philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh: Virtual reality ‘is never going to work’ for real movies

SEATTLE, WA - NOVEMBER 06: Writer Ed Solomon (L) and Director and Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh speak during an exclusive first look at interactive storytelling APP Mosaic from HBO and PODOP on November 6, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by FilmMagic/FilmMagic for HBO)

[Philip Lelyveld comment: I guess he hasn't been to a play in a while. Filming an entire play from one seat doesn't create a good film-going experience, but the theatre director can create a good in-theatre experience. Having just created Mosaic, he should know better than to say VR doesn't work for long form because I can't use cinematic language in VR. ]

“I wish I could short VR, because in a narrative space, I don’t think it’s ever going to work,” Soderbergh said when I asked about virtual reality during an event at HBO’s Seattle office this week. “It’s going work in 10- to 15-minute bursts as an immersion into something, but it is never going work in a long-form narrative space. There are too many things that you’re giving up that are crucial to a viewer’s locking in to a narrative.”

The first problem, Soderbergh said, is the lack of a reverse shot in virtual reality. This is the film technique that puts the audience in the position of one character, looking directly at a second character, and then flips the perspective to look back at the first character from the perspective of the second.

See the full story here: https://www.geekwire.com/2017/filmmaker-steven-soderbergh-virtual-reality-never-going-work-real-movies/

Virtual Reality Will Have Its Biggest Holiday Season Ever

By Jay Samit

All I want for Christmas is VR, according to a new study by Global Web Index. One in four millennials put VR gadgets at the top of their wish list this holiday season.

For those wanting to create their own augmented clothing from scratch, Onvert.com has a simple app that you can use to upload your artwork and gifs. If you must have the classic holiday sweater to accompany your eggnog, the British company Cheesy Christmas Jumpers makes augmented reality sweaters that play music and even have Santa ho-hoing along.

See the full story here: http://fortune.com/2017/11/09/virtual-reality-holiday-cheer/

HTC Announces Multi-million Dollar Vive Art Initiative, Bringing VR to Museums Worldwide

[Philip Lelyveld note: 8 years ago I consulted with the Broad Foundation on 'the future of museums in the digital age.'  This HTC announcement addresses a valuable but small piece of the puzzle.]

HTC announced a new multi-million dollar VR initiative aiming to support content, creators and institutions that embrace VR not only as an artistic medium itself, but as a way to better immerse users in all forms of art. The company aptly calls the program VIVE Arts.

“With the launch of Vive Arts, we are driving Virtual Reality’s influence in art and providing access to our world’s cultural heritage. We are empowering artists to create, and consumers to experience and interpret, art and culture in new ways,” said Joel Breton, vice president, VIVE Studios. “We are thrilled for the next Vive Arts’ project with Tate Modern, and support their mission to increase the public’s enjoyment and understanding of international modern and contemporary art.”

See the full story here: http://www.virtualrealitypulse.com/edition/daily-htc-razer-2017-11-09?open-article-id=7499453&article-title=htc-announces-multi-million-dollar-vive-art-initiative--bringing-vr-to-museums-worldwide&blog-domain=roadtovr.com&blog-title=road-to-vr

WeLens Breaks World Record for Largest Wireless Synced VR Screening at Conservation International Gala

Record setting audience with WeLens wireless VR headsets (Photo Credit: Alex Suber) (PRNewsfoto/WeLens)

...the largest group in a wirelessly synchronized VR viewing in one location.

...a record-breaking audience of 425 viewers at Conservation International's 30^th Anniversary fundraiser on November 2 at 3Labs in Culver City.

"WeLens has developed this new wireless technology to sync audiences together in VR and our LensPass remote control software brings the experience to a whole new level," said James Levy, WeLens's founder and CEO. "With LensPass, you can monitor how many devices are connected as well as tract their status and health stats like battery and temperature, not just for one or two devices but several hundreds."

See the full story here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/welens-breaks-world-record-for-largest-wireless-synced-vr-screening-at-conservation-international-gala-300553358.html

Blockchain anonymity

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most other public blockchains are in fact pseudonymous, as opposed to truly anonymous; individuals transacting on the network are represented by publicly viewable strings of numbers and letters called addresses. (More here: “What Bitcoin Is, and Why it Matters”)

As long as no one connects your real name to your address, you can effectively hide your transactions. If your true identity does get connected to your address, though, suddenly anyone who might be interested can see every transaction you’ve ever made on the network.

