From August 23th until September 3rd, the Immersive Lab hosted it's second summer school in immersive storytelling, as part of the Antwerp Summer University hosted by the University of Antwerp. During this summer school, participants from all over the world were immersed in the diverse world of virtual reality and were given an introduction into storytelling for VR.
During the first week, they received lectures from our own lab concerning user centered design, story structures, usability testing, 3D modeling, Unity developing... In addition to this foundation they were enriched by guest lectures from VR-experts from all over the world:
- Royal Conservatoire researcher Ine Vanoeveren spoke about her experiences on co-creation and performance in VR during lockdown;
- VR- and 3D-artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen showed how he created long-lost biotopes in VR, as part of his environmental mission;
- Founder of VR-studio ZOAN, Laura Olin shared how her company creates high-leven VR experiences for marketing, travel and educational means;
- Anthropologist Paolo Favéro explained his philosophical take on the possibilities of VR;
- Designer and lecturer Anne-Marleen Olthof gave an introduction into designing in VR;
- Game designer and researcher Chris Elvis Leisi demonstrated how he researches gaming in VR and shared with us his own designed VR game which we got to play in the lab;
- Researchers Pieter-Jan Maes and Bavo Van Kerrebroeck from the IPEM-institute explained the basics of spatial audio;
- Toneelhuis director Guy Cassiers shared a first demo of his new theater piece in VR.
The participants did not only learn about VR via lectures, they got to create their own VR-project in these two short weeks. Divided into groups, they developed an idea, wrote storyboards, filmed, design, developed and showed their realisation. From a virtual skatepark to an immersive poem, the results were very diverse and we are very proud to have seen such advanced creations after only two weeks of developing. You can see their creations as you scroll down.
As a treat we also took the participants to The Park, were they got to play all sorts of VR-games and they battled against each other in the attempt to disarm a bomb.
We would like to thank all participants, lecturers and guest lectures for participating in this summer school.
Want to attend? We'll keep you posted on news about the next edition!
