Bristol-based Opposable VR is set to launch a new virtual space called BVRL 2.0 with a special launch event with a series of talks on virtual and augmented reality from some excellent guest speakers.

Date – 7th October

Time – 3pm – 6pm

The event will be catching up with speakers that have previously spoken in the physical Bristol VR Lab, as they share the latest on their recent work and insights on the wider XR field. Attendees will be hearing from:

• Lukas Roper, Virti
• Emanuel Tomozei, PWC
• Nick Fellingham, Condense Reality
• Verity McIntosh, University of the West of England
• Vin Sumner, Clicks and Links
• Kevin Williams, KWP Limited/The Stinger Report
• Sam Watts, Make Real

To sign up to to the event you’ll need to download the AltspaceVR application on your chosen platform and register via the following link:

https://account.altvr.com/events/1562263140865933477

BVRL 2.0 is a virtual evolution of Bristol VR Lab, a coworking space for companies and individuals working in the fields of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality technology. It’s run by a team of experts placed to offer advice and arrange engaging industry talks and events on a number of subjects related to XR.

The creation of this space was funded by Innovate UK, while the physical space was created with support from the West of England Combined Authority, University of the West of England, University of Bristol, Rocketmakers, and Bath Spa University. 

The multi-purpose space built for AltspaceVR is intended for professionals, students and teachers to connect, network and communicate, providing a much-needed virtual location for education, teaching sessions, cultural events, and demonstrations of new creative technical content.

While it currently sits in AltspaceVR, the space may migrate to other platforms in the future depending on the requirements of its users and the development of Opposable VR’s own experimental platform.

BVRL includes a central area to meet up for socials and a starting point to reach the other areas via BVRL 2.0’s various bridges. It sits next to our faithful recreation of the Bristol VR Lab, a tree house, and a selection of nods to the lovely city that is Bristol, with some scattered surprises for visitors to find. 

The amphitheatre is a space for people to give and attend talks. It uses AltspaceVR’s Multimedia Console to enable speakers to give presentations complete with videos and slideshows.

The meeting rooms are available for private use upon request (please get in touch with Dan Page on dan@bristolvrlab.com). There are four rooms in the space, each designed to be used by two, four, six or eight people.

The classroom has been created for teachers, students, lecturers, and anyone wishing to give talks to smaller groups of people than the amphitheatre space is designed for.

A bit about AltspaceVR / Help for those new to the platform

AltspaceVR is a Microsoft-owned social platform for virtual events in virtual reality or on a desktop PC. It supports 2D Mode on PC and VR Mode on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Rift S, Go, and Quest and Windows Mixed Reality.

How many people can attend an event at once?

Effectively it’s an unlimited amount, and previous events have had more than 2000 people attend. There’s a limit of 70 people per instance of an area, but AltspaceVR’s Front Row allows speakers to be On-Air across as many instances of the VR venue as needed.

How do I find out about BVRL’s virtual events?

The team will be sending out information on future events via the Bristol VR Lab and Opposable VR newsletters with instructions on how to attend. Public events will be listed on the Altspace website on our AltspaceVR channel – account.altvr.com/channels/bvrl2 and at bristolvrlab.com/events. 

If you hit the subscribe button on the BVRL 2.0 Channel Page you’ll be notified about all future events.

How do I attend events?

Events will require an AltspaceVR account to register your interest via the event link, once you’ve done so you will see links both on the AltSpaceVR website and in the app itself, where a menu should allow you to click “join”. See below for links to software support.

I would like to host an event

If you would like to host an event please speak to Dan Page on dan@bristolvrlab.com. We can help you with organisation, technical support and invites.

I need software support

There’s plenty of information over on the AltspaceVR website about how to use the software itself, see below for individual support sections that might be useful.

• General info
• Accounts and avatars
• Input and Controls
• Troubleshooting

Sign up

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Job Title: Artist & illustrator

Fields: Film, TV, games and virtual reality

Personal Bio: With over 10 years of professional experience working in the film TV and gaming industries I provide high quality concept art designs and storyboards for a multitude of projects.

Website: lewisgilliard.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/mwlite/in/lewis-gilliard-388a019a

Instagram: @LewisGilliard

Email: lewisgilliard [at] live.co.uk

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Company: nymbl

Job Title: Production Coordinator

Fields: Interactive technologies (VR, AR, MR) and 3D/2D animation

Personal Bio: I am nymbl’s production coordinator and marketing assistant. I handle projects as well as research and develop the VR and AR world in-house. I have been here for 2 years and in that time I have learnt a lot about immersive technology and always look forward to working on new and innovative projects.

