Virtual Now presented in Reflex: The Future of our Creative Community
15 – 16 November 2019, Geelong Arts Centre
Performers
About Now (Peter Fraser, Olivia Millard and Shaun McLeod)
VR team
Stefan Greuter
Paul Hammond
Virtual Now frames dance improvisation within a virtual reality environment. The performer’s attention is directed according to the spatial and experiential dimensions of the VR setting, creating an unusual context for improvisation. The performers are each seeing what is happening from the perspective of the camera in their headset and in the forms projected on the screens. No sight outside the headset is possible. What the audience sees on the two screens is the perspective of the 4th participant, Stefan Greuter, whose headset acts as the camera for the audience. The shapes and movements of the avatars projected on to the screens, are created by the improvised actions of the dancers.
This work was developed in CUBE, a mixed-use collaborative creative research facility that supports the creative technologies research agenda of the School of Communication and Creative Arts. CUBE seeks to provide opportunities for staff and students at Deakin to engage in collaborative research projects at the intersection of art, design, technology and the user. The facility combines individual workspaces, a collaborative co-working space, a meeting room, a drop-in lounge, a dedicated VR space and opportunities to experiment and play with technology.
This is an initial exploration with plans for a more complex and intensive exploration of the interactions between dance improvisation and VR.