Development Diary Seven: Hamlet's Kingdom

Check out the latest prototype of To Be With Hamlet in the above video!

In the past week, we have made huge leaps with the project. We migrated Prince Hamlet and the Ghost to the illustrious Elsinore Castle, a grand stone fortress perched on a brotherhood of rocky cliffs.

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Additionally, we finally got a tunic for Hamlet and a set of armor for the Ghost. Now that these prototypes of the clothing are in place, we will begin experimenting with various particle effects for both characters. For example, as the Ghost talks about burning in Hellfire, we might set him on fire.

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We’ve also begun submitting the experience to major festivals such as Sundance Film Festival and the Future of Storytelling Summit. Our team hopes to share our innovative fusion of motion capture, live performance, and Virtual Reality with these awesome festivals.

Be on the look out for official Press Kit, which will be made available on our website’s About Tab by the end of this week.

In the Press Kit, we will outline some of the benefits that our sponsors will receive.  These tentatively include, but are no means limited to, the following:

- Logo featured prominently during the experience.

- Logo featured on the production's blog, website (hamletvr.org), social media platforms, videos, and marketing materials.

- Sponsor profile on website, blog, and marketing materials.

- For larger sponsors, exclusive, private performances of the piece for the sponsor and their guests.

- Free tickets to public performances of the piece.

We also launched our official Instagram account this week. Follow us @tobehamletvr

Keep checking out our blog, Facebook, and Twitter for more videos and information about the project!

Twitter and Facebook: @ToBeWithHamle

Instagram: @ToBeHamletVr

Development Diary Five: Performing in a New Reality

Learn about Zachary Koval, the actor playing Prince Hamlet, and the challenges and breakthroughs he has encountered while performing in Social Virtual Reality!

This past week, our lab was visited by Bell Labs, Nokia, and NBC! Thanks for stopping by!

Since our previous 3D model of Zach was not to our standards, we will be rescanning Zach in the coming week. As of this week, Hamlet also now has 3D clothing to wear.

Now that we have established that our base concept and technology works, we are deciding on the direction we want to take this experience. As such, we are recreating many of our assets so that they will be of one theme.

For more about our project, check our website: hamletvr.org.

To contribute to this project's creation, donate here: http://hamletvr.org/donations

Anyone who donates more than fifty dollars will be entitled to a free studio visit!

Development Diary Four: The Play's the Thing

Watch our director David discuss directing performance in Social Virtual Reality!

We are officially out of the prototyping phase! Now that we have tested various techniques and concepts in VR dramaturgy, level design, and networking, we are advancing into production mode. This means we are bringing on new team members, such as Unreal expert Todd Bryant, and a sound designer.

We've made huge leaps in networking this past week. Our team met with a VR researcher at NYU's Shanghai campus and tested a system that would allow audience members to enter the virtual space through special "Holodeck" stations in Shanghai, London, and several locations in New York City. We can currently support fifteen people in each of these Holodeck stations. We have also begun creating a system that would allow audience members to access the experience from their home.

Along with these advances come new costs. As of right now, we are largely self-funded. In order to make this project and future productions of Shakespeare in VR viable, please donate here: http://hamletvr.org/.  Anyone who donates more than fifty dollars will be entitled to a free studio visit!

The project is also gathering attention from exciting new partners. This coming week, representatives of Time Magazine, Bell Labs, and the Future of Storytelling conference will visit the studio. 

For more updates like this, sign up at our mailing list in the contact section. Also, follow us on Facebook, Vimeo, and Twitter by clicking the icons at the bottom of this page.

Development Diary Three: Crafting a Prince

In the video above, learn how our team is making Prince Hamlet's avatar look as real as the actor playing him.

Our team has made many exciting discoveries in the past week: we have started using facial motion tracking, testing environments, and mapping textures to the 3D avatars.

In next week's development diary, you'll learn the discoveries and challenges our director and actor have encountered while crafting performance for this project.

Have a question about Hamlet? Comment below and a member of our team will answer it as soon as we can!

Development Diary Two: Capturing Performance

This week, the team shares how it is using state-of-the-art motion capture to create the first ever live performance in Virtual Reality!

Next week, the team will show how it will make Hamlet look photorealistic in the virtual space.

Development Diary One - Introducing the Prince

For the first time ever, Shakespeare will be performed live in a new reality - virtual reality.

Welcome to the Development Diary of To Be With Hamlet, the world's first live performance and Shakespearean production in Virtual Reality.

Each week, Hamlet's development team will share its challenges, discoveries, and methods through a one minute video and short blog post.

Have a question about Hamlet? Comment below and a member of our team will answer it as soon as we can!

For more about the project and its team, check out our About Page.