Virtual Reality Concerts Are Now Happening in Australia
Starting with this Flight Facilities set at Sydney Opera House.
Finding yourself smooshed between a shove-happy tween and a dirty ponytail-touting brick wall at the front of the mosh could be a thing of the past — virtual reality concerts are here, from Coldplay's Ghost Stories concert to Paul McCartney's VR concert app and a brand new Opera House VR experience, released today.
If you didn't nab tickets to Future Classic's 10th anniversary concert at the Sydney Opera House this past May, you can now experience part of the sold-out Vivid concert through a cheeky new virtual reality experience. Samsung, principal partner of the Opera House, put their tech to work on the day, recording sets for virtual reality, specifically made for YouTube’s new 360° video service. The recently unveiled YouTube app allows you to watch VR videos, including Future Classic and Samsung's brand new recorded Opera House performance of Flight Facilities’ ‘Heart Attack’ performed with Melbourne’s Owl Eyes and Julian Hamilton of The Presets.
Samsung created the video from more than 20 remote-controlled cameras, shot from three vantage points to capture this 360° x 180° immersive view — in Ultra High Definition, of course. The team-up was an experiment by the Opera House to let more than ticketholders experience Future Classic's sold-out show long after the date.
This isn't the first time an Australian organisation has used virtual reality to create a new audience experience, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra put 3D goggles on audience members this July and let them watch an entire concert from the perspective of the musicians. The technology has also been used by the Sydney Opera House before, also at this year's Vivid, by UK drum and bass artist Squarepusher. Dubbed the Stor Eiglass Virtual Reality Experience, Squarepusher worked with artists, artistic studio Marshallow Laser Feast, BAFTA-winning animators Blue Zoo and illustrator Rob Pybus to create a a fully immersive 2D and 3D virtual reality experience in the Main Box Office Foyer. But this new Flight Facilities video, shot from three different vantage points, is the first time we've seen a virtual reality concert experience like this.
Watch the video here (if you've got a VR viewer like Google Cardboard, it's even better):
Then watch the behind the scenes making of here:
Image: Daniel Boud.
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