I do have some notes from our OWL VR KIT launch on Tuesday. But they’re very rough ….
I spoke basically off the cuff. I’m excited that my own special way of entering into Virtual Reality is finally out there !
Bri
NOTES for my presentation at the OWL VR launch, at the Dolby Theatre, 24th May 2016.
(note : These were only a guide)
Leonardo discovered 3-D ? NO.
Who did ? ? Charles Wheatstone in 1832. AMAZING STORY.
What’s 3-D ?? A name given in the 1950s to a phenomenon which took England and France by storm in the 1850s. They called it Stereoscopy.
Stereopsis. We have TWO EYES for a reason ! Give each eye the view it would have in real life, and the feeling of solidity and depth is reproduced ! It’s a very good simulation of reality … much better than a flat photograph.
ViewMaster. 3-D films .. Avatar, How to Train Your Dragon … We all know what 3-D is now.
What’s VR ??
A combination of 2 things.
1) 360 – A little trick invented for a gaming program in which you can see 360 degrees all around you on a phone, by turning it around to ‘look’ in all directions, including up and down.
2) And 3-D. The sense of ‘virtual’ reality produced by this combination is strong.
There are various camera devices and processing techniques for CREATING VR. There are also now various devices available to the public for VIEWING it. One is Google Cardboard. It’s cheap, and Google have done a great job introducing the idea to the public. Oculus Rift have done very well, too; this is a high quality item, and at the other end of the price spectrum. There are many other VR viewers available now, of varying quality. They are almost all ‘enclosed’ and strap to the head. Criticisms of many of the devices are that they are heavy, uncomfortable to wear, exert pressure on the eyes, and that they give some people feelings of claustrophobia. Also many of these devices fit only some kinds of smartphone and not others. But the most frequent complaint is that people ‘lose control’ of their smartphone once it’s in the device – since the controls are no longer accessible.
The OWL offers a ‘pro’ way of viewing VR . It’s a very simple but effective way of putting ANY smartphone in the proper geometry for 3-D and VR. It’s a little different from what’s out there. It’s not strapped to your head, it’s not totally enclosed because really it doesn’t need to be; it’s fully focussable, and all the controls on your phone are accessible all the time. So it’s a very friendly version of VR which is also affordable. And it has the quality optical pedigree of the OWL. It will NOT give you headaches !
The OWL also offers the complete Victorian stereoscopic experience in your hands – with an option of easily making your own 3-D pictures, instantly viewable in the OWL. We believe this is a great way to enter the VR Universe, so I wanted to get the OWL VR Kit out there. Hence our launch today.
CREATING content ?
Well, we already have a Diableries app out there for iPhone. And there is a lot of VR content already on the Internet … some of it quite primitive, but with new ideas appearing all the time.
In Barcelona the day before yesterday [22 May] we filmed a Queen and Adam Lambert show in VR with a moving rig flying over the crowd on four point suspension. We’ll have the results on a few weeks … but this will be a first.
What do we have today ? An animated film by Google based on Bohemian Rhapsody. They did it – we supplied them with the sound stems, but they did the rest. You can today judge their effort. This is the first time it’s been seen outside Google rooms.
There is also a fabulous app called Jurassic … in which you can walk around with animated dinosaurs and it’s VERY interactive … you can choose your path through the jungle. We have that here loaded up on the Android phones too. I’m not very familiar with the operation of Androids, but we will manage ! (We did ! – Bri) And I know enough to help you get going watching Google Bo Rhap. Also I can show you some nice stereos on my iPhone 6 plus … which is a great vehicle. And we can take instant stereo portraits of each other (using that nice simple 3-D Camera app) and instantly view them using the OWL VR kit which you will take home with you !!
Many thanks to Google, and Dolby, and all the phone and headphone companies who so kindly lent us the gear today. The OWL kits are a present from me !
Enjoy !
Bri
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