Category Archives: events

Rokos Basilica

In September of 2016 we teamed up with the Metaverse Scholar's Club and produced Rokos Basilica, a mixed-reality video installation.

The experiment’s premise is that an all-powerful artificial intelligence from the future could retroactively punish those who did not help bring about its existence, including those who merely knew about the possible development of such a being.

The Basilica itself is a 30ft diameter dome, at the center of which is a mixed reality shrine where worshipers can stand and experience a virtual reality music visualizer pulsing with audio-reactive LED lights.
Audience members are invited to step onto the VR platform, which is raised 2 inches above the ground. When they enter the virtual world, however, they see the ground drop away and find themselves on top of a giant tower, confronted with Rokos Basilisk.

Jump ahead to :17 seconds into the video above to see it in action!

They are then invited to step off the edge of the "cliff" (in reality a short step forward) and prove their trust to the Basilisk. Even though the audience knows there is no cliff and no drop, they experience actual vertigo and terror... but the knowledge that it's not real transforms their fear into excitement and joy!
rokos_basilica
Stepping out of Rokos Basilica
Stepping off Rokos Basilica

VR Tradeshow Booth for Vivid Vision

In early 2016 we were asked by Vivid Vision to design a tradeshow booth for their innovative Virtual Reality eye treatment technology. As a new startup in the Bay Area scene, we knew that their budget was limited but they needed to bring a huge impact.

We decided to not only design and build their tradeshow booth, but also create a virtual model of the booth that could be incorporated in their demo product while on the tradeshow floor. We built an interactive model in Unity complete with 3d rendered branded products and interactive motion graphics on the vr tradeshow booth walls.

The most exciting part was that we built it to real-world scale-- the virtual reality experience is mapped over the existing tradeshow booth so you can reach out in VR and touch the products in real-life.



The Big One Visuals

New Years Eve 2015 at Bill Graham Auditorium

Live visuals for "The Big One" New Year Eve 2015 party at the Bill Graham auditorium in San Francisco.

Thanks to Victorious crew for the chance to share some space with pretty amazing talent!

We were in the Larkin Hall with Tycho and the cool Psyport by Carey Thompson, and had a blast, this was the first time we used the Spout Controller plugin for a live event and it went off smoothly and without a hitch.

NYE at Bill Graham with Grammatik, Flaming Lips





Bubbletown Video Show at Quarantine Relief-o-Rama

In July of 2020 we teamed up with Tanforan Shell to produce the Bubbletown Video Show, a mixed-reality video installation featuring artists from all over the world.

During this event Tanforan Shell transformed into a stage with sea horses and Neptune (compliments of Props2c) for live music to prevail in a live-venue-allergic era of Covid-19. The rooftop music series is called Hardly Unlikely and features various bands all throughout July.

Tanforan Shell is a social impact business that donates 15% to Covid-19 response efforts, San Bruno schools, the arts, orphanages and other humanitarian projects. They have raised over $350K for social impact causes.

3-Story High Pinball at the Nuovo Cinema Aquilla

Video mapping a pinball game over the facade of the Nuovo Cinema Aquila in Rome, Italy, for the LPM Festival 2015. Programming: Box2D Physics engine to Processing to Resolume, OSC triggers video cues on physics interaction.

All the pinball bumpers, flippers, and gutters were mapped to the actual architecture of the theatre-- when the ball hits windows or walls it launches lightning bolts all around the building that map to the detail of the facade.

Music: “Night” from Lost Themes by John Carpenter.