Limina – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

January 12, 2018

Fantasynth’s Music Visualisation Wins Limina Creative VR Award

Virtual reality (VR) has expanded to the point where we can do so much from inside our VR head-mounted displays (HMDs). We can browse the internet, work, craft videos, experiences, explore worlds and so much more. Now, after a sellout VR arts festival in December, Fantasynth has been awarded a VR arts awards.

Limina Immersive image 2

Created by Brighton studio HelloEnjoy, Fantasynth is a surreal, abstract journey through a world of geometric shapes, where the environment reacts to the music. The experience plays along to the song “Chez Nous” by French music producer N’to.

Judges at the Limina VR Weekender, which took place at the Watershed Cinema, Bristol, wanted to see a VR experience which made effective use of the medium and an awareness of their target audience. The panel of judges included Verity McIntosh from Watershed, Emma Hughes from Limina Immersive, Dan Page from Bristol VR Lad, and Sharon Clark from Raucous.

The panel of judges were elated with Fantasynth’s unique landscapes, and sung it’s praises after awarding HelloEnjoy with their hard-earned award; “Fantasynth is an accomplished and euphoric piece. It lifts you in a way that could only be achieved in VR, demonstrating the transformative power of VR in relation to mood in a slick and compelling format. It has impact and gives audiences a sense of wonder, providing a fantastic portal into the world of virtual reality for those who may not have experienced it before. 7 minutes of pure joy. Hugely popular with festival-goers, Fantasynth provoked physical reactions from awestruck audience members who found their heads bobbing and bodies spinning, fully immersed in the visceral landscapes created by HelloEnjoy.”

HelloEnjoy themselves, a duo made up of Carlos Ulloa and Libertad Aguilera, were of course blown away by the reception Fantasynth received; “We’re thrilled Fantasynth has won the Limina Creative VR Award. We were already very excited to be part of the VR Weekender, a great honour to be among such fine selection of VR pieces.”

Speaking about their creative process the duo state of Fantasynth; “The main creative idea behind Fantasynth is to look for the intense sensory experience that takes place when visual effects are in perfect sync with wondrous sounds. You can visually play with the music and take great joy from it. We see a new form of interactive entertainment in this activity, mid-way between a music show and an art installation.”

The future of interactive VR entertainment is only becoming brighter by the day, and Fantasynth’s great reception is hopefully the sign of even greater things to come. For the latest on exactly what those great things might be, keep reading VRFocus.

November 19, 2017

Further Details On Limina VR Public Arts Festival

Previously it was reported that an upcoming virtual reality (VR) festival, organised by sometime VRFocus contributor Catherine Allen, was seeking contributions. Further details have now been revealed on what the event will entail.

The Limina VR Weekender will be a weekend of sessions covering a variety of VR subjects and content, designed to broaden the horizons of the audience with regards to VR and make it available to a more diverse audience.

Recognisable names will appear alongside smaller, independent VR content creators, with names and companies such as Aardman, The Guardian and Biome Productions all making contributions to the weekend event. Notable highlights of the event will include opportunities for the audience to have experiences such as going on a virtual wildlife safari in South Africa, watch a world-class orchestra perform Mozart’s Requiem in a French cathedral or fly through the work of surrealist artist, Rene Magritte, all possible using the power of VR.

The event is due to take place from Friday 1^st to Sunday 3^rd December, 2017 at the Watershed Cinema in Bristol, UK.

Verity Mcintosh from Watershed says “There has been a lot of hype around VR in recent years, and yet the opportunities for audiences to experience high quality storytelling in virtual worlds remains markedly low. Artists around the world are making incredible, immersive experiences, but without the established routes to audiences enjoyed by cinema, television and games, creators can struggle to get their work in front of audiences. We are delighted to be working with our friends at Limina Immersive to bridge that gap and bring an eclectic, world-class programme of virtual reality to Bristol.”

Catherine Allen says “VR is an incredible emerging art form in its own right, and deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. There are a lot of people who have notions of VR being techy, macho, futuristic and sci fi, so they assume that it is not for them. I hope to challenge these assumptions and open our audiences’ senses to an emerging new world of creative potential. I also want to share these learnings on creating an optimum audience experience format with the industry– sharing the expertise we are developing is a key part of Limina.”

Tickets are £12 (GBP) or £10 for concessions. Further information and bookings can be found on the Watershed Cinema website.

VRFocus will bring you further news on the Limina VR Weekender as it becomes available.

November 1, 2017

British VR Festival Seeking Submissions

Long time readers of VRFocus might be familiar with the name Catherine Allen. Having previously work for the BBC producing 360-degree content, and also organising the virtual reality (VR) diversity event earlier this year, Allen is now moving into creating a new exhibition and curation company called Limina. To celebrate the launch of this new venture, Allen is inviting VR content creators to submit to a VR festival .

The Limina VR Weekender will be a weekend long, public-facing VR festival that will offer audiences the chance to experience creative and high quality works created for VR, aiming to showcase the potential of VR as an art form that can be compared with cinema or theatre.

The event will be held on 1st-3^rd December, 2017 at the Watershed Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol, UK. There will be a verity of exclusive screenings of VR content as well as panel discussions, talks and presentations.

Allen says “Limina think that VR is at its best when experienced by broad, diverse audiences. This is why we wanted to develop a VR festival for members of the public who wouldn’t necessarily consider themselves as early-adopters.”

Catherine Allen

Emma Hughes, Limina’s coordinator, says “We’re looking for cutting-edge, pioneering work that resonates with the public. This is a fantastic opportunity for creators’ VR projects to gain feedback from and impact wider audiences.”

Verity McIntosh, Watershed says: “Virtual reality is offering audiences and storytellers a whole new way of communicating ideas, experiences and emotions. We know that our audiences are keen to encounter and explore new, experimental work, and we are delighted to be working with Pervasive Media Studio residents, Limina as they curate a festival that seeks to both embrace and to challenge this evolving new medium.

Creators who wish to apply will need to enter a submission that is less than 20 minutes long and must be compatible with Oculus Rift, or in the case of 360-degree video, should be compatible with common 360 video players. Submissions close on 8^th November, 2017. Further information can be found on the Limina website. Creators can submit their content by filling in the submissions form.

VRFocus will continue to bring you the latest on upcoming VR and AR events.