09:00 AM - 09:25 AM
Thanks to the immersive technologies, artists, festivals organizers, producers, or the audience don't need to choose between the physical and the virtual anymore to share memorable experiences together.
Louis Cacciuttolo shares concrete and successful examples of how phygital events such as concerts, dance shows or festivals can transcend traditional constraints by making the best use of the social dimension in both the physical and virtual realms, and talks about his vision for the future of live performances.
09:30 AM - 09:55 AM
Much has changed in the adoption of AR, MR and the overall XR implementation into the out-of-home landscape. This session will be an exclusive overview of the realities and new developments underway from an industry leader.
10:00 AM - 10:55 AM
“Ship of the Dead” is a first-of-its-kind immersive storytelling experience that is viewable in both VR and AR. Based on the short story by international best-selling author, Kate Mosse, audience members use their smartphones or headsets to have a frightening encounter with the Ankou, a ghostly creature from Breton lore. As the audience uncovers the story, their decisions impact whether or not they will become the Ankou’s next victim. This project turns a piece of literature into two experiences that can be enjoyed in both VR and AR. The AR version features the author accompanying readers throughout the narrative. The VR version is self-driven and encourages readers to explore the story world themselves.
This will be a lively panel to discuss the creative process behind “Ship of the Dead” and the inevitable intersection of immersive technologies and literature. Aside from a best-selling author, the “Ship of the Dead” team consists of talented heavy hitters who previously worked for Marvel, Magic Leap, Apple, Riot Games, Royal Shakespeare Company, and more.
Panelists will discuss a wide array of topics such as: combining the worlds of traditional literature with XR, contract considerations for partnering with a published author, the challenges of creating experiences that are accessible in both VR and AR, the development of a custom cloud-based technology for the experiences, strategies for marketing and distributing an immersive literature piece, and ways to approach authors for potential XR partnerships.
Panelists
1. Andy Lanning - Creative Director at Qxr Studios. Former Marvel/DC Comic Book Artist/Writer and Creative Director for Magic Leap
2. Graeme Devine - CTO at Qxr Studios. Former Magic Leap, Apple, Microsoft, Lucasfilms, Activision, and Virgin Interactive Engineer.
3. Kate Mosse - International best-selling British author and OBE (Office of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire)
4. Lou Doye - Executive Producer at Qxr Studios. Former Immersive and Live Theatre Producer for London’s West End, Royal Shakespeare Company, and Magic Leap.
5. Elena Piech - Experiential Producer at AMP Creative. Former Senior Marketing Manager for AR/VR platform company The Glimpse Group, and an Emmy-nominated journalist.
6. Rory Mitchell - Producer at The Mercantile. Former Beard & Glasses VR.
7. Naomi Augustine Lee - Art Director at Qxr Studios. Former Raytheon, Riot Games, and Magic Leap
11:20 AM - 12:15 PM
Does it matter whether a momentary event is physical, digital, virtual OR is an experience an experience?
Our panel brings together leading designers from both the traditional experience world (e.g. theme parks) and the immersive experience world (e.g.,VR) to debate this exact topic and determine whether each needs its own tools or whether—and how—the same definitions, toolsets, taxonomies and frameworks might be applied to both. Where do they fall short? Where do they reach too far? Is “experience” already the same but merely without a shared language? How can we best use what already exists so that, as we create in XR, we’re standing on the shoulders of giants? Our panelists will conclude with concrete answers, providing tools you can use today to create the experiences of tomorrow.
01:15 PM - 02:10 PM
"Where Am I? Why am I here? What does this mean?" Literary theorist Nicholas Burbules posed these as essential questions for those experiencing interactive and immersive media experiences. He argued that audiences should not only be asking themselves this, but should also be motivated to "do the work" of finding answers as they negotiate the spatially arranged content of interactive media experiences. This discussion panel will explore the use of space in XR storytelling. Particularly, how can we leverage new and emerging technologies to harness the potential of real, conceptual and virtual spaces to tell engaging ethnographic stories in new modes? This inter-disciplinary discussion will touch on insights from fields as diverse as anthropology, human-centered design, filmmaking, and emotional geography to investigate how XR authorship must not only navigate the spatial dimensions of human relationships and communities within our narratives, but also the spatial relationships between viewers/users ("vusers") and the ethnographic content they engage in XR experiences. As an emergent field, XR storytelling is at a critical juncture in its development, and this conversation will hopefully help map out the contours of what matters - and what makes current trends in immersive XR experiences such a unique opportunity in the history of telling stories about people and communities.
02:35 PM - 03:30 PM
A discussion on empowering communities through accessible tools that create meaningful connections, new worlds and experiences, and inclusive environments.
Meet the creators and leaders of the metaverse and get to know the tools that help them amplify voices from all around the world.