IMAX – Page 3 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

July 25, 2017

Hollywood Director and Effects Pioneer Douglas Trumbull to Speak at FOIL

Virtual Reality (VR) can be used for many things and in many different ways; for work, for entertainment and for education. One aspect that continues to be investigated is VR’s capacity as a creative medium for the cinema, and as recently as yesterday VRFocus brought you news of Steven Spielberg’s opinions on the matter via comments made as the legendary director presented Ready Player One at San Diego Comic-Con. A film that actually focuses on VR but as its use as a means for people to escape a dystopian future world.

Spielberg is not the first Hollywood representative to be active in VR or comment on VR’s potential role in the industry and he won’t be the last either. As revealed today was that American film director, and man responsible (in full or in part) for some of the special effects in a variety of classic science fiction movies, Douglas Trumbull, would be the guest of a keynote fireside discussion at Future of Immersive Leisure (FOIL). Trumbull, who directed the film Silent Running and contributed effects to films such as Blade Runner, the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Spielberg’s own Close Encounters of the Third Kind will be “Taking A Wide Angle View Of Next-Generation Immersive Entertainment” at the event taking place in Las Vegas from September 13-14th 2017.

Trumbull will be bound to have some interesting views on VR, having previously worked on interactive theatre simulators and served as Vice Chairman of the IMAX Corporation, a firm which already has a number of ties to the VR industry. Trumbull also worked with Universal to develop the iconic theme park ride for Back to the Future and Trumbull’s own company Trumbull Studios has already revealed details they will be utilizing immersive technologies in their new MAGI cinematic format, which will no doubt be discussed in-depth during the fireside which will be conducted by VRFocus‘ own Kevin Williams.

VRFocus is a media partner for FOIL and will be bringing you more news and updates about the conference in the run-up to its debut.

July 24, 2017

VR Games & Entertainment Extravaganza Online Conference Launches Today

Dedicated virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) events are great places to checkout the latest technology, whether that’s playing the latest videogames, demoing new hardware or seeing talks by industry experts. However, depending on where you live some of these expo’s aren’t always going to be the easiest to reach, requiring significant expense to attend. So today sees the inaugural launch of VR Games & Entertainment Extravaganza, an online event by VR Voice that’s completely free.

Running from 24th-27th July, the conference features expert speakers at the forefront of VR and AR, with more than 50 speakers, four full of days of presentations, one-on-one interviews, panel discussions and other special sessions – there’s going to be one conducted completely within AltspaceVR.

AltspaceVR highrise2

“Tech conferences flourish during periods of disruption, as they did during the Internet boom and the age of the app, ushered in by the iPhone,” said Charlie Fink, Forbes contributor, co-organizer of the event and a featured speaker in a statement. “Major on-site trade shows cost organizations thousands of dollars to attend, so even big companies can only send a handful of employees. We offer attendees broad access to thought leaders and their insights in real time, with the convenience of never leaving the office.”

The VR Games & Entertainment Extravaganza will feature a keynote interview with Jordan Weisman, a renowned videogame designer, producer, entrepreneur and professor at the University of Southern California. The other speakers come from notable companies like Microsoft, AMD, Giroptic, Zero Latency, Merge VR, Zeality, Technicolor and CompTIA.

While VR Games & Entertainment Extravaganza is the first online conference for VR Voice, it’ll also be holding several regular events over the course of 2017:

VR & Higher Education 10th August in Boston
VR & Construction/Real Estate 26th October in Washington, D.C.
VR & Defense/Public Safety 9th November in Washington, D.C.
VR for Good Summit 17th November in Washington, D.C.

If your’re keen on seeing what the conference has to offer you can register for free here. For any further updates keep reading VRFocus.

May 23, 2017

The Mummy Zero Gravity VR Experience Coming to The Shop at NBC Studios in NYC

During the recent South By Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, Universal Pictures, IMAX and engineering firm Positron premiered a virtual reality (VR) experience based on the new Tom Cruise movie The Mummy. Now The Mummy Zero Gravity Stunt VR Experience is getting a much more public outing, coming to The Shop at NBC Studios in New York City this month.

