The Canadian Film Centre‘s (CFC) fourth ideaBOOST cohort is on the horizon, and the “bootcamp” accelerator for companies in the entertainment and digital media space is ready to start looking over applications.
Companies selected to participate in ideaBOOST get the budget, tools, training, and mentorship designed to help bring their product to market and improve their chances of success with audiences, investors, and partners.
Canadian companies, early stage startups, and SMEs are eligible applicants. Coproductions and joint ventures between Canadian and non-Canadian companies are also eligible, provided that the Canadian team member is the one who submits the application to ideaBOOST.
All companies are required to commit significant time and participation by at least two individuals at the founder or senior management level during the four-month run of the program. Participants must be willing to collaborate with the ideaBOOST team of faculty and mentors. At least one member of the team must have sufficient technical knowledge to speak with product manager mentors. Applicants whose companies are focused upon enabling technologies must have produced at least a first-generation product and/or have closed deals with at least one commercial customer.
The program said it’s looking for commercially-relevant enabling technologies and products focused on enhancing the digital entertainment industry. This can include:
- Capture Technologies: Visual, sensor driven, touch or multi-gestural systems that capture all manner of data
- Audience Engagement Systems: Platforms, data tracking, engagement tracking, analytic tools
- Curation Tools: Supporting the collection, discovery and distribution of content
- Storytelling Platforms: Transmedia authoring platforms, second screen applications, new storytelling formats, multi-platform applications
- Presentation Platforms: Screens and/or systems which output audio-visual and sensory inputs, including stereoscopic 3D devices and full virtual reality helmets
- Mobile Applications: Second screen, hybrid content models, community management and curation
