A. Mood Board

: This week I focused more on theory research (related ‘Metaverse’, even it’s concluded very unclear concept), I couldn’t develop much about visual idea & concrete examples. So at first I look into my media landscape node again, and add a concept (about “Live!”) and clarify which media & concept I’m focusing more for my thesis. And also add some image of related product which I researced before for my references.

B. Dream Review

: I wrote my dream review dreaming with my future work (for VR PLAY) receive future Tony Award,

and imagined review by one of my ideal expert Breanda Laurel, the author of “Computers as Theatre”.

<From ‘Computer as Theatre’ to ‘Computer is Theatre’>

– Celebrating the Tony Award of “Toy Story : the VR Play”

: When ‘Toy Story’ was debut at 1995, the history of movie began to combined with CG (computer graphic) and changed it’s world based on reproducing real world to fantasy. And Video game also dramatically changed it’s format and popularity with it’s original “interaction” power and CG,too. And after internet was invented, it destructively chagned video industry combined with community like ‘Youtube’, and game also evolved to online-game which was similar to virtual community as human joined to these new media or art forms.

Meanwhile, ‘Play’, the oldest but also strongest art form still remained as a “Lively art form based on reality” apart far from these rapid media changes. As these mass productive & repoductive ‘Visual & virtual’ media has grown up with loss of ‘Aura’ which Walter Benjamin pointed it out, ‘Play’ has kept it’s opposite position as a ‘Real authentic lively art which cannot be replied, reproduced’.

However, today’s Tony Award of “Toy Story: the VR Play” give us fundamental question about this two stereo-typed definition for media.  When ‘Play’ is performed on the “Virtual Reality media”, then does it mean ‘the loss of reality & aura’ ? Vice versa, when ‘virtual character in the virtual theatre’ is ‘Lively’ performed by ‘human actor’, could we still call it as ‘Virtual’? Maybe these questions need lots of time to be answered as today’s VR Play is developing furthermore from now on.

But at the same time, the revival of “Classic Play” on the virtual media environment shows human’s fundamental desire for storytelling & acting has not changed from Greek till nowadays. If we remember one of the oldest novel was ‘Metamorphses’ by Ovid, we can realize that whatever the new media or tech is made, it’s just a ‘Tool” and tale will be still as old as time. So still the bible’s old proverb is valid,  “ There is no new things under the sun (Proverb 1:9) “.

 

Jack