The experience allows the public to go behind-the-scenes with The Mummy stars Cruise and Annabelle Wallis whilst they perform one of the stunts from the film, an intense zero-g segment involving a plane crash. Visitors will be strapped into Positron’s Voyager platform, a full-motion chair designed for cinematic VR. Combining unique software and hardware technology, Voyager guides the viewers’ attention to points of interest in the experience by incorporating gentle motorized yaw and pitch motion and haptic feedback.

Voyager - image 1

There’s an added bonus for those going to see the VR experience. Alongside photo-ops with actual props from The Mummy they’ll be able to play a new title from Starbreeze Studios, The Mummy Prodigium Strike on StarVR.

Players are cast in the role of a Prodigium Agent and are tasked with capturing the ancient Princess Ahmanet—while battling hordes of ravens, spiders and the undead. From ground battles to fighting out of a helicopter, players must protect their fellow agents as The Mummy grows in power, battling to the finish to capture her, or be her slave for eternity. The videogames’ exact availability dates are to be announced soon.

The Mummy Zero Gravity Stunt VR Experience will arrive at The Shop at NBC Studios (30 Rockefeller Plaza, NYC) on Saturday, 27th May, and run through to Sunday, 11th June 2017, from 9am to 6pm daily. Limited reservations will be taken daily, and walk-ins are also welcome.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of The Mummy Zero Gravity Stunt VR Experience, reporting back with any further updates.

May 17, 2017

IMAX VR Centres to Showcase VR Experience Raising a Rukus

In March, VRFocus reported on The Virtual Reality Company (VRC) announcing work on an original animated virtual reality (VR) animated series called Raising a Rukus. Today, IMAX Corporation has revealed a partnership between the two that’ll see the first episode of Raising a Rukus debut at the flagship IMAX VR Centre in Los Angeles this Friday, 19th May.

The animated VR adventure takes viewers on a magical story with brother and sister – Jonas and Amy – and their mischievous pet dog, Rukus.

“We’re excited to partner with VRC – which brings an immense amount of creative talent and expertise – to premiere ‘Raising a Rukus’ at our IMAX VR centres,” said IMAX Chief Business Development Officer Robert D. Lister in a statement. “This is exactly the type of original premium experience, which was designed specifically for location-based VR, we’re looking to provide our guests. This family-oriented fare is becoming increasingly important as we are seeing visitors of all ages come through our successful flagship centre in Los Angeles.”

Virtual Reality Company Raising a Rukus Family Scene

“With the Rukus franchise we want the audience to not only be entertained and connect with these lovable and endearing characters, we want them to learn and take something away from their stories, which are built around universal themes like sharing, love and compassion,” said Robert Stromberg, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of VRC. “VRC’s vision is to bring together the best narrative storytelling with captivating art to immerse viewers in the story, and do it in a way that this new powerful medium makes possible for audiences around the world.”

After its debut in Los Angeles, IMAX will then roll out VRC’s Raising a Rukus to its VR centres set to open in New York City, the UK, and other locations worldwide in the coming months.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of IMAX, reporting back with the latest announcements.

April 30, 2017

Starbreeze enthüllt neue StarVR-Erfahrungen auf Next@Acer

Auf dem Event Next@Acer stellt Acer regelmäßig neue Soft- und Hardware vor, die in Kooperation mit ihren Partnern entwickelt wurde. Dazu zählt auch das schwedische Studio Starbreeze, welche neben Spielen auch VR-Produkte herstellen. Diese stellten ihre zukünftigen Pläne und Verbesserungen für das StarVR-Headset vor, das in Arcadehallen genutzt wird. Dazu zählen unter anderem eine verbesserte Auflösung und neuer Content für die StarVR-Plattform.

Immersive Filme mit StarVR

Das Unternehmen möchte sich nicht mehr nur auf Soft- und Hardware spezialisieren, sondern den Filmmarkt erschließen. Dies kündigte Bo Anderson Klint, der CEO des Unternehmens, auf dem Acer-Event an. Dafür entwickelte Starbreeze eine neue VR-Erfahrung, die den Nutzer direkt in Filme integrieren soll. Die VR-Erfahrung basiert nicht auf einer Spieleengine, sondern auf einem VFX-Setup. Dadurch können Filmemacher ihre Filmwerke zukünftig zu VR-Spektakeln machen, um die Zuschauer in eine immersive Erfahrung mit einzubeziehen. Dafür zuständig ist u. a. Brooks Brown, der Global Director für Virtual Reality des Unternehmens, der ebenfalls einige weitere zukünftig erscheinende VR-Spiele ankündigte. Leider ohne Einblicke in das Gameplay zu geben.

