Martn

... language research at the Venice VR Island 2018 

I am not a journalist, and the medium of written words is for

sure not my strongest medium ...

 

I am more a person who expresses through composition and

all layers of directing inside the medium of film.

 

On the other hand, I am very comfortable to be inside of a

discussion or panel and lead through my words or expressed

thoughts to following thoughts for others ...

 

Here I try now to communicate in a written feedback chain ...

 

I use the three dots a lot like some kind of mind jump or

breathing break ... and I often get the information that it is

difficult to read my stream of words because they are written

like a stream of my mind printed on paper ... and everyone

knows the brain is not always working in a line ... thoughts

lead to others and speaking them out loud is for me some kind

of an observation of a process ...

 

So here you will get my stream of ideas to the

second edition of the Venice VR-Island

 

I hope you will be able to enjoy my wired way of writing. 

 

I read directly after the award ceremony some articles and in one of them

was using the word "Amusement Park" ... and I have to say I see the selection

of the VR island completely different ...

 

It was more or less a bouquet of VR flowers ... An educational selection which

shows the audience of the Island how wide the range of the medium is and

which ways are part of the actual global experimenting in this new language.

 

 

The members of this society are front fighters or let's say digital frontiers, the researcher like the Brothers Lumiere ... 

 

Everything is at the beginning, but the selection shows the field is highly active and works hard on shaping the new language like a sculpturer shape a figure out of raw stone. 

 

Several VR approaches and fields were presented ...

 

Short some words to my person or mind.

I am more or less a reflective mind which loves to decode ... 

 

Big idols of mine are "John Berger"(Ways of seeing) and the delicate question approach of Benjamin B. (www.thefilmbook.com), so I have several thoughts and reactions to nearly every film of this year VR-Island selection. 

 

So let's start and talk about art and its language and let's discuss the reason why it was selected and where, by knowing it, it can lead us towards the future. 

Be aware spoilers ahead so if you don't want to know in-depth details about the projects, then please stop reading here. 

I start with:

 

"The Roaming" by Dir. Matthieu Pradat 

 

It is a multi-sense VR experience!

 

The Creators only have jet the beginning of the story of Roaming. And you have to know that Roaming is inspired by an already existing story from the 2D Cinema World. Their VR experience works with live interaction or to explain it in more detail with a mocap actor. The experience pulls the visitor into its world, by feeling under your bear feets swamp-elements of the rendered surrounding. And I can tell you, through the bear feet effect in combination with the rendered world, you are really there. I balanced on a wood panel of a boat pier, and I nearly fall into the lake, at least my balance organ believed it according to what I saw. My feet really felt these wooden elements, so the illusion was perfect.

 

From the narrative point of view, it is at the moment only the beginning of the story, so I didn't have the chance to dive deep into it. You meet a character the Voodoo Man, and you team up with him by singing, to get his advice to save the kids. You have to know they are supposed to be in danger, so the work makes you to a hero.

It works out your skills of positivity to your surrounding world.

 

For me, as it was only the beginning of the story, it was more about beaming someone to a different space than the big narrative. I will follow this project to find out if they work as efficient on the plot and story and emotional involvement like they worked on the fantastic transportation to a swamp. 

 

I believe this project was chosen because it is one of the excellent examples when an installation transports your entirely somewhere else. 

The island had this year more of the so-called installations, and I believe we all have to work on using the medium for the strong narrative and emotionally bound and being careful with the additional senses and interactivities not to take the attention to the senses than the story.  

 

 

 

Last year a VR film in the VR cinema pushed us in the shoes of a killer following the victim over a super long time through a maze of streets, this was intense and created this uncomfortable feeling but still being super simple and minimal in the technical approach. 

 

 

 

The installation has the biggest challenge to explain why space is somehow so limited or we all work on developing a way how you walk from place to place (somehow in circles) and prepping the rooms in the time you are not in them ... like a revolver stage, these thoughts were inspired through ...

 

 

 

 

 

... my second (directly after ) VR Experience was: 

"The Horrifically Real Virtuality" by Dir. Marie Jourdren 

 

The maybe most vibrant and most advance bouquet of different technics inside of one VR Experience.

