Monthly Archives: June 2020

It’s is a wrap, the XR festival of Marché du Film that, because of the pandemic, took place virtually. Last year we had the first edition of Cannes XR and this year the first edition of Cannes XR Virtual. If we can wipe out Covid-19 in the coming months, we’ll probably get the first edition of Cannes XR Hybrid in May 2021. Because with the virtual edition, Elie Levasseur and his team have set the tone for the future of artistic festivals.

The collaboration with the Museum of Other Realities was an interesting experiment. There were 55 works presented at Cannes XR Virtual with strong animation presence, but more important was that the content was made available to a much broader audience than the people who would normally have gone to the Palais des Festival. It definitely gives perspective for the future.

Cannes XR teamed up with Tribeca, which also saw its edition canceled due to the corona crisis. There was The Tribeca Virtual Arcade – Sponsored by AT&T, a selection of interactive works including six world, international, European or online premieres. Next to that, Tribeca hosted two creative panel discussions and a virtual dance party as part of their contribution to this groundbreaking event. 

The Kaleidoscope XR Development Showcase was a huge success and the organisation scheduled a program of more than 45 conferences, including pitching sessions, keynotes and panels. Artists and inspiring personalities shared their ideas and experience concerning the virtual reality market and its impact on the global film industry. One program highlight probably was Baobab Studios’ presentation of their next VR project, Baba Yaga. They shared a sneak peek of their new interactive experience, starring Daisy Ridley (Star Wars sequel trilogy). Something to look forward to. 

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A festival goes hand in hand with its partners and sponsors. Two of those partners were Veer VR and Positron. That last one of these two had rather seen the event take place at the Palm Beach Casino. Positron is well known for its, already iconic, red-colored fully immersive cinematic VR chair. In a corona free world, they would have set up a 25 chair VR cinema next to the beach, but Founder & CEO Jeffrey Travis was still keen to hand out the ‘Positron Visionary Award’ and stay loyal to the partnership.

WHY 360 FILMS CAN BE AS CAPTIVATING AS 6DOF EXPERIENCES

Jeffrey is a filmmaker, engineer, and virtual reality pioneer. As the founder and CEO of Positron, he created Voyager®. Jeffrey and his team have worked with studios such as Universal, DreamWorks, Disney, Warner Bros, Adult Swim, Felix & Paul, and others to craft premium VR content for XR Cinemas using the Voyager platform. In this episode of the VRTL podcast, we talked about the impressive quality of the submissions, the go-to-market strategy of Positron and how the business model for LBE works precisely.

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Winners
  • VeeR Future Award : First step
    produced by Maria Courtial
  • Positron Visionary Award : The Great C
    produced by Secret Location (CA), Electric Shepherd productions (USA)

VeeR organized the second competition, a leading VR entertainment platform available worldwide, curated an innovative program (VeeR 360 Cinema). This program dedicated to 360 VR films encouraged creators to push the limits of immersive storytelling. The selected films were showcased in the inaugural VeeR 360 Cinema during Cannes XR Virtual and the winner scooped the VeeR Future Award and a Premium Distribution Package.

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HOW THE CHINESE MARKET RESPONDS TO XR CONTENT

Jingshu Chen co-founded Veer VR. We had a very insightful conversation about why partnering with Cannes XR Virtual was an exciting opportunity for Veer VR and how creators can reach out to discuss distribution deals. Next to that, Jingshu explained why LBE’s and 360° content are still on the rise and why China is ahead of the rest of the world in terms of consumption of XR content. Enjoy this episode of the VRTL Podcast episode.

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Cannes XR sets the stage for the future of arts festivals

The first edition of Cannes XR has come to an end, but we are convinced that this has been only the beginning of how the virtual part of a hybrid event will look like in a few years. Elie Levasseur and his team have barely had a few months to set up this event. Imagine that they are given a year to organise this. Cannes XR sets the stage for the future of arts festivals

Featuring immersive work from VR artists around the world, the Museum of Other Realities is a virtual art gallery that provides a place to connect, share, and experience new media together with others. Founded by Colin Northway and Robin Stethem in 2017, the MOR encourages visitors to step into and interact with the multidimensional artwork, transcending the limits of more traditional gallery experiences. In this episode Robin Stethem uncovers how the Museum of Other Realities works with artists on a space that will allow a broader audience to experience an incredible realm of creative potential in its native medium and how to inspire the next-gen artists.

