By Alfio Leotta and Paul Wolffram

This year marks the third edition of FutureFrames:NZ, a nationwide short film competition and workshop series that aims to position Aotearoa New Zealand at the forefront of debates around AI and creative practice. Conceived as an experimental platform for collaboration between human filmmakers and generative AI tools, the initiative encourages teams of two to five participants to produce original short films (1–5 minutes) that integrate AI within traditional filmmaking workflows. Rather than endorsing a techno-determinist vision in which AI replaces human creativity, FutureFrames:NZ foregrounds the role of human agency, emphasising ethical engagement, creative control, and the responsible management of emerging technologies. 

The International Journal of Creative Media Research is inviting proposals for a forthcoming special issue, Learning to Speak: Creative Practice Research in Transition, scheduled for publication in October 2027.

by Max Schleser and Dafydd Sills-Jones

Over three days, the Creative Technology and Transformative Storytelling Symposium brought together the Centre for Transformative Media Technologies (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne) and the Virtual Creative Design Research Centre (AUT University, Auckland/Aotearoa).

by Kim Munro

Taking the theme of ‘hyphen’, the combined Screenwriting Research Network (SRN) conference and the Sightlines: Filmmaking in the Academy festival aimed to highlight the many hyphenated identities that we occupy as creative researchers in the academy. 

By Rich Matthews and Jemma Saunders (University of Birmingham)

A central question was posed during the keynote sessions for the University of Birmingham’s 2025 Creative Practice Colloquium, which took place on 5-6 June 2025: ‘When did we start apologising for bringing ourselves into our research?’

This is a report on the Future of Practice Research Symposium, which took place at Manchester Metropolitan University on 9^th June 2025. Welcoming around 70 delegates from across the UK, the event was designed to act as national summit on issues for practice research in arts and humanities, across the Higher Education research sector.

(SI Editors: Gregory Bennett, Chen Chen and Dafydd Sills-Jones, Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand, supported by the AUT Centre for Virtual Creative Design - VCD)

This special edition aims to demonstrate the spectrum of production and research activity enabled by and conducted within Virtual Production (VP) production facilities IN PRACTICE, through IJCMR’s unique blend of practice-led research, research-led practice, and practice-oriented research.