Time-Lock Productions was originally set up within Plymouth University Law, and Criminology department this multi, trans and inter-disciplinary project interpreted through Digital Humanities reached out to other disciplines. Conceived from a pilot study to deliver and generate scholarship at the cutting edge of the intersection of Digital Humanities approaches like TransMedia Storytelling(TMS) with new technologies associated with Virtual and Augmented Reality.
Time-Lock delivered three approved ESRC Festival of Social Science events 2014-16 held at civic locations (City Library, Plymouth Museum, Sherwell United Reform Church). Public exhibits included poster displays, video games and the first production of a 15 minute film Plymouth Past: Sustainable Future incorporating locational images segueing from past to present (2015 published on ESRC webpage). In 2016, Time-Lock pioneered an interactive experience of a crime tale creating immersion through a VR video/green room.
Between 2017 and 2019 Rob Giles produced two feature length documentaries ‘How do you fix a town like Plymouth?’ (Time-Lock 2018) and ‘A Returned Pilgrim: Nancy Astor & Plymouth’ (Time-Lock 2019). After the team disbanded in 2020 it was agreed that Rob Giles would adopt the Time-Lock brand.
In 2021 Rob Giles rebranded ‘Time-Lock’ to become the commercial ‘Time-Lock Productions’ and added Hugo de Rijke and Hugh Janes as additional directors.
Time-Lock Productions first commercial publication ‘The Justice Files’ episode 1 ‘Mrs Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co.’ was premiered in Nov 2021.