Company Bio: Photo-real 3D animation, mesmerising motion graphics and immersive virtual reality experiences. If it moves, we can do it.

Company website: nymbl.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/oliver-southgate-43245b121

twitter: @nymbl3d

Email: oliver [at] nymbl.com

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Job Title: Producer

Company: Brass Mill Media

Fields: Documentary Production/ Immersive

Personal Bio: Steven Lake is a documentary producer based out of Bristol, UK. His work includes Cinema Eye-nominated ROLL RED ROLL. The film was the season opener for POV – PBS, was broadcast by BBC Storyville and is now available worldwide on Netflix. Roll Red Roll premiered at Tribeca 2018, screened at over 40 international festivals and went on to have a theatrical run in the US with an opening weekend at Film Forum, New York City. The film was called ‘essential viewing’ – Hollywood Reporter, ‘Raw and pressing’ – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, was Critic’s Pick for The New York Times and has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. His feature debut documentary, DRYING FOR FREEDOM (Amazon Prime) was the winner of Climate Week’s Best Artistic Response Award. Steven specializes in security-conscious filmmaking, using new technologies to create safe and secure workflows to protect films, filmmakers and contributors. He is the producer of the BFI-funded documentary short ANOTHER PARADISE as well as ANONYMOUS COMES TO TOWN, made in collaboration with The Guardian, TFI and Gucci Foundation. Since 2016 he has been working in the immersive space having produced content for Board Riders music festival and English Heritage. He is now working on his first immersive non-fiction experience A Death by Misadventure.

Company Bio: Non-Fiction Documentary and Immersive content

Website: brassmillmedia.com

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Job Title: 3D Visualisation | Multi Media Producer

Company: Immersive Environments

Fields: VFX | Film & TV | Construction & Engineering | Creative

Personal Bio: Having travelled, lived and worked all over the UK/overseas, now based in Bristol, Steve combines a love for exploring the natural and man made world with a passion for creating exciting digital content using the latest media technology.

Steve has 20+ years experience as an adventure sports coach and guide in boats, on ropes and in/on rocks. Then spending over a decade creating technical media, Steve has worked producing 3D Visualisation, 360 Film and Timelapse content for the Visual Entertainment, Construction and Engineering, Commercial and promotional industries as well as providing content for Creative Arts projects, International Conservation Organisations and for Natural History broadcast.

With many years of cross industry experience, Steve brings a creative yet practical perspective to all projects and strives to provide the highest quality content using the latest media technology and techniques (while enjoying the work and getting on with everyone during the process).

The ways in which content is produced now should not only look great but it should show people new perspectives, help solve problems, inspire and entertain. That’s what iMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENTS are all about. ”

Company Bio: 3D Visualisation | 360 Film | Timelapse

Website: immersive-e.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/immersive-e/

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Job Title: SW Engineering Manager

Company: IMD Technologies

Personal Bio: Embedded software developer specializing in video applications.

Company Bio: Designing HW and embedded software solutions for our customers in computer vision and VR/AR.

Website: imd-tec.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ram-boukobza-54756b52

Email: ram.boukobza [at] gmail.com

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Dan – Hi Mark, can you tell us a bit about what you’re up to at Bristol VR Lab?

Mark – I recently co-founded Rendar.org. We’re creating editioned digital artworks with some of the world’s leading urban artists. Our mission is to create a new type of collectable for investors and art fans.

Dan – What kind of shape do you think will Rendar.org eventually take?

Mark – Being based at Bristol VR lab we’re eager to explore the creation of limited edition 3D assets that can be displayed and used in a virtual world. People are increasingly spending more time in the digital realm and we want to offer bespoke items that will make their virtual space special and stand out from the crowd. At some point this year we also plan to start work on EVE. EVE will be our ‘resident’ A.I. artist and will collaborate with established contemporary artists to produce a wonderfully strange and completely new genre of art…and…oh yes Music!  We would love to tokenize an established recording artist to make music collectible again!

Dan – Why use blockchain? What makes it so secure?

Mark – A blockchain is a distributed electronic ledger that enables digital assets (in the form of tokens) to be securely stored and tracked across its network. The ledger isn’t stored in a single location and the records it keeps are truly public and easily verifiable. This system enables blockchain tokens to be some of the most secure and unforgeable digital assets in existence.

Dan – Where are the most popular places to buy cryptoart – how do they stand out from each other?

Mark – The two biggest digital art platforms are:

SuperRare – specialists in one off pieces based in New York

KnownOrigin – My favourite, based in Manchester, UK. They allow artists to issue multiple editions i.e. 1 of 50.

