VR/AR @ SXSW
Scan the schedule of panels and demos at SXSW and you'll guess that entertainment is the major activity that's been pushing the boundaries of this nascent technology. People are either talking about the entertainment possibilities of it, or they're talking about how they've already offered multisensory experiences built from those possibilities elsewhere, or – like last year's "The Atrium" experience from Meow Wolf and this year's "Mars Home Planet" and more – they're offering a smörgåsbord of VR entertainment right here in the brief South By sector of River City.
What VR is increasingly being used for, though, is education – for professional training purposes, even, where an interactive mock-up of reality can be a far more effective learning medium than a textbook or a slideshow or even umpteen reels of Oscar-level but unidirectional cinematography.
Virtual Cinema
Monday-Wednesday, March 11-13, 11am-6pm
JW Marriott Griffin Hall
The majority of VR projects at the festival are arranged within one enormous room for your buffet-style pleasure, and this is that room. Each of the 25 projects, from a diversity of international producers, is a unique experience that ranges from five to 40 minutes. This is where you go to experience the thing itself before learning more about the "how and why" in panels and presentations. For your consideration, we're pointing out "-22.7°C," Jan Kounen's aurally rich documentation of recording sound in the Arctic's barren wastes; "Mechanical Souls," Gaëlle Mourre's science fiction about humanoid robots hired to assist with a fancy Chinese wedding; and Armando Kirwin's "Mercy," about a 14-year-old girl in Africa who, suffering a large tumor on her face, must travel through the jungle for days to reach a life-transforming surgery. This showcase runs for three days, remember, so you could see it all.
Creating Contemporary Art in Virtual Reality
Tuesday, March 12, 12:30pm
JW Marriott Salon 1-2
Khora Contemporary is touted as the first VR art production house in the world, ....
See the full story here: https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2019-03-08/vr-ar-at-sxsw/