Jessica Brillhart has had a very productive SXSW 2019, indeed. From the premiere of her company’s spatial audio platform, the aptly titled “Traverse,” to being selected as a Keynote Speaker, she certainly made her mark on this year’s festival.
I had a chance to sit down for an in-depth interview with the founder of Vrai Pictures to discuss the release of the platform, her feelings about the concept of “immersion” in general, and the future possibilities of this exciting new technology.
Watch the full interview below:
Video by Cara Mandel
From the press release:
Vrai Pictures Announces Traverse, a Spatial Audio Platform, Premiering at SXSW 2019
Traverse will debut with audio experiences from Elvis Presley and NASA’s InSight Mars Mission
(New York City, New York — February 28, 2019) — Vrai Pictures, an immersive content studio, announced Traverse, a first-of-its-kind platform for room-scale spatial audio experiences, which will premiere at SXSW 2019. The platform was developed with the creative technology studio, Superbright, under technical director, Igal Nassima.
Traverse makes listening physical, delivering immersive audio experiences that transport you so that you feel like you’re there, all from the comfort of wherever you are. Utilizing mobile devices and enhanced with augmented reality technology, Traverse allows listeners to choose their content. The sensors in AR audio wearables incorporates their movements through the sound-space. The Traverse app along with its first run of experiences at SXSW will be available on the App Store with a limited release starting March 12.
Traverse will premiere two original projects at SXSW: “From Elvis in Memphis” and “The Arm of InSight.” These Traverse experiences were directed by Jessica Brillhart, founder of Vrai Pictures, and were designed with the creative audio studio, Antfood.
Traverse will bring Elvis’ music to life with “From Elvis in Memphis” on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the release of his album of the same name, allowing listeners to engage with the legacy rock n’ roll recordings like never before. The platform uses spatial audio technology to create immersive experiences from the multitrack recordings of “Suspicious Minds” and “Power of My Love.” Audiences will be able to move through each of these tracks and feel as if they’re in the presence of the King of Rock ’n’ Roll himself.
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“Elvis Presley set the stage for what music was to become. He was an inspiring force for countless musicians and artists. Elvis was also known for being an early adopter — he recorded albums live in his home, had a projector TV before most people did, and even owned one of the first mobile phones. It made a lot of sense to explore Traverse with him. I think he would have really gotten a kick out of it,” said Jessica Brillhart, founder of Vrai Pictures. “In the From Elvis in Memphis experiences, you can literally walk right up to Elvis. You can also approach any of the other band members and hear just how amazing they are, too. You can run, dance, move freely through the music, getting new perspectives and mixes. The tracks reveal a dimensionality that have been there all along but couldn’t truly be experienced until now. It needed the right creative and technological insight to make it possible — and that’s the kind of stuff we’re excited about exploring at Vrai Pictures.”
Traverse also premieres with “The Arm of InSight,” an experience which launches the listener into NASA’s InSight mission on Mars using publicly available audio and imagery captured by the lander.
Traverse will be on exhibit at SXSW 2019. To add to your schedule please visit the following link: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2019/films/2009915
For future Elvis Presley music news subscribe here: https://Elvis.lnk.to/nl_form!pr
About Vrai Pictures:
Vrai Pictures is an immersive content studio based in New York. We build impactful and emotional experiences for emerging technologies. We pride ourselves in learning, experimenting, and exploring — helping to develop new tools and discovering new processes through the work we do. Founded by VR veteran Jessica Brillhart, Vrai Pictures’ work exists at the intersection of art and technology to create thought-provoking work that inspires, challenges, and pushes immersive content in new, innovative and bold directions.
About Superbright:
Superbright is an award-winning creative technology studio specializing in AR, VR, and Physical Computing experiences that are as thought-provoking as they are practical. Comprised of artists and developers, Superbright works on product development, creates commissioned work, and maintains ongoing residencies to form a holistic perspective on these nascent tools and their future applications.
Video courtesy of SXSW YouTube Channel
For more information on Traverse or any of the other projects mentioned in this interview, visit the Vrai Pictures website.
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