philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Microsoft Dives Deeper Into ‘Mixed Reality’ With VR Devices

Plate tectonics: When we discovered how the Earth really works

I worked at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Geologic Observatory during the period after the initial plate tectonic research when the theory was being refined. This is a nice 50th anniversary tribute from the British perspective.  http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41472281 

Google, Facebook and Microsoft Line Up For VR Standalone Push

Over the next two weeks we are expecting major announcements related to VR from Microsoft, Google and Facebook.

It couldn’t come at a better time for VR developers who spent the summer reading headline after headline about how VR is dead, fulfilling the prediction of Unity CEO John Riccitiello that journalists couldn’t stop themselves from writing negatively about the gap between analyst estimates and actual sales in the first year or so of VR’s mainstream adoption. The so-called “gap of disappointment” was made possible by analysts who model the growth of the industry in a straight line whereas Riccitiello suggested it is far more likely to see more of a curve to adoption — a slow start that suddenly ramps at an accelerated pace.

Microsoft - We know headsets are on the way from Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer, ASUS and we’ve seen another leaked from Samsung. Pricing starts around $300 and they work with hand controllers which dramatically increase a sense of interactivity and overall immersion. These systems are compatible with Microsoft’s Windows 10 “mixed reality” platform, promising compatibilitywith both the Windows Store and Steam. There is a stellar line up of content on tap.

Google -

On Oct. 4 (Wednesday morning) Google will reveal its product lineup for the holiday season.

Google just acquired a team from HTC responsible for the creation of the Pixel smartphone. Earlier this year the ad giant also acquired Owlchemy Labs, the creator of Job Simulator and Rick & Morty VR. During its developer conference earlier this year, Google revealed its WorldSense tracking technology ideal for VR and AR headsets.

Facebook - What makes Facebook different from the efforts we’re seeing from Microsoft and Google is that the company doesn’t have any of the baggage from Android or Windows to support in developing its new ecosystem of standalone VR headsets. Facebook gets a fresh start. The VR decision makers at the company are theoretically free to make choices that are best for the developers building for these systems and for the people who are buying them. When it comes to standalone VR headsets, Facebook’s teams likely won’t have to decide whether something works well with Android or Windows.

See the full story here: https://uploadvr.com/google-oculus-facebook-standalones/

A Work Of Heart: Owlchemy Labs Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality @VRDC2107

As for a specific proudest moment, showing our first playable demo at San Diego Comic Con has to be up there. The fans were floored by being able to experience their favorite show in VR and to finally feel like they had stepped into the cartoon. Watching people get completely absorbed into the experience and laughing out loud as Rick insulted them to their face was an unforgettable moment."- Alex Schwartz Chief Executive Owl in an interview with the VRDC team.

VR has a ton of problems to solve and in working on Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality the team created many additional problems for themselves. They did this out of true love of Rick And Morty as this was not a cash grab but a true work of heart.

See the full story here: http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/owlvrdc

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)

An early version was created in a year for less than $5 million by a team of 40 developers....   Bluehole "effectively disrupted the market," Benchmark Co. analyst Mike Hickey said.  ....A tentpole game from a big publisher, meanwhile, often takes hundreds of employees years to make and can cost tens of millions of dollars if not more, plus additional spending for marketing.

See the full story here: http://tinyurl.com/ycw37uah

Smart Companies Are Already Using Apple’s ARkit To Make Cash Registers Ring

CASTORAMA: A French DIY store created 'Magic Wallpaper' - their own wallpaper which utilises AR to tell animated stories at bedtime via a dedicated app. A story appears once you scan a character but scan two characters and the characters interact allowing for hundreds of stories. Beyond a smart and fun app experience, the strategy to get multiple brand mentions and exposures is smart and long-term as parents read along with their kids.

See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paularmstrongtech/2017/09/30/smart-companies-are-already-using-apples-arkit-to-make-cash-registers-ring/#760a2dc0253d

Michael Jackson ‘Scream’ Compilation Features Eerie Augmented Reality Experience

Album Artwork (PRNewsfoto/Legacy Recordings)

Billboard reports that the "Scream" experience is both the estate and Shazam's first foray into the still-growing world of AR. These visuals will have their own Shazam scan codes to unlock an experience "inspired by the album's cover art".

