Barco

 

The Art of VR NY at Sotheby’s, a two-day festival celebrating the convergence of art and technology, will showcase a unique virtual reality exhibit depicting U.S. Presidents Trump and Obama avatars in New York City from June 22-23.

“We The People” is an art installation created especially for The Art of VR NY at Sotheby’s exhibition, featuring the remarkably life-like and minutely detailed heads of Presidents Trump and Obama projected 18-feet high onto walls. Delivering a truly interactive experience, the piece utilizes cutting-edge facial tracking software to enable visitors to capture expressions and animate the heads in real time, as if they were their own. The heads are completely computer-generated and were created using video game technologies and methods.

Advanced VR technology and cutting-edge projection rolled into one
The installation utilized an advanced, interactive workflow that allows the gaming engine to link directly with two Barco UDX-4K32 laser phosphor projectors to produce a latency-free image on the giant video screen. The exhibit is held in the Ocean Room, the largest venue at The Art of VR NY at Sotheby’s, which also required extremely bright projection due to the high ambient light.

VR and AR industry veterans blaze new trails
John MacInnes and Remington Scott of MacInnes Scott are the duo who created “We The People.” Their work has been nominated for Proto and Lumiere Awards, showcased by AMD and HTC Vive, and been the subject of their TED talk. With roots harkening back to the movie and video game industries, the principals forged a creative partnership while working on Call of Duty, Advanced Warfare: John wrote the story and Remington was Performance Capture Director. The team now creates experiences designed around hyper-real CG characters in emotionally charged narratives.

Advancing new dimensions in virtual art
Sponsored by The VR Society, the event will showcase the many ways augmented reality and virtual reality are currently being utilized in fine art, museums, dance, theater, film, advertising, design, travel, real estate, and medical applications. The society is associated with the Advanced Imaging Society, of which Barco is a member, which was founded by major Hollywood studios and top technology companies to advance the arts and technologies of 3D, HDR, VR, AR and 360-degree content for professionals active in entertainment, media and marketing.