With less than one week till doors open, we still have time to squeeze in one more surprise announcement! Sol Rogers of REWIND, creators of the Ghost in the Shell VR experience will be hosting a talk on 12th April giving a behind- the scenes insight into the experience.
We are delighted to welcome a brand new host to the VRWC family- Muki Kulhan; we are thrilled and also terrified in equal measure to welcome back James Parker as host.
Also finalised are the 11 winners of the event’s first Investor Showcase pitch, a special Survival Tips for VR Panel discussion hosted by Johnathan Wagstaff of CONTEXT and some new talks.
Among the speakers is Josie Wardle of Immersive Technology will be talking about VR Gaming and her work with Playstation. Live holographic engine Experimental Foundation co-founders will be talking about real time holographic streaming. Dave Patten will be joining Phil Stuart to discuss VR in Museums.
We cannot wait to see you all next week and the excitement is really palpable! With less than a week to go, with all of these unmissable things now announced at VRWC17, now is the time to commit and head down to Bristol! Get your tickets HERE!
Ghost In The Shell - Sol Rogers REWIND
Award-winning content production agency REWIND will be showing its latest incredible project - a real-time VR experience for the release of the movie Ghost in the Shell. The project is a partnership between REWIND, HERE BE DRAGONS, Oculus, Paramount and DreamWorks, taking viewers into The Major’s (Scarlett Johansson) world and psyche. The Oculus Rift version can be enjoyed on the AMD stand in the expo on Millennium Square.
The Ghost in the Shell VR experience allows viewers a glimpse into The Major’s journey - punctuated with glitches, action and acrobatic intrigue - to find her ghost. Built from the ground up with Unreal Engine 4 and Unity game engines, the experience brings the audience inside the newly reimagined virtual world of Ghost in the Shell. It is free to download for Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR.
Sol Rogers, CEO and founder of REWIND said: “Traditional movies were the popular art form of the 20th century. Now storytellers are no longer limited to the constraints of film. Stories can come to life in a new, immersive way. But VR is not the death of TV and film. It’s a separate, stand-alone medium that will add more variety to entertainment. VR allows you to step back in time or into someone else's shoes. It can bring you closer to much-loved characters and into the worlds of your favourite movies. The Ghost in the Shell VR experience is an interactive VR story combining cutting-edge game engine with user-interactive elements taking the user deep into the world of The Major. These visceral experiences are the future of storytelling."
Hosts:
Muki Kulhan, Executive Digital Producer/MD Muki International
Muki is an award-winning Executive Digital Producer creating groundbreaking content for music, entertainment and tech. Having 10+ years overseeing MTV’s digital platforms, she now runs her own production company, which has included being BBC’s Digital Exec for The Voice UK, where she produced their first-ever series of 360°VR experiences.
James Parker - Groundshatter- HOST
Last year James attempted to destroy VR from the inside with a mixture of bad showmanship and bad organisation. This year he redoubles those efforts and takes the battle to new fronts against the encroaching threats of AR, MR, and whichever other new R's have been concocted in the meantime.
Speakers:
Josie Wardle – Project Manager, Immersive Technology Group, Sony
Josie Wardle is Project Manager for the Immersive Technology Group within Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios. She manages a range of PlayStation® VR and immersive technology projects connecting her and the team within the Sony business and across the wider industry. She is a keen advocate of multidisciplinary applications for VR.
Ieva Stelingyte, Co-founder, Experimental Foundation - VR: live holographic streaming
Ieva is a co-founder of Experimental Foundation, the company which brought EF EVE - the World’s first live holographic streaming engine. Its main focus is bringing real time 3D experience to the VR/AR industry.
Agnis Stelingis, Co-founder, Experimental Foundation- VR: live holographic streaming
Agnis is a founder and CEO of Experimental Foundation. He is the driving force behind EF EVE
- the live holographic streaming engine. He is interested in philosophy, architecture but above all
in capturing moments and sharing them live in VR/AR.
Dave Patten, Head of New Media, Science Museum - How do you put VR into museums?
Dave manages all aspects of new media and AV at The Science Museum and has worked there for over 30 years, developing exhibitions and leading development teams on systems such as the Wellcome Wing and Dana Centre. Recent work includes Web Lab, the multi-award winning collaboration with Google, Engineering Your Future, and a three month secondment to Frost Science in Miami to help develop exhibitions and systems for a new museum.
Panel:
Survival Tips for VR Studios and Developers in 2017
This panel will look at the hurdles needing to be overcome in the year ahead for creative studios working in the VR space. Led by an industry-leading analyst and featuring a highly-experienced team of successful VR professionals, the discussion is poised to produce a veritable wealth of useful advice.
April 13th, 15:50
Jason Lovell, Founder & MD, Captivate Consultancy
Passionate about VR & AR and the boundless potential the technologies have to benefit businesses, Jason set up Captivate to provide a comprehensive, holistic and impartial service enabling businesses to embrace opportunities offered by cutting-edge immersive technologies. In 2017 he also co-founded Amplio.co, an VR platform designed to improve performance in athletes.
Liz Biggs, Lead Creative (VR & Digital), Alchemy VR
Liz heads up the creative team at Alchemy VR, overseeing projects from initial pitch through delivery. She began her career directing and producing specialist factual & documentaries for broadcasters including BBC, Discovery and National Geographic, before turning her attention to VR and digital, excited by the new storytelling opportunities they present.
Johnathan Wagstaff, Country Manager, UK & Ireland, CONTEXT
Jonathan has managed EMEA wide data-collection projects for major ICT vendors and is currently responsible for the UK & IE ICT distribution, reseller, and retail panels at CONTEXT. He has specialist knowledge of the UK ICT supply chain, and the global VR, Smart Home, and PC Gaming markets.
James Valls, Senior Producer, Rebellion
James Valls is a Senior Producer at Rebellion. During his extensive career he has successfully managed projects on a wide range of platforms including PC, Xbox, Playstation, iOS, Android, online social platforms, websites and multimedia DVDs. He loves working new technologies and he’s currently overseeing the production of Rebellion’s first VR project, Battlezone.
Games James worked on: Star Wars Battlefront series, Playstation Home, Sniper Elite 2&3, Rebellion Mobile Titles (Judge Dredd vs. Zombies, Harmony Isle, Raceline) and Battlezone for PSVR
Jon Hibbins, Psytec Games
Jon Hibbins is Executive Producer and Director of Psytec Games Ltd, a dedicated VR games studio, Psytec Games released Windlands and Crystal Rift on PSVR, Vive and Oculus Rift.
Investor Showcase pitching list
The 11 winners of the first VR Investor Showcase have also been announced. After a strong first round, they have won the chance to pitch to a panel of investors including Mike Hayes, investment director at Mercia Technologies, and Andy Mulvenna, co-founder & director at Accelerated Digital Ventures, at VRWC on 12 April between 11am and 2pm.
