V.R. a GoGo
I do V.R. P.R. for a state of the future company called The Vivid Group. Our product is the Mandala Virtual Reality System.
TECH-PLANATION
You stand in front of a monitor and a video camera instantaneously puts your whole body into that monitor so that you view yourself on the monitor in a virtual environment.
You are watched by a computer through the camera and a real time digitizer. When you move, your discarnate body on the t.v. moves, you can manipulate "interact" with the icons, graphics, and animations around you - the you on the monitor. For example if you see a drum kit you would just reach out to where your video gesture could beat the animated skin and this will trigger the sound with a real time response. It's unencumbered V.R., you don't have to wear, or hold anything. With this exciting, particular interpretation of the V.R. concept, The Vivid Group is a world leader in the field of V.R.
In 1980 I had skipped grade 13 and the drinking age had recently gone up so I found myself unable to enter the University of Waterloo pub. Vincent John Vincent was at the gate post like a living Mandala. who could permit me to enter into an alternate universe-the bar! As a non-drinker I was content to hang out with the doorman at the entrance. We became friends since we were both interested in phenomenological psychology and the many layers of reality.
Vince's concept for the Mandala system was born out of this time of experimentation with psychedelics and a time in which he was "into" creative and holistic therapies. He was focused on creating an instrument that would help facilitate a kind of "wholeness of being" perspective with computers.
Vincent met Francis MacDougall a computer wiz with a wicked sense of humour and they began to work together-totally converging science with art as they hacked out the Mandala concept. The task was to create a medium, or tool of expression which could bring internal visions to light and be communicated to others as they wandered through different digitized worlds.
The Mandala was alive and with it people could focus on creativity and use their whole body as an interface. It's as if their whole body is stepping into a creation of the unconscious, - a dreamscape if you will. The Mandala became Vincent's personal performance instrument. He controls on-screen midi instruments and animation and dances around in virtual space. On his cyberstage he can also play in harmony with an accompanying band. During his performances Vincent takes the audience along on a trip into his unconscious and communicates the visions of his dreams. It's like a third person dream experience being relived, interacted with,manipulated, influenced, melded and molded. The Mandala was a vehicle to get Vince around the world and allow him to combine many arts together: graphic artist, dancer, musician, juggler, mime and actor all at the same time. New and traditional art forms were uniting.
The Mandala is a superb medium for performers because you can create a context for whatever you are talented at, and like any instrument you get better over time. The Mandala has transcended technofad status ,V.R. performance is a completely new thing and people get off on the technology as much as the show itself. The technology is so potent that as Vincent experiments with the new medium the audience is often mesmerized.
Sue Wyshynski witnessed Vincent moving in his music video playground and by 1988 joined forces with Vincent and Francis in The Vivid Group. She now heads Vivid's West Coast operations outside of San Francisco, from a 150 year old ferryboat that was formerly used by the Allen Watts Society.
Some notable examples of Vincent's Virtual Reality performances are: The Tunnel Club in NYC /87, Calgary Winter Olympics/88, Le Fresnoy Interactive Art/88, Annual Verbum Digital Be-Ins/88-/95, Annual Toronto Earthday Concerts/90-/92, Rio Reality Concerts/93, and Wonderland Symposium on art/science in Tokyo/88.
In /92 Vincent played in the Grand Scientific Musical Theatre Concert put on by Scott Page, Allan Parson, and Bob Ezrin. It was a concert for 20,000 in Los Vegas that had more interactive technology in one place than had ever been assembled before.
Vivid heads, Being space freaks, The Mandala concept started to evolve into one with no gravity. In space your perception and way you use your body changes and the Mandala could act like a tool to reorient perception on a whole body scale, like training to readjust to the perception of being in outer space.You are engaging your whole body in the Mandala which helps to strengthen your co-ordination, wholistically. You develop co-ordination of your total body at once using the left and right side equally rolling things around your body, stimulating that side of the brain which is connected to those aspects of your body.
