By Laura Kobylecky
I am alone in the empty streets of Austin. Everything has been simplified to geometric shapes and the stars are brighter than they’ve ever been in the middle of the city. Strange eyes look from high points and serve as a unifying aesthetic to the strange world. There are no bats, no rats and no raccoons. The closest things I’ve seen to life are the hovering drones that await my instructions. Who made this strange, virtual, world? The story begins last March.
On March 6 of 2020, South by Southwest was cancelled at the decree of the City of Austin. This occurred shortly before the event was scheduled to begin on the 13th of March and was one of the first of many large events that would be cancelled as a result of the coronavirus.
This year, restrictions remained in place that prevented a full return of the in-person SXSW experience. However, the conference organizers decided to pivot to a digital format and that was the beginning of SXSW Online 2021.
SXSW Online 2021 includes a variety of online meetings, sessions, musical performances and many attempts at virtually recreating the interactive experience of SXSW. A notable addition to this is the SXSW Online XR experience. XR is an all-encompassing term referring to include Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and other forms of immersive media.
Blake Kammerdiener: XR and Film Programmer
I sat down for a video chat with Blake Kammerdiener, XR and Film Programmer, to learn more about this project.
According to Kammerdiener discussions about the idea of a virtual Austin began in October of 2020, yet work on the project didn’t start in earnest until sometime between Christmas and New Year’s Day. It was initially a larger concept, but the scope was limited over time.
In order to create the world they collaborated with Louis Cacciuttolo and his company VRrOOm. Kammerdiener already knew Cacciuttolo and had been looking for a chance to work together. VRrOOm was provided with basic concepts and blueprints as well as videos and reference images. Kammerdiener explains that “They really worked a lot of magic to make it all happen.”
