Watch Hikaru Utada play Kingdom Hearts hits at Coachella
Utada Hikaru performed the Kingdom Hearts theme songs Simple and Clean and Face My Fears at Coachella on Easter weekend.
Coachella’s Sahara Tent Will be Getting an AR Upgrade for 2019
The Coachella music festival kicks off its first weekend today, offering live music acts from some of the biggest artists in the world. If you happen to be attending then you might want to head on over the Sahara Tent, as it’ll be the first time a stage has been equipped with augmented reality (AR).
Festival-goers will be able to experience space-themed AR content that will appear during the changeover time between sets. Planetary objects, space stations, astronauts and more will reference physical art structures at the festival this year, floating and flying above the crowd, interacting with guests.
The interactive features will be accessible for fans to experience before, during and after each set, with them able to select from a number of different AR filters that react to audio and the physical space within the Sahara tent.
The Coachella festival website confirms artists including Jaden Smith, BlackPink, Diplo, Jauz, Nora En Pure and Kayzo will be playing today, while on Saturday there’s Clozee, Gryffin, Juice Wrld, Wiz Khalifa and Kid Cudi. On Sunday guests will be treated to Playboi Carti, YG, and Nghtmre.
The AR feature can be found on the Coachella app – compatible with iOS and Android – users can display the AR experience by opening their app and selecting the ‘Coachella Camera’ from the left-side menu.
To view the interactive content between set changeovers, fans must be present during the changeover, open their Coachella Camera, and point it at the Sahara video screens when instructed. Users can save videos and photos from the experience to their device after they record.
This isn’t the first time Coachella has embraced immersive technology, however. In 2018 the Eminem Augmented app showed fans visuals the rapper’s US and European tour would use. During 2016 there was the Coachella virtual reality (VR) app for mobile headsets, enabling those unable to attend a glimpse at the event. VRFocus will continue its coverage of the latest AR technology, reporting back with any further updates.
Eminem Embraces Augmented Reality at Coachella
Anyone who has attended a concert in recent years can’t fail to notice the number of people who have smartphones held up, recording the ongoing gig. Not all performers and music fans are on board with this idea, but hip-hop star Eminem has embraced is, using smartphones and augmented reality (AR) to create new music experiences.
Eminem’s set at Coachella showed fans the visuals that will be displayed during the rapper’s US and European tour. The AR concert experience is geo-tagged, so only people within a certain distance of the concert venue will be able to experience the AR visuals.
“We figured, if the phones are going to be there and people are going to be putting them up in the air and looking at them anyway why don’t we provide a way to maybe change the way they’re perceiving the show,” says Def Jam chief executive and Eminem manager, Paul Rosenberg.
“Artists and bands have been freaking out about fans having this passive experience with their phones,” said a source close to the artist, “We wanted to experiment with… if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Why not embrace the technology and get people deeper into the experience and more engaged in the experience if they’re going to do it anyway.”
The Eminem Augmented app was created by Drive Studios, and also contained additional perks for attendees at the festival, such as footage of Eminem playing around backstage, or images that give an insight into how the rapper sees his music world.
Drive Studios creative director, Rich Lee said: “We started talking about getting VR and AR for a while. It’s only recently come about that this technology has come around to the point where we feel we could pull this stuff off.”
Other artists such as Gorillaz and Bjork have also experimented with adding an immersive, visual element to their music to engage with fans.
The Eminem Augmented app is available for free download from the Apple App Store. For further news on how music is being used with AR, keep watching VRFocus.
Coachella Streaming Live In VR With VR180 Cameras
Not hip enough to make it to Coachella? Worry not, you can virtually visit the festival with the help of Google’s VR180 initiative.
YouTube is livestreaming the first of this year’s festivals, which takes place from April 13th – 15th (the second weekend from 20th – 22nd will not be streamed). Viewers will have the choice of four streams to follow certain stages so they can watch acts like Beyonce and The Weeknd from the comfort of their homes. Better yet, though, one of the channels is offering VR180 streaming with the following bands making an appearance throughout the weekend: Los Ángeles Azules, Elohim, SuperDuperKyle, the Neighbourhood, Whethan, Alan Walker, Vince Staples, Kygo Deorro Troy Boi, The Weeknd, Wizkid, Ekali, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Party Favor, Chromeo, Tyler, the Creator, Post Malone.
