VR RESEARCH
RESEARCH
This research is part of “nina”, an interactive installation that promotes the archive of the Montreux Jazz Festival. This research phase was carried out together with Allison Crank.During the development of “Nina”, a travelling installation, it became apparent that we would need to create something that would give a context to the Montreux Jazz Festival. We chose to do this in virtual reality because of the media’s ability to immerse and tell stories. Therefore, we invested time to study the technology, production, content, interactions and narration used within existing VR applications.We were particularly interested in creating a parallelism between the experience in reality and in virtual reality.
For this reason, we looked at documentation and installations that combine storytelling and spaces, many of which were done by Walt Disney for their theme parks.We decided to investigate this path by studying theme parks and going to the 150-year-old Tivoli park in Copenhagen. From this we observed some useful references for our application:. The spectacular entrance creates impact and already shows the quality of the project. The organization of attractions within a journey. Freedom of movement along multiple small paths linked to the main but independent flow. The alternation of fields of view; from close-ups to attractions to openings to panoramas. The attention to detail
For the creation of this VR reality application we started from real data. We used real experiences as emotional and visual references to transpose them into virtual reality
The constant change of visual fields and the spectacular nature of the panoramas creates variety and a unique visual interest
THE RESEARCH PROJECT
We reviewed and analyzed more than 60 VR applications in different fields, creating a web project that collects all impressions, production characteristics, themes and software. This reference served as a guide for the development of our application.
THE PRODUCTION PHASE
In the production phase we tested different options and created different prototypes, both interactive and visual, before choosing the final direction.In one first test, we used the aesthetics of the physical “Nina” installation in the virtual space to create a strong link between the real and the virtual. We worked many on the scale, on the user’s perception of space and on the dynamics of movement to reduce the possibility of motion sickness from the VR.Another interesting path was linked to the search for the visual language of the application aesthetics. Having access to a wonderful archive of photographs from the festival over the years, a first direction was to use was the visual language of collage. Although visually interesting, it was difficult to create real and precise meaning with a visual patchwork.
User tests helped us define the right path for the realization of the VR storytelling application
THE SELECTION MENU IN VR
We paid particular attention to the search for the application navigation menu. A first exploration included front elements in an immersive three-dimensional context that immediately speaks of Montreux. It used a macro typography of the words “Montreux Jazz Festival” with a visual mood that is reminiscent of neon signs used in the real festival.For this test we have read the references of space, distance and dimension of the elements on the production guidelines drawn up by Google and Walt Disney that they used to develop their VR application menu.
CREDITS
Research developed at EPFL+ECAL Lab
Pictures : © EPFL+ECAL Lab