The Melbourne international film festival returns with a beefy line-up this year, just like the ol’ days pre-pandemic. Running in cinemas from 4 to 21 August, and online 11 to 28 August, the festival’s 70th edition includes 371 films – including 18 feature film world premieres and 112 feature film Australian premieres.
As usual, cinephiles have been pampered with selections plucked from all over the world. Here are 10 titles to put on your radar.
Beat Saber is undoubtedly one of the biggest games on any VR platform at the moment and it consistently receives new music packs themed around a certain artist. But what’s next?
As Beat Games started on a path to being acquired by Facebook, we’ve seen Beat Saber feature DLC music packs with artists that are a bit more prominent and mainstream, such as Panic! at the Disco, Green Day and Timbaland.
The last few DLC releases for Beat Saber each explored a genre of music that’s new to Beat Saber, while still featuring fairly mainstream and popular artists. You’ve all probably got your own opinions and niche picks for a list like this, but we’ve tried to follow the same trend of picking big artists with a distinct style or genre of music that would be fairly new to the Beat Saber catalog.
So, here’s our list of 10 artists that we’d love to see appear as DLC music packs in Beat Saber, plus some recommendations of specific tracks that we think would fit well.
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish is one of the biggest names in pop music at the moment, but not for producing pop music in conventional terms. While she’s become a large mainstream artist, a lot of her music features unconventional sounds, themes and structures. She draws influence from a wide range of music styles and while some of her tracks might be a bit slow for Beat Saber, there’s definitely a few playful hits that could work well.
Eilish also has a very distinct dark visual style, and is known for having clear direction on how each of her music videos should look. This could work well with the maps’ visuals, producing some dark and spooky environments to match the music.
Potential tracks: Bad Guy, All The Good Girls Go To Hell, Bury A Friend
Queen
There’s been calls for some classic rock or pre-2000s music to make its way into Beat Saber for so long, and what better band would there be to lead the charge than Queen? So many other popular rhythm games have featured the iconic band in some capacity, so it feels only fitting that they get the Beat Saber treatment as well. Queen is a timeless band, adored across generations, making them a perfect and accessible pick for a DLC music pack.
Potential tracks: Don’t Stop Me Now, Under Pressure, Bohemian Rhapsody
ABBA
Who doesn’t like a bit of ABBA? If we’re not going to get Queen, then the next best pick would surely be some of the Swedish pop group’s danceable tracks. If you need proof that ABBA in Beat Saber would work, just check out some of the custom tracks that exist online already.
There’s huge potential for unique, more danceable beat maps in such a DLC pack. No one can resist bopping along to Dancing Queen, but give us a Beat Saber version as well!
Potential Tracks: Dancing Queen, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), Mamma Mia
Lizzo
One of the biggest breakout artists of 2019, Lizzo’s tracks feature danceable beats and lots of positive vibes. Her music would probably scale particularly well across difficulties as well, with equal potential for simple Easy maps and extravagant Expert+ maps.
Bruno Mars is an artist that a lot of people feel very average about, but there’s no denying his tracks gain widespread playtime around the world. You may not love every Bruno Mars single, but you probably know most of them. He manages to produce music that’s simultaneously modern while also dripping in nostalgia, and there’s already some super fun Bruno custom tracks online — let’s make it official!
Potential tracks: 24K Magic, Finesse, Uptown Funk
The Killers
The Killers are not the most famous rock band on the planet, and they’re mostly known for their early career hits. However, tracks like Mr Brightside are undeniably huge and would probably draw interest from the Beat Saber crowd. The Green Day song pack proved that Beat Saber maps can be adapted to work with rock music quite well, and we’d like to see something similar happen here.
Potential Tracks: Mr Brightside, When You Were Young, Somebody Told Me
David Bowie
Admittedly, this is the biggest curveball on the list and seems quite unlikely, but we can dream! It might seem like an odd fit at first, a lot of Bowie’s songs could produce really interesting and different beat maps. That being said, despite Bowie’s legendary status, if Facebook is going to go with a pre-2000s artist, they’ll probably be more inclined to go with a safer pick, such as Queen or ABBA. Still, it would be awesome to play some Bowie
It’s true, Kanye has not been in the most top form lately, both musically and otherwise, but some of his earlier work could make for some sublime Beat Saber tracks, especially given we’ve yet to receive a rap-focused Beat Saber song pack.