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MUSEUM OF OTHER REALITIES

With the funds, the company will continue to grow the team and realize the vision of the project, pushing the envelope of what an art museum can be. The company also plans to expand into other markets, such as the education and training spaces, while engaging with traditional art galleries and museums.

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Pre-register for our panel at Cannes XR

Check Cannes XR Virtual program

When you go to a film festival, it is almost impossible not to bump into this man. Jimmy Cheng focuses on the acquisition and licensing of immersive/interactive XR content as Director of Content / Business Operations at Iconic Engine. Currently, he represents 140 studios, including GoPro, Atlas V, Secret Location, and supporting six telecoms for finding content. In this episode of the VRTL podcast, Jimmy talks to Pieter about the recent trends in demand for the type of XR content and how he sees the XR licensing business evolving. A sneak peek at the panel that Jimmy will be part of at Cannes XR Virtual next week.

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Attend Cannes XR

On June 26, 2:30 pm CET, Jimmy will be part of a panel discussion at Cannes XR Virtual. Marta Ordeig (Garage Stories / VRTL Course Instructor) will moderate the panel discussion. Together with Rafael Pavon (Atlas V), Jimmy will talk about the art of user-centric storytelling for immersive experiences and if there is a correlation between storytelling and the successful distribution of XR content. 

Check Cannes XR Virtual program

It must have been a rollercoaster experience for Festival organizer Elie Levasseur, the program leader of the XR section of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Cannes XR was born last year and had a dedicated 700 square meter space in the Palais des Festivals basement. Additionally, because of interest and industry growth, Levasseur managed to expand the festival by including a 1,600 square meter waterfront venue at the former Palm Beach Casino, offering views of the Lérins Islands and Cannes Bay. Basically, ‘the best seat in the house,’ which is the promise of virtual reality, but then the pandemic struck mercilessly.

The event industry is, of course, a major victim of the Covid-19 crisis, but in the danger of a crisis, you must be able to recognize the opportunity. After unveiling the Marché du Film Online, a standalone online market to be held from 22 to June 26th, the Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes announced the reshape of Cannes XR in a digital-only event dedicated to immersive technologies and works, Cannes XR Virtual.

Cannes XR Virtual

From 24 to June 26th, Cannes XR Virtual is the destination where professionals from the traditional filmmaking industry, XR artists, independent producers, leading tech companies, location-based and online distributors will come together to imagine and shape the future of movies.

You will be able to attend the virtual festival in many different ways. That’s how the organization wants to reach a broader audience and allow the visitors to meet the top-tier industry leaders and discover their XR work.

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Join the virtual revolution

Cannes XR Partners
  • Cannes XR Virtual will be open to VR users at the Museum of Other Realities (MOR), a virtual art gallery specialized in featuring immersive work from VR artists around the world. The entire virtual program will remain available until July 3rd via the MOR application on Steam, Viveport, or Oculus.
  • Cannes XR Virtual 2D live video streams shot by a virtual cameraman from the MOR, including conferences, pitching sessions, and project presentations will be accessible on the Marché du Film Online. Cannes XR Virtual 2D live video stream will also be available on the Tribeca Film Festival and Kaleidoscope. 
  • VeeR 360 Cinema, the selection of 360 cinematic experiences at Cannes XR Virtual, will be showcased on the VeeR VR Video Platform
  • A network of partner Location Based Entertainment (LBE) in several major cities in the United States, China and France will offer access to Cannes XR Virtual to journalists and guests who do not have a VR headset. This is a smart way to provide the best experience, with the needed support to an inexperienced XR user. 

Cannes XR Virtual will also team up with major key players in the immersive industry to combine a solid and diverse program featuring the latest creative works and technologies within the VR ecosystem.

In the coming weeks and after the festival, VRTL will launch a series of podcasts with partners and other industry leaders. We are excited and happy to have renewed our partnership with the festival. In addition to the podcast series, some of our course instructors will give a keynote during the VRTL conference. Keep an eye on the program to find out the exact dates and times.

We are certainly looking forward to this first virtual edition. Curious how this will go and especially whether we will drink a cocktail at Palm Beach Casino next year, during one of the many networking events. Will Cannes XR go completely virtual in the future or will we go back to the old? We put our hopes on a hybrid version of the event, because who does not want to go to the Côte d’Azur once in a while?

Register for Cannes XR Virtual