Although there are no conclusive results, it may be worth it to see what could happen when you have an instrument of interaction that engages the whole body to see how it may stimulate aspects of your awareness and thinking.
Recently, Vivid studied the effects of weightlessness on the human body and developed a Skylab Mission Simulator for the Astronaut Hall Of Fame, The installaton challenges guests to relive an actual Skylab mission, their images floating around the screen in a simulation of zero gravity. The experience teaches people about physical dynamics in outer space. You are engaging your whole body in the Mandala which helps to strengthen your co-ordination, wholistically. You develop co-ordination of your total body at once using the left and right side equally rolling things around your body, stimulating that side of the brain which is connected to those aspects of your body. Although there are no conclusive results, it may be worth it to see what could happen when you have an instrument of interaction that engages the whole body to see how it may stimulate aspects of your awareness and thinking.
The Vivid Group began to function as installation artists doing for example: ARS Electronica in Austria, , Image Du Futur in Montreal, MuuMedia Festival in Finland, Cyber Arts and Cyberthon in San Francisco, Le Fresnoy Interactive Art in France, Expo "92 Spain, Expo "93 Korea, special installations at Siggraph, Lollapalooza, MTV X-Mas party and 100's more. The installations gradually became more permanent as the Mandala became a combination of interactive art and edutainment. Some examples are: Harmonyland (Hello Kitty Land) in Japan, Ryko Systems in Saudi Arabia, Cybermind -The CN Tower Toronto, The Basketball and Hockey Halls of Fame, The Chicago and Oregon Museums of Science and Industry, The Smithsonian Institute in Washington , The Franklin Institute/Science Museum (History of Video Games), and 100's of other Science Centres, Museums, and so on.
Museums embrace our exhibits because they not only provide the museum goers with an interactive experience, but as edutainment the Mandala can demonstrate concepts of technology and art which appeals to most people. Vivid's success lies in the fact that people can play and have fun as soon as they step into it. It's a cross between being in an" Alice in Wonderland "'Through The Looking Glass Experience 'of seeing yourself in another world, and being inside an interactive t.v. set.- being on T.V.! This is because you don't have to wear any goggles , data gloves, body suits , or headmounted displays. You are also free from alienating interfaces such as keyboards, mice, and joysticks, since you are the mouse. It's a whole body experience vs a mouse click experience which is integral to the Mandala experience. You are empowered by the freedom of movement and unencumbered interaction. When you appear in the virtual environment with your full body mobility, the immersion is convincing and you become absorbed in the action.
The adventure seems tangible as you use strength, agility, creativity, and co-ordination. Other Virtual Reality experiences are cumbersome, bulky, and intrusive because the physical restraints feel unnatural, and confining. Also your involvement is limited when you don't see your whole body in the virtual environment.
The Mandala submerges you into a world where you interact but don't really see the technology you just become a part of it. When The Vivid Group started out people's sense of interactivity was merely clicking a mouse or touching a screen. The Mandala was so far ahead of it's time that people had trouble understanding what the score was. The Vivid Group took no interactivity stepping stones, they went straight to the quintessential form of it.-building the interactivity wave and not just surfing on it. Interactivity really took off in the 90's and the industry is just catching up to the Vivid experience.
People like Timothy Leary supported and influenced Vincent Francis and Sue.. They sticks to their mandate that if you have enough creativity to occupy your sence of self then you don't need violence. They believe that fostering love and creativity is the key to human evolution. This has allowed The Vivid Group to prosper as a company because our focus is on creativity rather than seeking out an existing market. We were able to make money by being creative because there was a demand for that creativity. The Vivid Group didn't have to fall into any marketing traps and go the usual corporate route with a new technology- we're not into marketing electronic wet dreams with hot babes. The Vivid Group is aware of the social effects of a new technology and takes responsibility for their product. We keep our souls intact by not compromising our beliefs and values and keeping our vision on the straight and narrow. Virtuous and not virulent virtual reality. The Vivid Group focuses on non-violent adventure worlds. When approached with violent or military oriented clients, we offer non-violent training and competition based alternatives. Game categories range from sports motifs to fantasy adventures, promoting positive concepts such as recycling and self- growth.
