Guests will be welcomed by Anna Osiadacz, director of Immersion Festival
Agenda
Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 19:00 p.m.
December, 11
Palace of Culture and Science – Broniewski hall
VR Cinema and VR Experience Exhibition
VR EXPERIENCE EXHIBITION OF IMMERSION FESTIVAL PARTNERS
Monday
December, 12
Palace of Culture and Science – Kruczkowski hall
10:00 a.m.
Opening of the festival
10:15 a.m.
Not only film festivals – another perspective on the distribution of VR works
We have become used to VR being presented on the film festival circuit because it was within the film community that the first VR productions began to emerge and it was filmmakers who adopted the familiar infrastructure to present new formats using the language of film. Since then, a lot has changed and VR works have significantly expanded their field of possibilities becoming much more than just 360-degree video. This opens up both creators and audiences to new possibilities for presenting VR experiences – ones that correspond with both the form of these works and their content.
During the festival, we will talk to international distributors and curators about specific approaches to VR distribution and exhibition models and examples of projects that are trying to develop their own presentation models outside the film circuit.
.
11:00 a.m.
Marketing based on brand experience – how to use VR/AR in advertising?
The world of marketing 5.0 opens up new opportunities for advertisers to reach users. We no longer just inform about the existence of a brand, but allow users to experience it with virtual reality advertising campaigns. How are campaigns using VR/AR being run? In which industries are they most often used and what determines their effectiveness? We will try to answer these questions by talking about various examples of advertising activities in the area of virtual reality.
11:15 a.m.
MetaHumans. Virtual influencers
Hyper-realistic virtual influencers are not just attractive genre doubles and subjectless images, but the golden grail of digital social media marketing and the future of quasi-relationships in meta-worlds. MetaHumans are not only the answer to fantasies of a stylish life in comfort but the promise of a dialogical relationship and the compensation of unsatisfied needs for presence, closeness, displaced corporeality.
11:30 a.m.
VnLab project – summary
The presentation focuses on current plans and the conference summarizing the first 4 years of the vnLab – the Visual Narrative Laboratory operating at the Film School in Lodz. Above all, it is a review of the projects that are approaching their premieres and which – as yet unfinished /in progress/ – were presented at the exhibition accompanying the conference. As we are nearing the end of the first cycle of the Laboratory activity, the number of projects leaving our walls is considerable. If you are interested in what projects will leave the walls of the Film School, we invite you to a presentation by Krzysztof Pijarski, a professor at the Film School in Lodz and head of the Visual Narration Laboratory.
12:00 p.m.
NFTs – digital art in the world of the metaversum
NFTs by far the hottest trend in the financial world lately. All thanks to artists who have decided to digital their own art and investors who can support their favorite singers, painters, or musicians in a whole new way. NFT is an acronym that comes from “non-fungible token,” or non-exchangeable token. It is a digital asset that works similarly to cryptocurrencies. This type of tool is also created on the blockchain and, like Bitcoin for example, represents some value in the digital world. Is the NFTs and digital art in the metaverse the future of artists? How can you create and sell artwork on the blockchain? Should one invest in art by purchasing NFTs? Is it a fad or a permanent trend? Business and artists in the metaverse will be discussed by the participants of this panel.
12:45 p.m.
Interdisciplinary projects using XR technologies – grant programs
eXtended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term for immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) and augmented reality (AR). Immersive reality is challenging because it signifies a new way of interactive creation, reception, consumption, different from the traditional way. The user becomes not just a consumer, but a prosumer of his or her own user experience (virtual, real, hybrid). However, since the ‘immersive’ prosumer can consume as well as create and vice versa: creating consumes content individually (e.g. as an experiment) this fluid relationship poses new challenges to established business models and existing legal, ethical and even social orders. Immersive technologies (eXtended reality) open up new opportunities for various industries. They represent a new area of human-computer interaction, combining the physical and digital realms and, as a consequence, raise many questions about what impact they may have on the world around us and the future. For this reason, it is very important to explore the application possibilities of future immersive technologies, conducting both research and development work and artistic experiments that will unleash the potentials of creativity, but also allow the Polish economy to become more innovative. In this panel, we will discuss instruments to support various projects using immersive technologies and the place these technologies occupy in innovation policies, including the National Intelligent Specialisation.
1:30 p.m.
Mindfulness break with Mindy
Mindfulness break with Mindy is a moment of relaxation for all participants. This short meditative session, will help you de-stress, calm your thoughts and free up the spaces in your head for another dose of knowledge.
2:00 p.m.
