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783 episodes

Screenshot of an AR digital monument of Samuel Anderson (Flatbush's Famous Black Pioneer) in the park from the Kinfolk application

#1252: “Kinfolk” App is Cultivating an AR Archive of Black History with Digital Monuments & Speculative Futures

by kentbyeAugust 16, 2023

Kinfolk: Black Lands is described by co-founder Idris Brewster as “an Augmented Reality Archive of Black, Brown, LGBTQ, and underrepresented history in general using the power of immersive storytelling and immersive media to uplift stories from our...

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Picture of actress representing Claudette Colvin being carried away by two cops who are represented as point-cloud images

#1251: From Book to Play to AR Installation, “Colored” Explores the Forgotten Segregation History of Claudette Colvin

by kentbyeAugust 16, 2023

Colored is a HoloLens 2-based, augmented reality immersive story installation for 3-10 people that talks about the forgotten history of Claudette Colvin. “This experience plunges the audience into the Deep South during segregation. In the course of...

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Framed shot of a man laying his head on the floor with a glass of mango juice in the foreground and plate of food in the background. Still image from the VR 360 video called Over the Rainbow.

#1250: Translating 1:1 Experimental Theatre Encounters into 360 Video to Transcend Expectations with Craig Quintero

by kentbyeAugust 16, 2023

Over The Rainbow is the second episode of a 360 video trilogy by Craig Quintero (see my interview about All That Remains from Venice 2022). Quintero is the artistic director of Riverbed Theatre, a Taipei-based performance group that has been doing 1...

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Illustrated screencap from Mahal featuring Bathala's four immortal children from Philippine mythology (from left to right) Tala (Deity of the Evening Star), Apolaki (The God of the Sun), Hanan (Deity of the Dawn), and Mayari (Deity of the Moon).

#1249: Experiential Design Breakdown of “Reimagined Vol II: Mahal,” A Stylized & Mythic Story of Personal Grief

by kentbyeAugust 16, 2023

Reimagined Vol II: Mahal is the second edition of the Reimagined VR series that premiered at Tribeca Immersive 2023 (see my interview about Volume I from Venice 2022). It’s a Quill animation piece that has lots of stylized cinematography, deliberate...

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Screenshot from Expanse featuring a space ship that has exploded into many fragments with a ship in the foreground and planet in the background

#1247: The Branching Narrative Architecture of “The Expanse: A Telltale Series” Featured at Tribeca Games

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a 5-part, 2D narrative game series that’s a prequel to the Amazon TV and book series. I had a chance to play through the first 90-minute episode at Tribeca Games, and then unpack it with game director Stephan Frost...

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Man mimicking an emoji expression while holding a phone playing charades with another person

#1246: Smartphone Orchestra’s “Emojiii” Cultivates Playful & Novel Group Social Dynamics

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

Emojiii is an immersive social experience for 20 – 200 people by the Smartphone Orchestra where people use their phone web browsers to be guided through a number of interactive games and quizzes exploring how we make meaning and communicate with...

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Screenshot from the Pirate Queen game showing the interior of a ship

#1245: “The Pirate Queen” Narrative Game Wins Tribeca Storyscapes Prize with Exquisite Environmental Storytelling

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend is a narrative VR game with lots of exquisite environmental storytelling with embodied puzzles and escape room mechanics. You play as a 19th-century Chinese woman named Cheng Shih as she becomes one of the most...

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Red-line, sketch drawing of Medusa with snakes extending outwards on both sides

#1244: “Maya: The Birth” Animation Uses Mythic Symbols & Magical Realism to Explore Menstrual Taboos

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

Maya: The Birth (Chapter 1) is an animated Quill piece that explores menstrual taboos by juxtaposing lots of mythic and archetypal symbols with more mundane scenes of shame and exile within the context of family, schools, and the broader culture...