 

They manage somehow to guide you in a circle, but they shape their story and their plot in the way that you come back to places you have already visited but in a new and somehow different way than before.

 

They Involve real face to face acting without glasses, over to a mo-cap shooting, editing of the mo-cap material embedded in real time acting transfer into an old cinema counter box where you jump into the backpacks and the VR glasses then you go into a traditional Cinema. At the Cinema you sit with the others of your multi-player group, and then you all get pushed into the canvas of 2d Film which transforms into a VR installation experience with the chance of touching objects and then going into the film you shot before ->  to meet the character and improvise with him.

 

Yes as I said a rich bouquet of VR storytelling supporting technics.

 

More immersive is not possible!

 

You are there, and you are not there ...

 

... but do you feel deep emotions?

 

You have to be ready for it ...

 

... you have to be aware and be able to let go and melt into it ...

 

... if you are not prepared for it, it can be a technical marathon.  

 

I heard voices that "Alice" was more intense, but I haven't seen it, so I can't say ...

 

I can say it was impressive that the group performed this long VR Experience over the full time of the VR-Island.

 

It was hard work, and I would like to know how many were ready to let go ...

 

ongoing ideas:

 

I didn't forget myself inside of this VR experience so maybe working with the awareness of each individual could be interesting for such kind of projects getting names of the visitors before they enter the tour ... researching them via social media and work on the character to include informations that they are not sure any longer if this is by chance or coincidence that they are facing these elements... it could be an interactive plot which would be even more challenging for the actors and performers ...  and the storyteller who always somehow needs to reshape the way and the communication without losing twists and plot points on the main timeline of the pre-worked events. 

 

But don't get me wrong I loved the experience it only inspired me to ongoing expanding thoughts and ideas. 

 

 

My next stop was: 

"The Great C" by Dir. Steve Miller

 

A VR film which gets pretty close to classic cinema.

 

The film is an animated narrative story, and the quality of the

animation is on the highest standards.

 

It works a lot with somehow standard film framings who then track

closer according to the intention of the character or the spirit/emotion

of the moment are often represented in movements,

but it works pretty well. 

This film is for me the representer of the VR projects that is straight

commercial, and ticket sells driven, and I believe this projects will

lead that a wider audience will buy classes. 

 

Ongoing ideas:

The story is based on a Phillip K. Dick Story, and I discussed in the

end with the creators how cool it would be that the VR guest, which

is mostly the camera could be included in the success or failure of

the task of the story. Means your field of view which is close to the

characters could be an indicator trigger. In the story, the primary

enemy is always informed about everything even when both investigating characters try to get ahead of the big "C" ...

 

... I would like that the characters get shown that they have been observed by an invisible force YOU "the visitor" of this WORLD so you would feel more guilty for the failure of both main characters.

 

So your attention and your attraction to stories and characters would be in the end the central element to discuss.

 

This would add in a Philip K. Dick way a fantastic immersive layer to the film. 

 

From my point of view the VR Medium has the strongest ways to put someone in someone's shoes, but don't get me wrong I don't speak about POV over everything approach ... 

 

 

 

The next one is an ambivalent one for me ...

 

 

"L ile des morts" (Isle of the dead) by Dir. Benjamin Nuel 

 

It is an ARTE job if I am correctly informed, so Arte created a request,

and a guideline and a VR artist (Benjamin Nuel) did this work

(L ile des morts) under the rule catalog of Arte.

 

This VR Experience is the closest to TV ... it has two main layers ...

one visual and one audio ... both layers are explaining they don't let

much space for yourself for an interpretation somehow everything is

revealed ... it is the VR piece where you actually could have the audio

on loudspeakers at home watching it with your glasses than someone

rings the doorbell and you leave the visuals behind you take off the

glasses and then you open the door saying hello to your guest, and then you tell I have to finish this beautiful educational film in VR I am watching right now ... the person who went to the door didnt press pause because everything goes on in audio and you don't lose anything of the educational effect.

 

Precisely like this is the language of TV created ...