Metaverse – how to prepare well for the development of Internet 3.0 Exploring the rules of 3D VR spherical film narratives
It has been almost a year and a half since Facebook announced that it was changing its name to Meta and would focus its activities on building a metaverse. For this time, the definitional and cognitive framework of the emerging world has not been clearly defined. Meta is building a VR social platform, Microsoft and HTC are working on creating their own version of the metaversum, Roblox is making it even easier to create user-generated video games, and other companies are offering more virtual worlds to which NFTs are attached.
It seems that technology giants are unwilling to conform to the vision of one dominant platform and are working on proprietary solutions at the same time. The diversification of the market is good news for users, but it brings with it an even more urgent need for concrete legislative discussions that take into account different scenarios of Internet 3.0 development.
Among experts and practitioners, we will talk about the possible horizon of the upcoming changes and the challenges we need to face in order to make the reality ahead thoughtful and more sustainable.
2:45 p.m.
Polish creative industries exports
Internationally, Poland has a reputation as one of the fastest growing countries in Europe in terms of innovation and investment in the digital economy. The Deloitte “Fast 50 Central Europe” report published in 2021 included as many as 16 companies from Poland that are successfully developing their business by offering new, better and more effective solutions to the challenges faced by modern societies in today’s rapidly changing world. What characterises the most successful companies is their international reach and access to various markets in Europe, Asia or the United States. In this panel, we will talk about Polish strategy related to exporting innovation and expanding markets for domestic companies, start-ups and creative industries. We will take a closer look at the Polish presentation at Expo 2020 in Dubai and talk about the next planned presentation at the Polish Pavilion in Osaka in 2025.
3:10 p.m.
Film studio and greenbox in VR productions
Where and how to use a professional film studio in VR productions? Audiovisual Technology Center in Wrocław (CeTA) has the largest universal greenbox in Poland, measuring 7.5 m x 17 m x 16.5 m with a total area of about 280 square meters, with a green or blue floor, with the possibility of developing a black horizon. The studio is used for professional trick photography for film productions, TV shows, commercials, photo shoots, as well as for educational purposes. Dr. Robert Banasiak, director of the Audiovisual Technology Center, will talk about the possibilities of using CeTA’s space for VR productions.
3:30 p.m.
Metawersum
- the extraordinary world of avatars
3:55 p.m.
Talent and new technologies as stimulants
for the development of the cultural sphere
During the presentation, special attention will be paid to changes in the processes of creation, distribution and promotion of art taking place in the era of progressive virtualization of socio-economic life. This is reflected in the concept of technological determinism and technoculture. During the speech, selected results of qualitative and quantitative research will be presented, which were carried out among artists and people managing cultural institutions, as well as cultural participants as part of the research project of the Perception and Audience Research Studio, which is part of the vnLab of the Film School in Łódź. The aim of the presentation is to show how the surveyed groups perceive the changes in art taking place under the influence of the development of new media, as well as what role new information and communication technologies play in the management of cultural institutions.
4:15 p.m.
Summary of Day 2 of the festival and invitation to Day 3
Tuesday
December, 13
Central Technology House
10:00 a.m.
Start of the festival day 2
Guests will be welcomed by Anna Osiadacz, director of Immersion Festival, and Anna Sokolowska, director of CDT
10:15 a.m.
Needs and directions of new media development in terms of cultural, educational and scientific institutions
New technologies have already established themselves in culture and the arts, and are entering the educational sphere more and more boldly. One of the more fascinating ways of combining these worlds is virtual reality. VR and AR technologies are opening a new chapter in the history of education. They allow students to conduct experiments on their own by a trial-and-error method, and learn about the world from a new virtual perspective. Just by putting on goggles or firing up an AR app, they can be transported to the digital world and, for example, go back in time to learn about world history from a new perspective. VR technology is also being used in medicine. First of all, it allows doctors to be trained without endangering the health and life of the patient.
New developments in museums and cultural institutions using VR and AR are another proof that the world is increasingly embracing virtual reality. The VR headset is no longer just a toy for gamers. From the other side of the world, we can make a visit to a museum, a gallery, a city tour.
Museums are all about education, education through play and through interaction. VR or more broadly XR are great tools for learning and exploring the world. Both the museum and education industries immediately adopted these technologies as very useful. VR allows museums to extend their activities beyond the walls, but also beyond time. This is why VR has particular potential in museum exhibitions. Applications in which we have the opportunity to observe castle rooms, walk around and see exhibitions and historical buildings of the city are already a common trend in this field.
We can confidently say that virtual reality is increasingly used in medicine or education, cultural and art popularization, as well as during marketing activities, such as shopping. After such an expansion of this technology, however, it is becoming an increasingly important channel of communication with a growing audience. What does the use of XR look like in Polish institutions and what needs, opportunities and threats their representatives see. Immersion Festival director Anna Osiadacz will discuss this with her guests.