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First-person POV screenshot from Pixel Ripped holding an Atari controller at an office desk with a couple of monitors while talking to a woman at work

#1243: Origin Story of “Pixel Ripped 1978” with ARVORE and Atari Team + Novel Game-Within-a-Game Mechanics

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

Pixel Ripped 1978 is the third in a trilogy of game-within-a-game series from indie development shop ARVORE based in São Paulo, Brazil. It taps into some deep nostalgia by recreating the environmental and contextual aspects of computing through the...

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Picture of the back of a boy on a beach holding a fisherman's net while facing a body of water. The boy has a generative AI style transfer to look like a cartoon

#1242: Poetic Generative AI Film “In Search of Time” Uses Style Transfer To Explore Childhood Memories

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

In Search of Time is a 2D film that premiered at Tribeca Immersive, and it uses a lot of generative AI style transfer techniques on top of footage of Pierre Zandrowicz’s children. Atlas V co-founder Zandrowicz’s co-directed this piece with Matthew...

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Picture from Monstrorama showing a mixed reality portal into a rainy world with a werewolf howling at the moon.

#1241: “MONSTRORAMA” Narrative Game Uses Mixed Reality to Explore Inner and Outer Monsters

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

MONSTRORAMA is a mixed reality narrative game from Atlas V that transforms your living room into a monster museum. There is a lot of environmental storytelling that’s used to modulate your home, and you end up using your hands to draw mixed reality...

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Two shots of Meneath showing the Pepper's ghost technique of two perpendicular monitors with a 45-degree glass in between.

#1240: “Meneath: The Mirrors of Ethics” Uses Pepper’s Ghost Technique to Represent Indigenous Ancestors

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

Meneath: The Mirrors of Ethics uses the Pepper’s Ghost Technique from theme parks and theatre to represent hidden indigenous ancestors within her animation film. This technique uses two perpendicular monitors with a piece of glass at a 45-degree...

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Tribeca Immersive booth for AR project that has 6 posters with QR codes and a dollar bill banner with the title of "Fortune"

#1239: “Fortune” Uses AR Filters to Tell Spatial Stories about Money and Facilitate Social Media Conversations

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

Fortune is a series of 8 Snapchat and Instagram AR filters that explore the topic of money and our relationship to money. Each project is around 90-seconds in length and uses a variety of immersive storytelling techniques from tabletop-scale...

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A dozen men in uniform standing in a circle leering into the camera giving a claustrophobic feeling

#1238: “The Fury” Combines Two-Channel Video Installation with 360 Video to Explore Memories of Sexual Assault

by kentbyeAugust 15, 2023

The Fury is a two-channel video installation in combination with a 360 video that “explores sexual exploitation of female political prisoners, referencing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s brutal treatment of political prisoners.” Director Shirin...

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Picture of Curtis Hickman and his book about Hyper-Reality.

#1237: The VOID’s Curtis Hickman on his book “Hyper-Reality: The Art of Designing Impossible Experiences”

by kentbyeAugust 3, 2023

The VOID was a location-based entertainment company that shut down during the pandemic and maybe coming back at some point. The VOID Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer Curtis Hickman convinced his partners to allow him to reflect upon and share the...

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screenshot of Cosmonious High VR game showing off the new vision accessibility update settings

#1232: Low-Vision VR Design Innovations & XR Accessibility in Owlchemy Labs’ “Cosmonious High”

by kentbyeJuly 13, 2023

Owlchemy Labs has been on the leading edge of accessible VR game design since 2016. starting with Job Simulator, and then following up with key accessibility features for Vacation Simulator, and Cosmonious High. They were at XR Access Symposium...

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Cover graphic and branding for the Tribeca Festival running from June 7-18, 2023

#1220: Tribeca Immersive 2023 Preview with Curator Ana Brzezińska

by kentbyeJune 7, 2023

I had a chance to speak with Tribeca Immersive curator Ana Brzezińska to break down each one of this year’s selection of 13 immersive stories. I’ll be in NYC from June 7-16th covering the festival, and so stay tuned for more coverage coming soon...

