AWKWARD CONSEQUENCE
“Reality is becoming a stereo-reality. Just as with sounds you can make a difference between somber tones and clear tones, so there will be a concrete, actual reality and a virtual reality. From now on, humankind will have to act in two worlds at once. This opens up extraordinary possibilities, but at the same time we face the test of a tearing-up of the being, with awkward consequences.”
Credits
AWKWARD CONSEQUENCE is a collaboration between Christian Clark, Tobias Klein, and Tomás Laurenzo.
Tomás Laurenzo. Direction. Music. Coding. Original idea.
Christian Clark. Coding.
Tobias Klein. 3D modeling. Animation.
AWKWARD CONSEQUENCE is a massive VR performance.
AWKWARD CONSEQUENCE consists of individual experiences in a collective space. A live music performance attended that unfolds in a simultaneous virtual and actual experience.
The performance offers a sequential experience inside VR that resembles a journey. Starting from traditional "classic" VR imagery, through the introduction of elements that seemingly defy the physical reality, participants are exposed to a new, awkward and uncanny space. The journey lasts for about fifteen minutes. The music is played in real time and it influences the VR world, creating an immersive multimedia experience.
Originally inspired by the work of Paul Virilio, AWKWARD CONSEQUENCE's proposal appears contradictory: every participant shares an individual experience. The performance explores and stretches the notions of performance and place, existing in the simultaneous attending of an personal, unique, and private event.
Implementation
AWKWARD CONSEQUENCE uses the participants mobile phones together with Google cardboard-like viewers to experience its VR world. The app is built with Unity3D, with the 3D models and pre-rendered sequences done with 3DStudio.
We created a local WiFi network that allows 100+ simultaneous users. Although the app pre-downloads the content, the performance is orchestrated by a server written in C++ using OpenFrameworks.
AWKWARD CONSEQUENCE was possible thanks to the help of the following institutions:
