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Following Mindtrek 2018, the International Technology Conference (10-11th October) at Tampere Hall, the first 360 Friday event was held at the University of Tampere. Those who registered for the free side event were able to explore a number of VR, AR and 360 productions presented by representatives from the University of Tampere, Tampere University of Technology and TAMK.
Attendees were welcome to enjoy some beers and snacks as the host, Juhani Linna from the University of Tampere introduced and interviewed some of the creators. Markku Turunen, professor of Interactive Technology at the university also shortly introduced TAUCHI (Tampere Unit for Computer-Human Interaction), a ‘research center focusing on human-technology interaction’ at the Faculty of Communication Sciences. After a few talks and presentations about work processes, the guests scattered to delve into the various demos.
The following productions from staff and students at Media and Arts were displayed at the event:
Virtual Art Gallery - Liya Pirkuliyeva, Ignasi Granell Vendrell and Tatu Heinämäki
Attendants were able to view the VR art gallery presenting works from the degree show ‘HOT FUTURES’ held this spring exhibiting the works of the graduating class of 2014. The viewer was able to pick the artist whose works they wanted to see by picking up a tape with their name and inserting it into a player. They could also throw black paint onto the paintings and watch video works.
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| Virtual Art Gallery |
Locked Up - Carita Forsgren
Those who dared got to watch the 4-minute 360 thriller, co-produced by TAMK and YLE, at the first public viewing of the short film.
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| First public viewing of 'Locked Up' |
Fintan Sauna Experience - Antti Perälä
A VR collaboration between TAMK and the Finnish Embassy in Tokyo aiming to bring Japan an authentic sauna experience, incorporating Fintan, the embassy’s mascot. Guests were able to shower and enjoy the virtual sauna by putting on the VR gear.
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| Fintan Sauna Experience |
The event also featured projects from other associations such as the premiere of ‘Eternal Youth’, a 360 experience with a peaceful finnish winter environment, created by the University of Tampere and Helsingin Sanomat. The purpose of the collaboration was to explore the concept of meditation in a VR environment. ‘Captain Karl’, a short VR documentary by Rakka Creative and an interactive omni-directional video (iODV/360) editor presented by Kimmo Ronkainen from the university were also featured.
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| 'Eternal Youth' meditation experience |
All in all the small event succeeded in displaying a compelling range of examples of how 360 technology can be put to use for different creative purposes, giving an insight to the future of more interactive and immersive media.
Text and photos: Hilma Nurmi 2018
