Perspectives on blogging, podcasting, web TV and other types of new media.

• Storytelling Plus You December 11, 2023

  Over Coffee® is on holiday hiatus. Please enjoy this reposting of one of our top episodes of 2023!

  

  With virtual reality, Los Angeles-based Ferryman Collective offers a new approach to storytelling.

  While they’re technically a group of theatre professionals who create their live performance experiences in virtual reality, the actual experience goes far beyond that description.

  When you sign up for one of their experiences, you have been “cast”, as part of the story.

  And for audience members, the performance can go far beyond simply experiencing great storytelling in 360. Some viewers say these experiences have changed their lives!

  Performers and producers Deirdre V. Lyons and Stephen Butchko are the co-founders of Los Angeles-based Ferryman Collective. They’re also a husband-and-wife creative team.

  We had the pleasure of experiencing both their 2022 multiple award-winning live show, Gumball Dreams, and The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite, earlier this year. Both incredible experiences, yet very different–however, the common denominator was audience interactivity.

  Ferryman Collective’s most recent show, “Find WiiLii”, Episode 1, had its world premiere at SXSW 2023.

  And with 2024 just a matter of weeks away, here’s where to subscribe to their newsletter, to see what’s next!

  Deirdre and Steve shared the story of Ferryman Collective, some insights into the creative process in virtual reality, and some of the ways their audiences have re-evaluated their lives after experiencing their shows.

  On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

  • How Deirdre and Steve each discovered their passion for storytelling through their performance skills;

  • Their first experiences, performing in virtual reality;

  • How their involvement in immersive theater grew, from there;

  • What was involved in the first shows they created in VR, as Ferryman Collective;

  • Their best “creative-growth” experiences;

  • Some of the ways they’ve seen audience members inspired by their shows;

  • How one of the shows they created provided a “spark” for another performance troupe to develop their own immersive performance;

  • The story of Gumball Dreams;

  • Some of their “backstage” experiences with this live show;

  • What it’s like behind the scenes as the show is happening, and some of the creative lessons they’ve learned;

  • What audience members can expect, when experiencing Gumball Dreams;

  • A closer look at what happens in The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite;

  • Upcoming projects for Ferryman Collective;

  • How you can support them, as they continue their imaginative and inspiring work!

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• Next Steps of Innovation May 31, 2021

  

  (Photo courtesy of Cybera, and used with permission.)

  Merging Realities 2021 is just about to happen.

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  Hosted by Lethbridge College, in Alberta, Canada, this free annual virtual conference is a groundbreaker.

  Speakers explore the latest developments in the virtual and augmented-reality fields. This year’s conference, themed “Impact”, will showcase different aspects of the use of these technologies in daily life.

  “(VR is) not just for gaming. It has many applications,”says Lethbridge College’s Kris Hodgson-Bright, Kris is a faculty member in Digital Communications and Media, as well as Multimedia Production. He is also part of the organizing committee for Merging Realities.

  And Merging Realities is a trailblazer because, in 2018, Lethbridge College debuted it as the world’s first conference hosted entirely in virtual reality.

  Since then, the pandemic has pushed immersive technologies to center stage. In our 2019 conversation, Kris explained that Lethbridge was planning two new certificate programs in immersive media. Those have now evolved into two intensive study programs, accessible all over the world.

  Kris offered an update of Lethbridge’s work in immersive technologies, previewed Merging Realities 2021: Impact and discussed some of the ways he sees XR evolving to become students’ future careers.

  On this edition of Over Coffee®, we cover:

  • An update of Lethbridge College’s two new immersive programs and the ways the faculty have put their applied research in XR to use;

  • What attendees will experience, when they virtually attend Merging Realities: Impact;

  • A closer look at some of the VR programs the conference will be covering;

  • How Lethbridge College has put immersive technologies to work in different sectors;

  • The ways in which some of the new uses are changing common perceptions of virtual reality;

  • How to overcome the “intimidation factor” when introducing newcomers to VR;

  • What students will experience when they enroll in one of Lethbridge College’s one-year certificate immersive media programs;

  • The career options available to students who enroll in these programs;

  • Kris’ own use of VR applications;

  • What’s next, for Merging Realities;

  • How newcomers to XR can start using immersive environments in their fields;

  • How Lethbridge College can help!

   

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• Tetavi: A Sense of Presence May 3, 2021

  

  3D holographic video used to be the stuff of science fiction.

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  So did the concept of having it platform-agnostic.  And so did the idea of interactive holograms.

  Today, thanks to Israel-based Tetavi, all of these have become a reality.  And the technology continues to evolve, to something even more exciting for content creators.

  Tetavi, founded in 2016,has created breakthrough technology which allows users to create and share 3D holographic content for both AR and VR.   Performers, storytellers and creatives in general get to capture moments in time and share them wherever and whenever they like.  And Tetavi’s technology allows artificial intelligence to create realistic avatars for users.

  Filmmaker Roi Lev, who is Tetavi’s Director of Business Development, says that’s just the beginning.   More and more accessibility, he says, is coming in the very near future.  And what’s happening with Tetavi could reshape the ways our world creates and shares content.

  During our conversation, Roi shared his experiences working on creative projects with Tetavi, explained how the technology works and offered some insights on what we might expect, in the future.

  On this edition of Over Coffee®, we cover:

  • How Roi first became interested in using technology plus his creative talent to create the future;

  • What Tetavi is, and how it works;

  • Why this technology could be the future of content;

  • A project Roi directed which illustrates how Tetavi works;

  • The creative challenges which this particular work presented, during the early days of the pandemic;

  • How artificial intelligence is involved;

  • Roi’s vision for this technology as part of a larger ecosystem;

  • A recent Tetavi project which could be a prototype for future content interaction;

  • The “content revolution” with Roi sees occurring, as our concept of content creation changes;

  • A hint at future ways users can interact with Tetavi (we can’t wait to hear more!);

  • A content-collaboration partnership that’s increasing their accessibility;

  • How Tetavi builds the sense of warmth and authenticity into their avatar creation;

  • How Tetavi recently put their technology to work for the Never Again Project;

  •  One of the best creative lessons he’s learned, from his work with this groundbreaking technology;

  • What Roi foresees changing, within the next few years, in the ways we interact with content;

  • Some of his favorite resources, for fellow creatives who would like to design content in 3D.

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