Will Virtual Reality Remain a Zero Billion Dollar Business? Not According to Iñárritu
During the past four years in which this project has been growing in my mind, I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing many Mexican and Central American refugees. Their life stories haunted me, so I invited some of them to collaborate with me in the project. My intention was to experiment with VR technology to explore the human condition in an attempt to break the dictatorship of the frame, within which things are just observed, and claim the space to allow the visitor to go through a direct experience walking in the immigrants’ feet, under their skin, and into their hearts.Iñárritu had successfully taken me into a story and a world he created, making the massive technology nearly invisible and getting me totally absorbed.
During the last third of the installation I was able to review the faces of the people whose true stories were blended into what I had just witnessed (experienced). In the days since, my recurring question remains: what would Trump make of this VR experience?
CARNE y ARENA is a very successful glimpse into how VR can be melded into and transform a storyteller’s vision.
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradauerbach/2017/08/05/will-virtual-reality-remain-a-zero-billion-dollar-business-not-according-to-inarritu/#3eb6be0f7fe8
The VOID is Bringing a New Star Wars VR Experience to Two Disney Locations This Holiday
The VOID, a company specializing in bespoke VR experiences that go beyond what you can achieve with in-home VR hardware, today announced the development of the Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire VR experience in collaboration with Disney, Lucasfilm, and ILM’s xLab. The experience will open at two Disney locations this holiday.
Due to debut at two new VOID venues in Downtown Disney at Disneyland Resort & Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort beginning this holiday season, the announcement is a big win for the company...
“At The VOID, we combine the magic of illusions, advanced technology and virtual reality to create fully immersive social experiences that take guests to new worlds,” said Curtis Hickman, co-founder and chief creative officer at The VOID. “A truly transformative experience is so much more than what you see with your eyes; it’s what you hear, feel, touch, and even smell. Through the power of The VOID, guests who step into Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire won’t just see this world, they’ll know that they are part of this amazing story.”
More specifically, The VOID allows multiple players to roam around large, physical, movie set-like environments which are overlaid with matching virtual reality scenes.
See the full story here: http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-starwars-disney-virtual-reality-20170803-story.html
Peter Jackson’s New Studio is All About AR Storytelling
See the full story here: https://vrscout.com/news/peter-jacksons-studio-ar-storytelling/
and the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEQPm126NyM
USC Taps Industry Vet Danny Bilson to Chair Games Division
USC just brought on Danny Bilson as the new chair of its School of Cinematic Arts Interactive Media & Games Division (IMGD), reporting to the School of Cinematic Arts dean Elizabeth M. Daley. Bilson, who has held senior executive positions at THQ and Electronic Arts, is a writer, film director, producer and game developer. Since 2005, he has also been on the faculty of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, teaching screenwriting and narrative design, and, currently, leading the Advanced Games Project.
Bilson will “be part of the larger collaboration known as USC Games, which also includes the computer science department.” Former division chair Tracy Fullerton will continue as the Electronic Arts chair in Interactive Entertainment and director of USC Games. USC GamePipe Laboratory founding director Mike Zyda, a “professor of engineering practice in the computer science department,” will collaborate with Bilson and Fullerton in games education.
He encourages students “to build teams through advanced games,” and build demos “so they can attract investment dollars to complete those games and get quality, low-risk games into the indie space.”
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/usc-taps-industry-vet-danny-bilson-to-chair-games-division/
Blindfold Is A Disturbing VR Tale About The Torture Of Journalists
Indie studio Ink Studios is unveiling its second game, Blindfold, at the Games for Change Festival on August 2. It’s a tense virtual reality experience that gives players a first-person view of the inside of an interrogation room. After its North American debut at Games for Change, Blindfold will be available for free on the Oculus Rift headset with a gradual roll-out to all other VR platforms.
Blindfold has just two characters — Lajevardi and another man, whom he threatens to kill in front of you if you don’t confess to your crime of providing photographs to the foreign press.
See the full story here: https://uploadvr.com/blindfold-disturbing-vr-tale-torture-journalists/
Magic Leap Researchers Reveal “Deep SLAM” Tracking Algorithm
Authored by Magic Leap researchers Daniel DeTone, Tomasz Malisiewicz, and Andrew Rabinovich, the paper describes a tracking system powered by two deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs)—a type of artificial ‘brain’ used for image processing. Called MagicPoint and MagicWarp, the researchers contend the two CNNs allow for a system that’s “fast and lean, easily running 30+ FPS on a single CPU.”
Here’s the quick and dirty: According to the paper, MagicPoint operates on single images and creates 2D points important to the purpose of tracking, with these points destined to be fed into a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) visual algorithm. Comparing their network to classical point detectors, the team discovered “a significant performance gap in the presence of image noise.”
Because calculating the shape of objects as they move around isn’t an easy task—it could be either the object or the viewer moving—MagicWarp’s job is to use a pair of these images containing the 2D points generated by MagicPoint to essentially predict motion as it models the world around it.
NextVR Developing Longer Format Original VR Content, Starting With ‘Paranormal Evidence’
The first episode, launching August 1st, focuses on the decrepit halls of Pennhurst Asylum, aiming to capture evidence of haunted happenings with a team of investigators, led by Jack Kassewitz. The NextVR engineering team used their VR live capture expertise to build a “proprietary camera system to capture full spectrum footage in the pitch-dark environment, enabling the audience to see things imperceptible by even the investigators.”
NextVR has produced some short-form original content prior, but Paranormal Evidencemarks the start of more substantial productions, with episodes hitting the 30 minute mark.
“First and foremost, we’re programming to be a destination. We’ve identified key areas that appeal with our fans that augment our sports and entertainment slate,” Cole tells Road to VR. “Specifically, areas where we can build repeat viewership with episodic releases. We’d love to meet that programming need with partners, and we’re excited to develop our own original programming when required.”
Paranormal Evidence can be found on the NextVR app from August 1st, available for Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream systems. A VR teaser video will be available on the NextVR app by 5PM PT this evening.
The Shard in London Brings VR Slide to Viewing Deck
Visitors to London’s “The View from The Shard” experience (1020ft) are getting an added bonus on their visit this month, with The Shard opening up two VR experiences on the viewing deck.
See the full story here: https://vrscout.com/news/the-shard-london-vr-slide/