Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/869840
www.postmagazine.com 37 POST SEPTEMBER 2017 VR/AR NEWS CHICAGO — The recent SIGGRAPH 2017 show in LA this past summer hosted a highly diverse array of new Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) projects from around the world. And clearly, it was not only the perfect platform for vendors to show off their newest solutions for VR/AR, but also for the show to debut its new VR Theater alongside the popular Computer Animation Festival. SIGGRAPH's focus on the technology also continued with the return of its VR Village. Hundreds of submissions were considered by an internationally recognized theater jury this year, for both SIGGRAPH's Electronic and VR Theaters. For 2017, 25 pieces had been accepted into its Electronic Theater while 10 into the VR Theater. Two- thirds of this year's short films were international submissions and run the gamut of genres — with everything from advertising, visualization and simulation to visual effects and game cinematics. Additionally, short films or visual effects reels were shown from Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Pixar Animation Studios, Weta Digital, Moving Picture Company (MPC) and Epic Games. "We are extremely excited about our show this year," said SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival director Pol Jeremias, just prior to the show. "We will be presenting many firsts, including short films being ren- dered in realtime — a milestone for this festival — the introduction of our VR Theater, and perhaps most importantly some really incredible student work! When watching the Electronic and VR Theater films, my hope is that our attendees will become inspired by the experience and leave with new ideas." As the festival moved beyond the flat screen for the first time, the team invited attendees to experience the next generation of storytelling in virtual reality. The VR Theater present- ed morning and evening programs throughout the conference week, each featuring five VR films. In addition, the show once again featured its VR Village. A relatively young program, VR Village featured VR and AR installations that were both content-driven and highly inter- active. The venue offered attendees the ability to explore the potential of brand-new VR and AR formats for shared experiences, engaging audiences and powering real-world applications in entertainment, design and gaming, among other areas. This year's focus of the Village was on diversity — both of the storylines featured within the projects as well as the diversity of creators and produc- ers who presented content. Before the show, Denise Quesnel, 2017 VR Village chair had said, "Our jury selected content for this year's VR Village that would be 'hands-on' and that focuses on the experience itself rather than the technology. In this way, we will be offering confer- ence attendees the chance to explore the capabilities and functionalities of each project in context. Projects that include performative elements and social experiences will be featured, along with multi-user experiences that are highly collaborative." SIGGRAPH CONTINUES FOCUS ON VR The "Out of Exile" VR experience.