The Vivid Group creates markets as opposed to finding and cashing in on markets. We are experimenting with new ways to do business-other types of hierarchies which involve a lot of teamwork. Communication is the key. Everyone has their input, you don't have to be in the production department to have a good production idea. We all help each other out with thje ability to be part of the creative growth input to any aspect of the business. There's no set way because we are creating the markets. Hey how about doing raves, Bar- Mitzvahs, Amusement Parks, Corporate promotions. t.v. production -and so we have to create new forms of being able to refocus our energies with every new job. We have to be able to learn new aspects and to teach each other what's important and required with each market. 90% of the people hired learn their skills on the job and have to adapt and change as the market changes and grows. The Vivid Group hires people who can change and grow with the technology- open minded competent people who enjoy using their imagination in learning how to play business- being cre-a-tive and having fun. This is why Susan Wyshynski and Erica Ehm the V.J are my role models,they stepped into a new field and ran in it and didn't trip up. Nobody is stopping me from producing African and Techno virtual music videos and showing them as a V.R. V.J. Doing V.R P.R. now is like the P.R. I did 5 years ago for the club 23 hop, none of the kids at the high schools I'd visit had any idea what techno music was or even a rave for that matter and V.R. ? Oh it's that violent game, my nephew tried it at the Eaton Centre they tell me. I want people to catch the wave of excitement, to envision what the potential is.
At the Vivid Group we are trying to facilitate technology that not only can be used by an individual for their own creativity and growth, but also to facilitate positive interaction and creativity in the coming global village. It's the "electronic democracy" idea of getting technology into the hands of the people to allow them to link up and communicate together and expand their minds through knowledge. Letting people communicate together about what kind of world they want to live in. For example, with the National Film Board of Canada we created Virtual Cities. It's a video teleconferencing project that linked participants from 3 countries' live ' in a shared Mandala world to investigate urban development issues. This event was seen live by over 50 countries and featured the ability for participants to plan and create their own virtual city. The Vivid Group works with the Marshall McLuhan Program for Arts and Technology to integrate the Mandala into interactive teleconferencing events. Videophone experiences are greatly enhanced when accompanied by the Mandala . Not only can you construct what you'll do, but also where you'll do it. With a virtual library you can pick video from anywhere on the globe, or create your own world. The Mandala brings on a whole new dimension of meaning and relevance to the experience. For example, I can call up my friend in Berlin and we can place ourselves onto a beach in India and play hacky sack together. It's like nothing anyone has ever encountered before. The participants appear alongside each other on the screen and they are both the same size. There's a lot of visual interaction to share and nonverbal communication that takes place by seeing peoples whole bodies in the same virtual environment. You don't even need to speak the same language.! On May 27/94 at the Digital media Award ceremony, a Mandala videophone was set up. Interactive links were established with California with Dr. Timothy Leary, and multimedia artist Todd Rundgren. On April 24/94 Vincent performed in the world's first Virtual Transatlantic video link. On this cyberstage Vincent played virtual musical instruments and danced together in the same virtual environment with a friend who was in Belgium.'live' for an audience in both places. They also juggled,balls, and painted a virtual canvas with an animated brush. This new fusion of t.v. and phone will surely be the wave of the future as people are able to communicate and perform together regardless of their physical location.
In February /95 The Vivid Group will be unveiling it's first application of SGI Mandala. Interactivity still hasn't peaked, it's still not the natural way of doing things. The Vivid Group keeps pushing the limits of technology and making forays onto the digital frontier. With Ritual Virility the future is pregnant with possibilities!