Neue VR-Spiele in Zusammenarbeit mit diversen Studios

Starbreeze

Die kommenden Titel entstehen alle in Kooperation mit verschiedenen Entwicklern. Das erste VR-Spiel Project Golem soll in Zusammenarbeit mit Desert Owl Games entstehen. Darin kämpft der Spieler gegen Aliens in der Größe eines Hochhauses. Mit dem Studio Lucky Hammers entsteht ein VR-Spiel namens Ape-X, das den Spieler in die Rolle eines gigantischen, kinetisch veränderten, mutierten Affen schlüpfen lässt. Dessen Ziel ist das Zerstören von Drohnen, während er im Stil von King Kong an Wolkenkratzern hängt. Mit dem Studio iNK Stories erstellen sie eine VR-Erfahrung namens Hero. Darin wird der Spieler in die Kriegszone in Syrien gebracht, um nicht nur selbst zu überleben, sondern auch andere zu retten. Für den letzten Titel The Raft arbeitet Starbreeze mit Red Games zusammen, um ein kooperatives Spiel für vier Spieler zu schaffen. Darin ist das Teamplay der Spieler gefordert, um eine Fahrt über einen verfluchten Fluss zu überleben. Weitere Titel sind Elementerra und Presenz.

Zusätzlich verschickte StarVR Development Kits an ausgewählte Partner, wie z. B. IMAX. Diese könnten für eine Verbesserung der VR-Arcadeerfahrungen sorgen.

(Quellen: UploadVR | Starbreeze Studios | StarVR)

Der Beitrag Starbreeze enthüllt neue StarVR-Erfahrungen auf Next@Acer zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

April 23, 2017

IMAX to Expand VR Centre Initiative to New York, Manchester, Shanghai and Japan

Following the revelation of IMAX Corporation’s first quarter financial results, the company has pledged further investment in virtual reality (VR). This includes opening new ‘pilot VR centres’ across North America, UK, China and Japan.

Justice League VR

IMAX had previously announced a deal with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment to develop three VR experiences based on highly anticipated films, including Justice League and Aquaman, following the launch of the first IMAX VR Centre in Los Angeles. The launch of an IMAX VR Centre in the UK had already been announced, however further international ambitions for the initiative now come off the back of success in the emerging out-of-home entertainment sector for VR.

“In addition to significantly expanding our network and backlog, we are beginning to execute against several new promising business initiatives,” CEO Richard L. Gelfond continued. “We launched our flagship IMAX VR Centre in Los Angeles, announced our first-ever Hollywood VR slate deal with Warner Bros., and kicked off production with Marvel and ABC Studios on Marvel’s Inhumans, which will debut exclusively in IMAX theaters in early September. We’re encouraged by the progress we’re seeing across these fronts and believe 2017 will serve as a key inflection point for IMAX as our business expands beyond box office.”

No specific opening dates nor locations have yet been announced for these additional IMAX VR Centres, but VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details.

April 22, 2017

IMAX LA VR Theater Sees 20,000 Visitors, New Location Coming To New York

IMAX is continuing to explore location-based virtual reality as a compliment to its large-screen cinema experiences.

As part of its quarterly earnings call, IMAX provided an update on its VR efforts. The company explained that its recently opened VR center in Los Angeles has been visited by over 20,000 people since opening its doors in January.

The IMAX VR centers provide customers with a suite of VR experiences and hardware to enjoy. The centers function similarly to a movie theater in that tickets are purchased to access the content at a specific time. IMAX is reporting that the LA Center alone is generating $15,000 in weekly revenue — but it’s unclear if any of that is actual profit.

Lobby of the IMAX VR center in LA

Encouraged by this success, IMAX is reportedly planning to launch additional VR centers in other key markets including New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, and a second LA location.

