Thread by @kentbye

1/ I recorded an epic recap & reviews of the 30 immersive stories in competition at #VeniceImmersive with @vrgeschichten.

We chat about each experience for ~5 min, & so it's a comprehensive break down of this year's selection.
voicesofvr.com/1121-venice-im…

20+ interviews coming soon

2/ I'm about to release other 20 podcasts from #VeniceImmersive, and here's a sneak peak of the 26 episodes, which total just over 24 hours worth of coverage.

3/ Here's the Twitter thread of my live coverage from #VeniceImmersive, which starts with an interview with co-curators Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac.
voicesofvr.com/1119-venice-im…

https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1564198614431596546

4/ I interviewed @KevinMackArt after getting a guided tour of his NAMUANKI VRChat world & I published it after it went public.

We dive deep into his generative art process + have some interesting speculative AI art chats at end.
voicesofvr.com/1120-kevin-mac…

https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1565100291338510337

5/ Then I published interviews with the top three #VeniceImmersive Jury prize winners starting with EGGSCAPE, which is a mixed reality platformer with some really engaging gameplay, sandbox, & collaborative mechanics
voicesofvr.com/1122-mixed-rea…

https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1573457925213126661

6/ 2nd Place went to FROM THE MAIN SQUARE, which has a lot of relevant socio-political commentary on the polarization that's happening in Brazil.

It's a brilliant immersive & interactive animation piece telling a collective story:
voicesofvr.com/1123-interacti…

https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1573464910201487360

7/ The top #VeniceImmersive prize went to THE MAN WHO COULDN'T LEAVE, which is a really powerful stereoscopic 360 video about the White Terror in Taiwan.
One of the most ambitious immersive stories yet & it really lands emotionally:
voicesofvr.com/1124-emotional…

https://twitter.com/kentbye/status/1573472587518476288

8/ DAZZLE is a collaboration between Gibson/Martelli & Peut-Porter, & I talked with all four collaborators about how they're fusing dance performance, fashion, & immersive VR worlds.
One of their provocations is how Dazzle is the opposite of Camouflage.
voicesofvr.com/1124-emotional…

9/ I had a fascinating interview w ALL THAT REMAINS director Craig Quintero unpacking how he was able to cultivate the feeling of an immersive theatre 1:1 encounter via 360 video + trying to create moments rather than stories + paradoxical actor directions
voicesofvr.com/re-creating-ex…

10/ DARKENING is a spatial memoir where director Ondřej Moravec uses VR to communicate his experiences w depression.
There's some interactive voice parts, audience social dynamics during fests, & offboarding discussions.
I unpack it all with the creator.
voicesofvr.com/1127-darkening…

11/ I chatted with @SingerStudiosUK on MRS. BENZ, which combines escape room puzzle mechanics with environmental storytelling in VR to tell the story of the 1st road trip ever by Bertha Benz, who stole her husband's car to prove that it was indeed ready.
voicesofvr.com/1128-combining…

12/ I got the backstory of @xrmust from founder @MgCinema at Venice Immersive on how it's part online magazine tracking the immersive storytelling ecosystem & industry, but is also aiming to build out a database & become the IMDB for VR stories.
Hear more:
voicesofvr.com/xrmust-is-buil…

13/ I talk with @vicbousis about her mythic & symbolic mode of environmental storytelling in STAY ALIVE, MY SON.
She’s also got some fascinating insights for how she applies what she learned about metaphors from being an attorney to immersive storytelling:
voicesofvr.com/1130-combing-m…

14/ Taiwan had 3 pieces in competition this year at #VeniceImmersive, including the top jury prize.
Why is there such a hotspot of immersive storytelling in Taiwan w 24M ppl?
I spoke to @TAICCA_Official's Grace Lee & @XRDreamland_KFF's @Seboxis to find out
voicesofvr.com/1131-unpacking…