 

... so the job or the request is correctly executed, but it is using the need and/or the full potential of the VR Language 
>>> I don't think so, ...

 

... but it is perfectly done for its target group and for the institution who requested this work. 

 

... that is just my personal interpretation of this VR Film ... 

 

 

 

On my next day, I went for: 

 

 

 

"VR_I" by Dir. Gilles Jobin 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Group behind VR_I runs a five-player multiplayer VR Experience

which leads you through several spaces and scales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You enter an avatar, but you mainly never see yourself only the others and you see your legs, but these facts lead directly to communication between the group and you at the beginning of the experience.

 

So you experience yourself through others what bounds you strong to your group you talk to, and you can even interact by shake each other's hand or give a high five.

 

The primary goal as I understood is to create a group, a trustful setting that also leads to the trust that you dance with each other.

 

During the Experience appear several times additional non-player characters and start to dance between you and the others.

 

Being off-body and losing the awareness of yourself or shame you begin to feel WHY NOT DANCING inside of this new character.

 

But of course you need to overcome your self-awareness, and I believe and as I heard a lot of people ask if the creators thought about implementing a mirror inside of this world ... 

 

 

I would like to take there already exciting and fantastic offer of their world and lead it on into something more interactive:

 

The world which is created is very naturalistic and has no beaming or interactivity, so they or we or I would like to initiate an idea of transport you (The Player/The Guest) to the next spot by the players(your) choice, and then you see the others only half transparent to not run into them.  

 

The Creators could even manage to create a giant maze, where every player can walk around ... The creators could have developed roads like the white, red and blue road and add an over the character indicator of how often you have switched to the next platform ...

 

So you really could go away of each other a solve a riddle inside this fantastic world ... or you have to perform a dance move at the dedicated beaming platforms to go on your discovery journey ... 

 

I guess you understand now after explaining shortly my interactive addon that the experience "VR_I" inspired me a lot ... and led me to next thoughts ...

 

... finding possible ways of involving the player very immersive in this fictional world ...

 

 

A big big compliment to the group for creating the starting point ... they helped us to discover us inside of an avatar ... next steps are for me now the narrative ... and possible interactivity ... 

 

... by the way, the transition they created in their linear world was really smooth and more than very well done ...

 

I look forward to meeting the minds and the VR artists of this group again, and maybe we can combine ideas and forces ... 

 

From my point of view, they were selected to show an engaging artistic world inside of the VR medium.

 

A place to meet and to interact, non-story driven. 

 

 

Thanks a lot Michel & Liz for selecting them ... 

 

 

My next experience was: 

"The unknown patient" by Dir. Michael Beets

 

First of all, I liked that they designed the sitting option (usually a spinning chair) according to the story and the world where the story happens in. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the visual point of view, this experience was very conceptional, what I like a lot.

 

As the character we know not much, everything we see is only an abstract of the world of the patient who dont know himself and where he is from.

 

The world gets more and more solid and visual traditional during the development and stream of information and interactions we are going through as guests of the VR Experience.

 

For me it was not so heart touching, but very artistic.

 

It was an artistic interpretation and expression of the artist and how this artist imagines consciousness and awareness of a trauma patient.

 

The experience creates somehow understanding, but still, it wasn't emotional enough for me.

 

But from language and medium point of view, the experience works very well at the frontline of the subconscious ...

 

I enjoyed being inside of this experience  ... but it didn't lead me to next own thoughts ... the ending was a bit explaining the past and the real history I didn't felt engaged or put in someone's shoes;

 

I was witnessing a stream of facts which lead to a plotted end, because it is history and happened like that.

 

I believe it was very well done, but I would like to discuss with the creator where we can go next to engage the visitor more in the conceptional world. 

 

 

 

My next thing was: 

"Arden's Wake" Tide’s Fall (full film) by Dir. Eugene Chung

 

I watched the beginning already last year at the VR_Island, but still, it is for me always a joy as a storyteller with the background of a DOP to go inside this experience.

 

You are requested to frame a story!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Water sounds ...                     ... Grazie mille ...                  ... ok there ...                    ... steps of an invisible follower ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                          ... a sound of a ...