Law enforcement organizations have cottoned onto this, and over the past few years they’ve honed their ability to follow the money on the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains, tracking down people who use the cryptocurrencies for illicit purposes. (More here: “Criminals Thought Bitcoin Was the Perfect Hiding Place, but They Thought Wrong”)

Enter zero-knowledge proofs, a technology so mind-bending it seems taken from the pages of a science fiction novel. Essentially, it is “a way to prove something to someone without revealing any of the information that goes into that proof,” says Emin Gün Sirer, a computer scientist at Cornell University. As a simple example, imagine that you must prove that you are at least 18 years old. Instead of whipping out your ID, the math underlying zero-knowledge proofs can allow you to make someone 100 percent certain that you are older than 18 without revealing a shred of other information about yourself. Not your name, address, a photo—nothing.

The idea of zero-knowledge proofs has been known to cryptographers for two decades, but it wasn’t until last year that researchers figured out what could be the technique’s killer app: a Bitcoin-based cryptocurrency called Zcash.

Zcash uses zero-knowledge proofs to guarantee that transactions are valid despite the fact that information about the sender, the recipient, and the amount transacted all remain hidden. The power of the idea has major banks interested. JPMorgan Chase recently worked with Zcash to add zero-knowledge functionality to its own private Ethereum-based blockchain.

Source: MIT Technology Review 11/9/17 Chain Letter #6: At Cryptography’s Cutting Edge, a Glimpse of the Blockchain Future

10 virtual reality experiences that stood out in 2017

Philip Lelyveld comment: While I’d swap out one or two of these for others, Screen Daily has developed is a pretty good list.

Pokemon Go’s Niantic taps ‘Harry Potter’ magic for new augmented reality game

“Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” will bring author J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World to mobile phones and use augmented reality (AR) to create a real-world scavenger hunt, allow players to cast spells, find artifacts, team up and encounter magical beasts and characters from the popular book series.

The game’s use of real locations is similar to Niantic and Nintendo Co Ltd’s Pokemon Go, which became the first mass market adoption of AR in July 2016 and allows players to “catch” animated characters that appeared in their real surroundings.

No release date was given for the “Harry Potter” game, but Niantic and Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros said more details would be available next year.

See the full story here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-videogames-harrypotter/pokemon-gos-niantic-taps-harry-potter-magic-for-new-augmented-reality-game-idUSKBN1D9023

and here: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41929307

TPCast for Vive is Now Available for Pre-order in North America at $300

[Philip Lelyveld comment: It essentially broadcasts from the PC to the receiver connected to the headset.  You still need to be near the PC.]

The TPCAST Wireless Adapter for Vive has been available in China since December 2016, with pre-orders only opening up in Europe two months ago. Now the wireless transmitter, a battery-powered device that lets you go cable free, is available for pre-oder in the US and Canada starting today. Shipping is slated as early as November 24th.

TPCast for Vive is priced at US$300, and is sold on TPCast’s website and online retail sites including Amazon and NewEgg.

TPCast is also gearing up for the release of its Oculus Rift-compatible trasmitter,...

See the full post here: https://www.roadtovr.com/tpcast-vive-now-available-pre-order-north-america-300-delivery-starting-late-november/

Mythbuster seeks cash for roller skates to wear in virtual reality

Former Mythbuster Jamie Hyneman is seeking US$50,000 to build a prototype pair of roller skates to wear in virtual reality.

Hyneman's pitch video points out that when one straps on goggles and gloves to enter virtual reality, your eyes are occupied and you therefore run the risk of bumping into stuff if you try to walk in meatspace while simulating walking in a virtual world.

The electrified footwear will have wheels under the heel and a track under the ball of the foot. The track will move backwards, so that as you step out in VR you experience the sensation of walking without actually going anywhere as the shoes propel you backwards.

Apple Is Ramping Up Work on AR Headset to Succeed iPhone

• Company hopes to have technology ready for 2019; ship later
• Breakthrough device will have new chip and operating system

See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-08/apple-is-said-to-ramp-up-work-on-augmented-reality-headset