worlds (2015)
A collaboration between Pepper's Ghost, Simon Fraser University's School of Interactive Arts & Technology (SIAT), Emily Carr University of Art & Design's S3D Centre, and the Computer Research Institute of Montreal (CRIM), worlds was presented as the closing night performance for International Society for Electronic Art's (ISEA) 2015 conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Through the use of real-time motion capture, high-speed networking and the Unreal 4 game engine, worlds brought 5 dancers on 3 stages in 2 cities (Vancouver & Montreal) separated by 2300 km into a shared virtual environment in which they performed together simultaneously before 3 different audiences, each given a unique perspective on the events unfolding within the digital world. Meanwhile, the music for the piece was performed live, and broadcast to each of the 3 locations.
Some of the technical challenges addressed by the project included integrating 3 different motion capture systems (Vicon, Optitrack & Organic Motion), ensuring minimal latency across the network between the 3 stages and synchronizing images across multiple display devices, including the motion-tracked wireless, movable "windows" into the virtual world used on the main stage.
Creators:
Athomas Goldberg
Thecla Schiphorst
Maria Lantin
Music:
Stefan Smulovitz
prOphecy sun
Dancers:
Yves Candeau
Brittany Gee
Sarah Fdili Alaoui
Shannon Cuykendall
Caroline Barrierre
Visual Effects
Stuart Maxwell
Software & Technical Development:
Dhruv Adhia
Norm Jaffe
Tom Landry
Sean Arden
Rick Overington
Travers Henry
Alejandro Castelani
Rodrigo Mendoza Sanchez
Costume Support:
Karen Anne Cochrane
worlds was made possible through the SSHRC funded Moving Stories research project and the CANARIE funded Movement + Meaning (M + M) middleware software initiative.