 

                                                                                                               

                                                                                                              ... brrrrrrr ...                                                                                                                            ... where ...  

         ... aaahhhhaaaa ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        ... is here ...

 

 

 

                                                                                ... strange ...

 

 

And it is super involving for a traditional film human. The story and its characters are well developed and excellently animated.

 

I wish since last year that the creator of this experience request after watching their work a portrait photo of the visitor of the experience and that they would give you a recorded print on a DVD of your version of Arden's Wake.

 

As well I wish they would store/record all the versions and the possible portrait pictures that they could do a museum exhibition about the thousands of ways of watching their work.

 

As well a VR language research (framing approach) could be done by this recording and storing.  

 

It could show us how different nations or different cultural heritages watch differently the same film ...

 

I believe they can fill in our modern self-reflecting-world significant exhibitions with this recorded contend ...

 

Arden's Wake is a pure joy to witness and it is as well pure joy to frame their story how you feel and see it.

 

It could even be an educational tool about where to watch or how a story change when you frame it differently. 

 

Thanks again thousand times for creating this work. 

 

 

 

 

The next work I would like to reflect is:

"Eclipse" by Dir. Jonathan Astruc 

 

A four-player multi-player VR-escape-room. 

 

 

The artists behind this work did a very fantastic job by

implementing low-frequency sound wave under your

feed to intense the feeling of their imaginary world. 

 

 

The space station is well designed even when the rendered

characters or let's say the avatars are not very individual,

but they are working, and they are believable. 

 

 

You feel transported to the station. 

 

 

The story and the interaction is working well but need a lot

of assistance from the operator of the escape room, so the

question raises could this part be improved? 

 

 

That the guest of the escape room get faster what they have to do without as much support, then it is needed at the moment.  

 

 

But this experience will sell and will work at arcades, and it will find or create others who see a chance of selling tickets through that. 

 

 

... So it is for sure an extremely strong and confident example of where VR can be used for and thanks to Michel and Liz it is selected and part of the somehow educational case what VR is used for or where it is applied.

 

The thought we can take out of that is that we have to experiment more with possible additional senses and with the in-world visual information flow. In a 2D flat film is the framing, montage, sound design, camera-movement, dialog, color-decisions, and and and which transmit directly and subconsciously the message or the intention but how we lead through a 360 world how we manage to look at a point at a 360 sphere.

 

I believe a lot is connected to our daily life viewing a surprising movement of a spider or snake indicated in cave-times are awareness. A change of color a very high contrast of light shadow-movements everything inside of a world can drive our attention through a situation. >>> We have to analyze humans and their attention flow in all kind of conditions to be ready to create a non-verbal not do directed but directed way through our VR experiences ...

 

Sound under our feeds which feels like metal on metal movement is a creative step, and we need to experiment on more physical and visual.

 

 

 

 

 

The next work: 

 

"LUCID" surprised me in a very positive way by Dir. Pete Short 

 

I think it was wrong or maybe perfectly promoted and by this

"the effect" of surprise was even stronger.

 

I expected a kids animation where a daughter and a mother

fly around in mothers subconscious. 

 

The Subconscious is in VR always a good working topic,

 

but the subject of this experience was the emotion or fear of

losing your mother. 

 

Then on top of facing that major fear, you have to let go and

when you even realize that mother or let's say both of your

parents live on inside of you reached the end. 

 

It touched me intensely. 

 

I think each of us has this fear or we can't imagine how it will be when the parents will be not alive any longer. The empathy of this topic is universal, and the animation film in VR is very well done, and it leads you between reality and the mind and the McGuffin of an adventure inside of a little spaceship. 

This VR short-film punches you heavy, and I dropped some tears inside of the VR glasses.  

I would say "nothing to add" -> this VR Film shows how short film storytelling can be mastered inside of a VR Experience. 

"Battlscar" is/was fun!

 

Battlescar by Dir. Martín Allais & Nico Casavecchia

 

I like the music the esthetic and the popup art inside the universe of Battlescar,

but I don't know why they didn't track me and adjust the position of the miniatures

to my position in the observed field. 

Sometimes the miniatures popped up so close that I had to go a step back to see them properly ...

 

... they work with both full-scale sphere and the miniatures which is a fantastic combination ...

... but then why not using the today tec and algorithms for making the experience even more flowing... 

 

In general a really beautiful done experience and as a person with a punk rock music background,

I can say ... I really enjoyed the music approach ...

 

... please more stories for such a universe ... 

 

 

The next work is:

 

 

"A Discovery of Witches"  by Dir. Kim-Leigh Pontin 

 

A straight commercial product with the intention to create a bound and interest to an upcoming TV Series.

 

I would say the narrative is not too strong but the world and the characters are well done and after being inside of the Experience I definitely want to watch at least one episode of this new series.

 

What would interest me most is how much they invest for the VR-Project compared to a regular campaign.

 

Of course, the fact being selected for the VR-Island create an extra kind of hype or stamp as proof of quality.

 

So I really would like to get to know numbers.

 

How many will watch the TV Series after watching VR appetizer and how much did it cost in compared to a regular campaign ...

 

 

 

Next in my review and thoughts stream is:

 

 

"Crow: The Legend" by Dir. Eric Darnell

 

This VR short film has a clear target group, and I believe the daughters of my sister would have loved the experience. 

Its well animated and nicely minimal interactive, very well done for its target group.

 

So here I can only say well-done according to the target group. 

 

 

 

We arrive now at the first of two German productions. 

 

 

 

Let's speak first about:

 

 

"MindPalace"  by Dir. Carl Krause & Dominik Stockhausen

 

A fascinating approach: finding visuals and a visual

style to embody love through a graphic form ...

     ... hidden in a non-narrative stream of conscious.

 

We witness memories which are a perfect topic for

experimenting with the visual language of a story.

 

I am not 100% sure if we needed to observe it in

VR but maybe this, is in this case, a compliment

because they manage that I feel inside of a stream

of pictures and visual emotions that I completely

forgot to interact or to make use of the VR medium.

 

This German group comes from an animation background, and I believe they achieved an extroverted visual style what actually let me forget that I am inside of a VR headset.

 

So I would say they completed quite some task.

 

And I consider this as a way which it is worth to develop and discover on. (Avoiding the typical looking-around movement of a VR headset user.)

 

 

 

The second German Projekt is Kobold:

 

"Kobold" by Dir. Max Sacker, Ioulia Isserlis

 

A commercial Genre VR Experience.

 

They touch the field of Horror, and they master according to their target group

their task pretty well.

 

Hardcore horror fans would maybe like to have a heavier loaded version,

but for me, it was more than enough.

 

I walk super slow through the hyper-realistic world, and the onliest disadvantage

was that I had to use a controller if they would use Leap Motion I would melt

even more into it.

 

But don't get me wrong, I already melt entirely into this world that this VR experience is the onliest which created, after using it, an off-body effect and confusion about am I still inside the VR world or not ... 

 

So we witness thanks to the Kobold team an upcoming and for sure ticket selling product.

 

I believe it could be even expanded into an installation that you really can touch the walls and they could work on the revolver switching method of switching you through the rooms which have a full house build up.

 

It is a logistic task and would maybe need of reshaping a bit the world but it could be done an then building it in four attachable ship containers would make the selling of this experience even to a market monster. 

 

 

Now we arrive at one of my personal favorites when it comes to paintings and VR and decoding paintings into VR. 

 

 

 

"Angel Takais (Trail of Angels)" by Dir. Kristina Buozyte

 

You have to know that I work with kids in museums and I decode with them painting and art approaches without the historical background of a painting or painter. I help the kids to decipher directly out of the pictures and then transcoding this result into an approach to filmmaking, then the kids do a film with the spirit of the decoded painting or the painter of approach. 

 

So, being inside of Trail of Angels was fantastic!

 

The Producer / Director team didn't put an explaining

voice over to their art.

 

They melt a complete world of a painter, a wide range of

several paintings into one new extended vision of the painter.

 

They choose a painter who had a consistent style and

worked and experiment on a meditative 20minutes experience.

 

For me, it was THE ONE AND ONLY WAY HOW TO DEAL WITH PAINTINGS into a PAINTING VR experience. 

 

They include YOU the audience the guest of the VR world, and they don't implement a way how this all should be read or understood.

 

They stay silent like a painting, and they leave it somehow to you beside their decision of an walked way, so you as the guest look around and by looking you trigger very settle the next steps and parts of the trail of the angels.

 

I highly enjoyed the time inside of this VR project, and I believe it will create a significant big effect on the museum world, and I believe the creator behind this project has their something super powerful in his hands.

 

Everything is always in the end between the viewer and the object of study.

 

So I believe the Producer could create even several interpretations of the same artist through several decoders.

 

A painting is the artistic expression of the creator. >>> But the creator leaves the reading to the viewer.

 

So why not working on future projects with several directors/decoders and then the producer can work on one artist through the permission of the rights holder on several interpretations.

 

I believe it is super exciting to see the result of several artists what they do out of the same painting or the same catalog of an artist.

 

My 28 Project is based on the same fascination. How several artists can read and express in a non-competitive way.

 

It will only open the artistic exchange without the need connecting the stories between each artist.

 

Each Artist can do his or her project in his or her way, and then the result will be the base of new studies. 

 

To the creative team behind the "Trail of Angles", thank you sooooo much ... it was more than an honor to be inside your artwork. 

 

 

The next project is Age of Sail.

 

 

 

"Age of Sail" by Dir. John Kahrs 

 

Another project like LUCID.

 

An extreme advanced example of well-done storytelling inside of a VR ShortFilm. 

 

There is not much to say. It is a pure joy and emotionally touching to witness the story.

 

Ok, we as visitors of the VR world / Story are not able to interact like in a traditional 2D Film.

 

And some voice will say it was not needed to have this film done inside of the VR Medium or with the help of the Medium.

 

But I believe it is an achievement to overcome the need of watching away or watching around when the story is well told, and the editing and the directions of your next perception are well chosen. 

 

This short film will show that VOD downloads who create a cash flow back to the investors are possible inside of the

VR medium and its use for a VR Short Film.

 

 

 

The next project is "Home after War" an installation.

 

 

"Home after War" by Dir. Gayatri Parameswaran

 

But it is a different kind of Installation it is not this standard multi-sense installation,

it is a kind of documentary and type of transportation into an Iraq war zone where

you witness a father coming home into a bomb trapped home. The father tells you the

story of how he lost his two sons. 

 

The creators behind this project did a flat 2d film as an intro lead you through a photography picture story at the inside wall of the installation booth and then into a reconstructed home were the story starts after you put the VR classes on. After you witness the horror of the daily life tragedy of the people who actually go home to their homes, you leave the VR situation and get hands-on access by a specialist of finding bombs how the real-life bomb objects look like. 

 

So this installation is more an educational one, and I would say a really needed one ... everywhere were people are who don't believe or have no understanding of the horror of these war zones, there this installation should be presented and exhibited. 

This installation has just a middle part that is based on VR, but it shows another time how different the field of use can look like. 

 

Personally, I would have enjoyed it even more if I would have had the chance to see and touch the house during the VR part. 

 

 

 

Three more projects then I will stop, and then I still have not touched the topics of the VR Cinema (spinning chairs) this year. 

 

 

 

The next project will be XRay Fashion

 

 

"XRay Fashion" by Dir. Francesco Carrozzini

 

XRay Fashion is a project which has from my point of view a to big coded title.

 

I believe with a more approachable title; more people would have found their

way faster into the super fantastic installation. 

 

The Group behind the installation had in the previous year the secret superstar

installation "Separated Silences".

 

They worked with smell wind and a touch by an actor in the last year. 

 

This year, in XRay Fashion, they work with water, heat, wind, smell and a strong informative audio track.

 

They lead you into the fashion shows with a thunderstorm of flashes by the press and media >>> for one reason <<< to then transport you to the dirty industry and heartbreaking stories behind the people who actually make and create the fast fashion we all are used to.