Steve Aoki has remixed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" as part of the release of a new compilation of the pop icon's work, titled "Scream". The standalone single, "Thriller (Steve Aoki Midnight Hour Remix)" is available to stream here. Sony and the Estate collaborated with multi-platform creative studio Flight School for the intiative.

See the full story here: http://newburghgazette.com/2017/09/30/michael-jackson-scream-compilation-features-eerie-augmented/

New York Film Festival’s Convergence program sees the potential of virtual reality

As executive producer Jonny Ahdout explains, "Sharmeen had a very quick understanding of what it means to formulate creative thinking in virtual reality.

Ahdout acknowledges problems with current VR technology. Both moving the camera and editing are difficult. So is directing the viewer within the VR image. "You want to find the balance between giving people the freedom to look around where they want, but also attracting attention to what is taking place," he says. "With subtitles it's particularly difficult, because you have to piece them into certain parts of the screen. Newer technology will allow subtitles to follow wherever you're looking.00

"We use 3D sound a lot to place a sound in the environment where we want you to look," he goes on. "There's also staging, where if you have an action taking place that's moving from one side to the other, people generally follow that. Something we'll do in cutting is rotate scenes. If you have an action that's ending here in scene one, and the next action in scene two is starting over there, we'll rotate the entire scene so that they overlap on top of each other."

Editing in VR is a major hurdle compared to flat filmmaking. "Brains don't accept quick cuts the way that they do in filmmaking," Ahdout contends. "So we use long takes where you can feel really present in that moment. It's difficult, there's no rulebook. We just know we can't do it the way filmmaking does."

Another problem is the length of time viewers can tolerate VR. Somewhere between five and fifteen minutes seems to work best with documentary pieces and linear stories. Ahdout thinks viewers can stay inside interactive pieces for much longer stretches.

...The seams show through in Sanctuaries of Silence, a New York Times Op-Docs production directed by Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee. A profile of acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, the piece follows him as he records sound in the rainforests of Olympic National Park, along the Pacific Coast seashore, and on 46th Street in Manhattan. Like a fancy New York Times Magazine cover story, Sanctuaries of Silence starts with a debatable premise—Hempton's belief that our last refuges of silence are being overtaken—and "proves" it by cherry-picking facts and ignoring whatever doesn't fit his argument.

See the full story here: http://www.filmjournal.com/new-york-film-festivals-convergence-program-sees-potential-virtual-reality

Matchbox Twenty Launches Virtual Reality Concert Experience

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock (8996965bs)
Rob Thomas with Matchbox Twenty performs during the Matchbox Twenty & Counting Crows: A Brief History Of Everything Tour at Lakewood Amphitheatre, in Atlanta
Matchbox Twenty & Counting Crows: A Brief History Of Everything Tour - , Atlanta, USA - 13 Aug 2017

Matchbox Twenty and SwivelVR have teamed up for what is billed as the “first fan-controlled virtual reality experience.”

The collaboration will be for the band’s live concert on Oct. 4 from Denver.

SwivelVR allows users to watch and control the 4K VR 360 and/or 2D 360 Matchbox Twenty experience. Viewers use a hands-free menu to interact and alter what they watch. Fans will also be able to take snapshots of the show to save or share on social media.

Virtual reality glasses are not required to participate. The experience is also compatible with iPad, Apple Airplay with AppleTV, or a streaming dongle to watch on the TV.

Sony Inks Deal Pioneering Stem Licensing for DJs, Remixers

For years, to create remixes of popular songs, DJs and remixers have used stems — isolated instrument tracks and vocals — but not legally. Now, Nashville-based startup Remix Hits has signed a landmark deal with Sony Music that will allow DJs and other remixers to purchase and download licensed, and therefore legal, stems. Remix Hits, which is also in discussions with Warner Music and Universal Music, has created a hit song stem marketplace. The licensing model includes a revenue sharing plan for rights holders.

According to Digital Music News, Remix Hits relies on INSIGHT, a distribution platform with patent-pending audio identification tech capable of identifying if material “has been chopped, reversed, pitch shifted, time stretched, distorted, and compressed to extreme levels.”

“Unlike Gracenote, or Shazam, which focus on final master recordings, INSIGHT is specifically designed to detect copyrighted material at the stem level,” explains the press release.

See the full story here; http://www.etcentric.org/sony-inks-deal-pioneering-stem-licensing-for-djs-remixers/