Martin Percy

Martin Percy is a British film director known for his innovative work in interactive films and digital learning, often using artificial intelligence in recent years. He has received numerous accolades for this work, including a BAFTA British Academy Award (from five nominations), an Emmy Award (from four nominations), eleven Webby Awards (from 22 nominations), a Grand Clio in the Clio Awards, and various other awards (see awards and nominations section below). Percy has created interactive films for institutions such as the Tate Gallery, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the British Film Institute, the National Theatre, University of the Arts London, BT and Innovate UK. He has collaborated with notable talent including Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Daisy Ridley (see below). Percy is also a TEDx speaker, talking about his film Lifesaver and 'how to save lives with interactive film'.
Percy graduated from King's College, Cambridge, and is the son of the late illustrator Graham Percy.
Percy has integrated AI-driven interaction into much of his recent work, adapting films based on input from device cameras, accelerometers, and buttons. Some works also feature AI-generated video. Notable examples include:
One distinctive form of interactive film made by Percy simulates emergency situations. These require users to make good decisions fast - and thus learn by doing. Notable examples include:
Percy discussed the creation and philosophy behind these films in his TEDx talk, Lifesaver: How To Save Lives With Interactive Film (2016, Germany).
Another distinctive form of interactive film made by Percy are documentaries which use interactivity and audience discussion to make the views of the audience an integral part of the film experience. Notable examples include:
Percy has created virtual reality (VR) films that use immersive technology and interactive storytelling to engage users in educational and mindfulness experiences. Notable examples include:
Percy has developed several other distinct types or formats of interactive film. Notable examples include:
In the 2000s, Percy created a number of interactive talks for the British Film Institute (BFI) and the Royal National Theatre, sponsored by BT. In these talks, celebrated individuals would ask the user questions and then respond to their response. These were built using Adobe Flash and so are no longer viewable. However links to screengrab recordings are given where available. Notable examples include:
In the 2000s, Percy created interactive films for Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online, many in collaboration with Will Gompertz and Tate Media, and all sponsored by BT. These used dozens or hundreds of video loops to allow users to explore artworks or locations depicted with film rather than with stills. To this he added interviews, music tracks, and stories as appropriate. He later used the same approach for the Asian Art Museum (San Francisco). Notable examples include:
Created in collaboration with Svetlana Dragayeva for Fountain Digital Labs. These films combine video and interactivity via buttons, microphone and accelerometer to give users "the fairy tale feeling that they’re interacting directly" real wild animals. Notable examples include:
Research on the effectiveness of Percy's work includes:
Official
Talks
Interviews
Articles