In addition to these centers, IMAX is continuing in its content partnership with Warner Brothers. Home Entertainment (a division of Time Warner Inc.). The two are partnering to create a series of VR experiences for upcoming Warner Bros. properties such as Justice League (2017), Aquaman (2018) and a third project to be determined.

IMAX’s first quarter earnings are down significantly from the same time in 2016. Bolstered by the massive success of Disney films such as Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens ($2 billion worldwide), the company was enjoying massive upswings to the tune of $92.1 million for the quarter. Disney’s latest offerings such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story are still performing well, but far below their predecessors. This quarter IMAX is reporting $68.7 million in revenue for Q1 2017.

Movie theaters and the companies like IMAX that partner with them are scrambling in 2017 to keep customers motivate to spend an evening inside their walls. In the age of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and many other online video streaming services; it’s simply less likely than ever that a family will chose to leave home and pay the infamously high prices of a movie theater.

These companies need to find new experiences that can only happen at their locations and VR could be a strong motivator. High-end headsets, and the PCs they require to run, are still prohibitively expensive for the casual consumer. But $10 may just be worth it if it gives them the chance to escape into another reality for a short while.

The company also announced plans to continue its expansion into the Chinese market which remains its single largest territory.

Tagged with: IMAX

April 1, 2017

Justice League Premiere: Aquaman bekommt eigene interaktive VR-Erfahrung

Am Wochenende erschien der erste vollständige Justice League Trailer und versetzte das Internet in einen Rausch. Mittlerweile sind VR-Erfahrungen zu Promozwecken Standard in Hollywood geworden und dazu zählt auch das neueste Werk von Zack Snyder.

Partnerschaft zwischen Warner Bros. und IMAX

Zu Promozwecken ging Warners Bros. mit IMAX eine Partnerschaft ein, um gemeinsam drei neue VR-Erfahrungen basierend auf den kommenden Filmen zu gestalten. Das erste VR-Erlebnis geht daher Hand in Hand mit dem Film Justice League, der innerhalb des Jahres erscheinen wird. Darauf folgt im Jahr 2018 eine weitere VR-Erfahrung über den Comichelden Aquaman, der sein eigenes Spin-off erhält. Die dritte VR-Promo-Aktion und der dazugehörige Film ist bisher noch nicht veröffentlicht worden. Bisher gibt es noch keine Informationen darüber, ob die VR-Erfahrungen vollständige VR Spiele oder 360-Grad-Videos sind. Nur eins ist klar: Interaktiv werden sie sein. Außerdem sind sie exklusiv für IMAXs VR-Zentren gestaltet, die derzeit nur für Spielecontent ausgelegt sind. Es gibt allerdings Pläne über Erweiterungen für 360-Grad-Erfahrungen. Dafür verteilt IMAX sogar 360-Grad-Kameras an Filmemacher.

Aktuell liegt das IMAX-VR-Zentrum in Los Angeles, jedoch gibt es Pläne für neue Eröffnungen in New York City, Kalifornien, England und Schanghai in den kommenden Monaten. Die VR-Zentren sind eigentlich große VR-Arcadehallen und verfügen über die neueste Soft- und Hardware. Die Kosten für jede VR-Erfahrung belaufen sich auf einen USD pro Minute. Da die meisten VR-Erfahrungen 5 – 10 Minuten Laufzeit haben, zahlt man ungefähr 7 – 10 USD. Die neuen VR-Erfahrungen für die kommenden Filme werden ebenfalls kostenpflichtig sein.

Das Studio Warner Bros. ging diese Woche nebenbei eine weitere Partnerschaft mit HTC ein, um neue VR-Inhalte exklusiv für den Film Ready Player One zu produzieren. Der Film basierend auf dem Roman von Ernest Cline wird von Steven Spielberg produziert. Durch solche Kooperationen wird deutlich, wie weit sich die VR-Technologie mittlerweile in unserem Alltag verbreitet hat. Wir dürfen gespannt bleiben, was uns Weiteres erwartet.

