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About us

Ru and Kate launched Stornaway.io after many years of waiting for somebody else to do it first!

Our vision for Stornaway.io is to make it super easy for anyone to dream up and deliver fun, complex, multilayered non-linear interactive experiences. Without coding, without complexity…

We realised that now was the right time for us to build the tools we wanted to use ourselves: when audiences, streaming technology and demand have reached a new tipping point for interactive media.

Our web application Stornaway.io was launched in May 2020 after an extensive period of design, build and beta testing with TV/film and game producers in the UK and US. We started by working with high-end production companies developing program ideas for streaming platforms and we are now being used by tens of thousands of users worldwide in learning, marketing and entertainment and being recognised as the world’s leading interactive and immersive video editor. 

Meet the Team via video
Interactive film
Founder

Kate Dimbleby

Kate is a producer, writer and performer whose 25 years’ experience of live interactivity is at the heart of our creative writing tools, particularly our Story Map and Story Islands™.

▶️ Have an interactive conversation with Kate

Kate has worked for over 25 years as a producer, writer and performer. She has recorded 6 albums, and has toured the world with theatrical music shows, working with world-class musicians, writers and other artists to tell stories about women’s voices. Her work has increasingly focused on interactivity and improvisation, which led her to founding Stornaway.io. Her 2017 album and show Songbirds (2017) was made using acapella voice loops and described by Tom Robinson (BBC Radio 6) as ‘an artist absolutely at the top of her game’.

Kate has also developed a structure for writing and developing her ideas to allow for maximum creative freedom and flexibility particularly live on stage. This is at the heart of our creative writing tools, particularly how we’ve developed our Story Map and Story Islands™️.

Interactive film
Founder

Ru Howe

Ru has been playing with film and code all his life - from mapping out Forest of Doom and coding it as an adventure game aged nine, to creating the first interactive story on YouTube in 2008.

▶️ Have an interactive conversation with Ru

Ru’s film work as director and editor has taken him from shooting and cutting on 16mm to being the first mobile videoblogger in the mid 2000s, long before iPhones and apps. He has spent the last ten years in large media companies translating between top producers and technologists, who rarely speak the same language. He directed interactive short Life Moves Pretty Fast (www.LifeMovesPrettyFast.io) which was recently released at Immersive Encounters 2020.

Alongside his day job working for broadcasters, Howe was one of the world’s first vloggers, whose online persona ‘Wolfie’ made Tik-Tok type videos (as far back 2003, even before YouTube) lip-synching to songs and movie scenes from his desk. His 2005-10 projects Fatgirlinohio and Twittervlog pioneered what we now recognise as the classic YouTube daily family vlog, playing with increasingly lo-fi mobile and pocket devices and the intimate connection with his audience – becoming the world’s first mobile vlogger to Twitter in 2007, and always working to enable other film and video makers to embrace affordable technology and workflows. Along the way, he created the first ever interactive film on YouTube (Indecision, 2008).

Since his involvement with the influential videoblogging collective (2004-) he has always been driven to innovate with lo-fi digital tools and explore narrative possibilities in intimate and experimental projects. He has also been a champion of enabling other producers and artists to develop their digital skills and workflows.

He has a vision of the internet as a sustainable powerful web of connected hypervideo rather than separate chunks separated by walled garden platforms and content owners. To this end, he has also developed an open standard for hyper-linking and machine-learning called Space Time Code. Stornaway.io is the first phase of a larger vision to enable creatives to unlock the linear content for the 2020’s.

Natasha McKenzie - CMO at Stornaway.io A headshot of a women. She has dark hair and is wearing a black top. The background is blurred.
CMO

Natasha McKenzie

In a nutshell: With 20 years of solid marketing expertise under her belt, Natasha has a keen understanding of how to build brands and articulate them.

In a nutshell: With 20 years of solid marketing expertise under her belt, Natasha has a keen understanding of how to build brands and articulate them.

Pre-Stornaway highlights: She spent the first decade of her career working for leading multinational agencies McCann Erickson Worldgroup and M&C Saatchi.

Part of the crew: Natasha was in the room when we came up with the name Stornaway.io. She has been on this journey with us from the start. Always helping to steer us in the right direction!

Gemma Twomey - Head of Product at Stornaway.io. A woman wearing a pink floaty dress and a black leather jacket holds her arm out. She is smiling and look at the camera.
Head of Product

Gemma Twomey

In a Nutshell: Gemma has an ongoing habit of delivering hugely successful projects! With over 9 years of working within the digital world, ensuring requirements are clear and the results are exceptional.

▶️ Have an interactive conversation with Gemma 

In a Nutshell: Gemma has an ongoing habit of delivering hugely successful projects! With over 9 years of working within the digital world, ensuring requirements are clear and the results are exceptional.

Pre-Stornaway highlights: She’s spent years managing multiple client portfolios within digital and creative agencies. Bridging the gap between project teams (front & back-end developers, designers & QA) and company directors and clients.

Part of the crew: Gemma’s been with us since the very first Stornaway workshop, where we sketched out our plans for Stornaway. She got our vision immediately and was full of ideas, thoughts and suggestions about the user experience. She’s been brilliantly coordinating the team, unlocking our intuitive UX and features with a light touch ever since.

