Barcelona City Council is reinforcing its support for the local audiovisual ecosystem and is joining the 2024 Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) fair, which will take place at the Fira de Gran Via venue from 30 January to 2 February. The City Council, in collaboration with the Audiovisual Cluster of Catalonia, will have its own stand covering 256 square metres located in the Congress Square area. This space will be a showcase for local creative and audiovisual talent and a meeting point for the ecosystem at both the local and international levels, hosting nine leading companies from the technological and audiovisual sectors.

This year, the trends at the current ISE will be shaped by the revolution in virtual production studios, the promotion of immersive experiences and the rise of avatars. Barcelona Activa, the economic development agency, will accompany the nine companies that will have a space at the municipal stand, all of which share a prominent role in the audiovisual industry. These are companies that apply the newest and most advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

Additionally, the City Council will host round-table discussions and presentations by prominent organisations such as Catalunya Film Festivals and major companies like SONY and FILMIN. Furthermore, the municipal stand will feature DEVICAT and PROANIMATS, professional video game and animation associations. They will interact with creative projects from the School of Audiovisual Media, EMAV.

Barcelona is committed to new audiovisual technologies and the economic growth of this sector in the city. The city will host a creative hub in Pavilion E of the Palo Alto venue covering 2,000 square metre that, together with the companies Ingenia Cultura, Arsmediatech and Lavinia, will offer a laboratory and creative tools for companies in this field. The Palo Alto hub will also be featured in one of the talks at the municipal stand.

Programme of activities with the local ecosystem

The city will offer a specific programme for the fair, which this year celebrates its 20th edition, consolidating Barcelona as the world capital of audiovisual talent. According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranking, the Catalan capital is the fourth best city in organising international conferences and the first in terms of the number of attendees. And according to the Decoding Global Talent report, it is the ninth-ranking city in attracting talent.

The Audiovisual Cluster of Catalonia, which encompasses 185 of the main companies and institutions in the Catalan audiovisual industry, will showcase the latest developments at ISE, addressing key trends such as the revolution in virtual production studios, the promotion of immersive experiences and the rise of avatars. Some of its member companies will participate in sessions at the municipal stand, including one addressing sector trends and innovations, and will organise, for the first time, a Job Market where member companies can hire new talent for their projects. This meeting point will facilitate direct contact between companies and candidates through 10-minute meetings and a participatory process. It will be carried out in collaboration with Barcelona Activa, who will be responsible for selecting the candidates.

The City Council’s stand at the ISE fair will offer personalised advice from various municipal services and will provide a space for meetings, presentations and collective activities. It will also feature the audiovisual exhibition “Solstici”, an interpretation by four artists (Bernard Arce, Foreal, Dedo Ciego and Maria Diamantes), open to all trade fair visitors. It is an adaptation of the exhibition that OFFF Festival brought to Plaça Universitat last winter. The meeting space will host activities including a talk by the artistic director of the DHUB, José Luis de Vicente, about the Llum BCN festival and about a retrospective by the British collective UVA at the DHUB coinciding with the festival.

Barcelona Activa companies present at the ISE fair:

Union Avatars

Union Avatars develop digital identity solutions for companies looking to expand their presence in virtual and augmented reality environments.

They will present their 3D avatar creation tool. They will showcase the latest projects carried out throughout 2023 for fashion brands, music groups and innovation fairs. They will explain how brands and events can use 3D avatars and artificial intelligence as an innovative way to interact with their audience and promote their products or services.

ONInOFF

Onionlab is a leading company in immersive experiences and digital creation at a national and global level. Since 2008, it has developed cultural immersions for museums, light festivals, creative centres and music events. Its latest initiative, OnInOff, aims to revolutionise the creation of immersive and interactive spaces.

BLIT

A creative studio specialising in producing visual content for brands, events, music and art, associated with the Audiovisual Cluster of Catalonia.

They will present their new “3D OOH” advertising billboards. The new service combines state-of-the-art technology with creative innovation to offer an immersive advertising experience.

INMERSIA

The company is developing the next generation of AR and VR smart glasses for daily use, offering the best immersive experience with their own patented optical technology.

They will unveil the latest, significantly more advanced prototype of their VR-AR glasses, now featuring an innovative “foveation” system. This system redistributes the pixels of the image, providing a resolution equivalent to an 8K projector.

Metacampus

A professional development hub that trains companies, professionals, start-ups and brands in the virtual economy, AI tools, Web3 culture and language, NFTs, and Metaverse platforms.

They will present their virtual economy-based “edtech” platform. This educational tool enables users to acquire new skills in digital environments, adapting to the needs of different user profiles.

RoadMovie

A laboratory or production centre for applied research and innovation focused on promoting and disseminating new technologies, creativity and cultural research applied to the world of cinema and artificial intelligence. They are working on three projects:

1) an application to provide real-time feedback on film editing (ideal for post-production). 2) an application for producers that streamlines information management when accessing funding. 3) an audiovisual content search and management application for creators, archives, broadcasters… using AI technology.

Lowkeymoves

This SME is a creative company that works at the point where music, culture, technology and brands converge, using AI innovation, and is also associated with the Cluster.

They will present a solution of AI-powered digital avatars capable of interacting with people through natural conversations, from “Brand Ambassadors” to virtual assistants. Designed for B2C brands and also for institutions.

They were selected as one of the agencies/artists for the DIGITAL IMPACT Project at the Barcelona Disseny Hub Design Museum.

FEEDER

This start-up has developed and trained an AI model capable of predicting the success of any video content, an ideal tool for content creators.

At ISE 2024, they will unveil their new Predictive AI facial recognition technology. They aim to conduct live demonstrations, as their technology permits real-time analysis of people’s reactions.

JCS Multimedia Design

This SME is highly focused on innovation. Its partners decided to expand the business lines of their studio, GroggyStudio, by acquiring JCS. Specialised in AI solutions, Augmented Reality, Holograms and 3D.

Solution at ISE 2024: tailor-made projects for companies in any sector that are highly suitable to digitalisation and innovation through VR, AR, 3D and AI technologies.

The group of companies expects to double its turnover to six million euros in 2024, employing a hundred people and focusing on the city’s creative talent.