WILMINGTON – As part of its Connect conference, Cucalorus hosted a two-day VR Salon in three small rooms in the Brooklyn Arts Center. Those interested in a VR experience could stop by and view any of a dozen VR films.

Most were the product of the School of Making Thinking’s third annual VR Immersion Lab, held at UNCW in association with Cucalorus and the UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This three-week residency program gives participants the opportunity to work in a collaborative environment with the latest 360-degree film technology and to present the work they create at Cucalorus.

VR technology: headset, headphones, and a laser pointer. Photo: R Wright.

Students come from all over, but mostly from the United States, Matt Pearson, one of the co-coordinators of the VR Salon, says. “We are looking for people who can think outside the box, and also are game for intimate collaboration,” he says. “They spend one week living together and developing ideas, then a week shooting, and the last week editing.” The VR filmmakers at the Immersion Labs come from a variety of backgrounds, including artists, entrepreneurs, dancers, designers, filmmakers and even lawyers.

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Most of the VR films presented at Cucalorus are works-in-progress. “It actually takes more than three weeks to complete one of these things,” Pearson says.

“It’s a different experience from a making a regular film,” Emma Jaster, another co-coordinator, says. “You can’t frame a shot, for instance.

“The field is still new and novel and the technology changes from year to year. When we first hosted the residency in 2017, you couldn’t preview your work as you went, you were basically shooting blind. Today, you can see a preview on your phone.”

Exploring a virtual world in the VR Salon. Photo: R Wright.

The technology is changing quickly. Jaster and Pearson say the program is fortunate to get the latest tech donated by AR VR Consultants, including the newest 360-degree capture cameras.

Because the Immersion 3.0 films are made in Wilmington, the subjects have a strong local focus. This year’s offerings include a virtual walk through 1898 Wilmington with Armond Scott on the eve of the massacre of black citizens by white supremacists; a virtual tour of the Temple of Israel; and a walk along the Sugarloaf Trail in Carolina Beach State Park.

In addition to the Immersion films, Cucalorus also puts out a call for VR submissions each year. This year, the selected films included “Ashe ‘68,” an immersive look at Arthur Ashe’s win at the 1968 US Open, featuring a first-ever use of 360-degree sand animation, and “Lock Step,” a community collaboration with students from The Arts Based School, Take the Lead NC and Stone’s Throw Films, about a young boy who finds passion in ballroom dancing.

Other VR experiences at the salon this year included “Digital Human,” starring Nadia, the AI health care assistant developed by Marie Johnson.