Spring 2021
This project was a collaboration between students at the WVU Reed College of Media and the University of Seville during Spring 2021.
Working together remotely over Zoom and Slack, the students worked to develop, produce and publish three mobile augmented reality experiences. Each experience used volumetric filmmaking (a.k.a. holograms) and were published using 8th Wall's WebXR platform. One of the three projects used photogrammetry to capture historic and scenic locations in Spain and West Virginia.
Throughout the semester, the three teams of students met weekly to explore new technology and immersive storytelling. The students, from diverse majors including Journalism, Film, Sports and Adventure Media, Game Design and Interactive Design, brought unique perspectives to the collaboration from their areas of expertise.
Although separated physically by thousands of miles and an ocean, and challenged by a global pandemic, they developed three distinct AR experiences which bring Appalachian and Andalusian cultures together.
Innovative Storytelling
VOLUMETRIC VIDEO
Through the use of the Azure Kinect depth camera and DepthKit volumetric video capture software, students recorded three-dimensional videos of performers.
PHOTOGRAMMETRY
Locations in Sevilla and West Virginia were captured using photogrammetry, a process where a series of photos are combined to recreate a 3D model of buildings and objects.
MOBILE AUGMENTED REALITY
Volumetric video captures were combined with 3D models and published using the 8th Wall WebXR platform.
About the Projects
Kinection
Music is a universal language across all cultures. Kinection is a project with the goal of bringing cultural experiences together from across the globe. In a time when we are more separated than ever, performers from West Virginia and Spain came together on the virtual stage to share art with the world.
How would an American banjo perform a Flamenco song, the rhythm of Andalusia, the South of Spain? Will the musicians be able to play nicely the same song besides they are in different continents? And how does it work with classical instruments?
With their cellphone or tablet, viewers are capable of watching them in augmented reality in their own environment. Student producers planned, scripted and recorded this project using volumetric video capture and added 3D models to the holographic video AR effects.
Viajero
Would you like to have a deeper knowledge of the places you visit? Interact with a 3d model of this landscape? A brief explanation about that curious building? Prepare your trips in advance?
By accessing the QR Codes you'll have a personal presentation of one of these locations, in English or Spanish. Specially picked for you, these places in West Virginia and Sevilla will captivate you with their magic touch.
Users view these experiences on their cellphone or tablet. Locations highlighted in this project were Seneca Rocks, West Virginia and the Moroccan Pavilion in Sevilla, Spain. Student producers scanned the locations using photogrammetry, and input the models into the AR experience using 8th Wall WebXR technology.
Xpectator
A nefarious plot by aliens from the planet Gloobulon is in progress and you, Agent X, have been assigned to the case.
By unlocking and viewing the codes provided, you can save two United Nations representatives from Spain and the United States who have been kidnapped. The fate of the human race depends on you!
If you're unable to rescue those kidnapped, they'll face certain death. And you'll lose your job, for sure. But hey — we believe in you Agent X!
This short science fiction film in six parts is viewed in augmented reality using a phone, and the viewer assumes the role of an intelligence agent responsible for saving the world.