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Branding graphic for SXSW 2023 with the dates March 10-19

#1208: 2023 SXSW Immersive Recap and Highlights with Programmer Blake Kammerdiener

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

In my final SXSW interview, I had a chance to catch up with SXSW Immersive Programmer Blake Kammerdiener to do a retrospective look at this year’s program, some of the challenges for VR exhibition, his design intentions for how to intermingle the...

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Picture of a woman wearing a Quest 2 and a fashionable haptic vest while point cloud images are projected onto her and the screen behind her.

#1207: “Temporal World” Blends Touch with Sound Design for a Unique Haptisonic Experience about Memory

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Chloé Lee’s immersive art piece Temporal World: A Haptisonic Virtual Reality Memory World uses a custom-made haptic vest that is intimately integrated into the ambient sound design of this point-cloud, spatial exploration around memory. Lee wanted...

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#1204: Blending Open World Exploration with VR Immersive Theatre Drama with “Find WiiLii” in International Collaboration with GiiOii Immersive Studio and Ferryman Collective

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

The Ferryman Collective were back at SXSW presenting another immersive theatre piece in virtual reality, but this time they were translating an adapted a piece called Find WiiLii that was originally produced in South Korea by GiiÖii Immersive Studio...

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Shot of Miro Shot band on stage at a SXSW bar playing a mixed reality gig for seven people sitting down wearing VR headsets.

#1202: Miro Shot’s Second Mixed Reality Concert at SXSW: An Intimate, Live Performance Ritual

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Roman Rappak’s Miro Shot band returned to SXSW again this year for an updated mixed reality, live concert performance with a much needed upgrade from the high-latency and outdated GearVR headsets to the much more cutting-edge HTC Elite mixed reality...

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The letters JCPR&C on a blue background, which is Jessie Cohen's PR company.

#1201: Jessie Cohen’s Oral History of Public Relations for Immersive Stories from 2013 to 2023

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Jessie Cohen started representing immersive stories back at Sundance 2013 when she was working for the Sundance Film Festival for the New Frontier section. She eventually transitioned from trying to represent every New Frontier project through the...

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#1200: Defining Process-Relational Architecture with Andreea Ion CojoCaru: Spatial Design as a Participatory Improv Performance

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Andreea Ion CojoCaru is a unique blend of VR developer and practicing architect in both virtual and physical spaces, but who is also driven by deep philosophical questions and her own embodied curiosities exploring the boundaries between the virtual...

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Screenshot of Whipped Cream music video shows a volumetrically captured man and woman reaching towards each other while standing in a virtual field with mountains in the background and rose pedals raining from the sky.

#1199: “Whipped Cream: The Dark” Interactive Music Video Blending Volumetric Capture with Spatial Locomotion

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Departure Lounge is volumetric studio based in Vancouver, Canada that is collaborating with the Monstercat music label to experiment with XR technologies in making both 2D music videos and more volumetric immersive experiences that they were showing...

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Picture of the Aespa K-Pop band captured with stereo 180-video while dancing within a high-res, virtually-generated world

#1198: AmazeVR is Bringing High-Res, Immersive Concert Experiences to the Quest Starting with K-Pop Band Aespa

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Last year, AmazeVR launched their Into the Hottiverse virtual concert experience at SXSW featuring Megan Thee Stallion before taking it on a VR concert tour at AMC theaters around the United States. This year AmazeVR is back with an even more...

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Outside picture of the Phi Gallery building at a corner in downtown Montreal

#1197: Myriam Achard’s Industry-Leading, Immersive Curation for Montreal’s Phi Centre

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Myriam Achard is the Chief of New Media Partnership as well as PR Officer at Montreal’s Phi Centre. Part of Achard’s job is to travel around the work searching for the best immersive storytelling, art, music at festivals and gatherings around the...