 

XRay Fashion was the first of two experiences which lead me to tears of this year VR-Island. 

 

I can only say if you get the chance to go into it ... go for it ... !!!

 

You will learn how to include elements like heat or water or a touch to underline the power of the medium and boosting the different way of remembering social facts. SkinMemory / HeatMemory /SmellMemory very very interesting ... 

 

In the year before in 2017 at the VR Island was the work "Last Goodbye" By Dir. Gabo Arora, he used the power of remembering through the sense of balance. 

 

It is a new school of sense driven remembering and grabbing the audience of a VR experience differently.

 

 

 

 

The next project is

 

"Awavena" by Dir. Lynette Wallworth 

 

Awavena is more an experience than the other VR experiences.

 

It is a Dok-VR-Film which lead you into a personal story of a first female shaman of a spiritual forest tribe. You witness her story about how she sneaks as a child the only for male shaman allowed drink who opens the gates to a different perception of the world. She faced over her life that she as a woman will never be allowed to be a shaman but everything comes differently. It is a heart touching story how she with her unbreakable will manage to change the course for all women in her society and lead the woman to a more free and respected life.

 

Going out of the VR-Glasses who work with an extraordinary view addition. In the beginning, you are inside the glasses, but you can see the room and your hands and a book which opens the story for you. The way how you percept all this is for you who just got the glasses on not yet explained. Later after the Story and everything that you get to know you maybe don't remember the book opening any longer but after taking the VR-Glasses your journey is not over. You get into a second part where you get another time different VR-Glasses with a VR-Computer-Backpack, and you get the change of experience the extraordinary view of the tribe drug without taking the drug. You see the world how they look at the world. 

 

I enjoyed being in this and writing a little thank you note dedicated to this powerful female closes in a beautiful and personal way the tour through the experience. 

 

This experience is difficult to decipher and difficult to forget. The story is enlighting and motivating to go your way whatever maybe show up as an obstacle in your way, but the message is so overwhelming that my brain is not capable of decoding and bringing the approach to something else or get in a technical way inspired for other on ongoing thought.

 

Maybe it is precisely wished and designed like that to set a point in the end and let you not fantasies on, because what you witness is no story it is merely an exhibited truth.

 

Another educating example about perception inside of VR and outside of VR and how we can use a change of perception to explain a different state of mind or of seeing things ... Metaphors can be used ... for example: "On all our food clues blood" and "thousands of liters of fuel are used to bring it into our supermarkets" ... so we can create inside of VR or AR such verbal constructions to create a visual answer and not to forget the experience that the people maybe change. 

 

I believe social VR is a term which will be stronger and stronger and I hope more and more people will go this way, but for sure we need more audience and to get more audience (more headsets) we need commercial products and well done narrative products to motivate the people to buy more glasses. 

 

Thank you Lynette for creating another indicator, another starting point for more social VR stories and projects. 

 

 

Everything leads to the last experience I visit and the last I will talk about at the moment.

 

 

"Umami" by Dir. Thomas Pons & Landia Egal 

 

 Are 5 centimeters enough ???

 

For me they were!

 

An experience which put you in the skin of someone else.

 

Into the skin and mind of a murder.

 

The VR-experience let you experience a mindset and situation that you are sure you haven't done it because you are inside someone else and you can't answer the questions with "yes I remember" because you don't remember because you are just put into this life.

 

That is an extremely powerful way of using VR.

 

Because everything is about skin changing so allow your narrative to play with it and it becomes more and more intense.

 

Storytellers can learn a lot of Umami.

 

It works with memory where is no memory it works with smell where is no smell it works with a deep fall where is no deep fall.

 

This piece is exceptionally eye-opening inside of its story and for the medium of VR.

 

Which twist works better which genre or setup can intense the experience. 

 

If you have the chance to go inside Umami, then do it. 

 

Be ready and open to being part of it. 

 

Feel free to react and interact. 

 

Maybe as feedback to the creators, I wouldn't mind if you would chain me and handle me even tougher even to intensify, but as you said afterward for some, it is already tough enough.