
He has helped launch the Nokia Ozo camera in LA and claims to have delivered the world’s first ‘shoppable’ VR experience. He has also provided VR services for Disney, the Premier League, PGA Tour Golf, Mazda, Royal Caribbean and the UEFA Champions League.
He shared what a recent week in his life looked like…
Monday
ARK Immersive is a start-up business, so on Monday I like to concentrate on any existing work for my other company Analog Films. I call this ‘lights on’ work. We make content for brands and businesses in the North West. So, on Monday I am coming up with ideas to support a dance troop who have made it through to the Britain’s Got Talent semi-final; they used us for the initial entry and got Simon Cowell’s golden buzzer.
I’m also editing already shot content for local chef Gabi Margiotta – fresh from MasterChef. Alongside these duties we are in the fundraising phase at ARK Immersive. So, I am speaking to investors and doing all the nuts and bolts bits that a start-up needs. The finance stuff and the grant applications are completely new to me, but I’ve spent the last twelve months learning as much as I can about the process.
Tuesday
When it’s half term for instance, I like to grab a couple of hours with the kids. Recently we visited Shakespeare North Playhouse. Part of our remit and ethos is about family and emotional connection. So, it’s important to me that we make memories together. After lunch it’s back to the edit and some work pulling the data from our EIS prospectus into a pack for a chat with investors over in Manchester. In the evening I like to go to the gym, which I normally do 4-5 times a week. My evenings however are normally spent back in the edit suite probably until the early hours.
Wednesday
On Wednesday I’m travelling over to Manchester to give a talk at a large agency about the implementation of immersive technology. The agency has links to healthcare and has asked me to come and talk about the challenges and benefits of using the medium for marketing and patient engagement. ARK is active in this space too. The landscape has changed exponentially over the last few months, it is far more accessible, the audience is far more diverse and we are reaching critical mass.
Over the next six months I expect Apple to launch, and Meta to release a fourth headset. Where Ark is at the moment is akin to being a very early app developer at the start of the smartphone revolution, we’re pioneers, brave but ultimately fairly alone. It won’t be like this for long. Working with big ALT agencies is where I started in immersive technology, so I understand the processes they go through and how projects are activated. It’s not easy getting clients to try something new, but the opportunity immersive technology offers in the medium to long term is staggering.
Thursday
ARK Immersive is building its own distribution platform. To date this is self-funded. Today, I’m working with the team on refining some of the design aspects of version one, and looking at feature sets for version two – we’re plugging in virtual machines and beginning to test bandwidth. At present we’re at the working prototype stage. Once we turn it on, we will create the means for Ark to grow in-line with its potential. This has been a full year in the making and we’ve been taking baby steps, I can’t wait to release it all into the wild.
I’m also editing a short test piece we have done for a client, and uploading this to a test platform. Our post-production process is what sets us apart, and sits alongside the shoot process and immersive cinematic language that I have been refining for many years. We have a number of digital products in the Ark roster and this one in particular is aimed at TV and Film production.
Friday
Friday, I made a quick dart down the M62 to North Manchester to shoot another immersive test for an automotive pitch we have coming up. People’s generosity never ceases to amaze me when you’re a start-up. As a traditional filmmaker you learn how to ‘get it done’ on set, but immersive filmmaking presents a fresh set of challenges – but also a fresh new set of benefits. What ARK is, and what it represents, will change the way we approach immersive technology. I have no doubt that the early stages are massively challenging until the company gains traction, but I believe in this concept 100%.
When heading into pitching an immersive project I always feel it’s important to have examples of the applications you are pitching. Standard film has had so long to bed in and it can draw on so many comparisons to already existing material that it’s easy to imagine what it is that’s being pitched. With immersive film, we have very little meaningful media we can draw on. My role in the ARK journey isn’t just to create the platform and the things that go onto it, but also to educate creators and stakeholders in how to unlock the potential we have here. To date, immersive or VR video has had many false dawns, but with the obvious investments in tech and space from the world’s biggest companies, I think it’s clear where the future lies.
