Wow! That was fast!
Last week I went down to Florida for a college entertainment gig (in my other life I’m a mentalist & speaker) and I got to meet up with a long-time friend of mine who is a grad student at the school I was working at.
Turns out she’s in the VR department and showed me around the lab. I got to try out a couple cool demos and learned that my body does not like heights.
The one that did me in was a simulation of an elevator that opens its doors onto a steel I beam that extends out about 6 feet at nearly 80 stories up.
“Go ahead and walk out there” she told me.
I heard myself say “Nope. No thanks. I’m good here.”
I could hear the shame in her silence.
That was enough to get me moving. I slowly shuffled my out onto the I beam and got the courage to look around. It was completely disorienting.
Then she told me to step off the beam.
After intense internal debate I shuffled off to the side and immediately felt like I was falling. When I hit the ground I expected to fall over, but nothing happened.
It was acceleration with no impact. Weird stuff.
I don’t laugh at VR GIFs of people falling over anymore. I totally get it.
Wing Chun
After I took off the goggles we kept hanging out and I was filling her in on how the Kung Fu practice & teaching was going. Then she asked if I’d ever thought about doing a motion cap of it.
I hadn’t.
But then I couldn’t stop thinking about it!
When I got back home to Chicago I put it out to my network:
” Anybody know where I would start looking for motion-capture of someone doing kung fu forms so a viewer could get a 360 perspective?”
A couple hours later:
“I might be able to help you out with that. I’ve got a mocap suit if you have someone who knows kung fu. PM me.”
ME! I KNOW KUNG FU!
I told him what I was thinking and he said he’d love to do it.
Our time is scheduled for two days from now at 1pm. I’ll record the first three forms in VR.
That way people in the future (you) will be able to watch the movements from every angle.
You’ll be able to see above, below, side, front, back, whatever. It’s an unprecedented opportunity that I’m not aware of ever having been done before.
I’m excited to bring Wing Chun into the 21st Century!
Expect lots of pictures and a behind-the-scenes video, soon. . .