Dan – Inceptus, a piece by Bristol-based artist Spaced Painter recently sold for 5 ETH (around $1200 USD at the time of writing) on KnownOrigin. Is that kind of price unusual for cryptoart? What are pieces going for on the most part?

Mark – I would say Inceptus sold at the higher end of the price scale, however over the last few weeks we have seen a flurry of four figure sales. First Supper, A programmable, multi artist collaboration recently sold for 103 ETH (£18,000)

Dan – What’s the point of cryptoart when some forms of digital art are so easy to copy? If I can right-click and download an image from a website, why bother to pay for it?

Mark – Great question! Authenticity and provenance play an important part in the value of art. Using blockchain tokens as proof of digital ownership we can now prove that a particular image is original and was issued directly by the artist. Whilst this doesn’t prevent copying, It can categorically prove (or not) it’s provenance and authenticity. Like a physical piece of art, a certificate of authenticity doesn’t stop any unauthorized reproduction, it proves provenance – arguably where most of the value really lies.

Dan – When someone buys cryptoart, what do they usually get?

Mark – This can vary from platform to platform, the core offering is always a blockchain token (the digital proof of ownership) which links to the artwork in question. KnownOrigin and SuperRare also offer a Hi-res file that can be printed and framed. At Rendar in true ‘Street to Screen’ style, we provide a free limited edition screen print with all digital collectibles.

Dan – It sounds like you’re involved in work a little similar to another of our lab residents – Hool VR, are there any plans to collaborate?

Mark – Oh yes, we regularly share information, and it would be great to work together at some point in the future.

Dan – Have you any idea how much is currently being spent on cryptoart on a weekly basis?

Mark – The seven day volume for both SuperRare and KnownOrigin is around £24,000 with the average sale being £136. Though it’s important to point out that there are many sales that take place outside of these platforms so this could be a fraction of the total market cap.

Dan – How does one get into making cryptoart?

Mark – Well the crypto is the easy bit – the art is harder! Obviously it helps if you can produce art to a certain standard. You can then create your own token or apply to be ‘tokenized’ and listed by the marketplaces mentioned above.

Dan – Have you any tips for cryptoart to invest in now?

Mark – My favourite crypto artists right now are Xcopy and Connie Digital. Their prices have risen sharply recently, so I would recommend looking through the galleries of SuperRare and KnownOrigin to find artwork that appeals to your sensibilities and budget. You can then drill down and check the sales history and popularity of the artist. I also check on their social media to see how active they are. I’ve found some great pieces recently for as little as £10.

In April, Rendar, in collaboration with the Upfest gallery will be releasing an animated Digital collectible from O.G Street Artist Cheo. We think this would be a solid future investment. Please reach out below if you would like to know more

www.rendar.org

hi@rendar.org

Twitter @Rendar_org

Instagram @rendar_org

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Company: ASDESIGN

Job Title: 3D Designer/ UWE MA VR

Fields: 3D Design & Immersive Technology

Personal Bio: I’m an experienced 3D Designer who specialises in Exhibition & Event Design, Retail & Experiential Design and Interior Design. I’ve worked for both design agencies and in-house teams and recently have made the transition to freelance whilst studying for an MA in Virtual Reality & Immersive Technology.

My skills include 3D Concept Design; Visualisation; Animation; Detail Drawing; Preparing Specifications & Costings; Production Management; and Project Management (in-house and on-site). Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amyvstone

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Job Title: Artist

Fields: Drawn and digital Illustration, Spray paint mural work, vinyl installation murals, community arts, visual documentation, VR drawing and animation

Personal Bio: Andy Council is a Bristol based artist who is best know for creating composite beasts made up of architectural landmarks and other recognisable elements. His work takes the form of illustration, painting and huge murals which can be seen across the UK and beyond. Andy has pieces in Bristol City Museum’s permanent collection and two large scale works in Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, London. He has exhibited in the US and has had his work published internationally. Andy is currently bringing his drawing work into VR using Tilt Brush and Quill.

Website: andycouncil.co.uk

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andy-council-17164011a/

Instagram: @AndyCouncil

Twitter: @AndyCouncil

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Job Title: Art Student

Fields: Virtual Reality Fine Art

Personal Bio: I have worked as a medical general practitioner for 24 years but recently retired from this and I am in the second year of a Fine Art degree at UWE, Spike Island. I have always been interested in biology, perception, visual and musical performance, scifi and technology. In my artwork I have combined many of these elements and in particular I have been exploring virtual reality as an artistic space.

Website: jamesbragg.co.uk

Instagram: instagram.com/hyperdust7/

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