A collective dedicated to the future of entertainment
What is the Metaverse? What is the difference with Web3 and Web 3.0? Is there one or more Metaverses? First article in a series that seeks to better understand the phenomenon and add some context, defining the Metaverse beyond the hype.
Continue reading “Defining the Metaverse and Web3: a few clarifications”
We’re thrilled to announce that Parnassos has been awarded a MegaGrant from Epic Games to ramp up production and help us in exploring new looks and new topics with Unreal Engine.
Parnassos is a series of 10 shorts in linear and immersive format; each episode is an adaptation of a major French poem visually reinterpreted in the style of an art movement.
The Greek mountain of Parnassos is said to be home to the Muses, goddesses of the arts. Poets have long paid homage to its name, going as far as calling themselves “parnassians” in 19th century France.
Parnassos wishes in turn to pay homage to the poets and artists who have contributed to the foundations of French art through a series of shorts, each illustrating a poem as well as an artistic movement.
Parnassos is an animated series about art history, painting, poetry, and what they tell us about the human experience. Each episode is an adaptation of a poem narrated by an invisible voice, dressed with a contemporaneous aesthetic, from baroque to post-impressionism, and set in modern stories that reveal their timeless qualities.
Through this combination, every episode will depict a moment in art history between the 16th and the 20th century, as well as a timeless representation of the human experience, from death to love, set in today’s time. The aesthetics of major art movements – among which the early years of impressionism, fauvism or the baroque vanitas – will give to each episode a unique visual identity.
Additionally, Parnassos functions as a series of experiments designed to explore the storytelling possibilities offered by Unreal Engine, with the ambition to unveil new pipelines and new looks, leveraging style transfer tech in production. We hope to use this MegaGrant to further push our experiments and share them with the Unreal Engine community.
Watch our EbSynth demo Ozymandias to see how we were able to quickly create a short film with a unique look based on wash paintings.
Ozymandias is a proof of concept of our style transfer / texture synthesis pipeline. It is the product of three weeks of work and was created by only two people, a director and a graphic designer, to demonstrate the power of tools like EbSynth.
Le Dormeur du val was created in two weeks during the Parisian quarantine. It is a preview illustrating the idea behind Parnassos and demonstrating the power and simplicity of the concept.
We’d like to thank our collaborators and supporters: Hue Dada! Productions, Tchiki Boum and Diversion Cinema; many thanks to the Epic Games MegaGrant team as well.
If you’re interested in Parnassos and would like to have a quick chat, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Part 2 of our interview of Asa Bailey, Director of Virtual Production and Founder of On-set Facilities, a company dedicated to virtual production and computing solutions. We talk about the future of virtual production, the hopes and challenges that have arisen in the past few months and what we can expect from the spread of LED walls and virtual production in the film industry.
Read Part 1 here: The Virtual Production boom, with Asa Bailey from On-Set Facilities – Part I
If you’re interested in the future of virtual production for filmmakers, be sure to read our two-part interview about the first steps of two DPs into virtual production territory.
Continue reading “The Future of Virtual Production: Hopes and Challenges, with Asa Bailey – Part II”
Part 1 of our interview of Asa Bailey, Director of Virtual Production and Founder of On-set Facilities, a company dedicated to virtual production and computing solutions. We discussed the virtual production boom, the birth of On-set Facilities as a virtual production company, why the industry must look past LED walls and the impact VP has on the whole production chain.
Read Part 2 here: The Future of Virtual Production: Hopes and Challenges, with Asa Bailey – Part II
If you’re interested in virtual production for filmmakers, be sure to read our two-part interview about the first steps of two DPs into virtual production territory.
Continue reading “The Virtual Production boom, with Asa Bailey from On-Set Facilities – Part I”
Part 2 of our interview with Luc Delamare and Kevin Stewart, two DPs from LA who made the jump into virtual production, where we discuss the similarities and differences between traditional cinematography and real-time filmmaking. This second and final section goes into more detail, in particular regarding in-engine lighting and camera movement with Unreal Engine.
Read Part 1 here: Virtual production for cinematographers: Part I, how to get started?
If you’re interested in getting into virtual production or Unreal Engine yourself, make sure to read our own introduction to real-time filmmaking which covers the basics of in-engine lighting, camera work and much more.
Continue reading “Virtual production for cinematographers: Part II, in-engine lighting and camera movement”
Using EbSynth and Unreal, Virtuals has released a new short film directed by Alvaro Lamarche-Toloza, adapted from the classic poem “Ozymandias” written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817.
This short film was created to showcase an experimental pipeline, using the Unreal Engine and a new tool, EbSynth in order to achieve a unique look and to drastically speed up the production of 3D animation. The goal is to flesh out new efficient and accessible workflows to further expand the boundaries of real-time filmmaking.
Continue reading “OZYMANDIAS: Experimenting with EbSynth and Unreal Engine”
We sat down with Luc Delamare and Kevin Stewart, two DPs from LA who made the jump into virtual production, gathering their insights and discussing the ties between traditional cinematography and real-time filmmaking. Below is the first section of a two-part interview focusing on their introduction to virtual production.
Read Part 2 here: Virtual production for cinematographers: Part II, in-engine lighting and camera movement
If you’re interested in getting into virtual production and the Unreal Engine yourself, make sure to read our own introduction to real-time filmmaking.
Continue reading “Virtual production for cinematographers: Part I, how to get started?”
As a media and industry collective in the crossroad between creative media and technology, Virtuals was invited by ITU (The International Telecommunication Union) to present its vision around the democratisation of content creation with the help of the latest cutting edge technology.
During the conference, the founders of Virtuals, Alvaro Lamarche-Toloza and Yingzi YUAN explained the changes brought by real-time technology to the art and business of film production as well as immersive and interactive experiences.
Continue reading “Virtuals presented its vision of Creative Media Tech in ITU ‘s annual WSIS Forum”
Entirely dedicated to the digital and virtual worlds (VR, AR, mixed reality, mapping, binaural
sound), NewImages Festival will celebrate digital and immersive creation for five days, for
an edition without borders!
With this event, reinvented to be both on site and online, Forum des images stands up to
the challenge presented by the current pandemic. The challenge to offer a rich program, for
the public as much as for the professionals. It answers by inviting you to discover some of
the most remarkable immersive experiences – coming from the United States or Taiwan,
from the United Kingdom or Brazil, from France, Russia, Canada, or even China; with the
participation of renowned creators and professionals invited to decrypt the new writings
during the Industry Days, and by holding the XR Financing Market 100% online (coproduction market).
Virtuals will be (virtually) present at the virtual edition of SIGGRAPH 2020! Do come say hi if you’re participating as well.
We will also be participating in the Virtual Beings BoF on August 24th, 10-11 am PDT to present a talk on the value of virtual beings. Do not hesitate to drop by or to contact us during SIGGRAPH to have a chat.
More info on the Virtual Beings BoF: https://vr.gree.net/lab/live/vbw/vbw2020/
See you there!