For those that don’t know, VR180 is Google’s new initiative to make VR video more accessible and manageable for the masses. You don’t get a full 360 degrees to look around (as the name suggests, it only shoots in 180 degrees) but you will have an easier time streaming content in higher quality. It also means you can strap your phone into a Google Cardboard headset or the Daydream View (if your phone is Daydream-ready) and enjoy performances as if you were really there.
Currently companies like Lenovo are making VR180 cameras which will be slowly rolling out to customers over the course of the year. Google hopes the initiative will finally help VR video take off. Can Coachella play a hand in that?
Tagged with: coachella
How The Coachella Music Festival Embraced Virtual Reality
If someone told me back in 2012 that Tupac was going to be the surprise guest at Coachella, I would have asked them where they bought their LSD.
When Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were joined on stage by Pac’s hologram, the crowd lost their minds. (Except for the Tupac-is-Alive conspiracy theorists, who sighed a collective “I told you so.”) For a lot of people, the iconic performance was the first time they’d ever seen a hologram in real life. Over the past few years since, Goldenvoice, the company behind Coachella, has been working to enhance the festival experience with immersive technology.
In 2014, vantage.tv recorded the first Coachella performance in 360. Last year, Youtube and vantage.tv filmed and broadcast the first 360 livestream of Coachella alongside the release of the Coachella VR app and cardboard – allowing fans from all over the world to beam in virtually. This year, Goldenvoice in partnership with Youtube streamlined its 360 broadcast efforts with vantage.tv by integrating the highly trafficked 2D broadcast with concurrent broadcasts in 360 on select performances. They also unveiled a mobile-based AR experience that allowed fans to engage with AR filters and overlays (similar to Snapchat filters). There was even a mind-blowing projection mapped VR dome powered by HP.
Nokia’s OZO 360 Camera
I had the chance to sit down with Gopi Sangha, Director of Digital, at Goldenvoice and Juan Santillan, CEO of vantage.tv, to discuss a bit about what’s in store for Coachella Music Festival in the next few years.
“I believe in a future of more mixed reality and immersive media experiences at Coachella,” Sangha explained, “Mixed reality experiences that extend from the stage to your phone, and eventually your AR glasses.” The festival experience could be greatly enhanced by augmented reality. From holograms that envelop the crowd to live-visualizers that alter reality itself to the beat of the music (without the use of drugs). Mixed reality will radically change how people experience musical performances.
The logical next step would surely be a fully-virtual Coachella like TheWave VR right? Not so fast, says Sangha, “A fully virtual festival is great but it’s not going to replace the Coachella experience. I could spend the rest of my life trying to replicate Coachella in VR – it would never be the same.” While we can’t jump into a fully virtual, interactive and social Coachella experience just yet, we can expect to see growth in their 360 live streaming efforts.
“Live-action video will translate better for remote audiences than a fully virtual music festival,” says Juan, CEO of vantage.tv, who produces the 360 livestream. “This year we improved the 360 live streaming experience to allow users to easily toggle between 2D video and VR.” Juan’s team had Nokia OZO cameras set-up at both the Coachella Main Stage and Outdoor Stage. The cameras brought viewers on-stage with their favorite performers in VR.
360 livestreaming has enabled Goldenvoice to reach a global audience and expand their brand presence around the world. It is the one of the most viewed live VR and 2D concert webcasts available. I tried the Coachella VR livestream and while it’s definitely cool, it’s still plagued by the problems inherent with 360 video today – lack of freedom to move fully through the video and relatively low resolution. Having said that, there was still a moment of awe being on-stage and looking over the crowd that is definitely worth trying out.
Coachella will continue to evolve and be at the forefront of technology and music. Eventually, we’ll be able to peer back in-time at our favorite shows and/or jump in for a song on the 360 livestream and move around in a light field. On the mixed reality side, an augmented concert experience is on the horizon – blending on-stage visuals with reality bending effects via your AR glasses. I think we can expect to see much more at Coachella 2018.
Tagged with: coachella
You can wear your favorite game thanks to Moschino’s ‘Candy Crush’ collection
Thought the Candy Crush craze was over? Think again. Now that you can literally wear your favorite game, you can bet that it'll be seeing a resurgence. Moschino, the Italian luxury fashion house, has created a Candy Crush collection.
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