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Picture of a cute animated egg character running and escaping danger and mayhem with bombs, lasers, snakes, buzzsaws, snakes, bombs, dragons, and a giant tidal wave.

#1196: “Eggscape” is a Groundbreaking, Mixed Reality, Multi-Player, Table Top Platformer Aiming for LBE

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Eggscape is a mixed reality, table top platformer game similar to Lucky’s Tale, but since it’s mixed reality then there’s a lot more of moving your body through space as a control dynamic. I previously got the whole backstory about Eggscape from...

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Screenshot of Figural Bodies performance that includes abstract avatars, and two video feeds featuring disabled dancers wearing motion capture gear

#1195: Exploring Non-Normative Avatars with Disabled Dancers in “Figural Bodies” Research Project

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Figural Bodies is a research project out of Goldsmiths college that uses motion captured dance with disabled, non-disabled, and neurodivergent dancers in order to explore non-normative avatar representations as well as the accessibility challenges...

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Jailbirds poster featuring a couple of the animated characters within the context of a jail cell.

#1194: “Jailbirds” is a Well-Told, Magical Realist Story Using Character-Driven Animation and Stylized Cinematography

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Jailbirds is a really well-told, three-part episodic animated VR piece that uses the spatial affordances of VR to tell a compelling metaphoric story about the escapist qualities of virtual reality. It’s a character-driven story set within a prison...

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Three mobile phone screenshots showing speculative future video segments from the Concensus Gentium cinematic AR piece.

#1193: Phone-based Interactive Story “Consensus Gentium” Takes Top SXSW Prize for Chilling Speculative Worldbuilding Exploring AI Bias, Surveillance, & Biometric Agency

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Consensus Gentium is took him the Grand Jury prize for SXSW Immersive 2023, and it’s the most immersive phone-based experience that I’ve ever had. The Latin title translated means that “If everyone believes it, it must be true,” and it’s a near-term...

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Pictures of five people in five locations wearing VR headsets while watching immersive story experiences distributed by Astrea

#1191: Closing the Distribution Gap: Atlas V’s Astrea Aims to Port, Publish, & Market the Best of Immersive Stories

by kentbyeApril 3, 2023

Astrea is the publishing arm of Atlas V that aims to close the current gap in distribution for immersive stories that debut on the film festival circuit, but then often don’t make it wider distribution. There’s a lot of optimization, porting, and...

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Posters for two 360 videos including Behind the Dish showing food close-ups, and picture of John F Kennedy in the car just before he was shot for a JFK Memento VR doc chronicling his assassination.

#1190: Targo Stories’ Immersive Documentary Spatial Innovations with “Behind the Dish” & “JFK Memento”

by kentbyeApril 2, 2023

Targo Stories continues to innovate with novel spatial storytelling techniques in both of the projects that were submitted and selected to SXSW. The Behind the Dish series uses micro lenses to give a uniquely fresh and giant look at food being...

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Shot of photogrammetry scanned mushroom within a virtual forest that is a screencapture from Forager.

#1189: “Forager” Volumetric Timelapse of Mushroom Growth Hits a Sweet Spot of Touch, Smell, & Immersive Storytelling

by kentbyeApril 2, 2023

Forager is a short immersive story that shows the four stages of development of a mushroom through a groundbreaking volumetric timelapse that takes place within a game engine. They had to innovate on automating their photogrammetry timelapse...

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Older Ukrainian man standing within a bombed out bathroom while staring within a 360 video camera.

#1188: Emotionally Evocative, Virtual Eye Gazing with Ukrainians in Bombed Out Buildings in “Fresh Memories: The Look”

by kentbyeApril 2, 2023

Fresh Memories: The Look is a 360-video about the war in Ukraine that takes the deceptively simple idea of having Ukrainian citizens gaze into a 360-degree camera within the context of a bombed out home, workplace, or school that's juxtaposed...

