“Injustice”: VR FILM, Presented by Carnegie Mellon University

“Injustice” is an interactive VR experience themed around racially motivated police brutality. Users witness an act of racial discrimination, forcing them to make moral and ethical decisions on the spot. Users will have the ability to select a variety of dialogue choices – each line of dialogue decided upon will change the path of the film’s storyline. Participants can actively engage with, and alter, the actual storyline itself.

“PEARL”: VR FILM – A GOOGLE SPOTLIGHT STORY

Google’s Spotlight Stories team, which is part of Google’s ATAP R&D Unit, will demonstrate “PEARL,” on the HTC Vive virtual reality system, and Google’s own VR platform. This animated short “coming of age” film follows a father and daughter’s lives through the “eyes” of their beloved hatchback in immersive 360 video. “PEARL” was created and directed by Patrick Osborne, the director of Disney’s Academy Award winning short animated film “FEAST.”

“INVASION!” VR FILM

“Invasion!” is a narrative-driven interactive VR animated short presented in real-time. It is directed by Eric Darnell, well-known director and writer of the four “Madagascar” films. Darnell formed Baobab Studios together with co-founder Maureen Fan, with “Invasion!” as their debut project, featuring narration by Ethan Hawke. The film explores ideas around character empathy and immersive VR “presence” within a storyline, promising a close alien encounter.

VR Village Experience Presentations —

Agents of Change

A look at the creation of VR experiences for health and social advancement featuring presentations by distinguished scholar Walter Greenleaf, PhD, of Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University; Jeremy Patterson, Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital; Alice Grishchenko and John Luna, Ohio State University.

Art & Science of Immersion

An advanced, high-tech look at the topics of programming, interaction design and shaders for immersive, interactive mediums. From bringing Google Earth to Virtual Reality, to high quality character shading from Pixar, and also a look inside the science that enabled the artistic vision of a specialized virtual reality drawing tool, attendees will take away high-level knowledge.

Production for VR Storytelling

This powerful session will feature three, high-profile, diverse presentations.

“Invasion!” Exploring Empathy and Agency in VR

Director Eric Darnell and Maureen Fan will use their VR film “Invasion!” to tackle the questions of how best to tell a story in VR and how we make the viewer an active participant within the VR experience.

“Kanju”: Integrating HCI to Tell Better Stories in Immersive Environments

Presented by Stephanie Riggs of Sunchaser Entertainment, the short VR documentary “Kanju” showcases cutting-edge concepts around Human Computer Interactive (HCI). Riggs aims to teach participants how to tell better stories within a virtual reality environment through incorporating a human-computer interaction techniques and basic design principles, which will be key to the future of narrative experiences.

“The Jungle Book” Through Mowgli's Eyes, Part 1 – Kaa

This is a real-time game engine virtual reality experience created for marketing Disney's “The Jungle Book" feature film. Presented by Joe Farrell, Visual Effects Supervisor / Concept Designer, Tangerine Apps was tasked with creating the experience for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, having utilized high end film assets and also paying special attention to the VR storyline, target frames per second output, and visual style in just eight weeks. Farrell will present the “making of’ the VR experience and discuss project outcomes.

For a closer look at this year’s upcoming VR Village, visit s2016.SIGGRAPH.org/VR-Village.

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About SIGGRAPH 2016

The annual SIGGRAPH conference is a five-day interdisciplinary educational experience in the latest computer graphics and interactive techniques, including a three-day commercial exhibition that attracts hundreds of companies from around the world. The conference also hosts the international SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival, showcasing works from the world's most innovative and accomplished digital film and video creators. Juried and curated content includes outstanding achievements in time-based art, scientific visualization, visual effects, games, real-time graphics, virtual -+reality, and narrative shorts. SIGGRAPH 2016 will take place from 24-28 July 2016 in Anaheim, California. Visit the SIGGRAPH 2016 website or follow SIGGRAPH on Facebook , Twitter ,  YouTube , or Instagram for more detailed information.