Abbie Horning - head of communications - a woman with darrk hair and a fringe smiling in a garden with a blue mug and a colourful scarf
Head of Communications

Abbie Horning

In a nutshell: With eight years in communications, both internal and external, across a range of sectors, Abbie has already successfully helped to grow the Stornaway.io brand from safe waters into uncharted territory.

In a nutshell: With eight years in communications, both internal and external, across a range of sectors, Abbie has already successfully helped to grow the Stornaway.io brand from safe waters into uncharted territory.

Pre-Stornaway highlights: Following a degree in film production, Abbie spent a number of years working within the film and TV industry. Experience that gives her a strong understanding and keen insight into the needs and requirements of our creators.

Part of the crew: Having previously worked with Ru, Abbie joined us early in the Stornaway journey. Wearing many hats and becoming the voice (and creator) of our video tutorials, she’s always there to support and inspire our creators.

Charlotte Panchaud Head of Partnerships and New Business A white woman with blond hair smiles at the camera wearing a burgundy top.
Head of Partnerships and New Business

Charlotte Panchaud

In a nutshell: Charlotte is a super organised individual who thrives off being around people and loves a challenge! Her career journey so far has predominantly been focussed around stakeholder and account management and she’s excited to bring this experience to the Stornaway team. In her free time, the challenges don’t stop as she loves powerlifting, fundraising and anything that involves a bit of adrenaline!

In a nutshell: Charlotte is a super organised individual who thrives off being around people and loves a challenge! Her career journey so far has predominantly been focussed around stakeholder and account management and she’s excited to bring this experience to the Stornaway team. In her free time, the challenges don’t stop as she loves powerlifting, fundraising and anything that involves a bit of adrenaline!

Pre-Stornaway Highlights: Charlotte is a business graduate with experience in stakeholder and change management within both higher education and the third sector. Building on this experience, she continued working with a number of charities supporting them with their sales and marketing needs. Most recently, Charlotte has spent a number of years working within a financial services firm with a focus on client relationship and account management. Within this role she was also responsible for the UAT and training for system changes across the department.

Part of the Crew: Charlotte also lives in Bristol where Stornaway Headquarters is based. Having followed Stornaway’s journey from the start, she was very excited to have the opportunity to join the team at this pivotal point. Her previous experience and passion for people will help grow the business and build meaningful relationships with our users.

Back End Ruby Developer

Skaidra Bakė

In a Nutshell:
Sky has a degree in Psychology and a love of dance, cycling, and photography. After the degree, she decided that a science field as subjective and interpretative was not truly right for her. Hence she later found something just as solution-focused but less abstract!

In a Nutshell:
Sky has a degree in Psychology and a love of dance, cycling, and photography. After the degree, she decided that a science field as subjective and interpretative was not truly right for her. Hence she later found something just as solution-focused but less abstract!

Pre-Stornaway Highlights include:
Sky has experience working on large education, SaaS, and e-commerce platforms in an agile team. In her free time, she is playing around with a personal project – a social video platform for dancers.

Part of the Stornaway Crew:
Sky lives in Bristol where Stornaway Headquarters are based but loves to travel – and has already brought us gifts from her hometown in Lithuania. She has a passion for discovering and learning new things (ranging from technologies, recipes, music genres to dance styles!) that makes her a fierce and brilliant addition to the team. She is excited about the interactivity element in video-play and the endless creative decisions and impact Stornaway users can have to the user experience because of it!

Brock Horning - Senior Copywriter - A white, bearded, smiling man stands in front of a graffitied metal container. He wears a blue beanie and chequered shirt.
Senior Copywriter

Brock Horning

In a nutshell: After a decade in digital marketing, Brock has a strong history of creating and communicating compelling brand stories. Learning his craft in social media management (back when organic reach on Facebook was still a thing!), he’s honed the ability to turn complex topics into clear and concise copy.

In a nutshell: After a decade in digital marketing, Brock has a strong history of creating and communicating compelling brand stories. Learning his craft in social media management (back when organic reach on Facebook was still a thing!), he’s honed the ability to turn complex topics into clear and concise copy.

Pre-Stornaway highlights: Brock enjoyed working on major film title releases early in his career for the likes of 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, eOne and IMAX. There’s nothing like working simultaneously on horror title Insidious 3 and kids’ flick Kung Fu Panda 2 to teach you the importance of tone of voice.

Part of the crew: Jumping in to support and steer content marketing efforts, Brock becomes more excited by Stornaway’s storytelling potential every day.

Please get in touch

We are building out our partners and community. We’d love to hear from you. Please contact us with any questions, or for a personal demo.

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We’ve come back into the office buzzing, so now everyone here is really excited. We’ve been worrying about how we’d actually pull these shows off – just developing them has been a headache – so this couldn’t have been better timed.

Head of DevelopmentFactual Production Company
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You have a seriously impressive piece of software that will clearly save many hours of headaches!

Writer/DirectorDrama Series
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Amazing, that put a big smile on my face. Congratulations, A beautifully executed solution.

Technical ManagerChildren’s animation company
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Every indie production company should have a Stornaway licence – and commissioners should demand that it be used as a standard.

Senior ExecutiveUS Broadcaster