AUREA#4 recap
This year’s hybrid event brought together AUREA community members from across the globe, with live transmissions from Europa-Park. The conference kicked off with a welcome address from Europa-Park CEO Michael Mack, who has long been a champion of immersive technologies and entertainment. In it, he praised the growth of the AUREA community since its establishment just five years ago, and reiterated the importance of collaboration among the XR industry’s brightest minds.
There was no doubt among speakers that the metaverse’s potential is real. In her keynote, Amy Jupiter (Creative Producer and Experience Designer at Virgin Galactic) grappled with the very nature of place, showcasing how new technologies in immersive entertainment can be used to build worlds that connect people in profound ways. Similarly, Cathy Hackl (Chief Metaverse Officer at Futures Intelligence Group) highlighted the need for companies to plan for the metaverse now, so that they don’t repeat the same mistakes of the Web 2.0 era.
While the technologies needed to build the metaverse are developing fast, it’s important that companies and institutions continue investing in innovation. During a panel discussion on the first day of the event, several speakers praised the growth of VR as a tool for location-based entertainment (LBE), illustrating the incredible capacity of the tech currently and the potential it has to enable new experiences. Similarly, Sven Bliedung von der Heide (CEO of Volucap, a previous AUREA Award winner) discussed his team’s pioneering volumetric capturing technology as part of his keynote. Their work on The Matrix Resurrections – which has landed them on the Academy Award shortlist for visual effects – is yet another example of the outstanding technological advances being made in immersive entertainment.
But reaching consensus on what to build it – and ensuring it’s inclusive – is a bit of a tougher question. Kathleen Cohen (XR Immersive Strategist at The Collaboratorium) and Christopher Lafayette (Founder of The Black Technology Mentorship Program) both stressed the importance of seeking inspiration from culture and human connection as we chart the course for the future. By doing so, we can build worlds which are open and accessible to all, especially those from marginalized communities. As Avi Bar-Zeev (CTO of RealityPrime) put it: “We have to elevate everybody for this stuff to really work.”
Throughout the conference, attendees had the chance to experience AUREA’s own virtual worlds in Spatial, designed specifically for the event by Gabriele Romagnoli. Whether discussing hot topics, meeting new friends by the pool, or dancing at the official after-party, these worlds demonstrated how digital spaces in the metaverse can foster interaction and connection.
Honouring the Next Generation of Talent
Day two of the fourth AUREA Award was all about honorring excellence in the XR space. In total, nine finalists pitched their projects to the star-studded AUREA jury. This year, members of the AUREA community were tasked with nominating projects from all corners of the industry that inspired them, and they certainly delivered. In total, the jury more than 50 shortlisted projects to consider!
The jury was chaired by Kathleen Cohen, and featured Athena Demos (Co-founder and Producer at Big Rock Creative), Frank Govaere (Team Manager of Virtual Film Production at ICT), and Thomas Wagner (Co-founder and CEO of VR Coaster). After several hours of deliberations, they decided to award four prizes.
In addition to recognizing established players, the AUREA Award also highlighted the work of up-and-coming talent as part of the Young Talent Award, a collaboration between MackNeXT and Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Young filmmakers had the opportunity to present their ideas to industry pioneers, with the three finalists each receiving a €3,000 prize. The grand prize was awarded to NEOSHIN, a narrative animation series combining elements of a musical show with social media, live music, and virtual production. As Young Talent Award winners, the project will now be adapted as a co-production with MackNeXT.
Plotting the course of the future
It was quite appropriate that the conference begin and end with performances from Ain TheMachine. His interactive live electronic music show seamlessly stitched together clips of speakers, finalists, and attendees from the two-day event, using them as “instruments” to produce something truly energetic and inspiring. Most importantly, it demonstrated how – much like the metaverse – technology and the human experience can complement each other to create entirely new experiences.
This sense of possibility and wonder was a common theme among all those in attendance. In his award ceremony keynote, Dr. Friedbert Pflüger (Chairman of the Internet Economy Foundation and former German MP) spoke of a bright future for immersive entertainment, and cited the collaborative nature of the AUREA Award as a shining example for supporting innovative creators. Jury chair Kathleen Cohen noted that our shared experience of living in the midst of a pandemic had, in many ways, emboldened leaders in XR to discover new ways for people to connect.
The dedication, innovation, and creativity on display at this year’s event wasn’t a coincidence. These traits are necessary to build inclusive, awe-inspiring, paradigm-shifting worlds in the metaverse. So long as that’s the case, the AUREA Award will continue to provide a forum for the industry’s brightest minds to connect, engage, and learn.