Category: IMAX

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IMAX and Warner Bros. to Bring Justice League and Aquaman to VR Platforms

In an announcement today IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment have revealed a new virtual reality (VR) co-financing and production agreement, seeing the development of three experiences based on some of the latters upcoming blockbuster films.

Of the three, two have been officially unveiled, Justice League and Aquaman. One title will be released each year, with Justice League VR set to arrive in late 2017. The releases will receive an exclusive window in IMAX VR centres after which home and mobile VR platforms will be added.

IMAXVR-Logo-Full-Color

“It’s fitting that with IMAX and Warner Bros.’ shared history of launching Hollywood movies in IMAX theatres, today we’re entering into our first studio deal to bring original VR content to the multiplex,” said IMAX Corp. CEO Richard L. Gelfond. “A key component of our vision for VR is to help usher in the first wave of high-end blockbuster-based content. Justice League and Aquaman feature some of the most beloved characters on the planet, providing iconic properties to launch this effort.  This type of premium content will introduce audiences to virtual reality in standalone and multiplex-based IMAX VR centres as well as other platforms.”

“We are excited to be partnering with IMAX to develop and deliver premium VR experiences, and believe that capitalizing on Justice League and Aquaman characters from our well-known DC properties will broaden the appeal of this fast growing technology,” said Ron Sanders, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Home Entertainment Distribution.  “Using content and characters from these upcoming films and incorporating creative direction from some of Hollywood’s most innovative filmmakers will help us to bring a groundbreaking experience to audiences and consumers who are hungry for a cutting-edge virtual reality experience.”

IMAX has been getting more involved with VR as the technology progresses. In January the company launched its IMAX VR Centre in Los Angeles, California, with plans to open at least five additional centres in New York City, California, the UK and Shanghai in the coming few months.

The company also created the IMAX VR Fund in 2016, a $50 million USD VR fund to help finance the creation of at least 25 experiences over the next three years.

As VRFocus learns more about IMAX and Warner Bros. VR content we#ll let you know.

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The Mummy Zero Gravity VR Experience At SXSW Conference

The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis will have it’s very own immersive virtual reality experience premiering exclusively at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Conference in Austin, Texas.

IMAX have partnered with engineering firm Positron to create the world’s first full-motion chair designed for cinematic VR called Voyager. Twenty Voyager units will have their motion choreographed together to deliver The Mummy Zero Gravity VR Experience. The pairing of motion effects with VR is known to eliminate the effects of motion sickness that occur for some VR users. It is in this that users will be immersed in one of the film’s signature set pieces – a plane crash – seen in it’s debut trailer below.

The story of The Mummy movie itself concerns an ancient princess who is awakened from her tomb to terrorise the world from the Middle East to modern-day London. The action-adventure is set to feature a range of gods, monsters and fantastic creatures as well as the acting talents of Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis and Oscar winner Russell Crowe.

TheMummy_Invite_ZeroG

The Mummy is being directed by Alex Kurtzman, assisted by producer Chris Morgan, who between them have worked on several very successful franchises such as the Transformers, Mission: Impossible and Star Trek movie series.

Mission: Impossible has recently been in the spotlight for VR fans already, with the announcement of a new VR Mission: Impossible videogame coming to the Oculus, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. It’s unknown at this stage what Cruise’s involvement will be with that project, but VRFocus will keep you up to date with developments.

If you want to experience The Mummy Zero Gravity VR Experience for yourself, it will be at the South By South West Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas from March 10th until March 14th, 2017. You can sign up for the experience here.

VRFocus will keep you updated on other VR movie tie-in projects.

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IMAX VR: High-Tech Center für Virtual Reality öffnet seine Türen

Heute präsentierte IMAX in Los Angeles die erste von vielen geplanten VR-Anlagen zur Schaffung einer „standortbasierten VR der Zukunft“.