Perhaps the biggest barrier to this song pack becoming a reality is Kanye himself — his songs aren’t all that family friendly, and given recent events, he might not be a public figure Facebook would be inclined to associate with. But some of his music could make for some incredibly fun and dynamic Beat Saber beat maps, and his popularity is undeniable.
Potential tracks: Stronger, Power, Heartless
Daft Punk
This one feels like a real no-brainer. The French electronic music duo would be an amazing fit, and there’s already loads of custom Beat Saber tracks online featuring their music. Daft Punk are almost universally acclaimed and could attract a huge audience. While Beat Saber does already have a large selection of electronic music, Daft Punk tracks would carry a certain prestige that some of the existing EDM tracks in the game do not.
Potential tracks: One More Time, Get Lucky, Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Taylor Swift
While her music is not for everyone, Taylor Swift has an astounding audience of young fans across a range of different ages. A music pack of her tracks might not appeal to everyone, but it also has potential to attract a different crowd to Beat Saber than usual. Her music is family friendly and features heaps of pop tracks that would translate excellently across to Beat Saber — it might be a slightly unconventional pick, but it could be a good one.
Potential tracks: Shake It Off, Style, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
So, there’s our list but what’s yours? Let us know who you’d like to see in a Beat Saber DLC music pack in the comments below.
Seit mehr als fünf Jahren tourt die Ausstellung David Bowie is nun weltweit durch mehr als zwölf verschiedene Museen, um die Geschichte des Multitalents David Bowie zu verbreiten. Darin finden sich zahlreiche Informationen über Musik und Filme des Sängers, Songwriters und Schauspielers wieder. Zum Gedenken an die verstorbene Rock-Ikone sorgt nun Sony Interactive Entertainment (Japan) in Kooperation mit dem David Bowie Archiv, Planeta und V&A für die digitale Konservierung der Ausstellung als AR-/VR-Erfahrung. Die digitale Version soll auf allen großen VR-Plattformen sowie für Smartphones erscheinen.
David Bowie is – AR-/VR-Ausstellung konserviert Gedenken an David Bowie für die Ewigkeit
Die physische Ausstellung David Bowie is findet nach einer weltweiten Tournee ein Ende, doch in der Virtual Reality wird sie zukünftig eine dauerhafte Heimat finden. Die digitale Version der Ausstellung soll im Gegensatz zum realen Gegenstück deutlich tiefer ins Detail gehen und dadurch mehr Nähe zum verstorbenen Superstar vermitteln. Zudem werden noch mehr tief gehende Informationen versprochen.
So sollen unter anderem die extravaganten Kostüme und genutzten Bühnenaccessoires mit aufwendigen 3D-Scanverfahren digitalisiert werden und dadurch von allen Seiten betrachtbar werden. Zusätzlich soll es möglich sein, die Kostüme am eigenen Leib des Avatars anzulegen und dadurch ein Stück Lebensgefühl des Rockstars nachzuerleben.
Die digitale Erfahrung soll in neun verschiedenen Sprachen erscheinen und laut Verantwortlichen eine beeindruckende Verbindung von audiovisuellen Räumen bereithalten, die in einer aufwendigen Sequenz das Schaffenswerk des David Bowie an die Besucher/innen näher bringt. Ein Teil der Einkünfte wird an das David Bowie Archive sowie an die Museen Victoria & Albert und Brooklyn verteilt. Wie viel die App letztlich kostet, ist derzeit noch nicht bekannt.
Die AR-/VR-Erfahrung soll ab Herbst 2018 für alle großen VR-Plattformen sowie AR-fähige Smartphones erhältlich sein.
Even after his passing, David Bowie is still helping to change the world.
