Exploring the Convergence of Hollywood and Virtual Reality

Spatial Beats: Hollywood Meets VR and AWE is Imminent - AR Insider

Welcome back to Spatial Beats, where we round up all the top news and happenings from around the spatial computing spectrum, including its escalating infusions with AI and other emerging tech. Let’s dive in…

Augmented World Expo’s 16th Annual Conference

Augmented World Expo’s 16th annual conference opens in Long Beach Tuesday. XR’s flagship event will draw 5,000 attendees, 250 exhibitors, and keynotes from Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, Oculus and Anduril founder Palmer Lucky, and an appearance by the entire Bushnell family. This year’s theme: XR is going mainstream. “The hardware is good enough, the tools are mature, and AI has lowered the barrier to entry,” says AWE co-founder Ori Inbar.

Meta Seeks More Hollywood Deals

Meta Seeks More Hollywood Deals for New Virtual Reality Headset. Having already signed James Cameron in December, Meta’s media team is now in talks with Disney, A24, and several smaller production studios to secure exclusive content for a new premium virtual reality headset, expected to launch next year. According to the Wall Street Journal, Meta is reportedly prepared to invest millions to acquire episodic and standalone immersive videos based on well-known intellectual properties. The device, internally called “Loma,” is designed to compete directly with Apple’s Vision Pro.

Glance AI Virtual Try-On App

The Glance AI virtual try-on app is blowing minds and picking pockets. Backed by Google and Jio, the app allows users to try on fitted fashion from hundreds of brands using a selfie, offering a personalized shopping experience right from the lock screen.

Impact of Generative AI on Hollywood and Entertainment

Generative AI in Hollywood is deeply embedded, used for visual effects and even entire scenes.

DreamPark Raises $1.1M

DreamPark raises $1.1M to transform real-world spaces into mixed-reality theme parks. Brent Bushnell, the creative force behind Two Bit Circus, has raised seed funding to develop downloadable mixed reality experiences that overlay interactive games and attractions onto physical locations like parks and malls.

Tribeca Immersive's "In Search of Us"

Tribeca Immersive’s "In Search of Us" is now on view at WSA in NYC. The show features eleven commissioned experiences that use a mix of immersive and generative AI technologies.

Cannes Film Festival's Immersive Competition

The Cannes Film Festival hosted the second edition of its Immersive Competition, awarding From Dust—a virtual reality opera by Michel van der Aa—the Best Immersive Work Award. The competition featured works from various countries, showcasing VR, video projection, AI-driven installations, and more innovative experiences.

Meta Aims to Fully Automate Ad Creation Using AI

Meta plans to fully automate ad creation using artificial intelligence by the end of 2026. The new system will allow brands to create and target ads entirely through AI, generating images, videos, text, and targeting across Facebook and Instagram.

Character.ai Launches Major Upgrade

Character.ai has launched a major upgrade with enhanced conversational abilities, enabling more natural interactions with improved memory retention and multi-turn dialogue capabilities.

Meta Scours Hollywood for Exclusive Content on New VR Headset

Generative AI and Hollywood Can Co-Exist | TechPolicy.Press

Darren Aronofsky's Primordial Soup and Google DeepMind Partnership

Darren Aronofsky’s Primordial Soup and Google DeepMind have partnered to develop AI-powered tools for filmmakers, starting with the hybrid live-action short film, Ancestra, directed by Eliza McNitt.