11:00 a.m.
Digital worlds in the perception of children and the youth
Children and young people represent a significant part of the users of digital projects, including a significant group of Internet users. These statistics have increased significantly over the past two years, when during the pandemic most of our activities — including education and maintaining social connections — moved online. At the same time, it is the youngest audiences that are most willing to experiment and show the greatest curiosity about what technological innovations, including VR, bring. However, there is a lack of clear opinions on the use of VR headset by young people and the impact of virtual reality on the well-being and development of the youngest recipients of digital experiences.
We will look at the results of analyses presented by researchers presenting the impact of VR and the perception of digital worlds on youth, in an attempt to outline a safe framework for the use of technology in cultural and educational projects.
.
11:45 a.m.
XR tools for accessibility and art conservation
The use of XR technology in digitisation and archiving will be discussed by Dr Michał Hyjek, an artist and scientist who creates multimedia tools for accessing and preserving works of art. During the presentation, we will learn how to combine classical sculptural artistic skills with technical skills in mechanics and electronics.
Dr Michał Hyjek represents COLLEGIUM XR – a research centre on VR, AR and XR at the Pedagogical University of Krakow, as well as INSTYTUT XR – a startup dealing with the project of open-source XR goggles and controllers called XRometr.
The following projects will be presented during the lecture:
- Metapedia, a 3D encyclopaedia of physical places
- Digital sacred museums
- Digital Archives of Malopolska, i.e. conferences in the meatverse
12:15 p.m.
Impact of VR technology on the effectiveness of knowledge transfer
Will modern education welcome modern technology such as virtual reality with open arms? What could be the advantages, and what are the risks? Thanks to immersion, or the feeling of being completely immersed in a virtual world, the viewer’s experience is very intense. Students can move through time and space: change continents, dive into the ocean, fly into the skies, meet ancient Romans, Egyptians and even dinosaurs.
The use of VR in education seems particularly important in training cognitive functions, or to simulate real situations from everyday life. Ways to use VR technology in education and the effects of these activities will be discussed by the participants of this panel.
1:00 p.m.
XR in culture and education – get to know us!
In this part of the conference accompanying the festival, we will learn about VR projects implemented by Polish cultural institutions, companies and organizations. Their authors and originators will present their productions. These will be:
- VR game ‘The Viking settlement of Truso and the Battle of Grunwald – medieval stories in a virtual world’ and the application ‘Virtual trail of the Elbląg Canal slipway’ – Hanna Laska- Kleinszmidt, Urszula Kondraciuk, Regional Digitization Workshop of the European Meeting Center ‘Światowid’ in Elbląg
- ‘VR Drawing’ – Piotr Koźniewski, The VR Incubator
- ‘Niepodległa.kom – 100 years of Polish comics’ – Adrian Kulesza, Project Manager, Center for Comics and Interactive Narration, EC1 in Łódź
- ‘The Game of the Ciphers’ – Adrianna Paradowska, Deputy Director of the Office of New Technologies, Institute of National Memory
- Vall Gallery application – Aneta Siwka, Innovation Centre – Tadeusz Różewicz Municipal Public Library in Wrocław and Marcin Łopusiewicz – author of the Vall Gallery application
- AR application ‘Dragon in Krakow’ – Małgorzata Steciak, Project Manager at CinematicVR
- EMPIRIUS Virtual Laboratory – Magdalena Roguska, Regional Manager New Era
- Use of HTC technology in cultural and educational projects – Bartosz Żuk, Regional Product Manager CEE, HTC Europe.
2:15 p.m.
Mindfulness break with Mindy / Break
Mindfulness break with Mindy is a moment of relaxation for all participants. This short meditative session, will help you de-stress, calm your thoughts and free up the spaces in your head for another dose of knowledge.
2:45 p.m.
XR direction! New challenges for Polish universities
How and where to study majors related to the development and use of XR technologies in Poland? Which universities have already followed the changing reality and offer their students the opportunity to be educated in the topic of metaversum and Internet 3.0? How do art universities approach XR, how do technical universities approach it, and how do social sciences approach it? What new challenges await lecturers? What do young people entering higher education expect from universities? Representatives of Polish universities will seek answers to these questions.
3:30 p.m.
XR games - art, learning tool, entertainment
Immersive experience connects to both the sphere of learning and entertainment. Games implemented in the XR convention are the best proof of this. How can educational tools be implemented into the world of games? What accounts for the potential of such productions? How are individual titles implemented? Where should we look for opportunities to develop the industry? This is what we will talk about, among other things, during the panel discussion “XR games – art, learning tool, entertainment”.
4:15 p.m.
Closing of the festival
11:00 – 17:00