The Los Angeles Philharmonic has an interesting project coming up that piqued our interest. Van Beethoven, which is not a band your dad was into in the 70s, is a virtual reality experience with the LA Philharmonic.
The experience will be offered in different locations in the LA area from September 29-October 13. The orchestra bills it like this on their website
“VAN Beethoven is a 4-minute virtual reality experience using new Oculus technology that allows you to experience a private concert with the LA Phil from our specially-designed touring truck, which is complete with authentic carpet and seating from Walt Disney Concert Hall. You’ll put on the headset and immediately be transported to Walt Disney Concert Hall to experience the opening minutes of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, with a few surprises.”
There's a number of things that intrigued us about this. First, the use of Oculus Rift stands out. Oculus Rift is virtual reality headset that Facebook bought some time ago. It's widely regarded as the best virtual reality out there, so far at least. To out knowledge, this is the most prominent use of the technology within this type of setting.
Over at PSFK, there's some pictures of the rig used to capture the recording. If it works as advertised, you'll be able to move your head around and change your viewing perspective of the orchestra.
The next thing that stood out to us is the use of binaural audio to record the orchestra. If you're not familiar with the concept, see the video below for a good explanation. If it works as advertised, when you move, the visual perspective as well as what you hear will change with your movements like in the actual concert hall. Binaural Audio has some drawbacks for recorded music, but the pairing with this setting it especially intriguing.
Will this work? It's hard to tell. It it does "work", it's only a 4 minute experience. There was undoubtedly conversations that broke out around the phonograph and what it meant for the live concert experience. We don't think anything ever replaces the live concert experience, but it could be fun to see them try. When we see Beethoven's 5th we always sit up in the seat during the 4th movement. Would it be the same sitting up with a virtual reality headset on?
We collaborated with the talented @GustavoDudamel and @LAPhil to bring Beethoven to #VR: http://t.co/DGbBerbs6f pic.twitter.com/fbArhfuQGe
— Secret Location (@secretlocation) August 6, 2015
Would you watch a concert through virtual reality? Tell us in the comments.
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