QUT's School of Design has joined forces with the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF) to present a mostly free feast of virtual reality fun for all ages at The Cube on Sunday 22 November.
Hybrid Story Worlds: Imagining our Future includes a kids' filmmaking workshop and Hybrid Arcade which gives visitors the chance to don virtual reality headsets to view cutting edge films and games such as a driving simulator, a virtual museum and an interactive film from Hong Kong (The Perfect Hyde: Deadly Yacht).
Curated by Deb Polson, Senior Lecturer with QUT's School of Design, Hybrid Story Worlds activities begin at 10am with the first of three Hybrid Masters panel discussions, The Labs of the Future, hosted by Marek Kowalkiewicz, PwC Chair in Digital Economy based at QUT Gardens Point.
"Marek and his panel will elaborate on a range of fascinating topics from smart cars and virtual eyewear to robotics and the 3D printing of body parts; all of which are already a reality," Dr Polson said.
"Next up in the Hybrid Masters series is The Gurus of Games. This discussion will be led by Lee May, co-host of Zedgames, Australia's longest running gaming radio program and brings together some of Australia's most successful game developers including Luke Muscat, Megan Summers and Dan Vogt who co-founded Fruit Ninja creators Halfbrick.
"The other panel discussions throughout the day cover Writing and Designing Hybrid Worlds and The Asia Pacific Virtual Reality Network.
"We have teamed up with the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival to present this special program on how gaming and cinematic concepts and technologies are being merged to create hybrid experiences of fact and fiction, physical and digital, historic and fantastic.
"The whole cinematic experience is rapidly changing in the most exciting way and The Cube is the ideal forum to help people explore the new world order of film."
Kiki Fung, Head Programmer of the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival added "The concept of cinema is constantly evolving. Virtual Reality is fascinating in its ability to merge narrative, cinematic aesthetics and gaming/interactive elements, opening up new dimension for imagination.
"BAPFF is thrilled to partner with QUT to be among the forerunners to explore new visual experience. Dr Polson brings a wealth of knowledge and an excellent pool of talents into this program, which will allow our audience to be challenged, excited and inspired," said Ms Fung.
As well as the Hybrid Arcade and Hybrid Masters discussions - both of which are free - the program includes Hybrid Labs - The Monster Zoo, a filmmaking workshop for children aged six to 12 at the price of $25.
"The Monster Zoo is an augmented reality filmmaking experience for kids exploring animal extinction using monsters modelled from endangered Australian animals. It's a lot of fun and introduces them to new techniques as they search for an escaped monster and record their finding to make a mini documentary," Dr Polson continued.
"The whole day offers much to stimulate the imagination and we recommend that people do book for the sessions they are interested in, including those that are free."
More information on the program and how to book can be found at the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival website.
Now in its second year, from Thursday 19 to Sunday 29 November BAPFF will screen more than 100 features, documentaries, shorts and Virtual Reality works from across the Asia Pacific. BAPFF also provides an opportunity to experience 34 of the nominated films from the 9th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Classification notes: with the exception of Hybrid Labs - The Monster Zoo, all Virtual Reality works showcased in this program are unclassified. Persons under the age of 15 have to be accompanied by an adult.
Media contact:
Amanda Weaver, QUT Media, 07 3138 9449, amanda.weaver@qut.edu.au
After hours: Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au
BAPFF: Maddie Smith, 0411 426 357, msmith@brisbanemarketing.com.au