(Quelle: uploadvr)

Der Beitrag Justice League Premiere: Aquaman bekommt eigene interaktive VR-Erfahrung zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

March 30, 2017

IMAX: LA VR Center bestätigt den Sinn von Arcades

Virtual Reality Arcades sind aktuell ein heißes Thema in der Virtual Reality Szene, denn solche Einrichtungen könnten der Schlüssel zum Erfolg von VR sein. Aktuell ist die VR Technik extrem teuer und benötigt viel Platz. Nur sehr wenige Menschen können das Geld aufbringen und den Platz freischaffen, um in die virtuelle Welt abzutauchen. Deshalb könnten VR Arcades Konsumenten und Entwicklern helfen. Konsumenten können günstig in der virtuellen Realität ausspannen und Entwickler haben eine gute Möglichkeit, um ihre Spiele zu lizenzieren. Doch nicht nur Startups und HTC haben den Arcade-Trend erkannt, sondern auch IMAX möchte ein Stück vom Kuchen abhaben. Am 6. Januar eröffnete in LA das erste VR Center von IMAX und das Unternehmen kann sich über den Start nicht beklagen.

LA VR Center bestätigt den Sinn von Arcades

Bisher hat das VR Center in Los Angeles bereits 15.000 Tickets verkauft. Jede Woche sollte das Center somit ca. 1363 Sessions verkauft haben und dieser Wert ist absolut beeindruckend für die noch relativ junge Technologie. IMAX hat mit dem Verkauf der Tickets also mittlerweile bereits 100.000 US-Dollar eingenommen, da jede Session zwischen 7 US-Dollar und 10 US-Dollar kostet. Dieser Preis klingt zunächst günstig, doch da die Sessions recht kurz sind, verlangt IMAX ca. einen Dollar pro Minute.

Bei dem aktuellen VR Center ist zu beachten, dass es nicht an ein IMAX Kino angebunden ist. Wenn IMAX die ersten Center mit Anbindung an ein Kino eröffnet, dann sollten auch noch mehr Menschen zu VR finden, die nicht explizit aus diesem Grund in das IMAX kommen.

Im Moment bietet das IMAX VR Center in Los Angeles diverse Anwendungen für die HTC Vive und die StarVR Brille an. Zukünftig wird das Angebot noch weiter ausgebaut, doch IMAX zeigt bereits heute, dass ein großes Interesse an solchen Einrichtungen in der Bevölkerung besteht. Leider sind uns aktuell aber noch keine Pläne für ein IMAX VR Center in Deutschland bekannt.

(Quelle: Upload VR)

Der Beitrag IMAX: LA VR Center bestätigt den Sinn von Arcades zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

March 28, 2017

Justice League, Aquaman To Get Interactive VR Experiences

The first full Justice League trailer hit this weekend, sending the internet into a frenzy for both better and worse. These days no Hollywood blockbuster is complete without a promotional VR experience, though, and Zack Synder’s latest move is no exception.

Warners. Bros announced today that it has partnered with IMAX to create three new VR experiences based on its upcoming movies, the first of which is Justice League, set to debut later this year. Then in 2018 we’ll get another experience based on Aquaman — a solo spin-off of this year’s superhero team up — and a third experience based on an unannounced movie will arrive in 2019.

These experiences will be interactive, but neither company has clarified if they’ll be fully VR games or 360 degree movies. They’re set to be timed exclusives for IMAX’s VR centers, which currently only feature gaming content but do have plans to expand into 360 degree experiences that tie into current releases in theaters in the future. IMAX is even giving filmmakers 360 degree cameras to shoot panoramic experiences for headsets.

We’ve reached out to the company to ask about the nature of these new experiences. A press release refers to them as “premium”, so expect to pay for them once they reached in-home headsets.

IMAX currently has one VR center open in Los Angeles, but plans to expand with new locations in New York City, California, the UK and Shanghai over the coming months. We’ve tested the LA one for ourselves and, while it’s definitely still in the experimental phase, we’re excited for the opportunity it presents in getting people into VR for the first time.

This isn’t the only VR deal Warner Bros. has announced this week; the company also partnered with HTC and will produce content for next year’s Ready Player One on Viveport.

Tagged with: Aquaman, IMAX, Justice League, Warner Bros.