blog 2023 4 min read
Meet the vision behind disguise Metaverse Labs
disguise’s Chief Collaboration Officer Abi Bowman is responsible for our Creative Services Division, providing governance over disguise’s internal projects, overseeing Customer Success and securing external funding for our innovations. She was instrumental in setting up disguise Metaverse Labs, which are a global network of creative and technical experts whose mission is to empower brands, creatives and technologists to deliver experiences in the metaverse. We sat down with Abi to discuss her mission for both disguise and the metaverse.
In the early years of her career, Abi completed a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration. This foundation informs much of the creativity in her work to date. Prior to disguise, Abi was Head of Projects for The Foundry. Accomplishments include producing the Conference for Visual Media Production, editing shows for Channel 4 and the BBC, managing teams of editors and animators in the film and TV industries and collaborating with academics and the wider industry to create ground-breaking technology. Abi is also an expert assessor for innovation agency InnovateUK.
What do you enjoy most about working for disguise?
I love the fast pace of the company. Innovation is truly in our DNA. I also love how diverse the company is and the range of people we have working here.
What does your role as Chief Collaboration Officer look like?
I am responsible for leading various teams at disguise including the Programme Team, Customer Success, as well as funding and Creative Services.
My role is very varied but, at its core, it’s about bringing cross-functional teams together both internally and externally to disguise, so that we can achieve more than we would individually.
I lean heavily into my creative background and my knowledge of technology to lead the Creative Services team. My many years of experience in Project Management and creating smooth processes are applied to the Customer Success strategy and having worked with Innovate UK and the EC, I am responsible for creating consortiums of professionals to apply for R&D funding.
What is the most exciting thing you are working on at the moment?
Building disguise’s creative services and leading innovations for events in the metaverse is extremely exciting for me. I love forging ahead with new ways of working and new developments and use cases for our technology.
What does the metaverse opportunity look like for you?
The metaverse is a natural next step for the use of disguise technology. Our RenderStream infrastructure is perfectly suited to streaming video content into metaverse platforms, enabling us to take live events to the next level so they can enter the metaverse realm as hybrid or fully virtual events. Creating content for the next generation of production is a unique skill which is in abundance here at disguise. We aim to service our customer’s requirements for next-generation content creation.
What is your vision for disguise Metaverse Labs?
disguise has always been at the heart of live experiences and this is a natural development for our technology to be at the heart of both hybrid and virtual experiences. In 2023 disguise will be powering hybrid events with RenderStream. Brands and bands will be looking for someone who has taken the leap and has experience in these emerging spaces. Our global teams of creative and technical experts, along with our integrations and innovative workflows, will design, create and deliver the next generation of incredible experiences.
What kind of services will disguise Metaverse Labs provide?
Our list of services includes:
- Creative services (content creation, creative ideation, consultancy)
- Metaverse innovation (education, consultancy, ideation)
- Immersive production execution (production design, installation and delivery)
- Innovation sprints
- Custom experiential projects for R&D
Learn more about disguise Metaverse Labs services
You have had quite a career journey. What is the best career advice you have or have heard from someone else?
Don’t be afraid to work hard but also make sure you work smart. Don’t waste your time (or anyone else’s). Be the person that you’d like to work with by staying true to your principles, values and interests, then the rest will come. Also, keep learning. The minute you think you know it all, you definitely don’t! Leave your ego at the door and have fun. If you enjoy what you do then others will too, it’s infectious.
When you are not exploring our path in the future, what do you like to do for fun?
I love to go to music festivals in my campervan, walk (a long way) with my Dalmatian, travel and when I have time, be creative in whatever form: cooking, sewing, drawing and painting.