15/ I spoke with MANDALA's Thomas Villepoux on how they told their story on Buddhist themes via group facilitated discussion, & had diff branching endings based upon audience vote on how to respond to a moral dilemma + how they used @Vast_World_XR platform
voicesofvr.com/1132-using-gro…

16/ @funiquevrstudio's Ming-Yuan CHUAN was the VR Supervisor for 3 of Venice competition pieces, which made him VERY busy leading up to the fest.
I talked to him about his journey into VR, his amazing 10K photo spheres, & the hidden labor of stereo 360 VR:
voicesofvr.com/1133-how-funiq…

17/ I really enjoyed ALL UNSAVED PROGRESS WILL BE LOST.
Mélanie Courtinat uses text & imagination in a provocative way that I unpack more in our convo, but definitely try to see it first via @diversioncinema as it's best to not know too much about it.
voicesofvr.com/1134-using-tex…

18/ I spoke with Celine Daemen, the creator of EURYDICE: A DESCENT INTO INFINITY on how she's blending opera, theatre, & embodiment in VR (walking great distances) to reimagine the myth of Orpheus + leaning into liminality & feelings of being lost in VR:
voicesofvr.com/1135-combining…

19/ I spoke with @JulieBCavaliere & @ImMichaelaTH about their @reimaginedvr fairy tale series starting with REIMAGINED VOLUME I: NYSSA, which premiered at #VeniceImmersive, coming soon to @MetaQuestVR
Lots of great stylized Quill animations by @StudioSyro
voicesofvr.com/1136-reimagine…

20/ ELELE transforms your hands into a sculpture via hand-tracking & it gave me such a deep sense of embodied presence I actually had my 1st experience with phantom touch.
I break it down w Sjoerd van Acker + chat about the Biennale College Cinema program.
voicesofvr.com/1137-my-phanto…

21/ I was surprised how much I enjoyed THE MIRACLE BASKET as the lo-fi, 2.5D look was a bit deceptive. It's actually a deliberate & transgressive, punk DIY aesthetic that Abner Preis has cultivated to tell stories about community & connecting to the earth.
voicesofvr.com/1138-the-mirac…

22/ ROCK PAPER SCISSORS seamlessly integrates hand tracking into this interactive narrative about how a mother uses the game to make some decisions with her daughter. I unpack this short & sweet experience with director @alexmakesvr at Venice Immersive:
voicesofvr.com/1139-rock-soli…

23/ FIGHT BACK is an interactive narrative game designed to teach women some foundations of self-defense.
I spoke with director @CelineTricart about her intentions with the piece + her journey in creating it with @WeCoven + various hand tracking insights:
voicesofvr.com/1140-fight-bac…

24/ I spoke with the Venice Immersive #VRChat Worlds Gallery producer @mikecsalmon about his journey into VR, his short-listing curation process, & the variety of 30+ worlds & events featured this year.
There was an entire wing dedicated to @VRChat worlds.
voicesofvr.com/1141-venice-im…

25/ KINDRED is an animated piece exploring issues of LGBTQ+ & non-binary identities in the context of family, & I did a scene-by-scene breakdown with @_Electricskies_ director Bambou Kenneth unpacking it all:
voicesofvr.com/1142-scene-by-…

26/ #VRChat world builder @VRCFins had 3 experiences at Venice Immersive!
TREASURE HEIST (Competition)
MAGIC HEIST & DISTRICT ROBOTO (Worlds Gallery)
I was able capture his journey into VR + how he's been experimenting with narrative & environmental design
voicesofvr.com/1143-vrchat-wo…

27/ Final episode of my Venice Immersive 2022 coverage is this panel on The Art of Reviewing Immersive Art & Entertainment that includes some film critics + me.
I have lots of thoughts that I share on the panel + a lot more in the write-up w/ some links:
voicesofvr.com/1144-venice-im…

END/ I hope that you enjoy my 26 interview and 24 hours worth of Venice Immersive that's helping to document the structures & forms of immersive storytelling.

If you find it valuable, then please consider supporting my Patreon here.
Thanks!
patreon.com/voicesofvr