For the past six years, a touring exhibition named ‘David Bowie is’ has been celebrating the work of the legendary singer/songwriter. Running through the final years of his life and continuing on past his death in 2016, it takes a look back at his career, his eccentric style and offers an unprecedented look at items from the archives. Now, though, that exhibition has come to an end, but it will live on virtually with the help of VR and AR.
The official David Bowie is website confirms that a digital recreation of the exhibition is coming to AR-compatible smartphones this fall, developed by Sony Music Entertainment in collaboration with the David Bowie Archive, Planeta, and V&A.
Following the AR release, a VR version of the experience will debut in spring 2019. The digital versions promise to bring “add unprecedented depth and intimacy” to the experience. You’ll discover audio-visual spaces and interact with faithfully recreated 3D scans of objects from Bowie’s history. You’ll even be able to try on some of the artist’s iconic outfits worn over the years. Now there’s a filter Snapchat must be jealous of.
The VR portion of the experience will come to all major VR headsets, though specifics haven’t been confirmed. It will be a premium app, but a portion of the profits will go towards the V&A and the Brooklyn Museum.
This sounds like the perfect way to celebrate not just the work of the exhibition but also the larger life of an extraordinary man, and could set the standard for maintaining touring exhibitions long after their lifespan going forward.
Sony will soon release an AR and VR adaptation of the late, great David Bowie’s commemorative museum retrospective ‘David Bowie is’.
Featured first at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, ‘David Bowie is’ attracted over 2 million visitors across the 12 cities where it was presented. The exhibit detailed the late David Bowie’s creative processes, and followed “his shifting style and sustained reinvention across five decades,” a statement from Sony says. After five years in operation, the physical exhibition made its last stop at the Brooklyn Museum, which closed the exhibit doors yesterday.
Image courtesy The David Bowie Archive, Victoria and Albert Museum
Developed by Planeta, a product studio based in New York City, the upcoming AR/VR version of David Bowie Is is slated to arrive on smartphones and “all major VR/AR platforms,” a Sony press release reads, with release expected sometime in fall 2018. The experience will be offered in nine different languages, Sony says, and The David Bowie Archive will be donating a share of the profits from this project to the V&A and the Brooklyn Museum.
Sony is staying mum on exactly which platforms it’s coming to.
The digital experience is said to deliver an “astonishing, but deftly connected sequence of audio visual spaces through which the work and artifacts of Bowie’s life can be experienced.” The VR/AR apps are said to include 3D scans of his many period-defining costumes and objects, captured in what the creators say was done with “meticulous detail.”
Davis Bowie’s costumes, images courtesy The David Bowie Archive, Victoria and Albert Museum
The experience, the company says, may even let you virtually step into one of Bowie’s outfits too. This, we imagine, could likely be a feature of the AR-facing mobile app, although it’s pure speculation at this point.
If you’re interested in receiving updates on the project, head over to DavidBowieIsReal.com. In the meantime, take a look at the Associated Press’s report on the physical exhibit to see some of the items that may make their way into the AR/VR app.
Iconic musician David Bowie was always on the forefront of innovation in music while he was alive, so it should come as no surprise that he has managed to keep doing it even in death.
The musical Lazarus, which featured music from Bowie’s final Album Blackstar as well as from the extensive back-catalogue, will be returning in a new form as part of an exhibition at the V&A Museum
Lazarus only had a limited run in both London and New York, and tickets were hard to get hold of, selling out almost instantly to eager fans of Bowie’s work. The exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum is offering attendees the chance to see the musical with a virtual reality (VR) headset and experience the musical in 360-degrees.
The exhibition is called From VHS to VR, which features recordings of live theatrical and musical performances to showcase 25 years of British theatre. The Bowie musical is not the only thing on offer, as a rare recording of Ian Mckellen starring in Richard III is also being shown as part of the exhibition. The exhibition is due to take place on the 30th April.
Bowie’s back catalogue has been used in VR experiences before, such as ‘Heroes’ for Oculus Rift, which features a dance performance set to the Bowie song of the same name. Other musicians have also begun to embrace VR, such as pop innovator Bjork and virtual band Gorillaz.
VRFocus will continue to keep you up to date with news of VR in music and theatre performances.
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