Virtual reality comedians: Just humor us
Leila Carrillo stood in the middle of a comedy sketch involving a yoga session between a disingenuous guru and a naive student, then smiled as she turned her head to see the sketch play out all around her.
But Carrillo wasn’t physically present in the sketch. Instead, she was experiencing a new form of comedy staged inside the experimental medium of virtual reality.
They’re using the festival to debut “Meditation in Virtual Reality,” a two-minute video that gives the viewer a series of audio and visual cues to look around a living room where a shady yoga teacher is trying to persuade her student to ignore the fact that he’s being ripped off. (They’ve also posted a 360-degree version on Facebook.)
AltspaceVR plans to host more virtual reality comedy events, said Bruce Wooden, the company’s head of developer and community relations. “At this point, we’re just figuring out the technical ways to make it more accessible and ways to keep it rolling.”
Nadkarni, 33, who kept his day job at Dolby Laboratories, believes virtual reality could provide a more sustainable income for stand-up comics by giving audiences a way to experience a club show from home.
See the full story here: http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Virtual-reality-comedians-Just-humor-us-9140097.php