Yomi Ayeni

Yomi Ayeni is a transmedia producer / digital strategist. He created Breathe (2009), developed Violette’s Dream (2008), produced Global E-Missions for ITV and won Best Use of New Media Broadcast Award. He lectures at the University of Arts London, and is media liaison for Burning Man Festival.

What Yomi will be doing at DIY DAYS

Clockwork a “designing with” session

Yomi Ayeni’s workshop explores how to kick a film audience out of passive mode, turn them into active participants, and ambassadors of the unique experiential encounters that make up his immersive films.

He encourages the audience of his transmedia projects to probe for hidden parts of the narrative, in some cases become the sole storyteller of what they find and share the experiences via interactions on social platforms.

Yomi believes that one of the most effective delivery platforms is the human mind. It can be used to seed stories, and it gives a unique perspective dependent on personal background – feeding whatever is found back into a storyworld infuses it with unparalleled diversity, talk less of the unpredictable results.

DIY DAYS asks Yomi

What are you currently working on that you’re excited about?

We’re really excited about our new film project Clockwork Watch – a transmedia story set in the Steampunk genre. It’s a love affair told across several platforms, including making the audience active participants and storytellers. Though it is a fictional narrative, we’re using augmented reality to tell the real history of London’s Victorian heritage.

Clockwork is played out across two graphic novels, interactive promenade theatre, role-play, online adventures, an interactive book and a feature film.

The project launches in 2012 and will last the best part of a year, which we hope gives the audience a chance to immerse themselves in the narrative, even take up active roles via one of the access points.

Conceptualising what a Steampunk world would be like is a funny one. Most people involved in the genre are either into role-play, making amazing contraptions, fashion designers or jewellery makers, whereas we want to create a universe or platform from which people can launch projects – more like a foundation.

The final part of this Clockwork will be in the form of a graphic novel anthology, with contributions from Steampunk artists, authors, and graphic novellists. Proceeds will be donated to a charity determined by members of our Facebook Group, after which contributors can choose whether they want to extend their contributions independent of the Clockwork Watch project.

What are some of your favorite sites and / or mobile apps and brief why?

I’ve been working on Clockwork for the past two years, during which I’ve almost shut myself off from distraction, but… The Bjork app is killing it! I missed her show at Bestival, which I gather was an awesome experience.

What are you currently watching, reading or playing?

Watching – I can’t get enough of Breaking Bad. It’s a stroke of genius. I’ve got a TV format quite similar, it’s inspired me to dust it down and hopefully pitch it to someone soon.

Reading – I’ve just finished reading Warren Ellis’s SVK, which I think is awesome, I’m the only man in an all female book club, where we’ve just worked our way through Sarah Waters “The Little Stranger”, and are about to read “Swamplandia!” by Karen Russell.

For More on Yomi and his work visit

Twitter:@yoms
Site:Clockwork Watch