Case Study: Collaborating with MA Students on an Immersive Live Brief

11 Mar

Last year, Tiny Dragon Productions worked with postgraduate students on the MA Digital and Immersive Arts at Northumbria University as visiting lecturers and industry collaborators.

As part of the course’s programme, we delivered guest lectures and partnered with a group of students for their final dissertation project. The live brief challenged them to take our existing Immersive Rooms concept and develop an original experience within it.

**The Brief**
Using our immersive room framework as their foundation, the students were invited to design a **family-friendly immersive experience**. Their project, *The Rocket*, became an original immersive installation inspired by Stephenson's Rocket — one of the most iconic early steam locomotives in railway history.

**The Response**
The team brought the concept to life through their own creative direction, developing:
An original **storyline and script**
**Video design content** for the immersive space using Unreal Engine
A layered **soundscape and audio environment**, including recorded voiceovers and composed music
Integration of these elements into a cohesive **interactive immersive experience**
Throughout the project, we met regularly with the students, helping them refine their concepts, test ideas, and bring their work into a fully realised immersive format.

**Industry Collaboration in Practice**
Live briefs like this give students the opportunity to work directly with industry professionals while tackling real creative challenges.
Working closely with the students throughout the project, we provided **mentorship, technical guidance, and creative feedback** to help shape their ideas into a functional immersive environment.

**Testimonial**
“Tiny Dragon Productions worked with three of our MA Digital and Immersive Arts students in the summer of 2025 on a live brief. The team there was incredibly responsive and helpful with our students on their final project. Pippa, Matt and the team met with our students on a regular basis, provided valuable feedback, and helped them turn their initial ideas into a functional product. Tiny Dragon is a model company to work with on live briefs, and if given the opportunity we would work with them again in a heartbeat.”
**Steve Gibson**
Associate Professor, Innovative Digital Media
Course Leader – MA Digital and Immersive Arts

Interested in Studying or Collaborating in Immersive Arts?

If you're interested in creating immersive experiences and working on real industry briefs, you can learn more about the MA Digital and Immersive Arts at Northumbria University here:

https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/courses/ma-digital-and-immersive-arts-dtfdii6/

If you're a course leader or university programme interested in collaborating with industry partners, Tiny Dragon Productions works with students on live briefs, guest lectures, and immersive project mentorship.

To discuss how we could work with students on your immersive arts course, please get in touch via our website or email info@tinydragonproductions.co.uk.