Cyclops

28/06/2017

Yes!

The human desire to experience another perspective, place or reality has a long history in the visual arts. Recent innovations mean 360° video is now frequently available on social media, with cont…

30/05/2017

Four virtual-reality films take you on, above and below the Antarctic ice.

30/05/2017

Alex Kunawicz, VP of strategy at Laduma, warned content firms to get their priorities straight. “Some companies, they sell themselves on the tech and not the story,” he said, while encouraging experimentation to understand what form that storytelling should take. “The media is so new that we are learning all the time… Because you’re trying things at the cutting-edge all the time, not everything is always going to work how you want it.” But that’s an important part of the learning experience.

One of the big themes at this year's MIPTV has been virtual reality, with a bustling demo area and lots of opinions from the industry.

24/05/2017

And he’d love to play with this technology again. “It’s going to be getting more accessible,” he said. “This is groundbreaking, very provoking. As filmmakers, none of the grammar tools apply. A film is about frame, the length of a take, the juxtaposition of edited images. A film without a frame is to film as a car without tires. It’s not a car anymore. It’s a leap forward. With cinema, that little hole you see through, I give you 20% as director and you figure out the other 80%. That’s the dialectic.”

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s VR project, “Carne Y Arena,” is groundbreaking, moving, and a must see. Just don’t call it a movie.

11/05/2017

Without a pre-existing catalog of content to license (as standard content streaming apps have the luxury of today), these apps are like TV stations that only air one new episode each month. On a long enough timeframe, some of these apps may grow up to be interesting, but in the meantime they are sitting ducks waiting for better positioned companies to come in and create their own ‘TV channels.’

In fact, most established publishers are opting to do just that. New York Times VR, Time/Life/People, Discovery, etc., have all launched their own offerings and, not surprisingly, these video apps are already on the way to larger viewerships than the startups because they’re able to leverage their existing publishing network to drive up the audience size. Side note: this also allows them to help brands swallow the high cost of creating 360 film content since it can now be seen as subcategory within an overall media spend that includes traditional, print, and web.

The 360 film industry is still young and it’s maturing rapidly. With his name on more than 20 360 film projects to date, Armando Kirwin has had an inside view as to where things started, where they’re going, and why. Guest Article by Armando Kirwin Armando Kirwin has worked as a Director of VR, VR P...

11/05/2017

Nice!

New Projects Explore Topics Including Biohacking, Homeless Q***r Youth and Alien Abductions

08/05/2017

The 360 film industry is still young and it’s maturing rapidly. With his name on more than 22 360 film projects to date, Armando Kirwin has had an inside view as to where things started, where they’re going, and why. Guest Article by Armando Kirwin Armando Kirwin has worked as a Director of VR, VR P...

25/04/2017

Companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft can still run their neural networks on standard computer chips, known as CPUs. But since CPUs are designed as all-purpose processors, this is terribly inefficient. Neural networks can run faster and consume less power when paired with chips specifically designed to handle the massive array of mathematical calculations these AI systems require. Google says that in rolling out its TPU chip, it saved the cost of building about 15 extra data centers. Now, as companies like Google and Facebook push neural networks onto phones and VR headsets—so they can eliminate the delay that comes when shuttling images to distant data centers—they need AI chips that can run on personal devices, too. “There is a lot of headroom there for even more specialized chips that are even more efficient,” LeCun says.

In other words, the market for AI chips is potentially enormous. That’s why so many companies are jumping into the mix.

A quarter-century ago, Facebook's director of artificial intelligence made an AI chip. He was 25 years ahead of his time.

10/03/2017

VR goes mainstream!!

The Economist offers authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science, technology and the connections between them.

06/03/2017

“To give that experience, that jolt of adrenaline” is unique, he said, adding that “nobody in their right mind is ever going to do that” in the real world.

Done right, interactive videos can be a big hit with consumers. But high costs and fickle audiences can make them risky.

06/03/2017

Whether in real life or mixed reality, HEROES (and Minor Obsessions) proves that fundamental art forms like dance won't go away with the advent of VR. Emerging platforms just give experiential control back to audiences, encouraging individual interaction as well as collective ones, all while exploring mixed reality's uncharted terrain and redefining the art of storytelling.

“HEROES: A Duet in Mixed Reality” redefines theatergoing on every level

03/03/2017

The Tribeca Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of virtual reality (VR) and innovative exhibitions as part of the Tribeca Immersive program. The 11-day fest runs from April 19 to 30 ...