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Sonya Haskins standing in front of Echo VR ad from Oculus Connect 2019

#1173: Echo VR Reflections from 2019 by Sonya Haskins + My Thoughts of Echo VR Shut Down Announcement

by kentbyeFebruary 17, 2023

I dig into my interview backlog archive from April 2019 at F8 (a month before the Quest launch) to publish this conversation with Sonya Haskins, who shares her journey into VR through eSports and the Echo VR community. Haskins is a writer who...

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Picture of the opening of the IDFA DocLab R&D Summit taken from the balcony showing a theatre full of people in the audience listening to a women on stage speaking.

#1169: IDFA DocLab Founder Caspar Sonnen Reflects on 2022 Program, Industry Trends, and Distribution Challenges

by kentbyeDecember 22, 2022

In my final interview from IDFA DocLab 2022, I had a chance to catch up with DocLab founder Caspar Sonnen to reflect on the 2022 program and the ecological points made by the piece Okawari, to comment on the “Nervous System” in this phase of the...

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Screen capture virtual trees painted with Open Brush on the beach as a monsoon comes in for the "Anticipation of Rain" VR story.

#1168: “The Anticipation of Rain” Combines Open Brush Landscape VR Painting of a Monsoon with Custom Scents

by kentbyeDecember 22, 2022

After suffering a paralyzing viral infection, XR Director Naima Karim started to notice the natural world around her in a more visceral way, She “experienced the monsoon even more intensely than usual: the initial gusts of wind, the rapidly...

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Screenshot of the MIT Open Documentary Lab's website showing off their different initiatives.

#1166: Sarah Wolozin’s Journey to Directing the MIT Open Documentary Lab

by kentbyeDecember 22, 2022

Sarah Wolozin is the director of the MIT Open Documentary Lab, and I had a chance to catch up with her at the IDFA DocLab 2022 in order to record her journey from being a storytelling to working at MIT’s Open DocLab. Here’s the mission statement of...

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$Picture of LED light strip immersive pyramid installation in a small room that's being diffracted and creating ghostly symmetrical triangular repetitions.$

#1165: XR Installation “Ikhet (Sound Pyramid)” Combines Immersive Sound, Visceral Haptics, & Diffracted Kaleidoscopic Visuals

by kentbyeDecember 22, 2022

Ikhet (Sound Pyramid) is a 14-channel spatial audio installation that included ButtKicker Haptics, LED tubes with diffractive glasses giving a ghostly, analog Holographic effect, experimental field recordings, and a harsh electronic music track that...

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#1164: Live XR Sketch Comedy “Bag of Worms” Blends Realities for Surrealist Humor Reflecting on Virtual Violence

by kentbyeDecember 22, 2022

Bag of Worms is a live XR sketch comedy performance developed by Matt Romein in collaboration with Peter Mills Weiss and Julia Mounsey that showed as a part of the ONX + DocLab MoCap Stage at IDFA DocLab 2022. It’s difficult to fully describe the...

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#1163: Live XR Performance Experiments with ONX Studios and DocLab Motion Capture Stage at IDFA 2022

by kentbyeDecember 22, 2022

The ONX + DocLab MoCap Stage at IDFA DocLab 2022 featured a number of experimental XR performances using a high-end OptiTrack – Motion Capture System within a theatrical stage with a screen that was projecting the virtual representations. Each of...

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#1162: Talk on Motion Capture in Immersive Stories + Panel at IDFA DocLab: “Capturing Reality in Motion”

by kentbyeDecember 22, 2022

I was invited to give a keynote at the Capturing Reality in Motion session as a part of the ONX + DocLab MoCap Stage. I gave a 20-minute talk reflecting on how some of the different projects on the film festival circuit have been using motion...

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#1161: The Many Immersive Documentary Innovations of “In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats:” Winner of IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction

by kentbyeDecember 21, 2022

In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats is a landmark immersive documentary that seamlessly integrates so many different immersive storytelling techniques and XR modalities earning it the IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction. You’re transported back...

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