The team was invited to visit Professor Lars Erik Holmquist and PhD student Behzad Parniani at Northumbria University. The two were kind enough to give us a tour of the School of Design and a local Museum
"The first digital production facility of its kind in Europe. Created specifically for animators, film makers and games developers, offering 3D scanning, motion capture and sound recording in one unique place.
PROTO which is owned and managed by Gateshead Council, it is part of the Digital Catapult NETV network, and is also home to the North East Tees Valley Immersive Lab (one of only four in the UK)
Access to leading edge hardware and software is usually very expensive, but PROTO offers an inexpensive alternative. By removing one of the biggest barriers to entry (i.e. cost) Gateshead Council is giving start-ups, access to the tech they need to digitalise their own business or develop innovative new products."
The team was astounded at PROTO's facilities as well the game studios in the Business Centre.
Afterwards the team explored Newcastle and absolutely didn't get lost on the way back to Char's car!