3D Kino Kette IMAX hält Virtual Reality für wichtig

IMAX VR wirbt derzeit für ein verblüffendes VR-Erlebnis in einem lokalen Erlebniszentrum. Durch eine einzigartige Kombination aus modernster Technologie und erstklassigen Inhalten sei es für die Nutzer möglich, neue Welten zu fühlen, zu sehen und sich spielend darin bewegen zu können. Das alles auf eine mitreißende und realistische Art und Weise, ähnlich wie die IMAX®-Kinos dem Kinogänger bereits ein ausgeklügeltes hochklassiges Filmerlebnis bescheren. Mit einer bahnbrechenden VR-Headset-Technologie, 360-Grad-Sound und raffinierter Raumüberwachung werden die Spieler sofort in neue virtuelle Welten transportiert, die realistischer sein sollen als alles, was man sich vorstellen kann.

Kino VR Experience mit Gun

Besucher in futuristischen VR Pods

Das LA Space-Center besteht aus 14 „futuristischen Pods“, die mit den neuesten und besten VR-Technologien ausgestattet sein sollen. Die meisten dieser Pods sind mit einem HTC Vive VR-Headset ausgestattet, andere besitzen schon die eher experimentellen Star VR-Headsets von Starbreeze. IMAX und Acer sind Partner bei Star-VR, so dass ihre Präsenz in dieser Einrichtung sinnvoll erscheint. Im Hinblick auf die Vive erklärte IMAX in einer offiziellen Erklärung, dass die beiden Unternehmen eine neue Technologie entwickelt hätten und eine Content-Partnerschaft zur Integration der HTC Vive-Headset-Technologie besäßen. Ebenso würden standortbezogene spezifische VR-Inhalte für die IMAX-VR-Zentren entwickelt werden. Zusätzlich zu der Hardware arbeitet HTC auch an den „exklusiven VR-Inhalten“ für diese IMAX-Zentren.

Imax Kino mit VR Erfahrung

Neben den HTC Vive– oder StarVR-Headsets sind die IMAX-VR-Pods mit Dbox-Kino-Sitzen, Subwoofer zum Umschnallen und einer Vielzahl von Steuergeräten ausgestattet, die das Ganze realistischer wirken lassen sollen, beispielsweise mithilfe von Gun-Controllern.

Diese Pods besitzen vorinstallierte VR-Inhalte, für die interessierte Kunden bereits ein Ticket kaufen können, um sie im Voraus online zu genießen. Tickets kosten zwischen 7 und 10 Dollar. Laut IMAX wurde der Content mithilfe der „Erfahrungen von führenden Herstellern wie ILMxLABs, Sony, Lionsgate, Starbreeze, Survios und Ubisoft entwickelt. In der Liste finden sich unter anderem folgende Titel: John Wick Chronicles, Star Wars: Trials On Tatooine und Knockout League. Weitere interessante Demos sind beispielsweise The Lab, die Universe Sandbox, Quivr, Tilt Brush, Job Simulator und andere.

Vor dem Kinofilm noch schnell in die Virtuelle Realität

So wird das IMAX VR-Verfahren für Kunden funktionieren:

Um loslegen zu können, können die Spieler das VR-Programm und die Startzeiten auf der IMAX VR-Seite oder im Center auswählen – genau wie sie Tickets für ihren Lieblings-IMAX-Film bestellen können. Bei der Ankunft checken die Nutzer ein und können dann in die Players Lounge gehen, um einen kurzen Einblick über die Einzelheiten zu erhalten. Die Spieler werden dann zu den einzigartig entworfenen Pods geführt, wo sie mit der passenden IMAX VR-Ausrüstung ausgestattet werden und sich für die Erfahrung vorbereiten können, die sie gewählt haben.

Am Standort LA wird IMAX VR als „Pilotprogramm“ für das Unternehmen beschrieben. Bei der Enthüllung wurde bekannt gegeben, dass IMAX „Papiere unterzeichnet“ hat, um vier weitere Zentren in den USA und China zu erschaffen: In Shanghai, im prominenten Shanghai Hongkou Plaza-Multiplex, in einer „hochklassigen“ AMC-Anlage in New York City und in zwei unbestimmten regulären Kinos in New York und Kalifornien. Diese Standorte sollen in den kommenden Monaten eröffnet werden.

