VR creation in the hands of the LA creative community
The team at VRLA just showed us all a couple things. The first is that they are not to be underestimated. Watching those guys and gals take VRLA from a 50-person meet-up to the world’s largest VR expo with 6,000 attendees over the course of a couple years has been remarkable.
The second is that in LA, the most powerful applications in VR are those that allow us to come together and express ourselves creatively. A big highlight of VRLA was Visionary’s unveiling of Mindshow, proof that virtual reality will bring our imaginations to life like nothing ever has. VRLA co-founders Cosmo Scharf and Jonnie Ross are also founding members of Visionary.
Welcome to Los Angeles
Los Angeles is home to more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians than any other city at any time in history. One in every six of us works in a creative industry.
So it should come as no surprise that LA has become the nexus for creative applications in VR. We’ve been documenting the VR scene here for over a year and a half now and have assembled an amazing cast of creators and friends we like to bring together for a good party every now and again to celebrate their amazing creations and see what happens when we put new tools in the hands of the LA creative community.
Our most recent gathering was the VRLA After Party. As people from all over the globe converged in the city, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring everyone together over beers and christen our new space at CTRL Collective in the DTLA fashion district.
Where Art and Music Collide in VR
Like many people, Tilt Brush was the first VR experience that blew our minds. We’ve been working closely with the teams at HTC Vive and Google to get Tilt Brush into the hands of LA artists this year, starting with the VRScout Art Show at VICE back in March.
Since then, we’ve been really excited about a new tool for creators. Earlier this year we were introduced to a new creation tool for DJs and musicians called TheWaveVR. They announced their first round of funding at VRLA and made their big public debut in the form of a VR rave at the expo.
Behind the scenes, we learned that Tilt Brush was implementing audio-reactive brushes that would respond to music created live by DJs in TheWave. And so a party was born. We teamed up five DJs with five artists who performed together in pairs on stage, creative live art that literally moved to the music. In our Vive mixed reality studio, guests created their own works of art.
The Wild West
Without diving too far into cliches about pioneers, picks and shovels, we have to pay tribute to everyone’s favorite surprise of the night from our friends at Trainrobber. They demonstrated their capabilities as a VR and AR agency in a big way.
They created an incredible blended reality treasure hunt with clues planted in virtual spaces and on the walls of CTRL Collective. One of our lucky guests unlocked the treasure chest and walked away with $2,000. They also produced this killer wrap video.
Where Credit is Due
It takes a village. A million thanks to our sponsors and partners for working with us to get VR creation tools in the hands of LA’s creative community.
- CTRL Collective
- HTC Vive
- iBUYPOWER
- Pabst Blue Ribbon
- Stolen Rum
- TheWaveVR
- Tilt Brush by Google
- Trainrobber
- VRLA