HTC Vive Headset in Action

Schließlich wird IMAX auch in Dreamscape Immersive investieren – ein Joint Venture zwischen IMAX, Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Westfield Corporation, Bold Capital Partners und Steven Spielberg. Dreamscape Immersive ist ein Startup in Los Angeles, in dem standortbasierte VR-Anlagen installiert werden. IMAX hat zuvor auch die Gründung eines Fonds in Höhe von 50 Millionen Dollar für VR-Projekte angekündigt. Der Standort LA IMAX VR ist bereits eröffnet worden. Tickets sind online verfügbar.

(Quelle: Upload VR)

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IMAX Launches High-Tech Centers That Make Trying VR a Movie-Like Experience

IMAX Launches High-Tech Centers That Make Trying VR a Movie-Like Experience

Today in Los Angeles, IMAX unveiled the first of many planned VR installations intended to create “location-based VR of the future.”

According to IMAX: “IMAX VR is a mind-shattering VR experience in a location-based, state-of-the-art Experience Centre. The IMAX VR Experience features a unique combination of premium technology and world-class content that lets users see, feel, move and play in new worlds in a powerfully immersive and realistic way, much like IMAX® theatres offer moviegoers a differentiated and best-in-class film experience. With groundbreaking VR headset technology, 360-degree sound and sophisticated room tracking, players will be instantly transported into new virtual worlds that are more realistic than anything imaginable.”

The LA space is comprised of 14 “futuristic pods” that are equipped with the latest and greatest in VR technology. According to our reporter at the event, most of these pods were fitted with an HTC Vive VR headset, but others had the more experimental Star VR headset from Starbreeze.

IMAX and Acer are partners on the Star VR so its presence in this facility makes sense. When it comes to the Vive, however, IMAX explained in an official statement that the two companies have “a new technology and content partnership to incorporate HTC VIVE headset technology and highly engaging, location-based specific VR content into IMAX VR centers.”

In addition to the hardware, Vive is also reportedly working on “exclusive VR content experiences” for these IMAX VR centers, and is establishing “an approach to incorporate future HTC Vive technology into IMAX VR centers.”

In addition to a Vive or StarVR headset, the IMAX VR pods are equipped with Dbox cinema chairs, Subpacs and a “variety of control devices, adding a deeper layer of realism” such as the gun controller shown above.

These pods will come pre-loaded with VR content that interested customers can purchase a ticket to enjoy in advance online. Tickets will cost between $7 and $10. According to IMAX, the content includes “experiences from leading content developers such as ILMxLABs, Sony, Lionsgate, Starbreeze, Survios, and Ubisoft. The full content list includes John Wick Chronicles, Star Wars: Trials On Tatooine and Knockout League.” Other notable experiences available at these demos include The Lab, Universe Sandbox, Quivr, Tilt Brush, Job Simulator and others.

This is how the IMAX VR process will work for customers:

“To get started, players can select the experiences and show times of their choice on the IMAX VR site or at the Centre – just like they would to order tickets to their favorite IMAX movie. Upon arriving, users will check in and then proceed to the Players’ Lounge for a quick briefing about the particulars of the play experience by one of IMAX’s VR guides. The players are then led to the uniquely designed pods, where they will be helped into the IMAX VR gear and prepare for the experience they’ve chosen.”

The LA IMAX VR location is described as a “pilot” program for the company. At the unveiling it was announced that IMAX has “signed papers” to create four more installations across the US and China. These locations will be: Shanghai, at JinYi’s prominent Shanghai Hongkou Plaza multiplex, a “high” profile AMC location in New York City, two undetermined Regal Cinemas locations in New York and California. These locations are slated to open “in the coming months.”

Finally, IMAX will also be investing in Dreamscape Immersive — a joint venture between IMAX, Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Westfield Corporation, Bold Capital Partners, and Steven Spielberg. Dreamscape Immersive is a Los Angeles based startup working to build location-based VR installations. IMAX has also previously announced the establishment of a $50 million fund for VR projects.

The LA IMAX VR location is open now. Tickets are available online.

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