VR Projects
Virtual Becomes Reality: A Stanford VR Experience
2020 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection
Co-Director, Co-Writer, Co-Executive Producer, Video Editor, and Composer
With Virtual Reality technology widely available, it’s more important than ever to understand its impact on people and society. Explore highlights of nearly two decades of research from Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab and discover how we can use this medium to enhance our everyday lives.
Available for download on Steam
Virtual Becomes Reality: A Stanford VR Experience
2020 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection
Co-Director, Co-Writer, Co-Executive Producer, Video Editor, and Composer
With Virtual Reality technology widely available, it’s more important than ever to understand its impact on people and society. Explore highlights of nearly two decades of research from Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab and discover how we can use this medium to enhance our everyday lives.
Available for download on Steam
Coral Compass: Fighting Climate Change in Palau
2018 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection
Co-Director, Co-Writer, Director of Photography, VR Post-Production Editor, Video Editor, Sound Editor, and Music Composer
Coral Compass takes travelers to Palau, a small island nation in Micronesia home to some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs. See and experience how Palau is adapting to climate change to combat its effects on their reefs and economy. In the clear, warm waters surrounding Palau, exist resilient coral reefs and the will of a people fighting to keep it alive.
Available for download on Steam and Oculus or to watch on Youtube
Coral Compass: Fighting Climate Change in Palau
2018 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection
Co-Director, Co-Writer, Director of Photography, VR Post-Production Editor, Video Editor, Sound Editor, and Music Composer
Coral Compass takes travelers to Palau, a small island nation in Micronesia home to some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs. See and experience how Palau is adapting to climate change to combat its effects on their reefs and economy. In the clear, warm waters surrounding Palau, exist resilient coral reefs and the will of a people fighting to keep it alive.
Available for download on Steam and Oculus or to watch on Youtube
1000 Cut Journey
2018 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection
Co-Creator
1000 Cut Journey is an immersive exploration of race and racism. Conceived of by Dr. Courtney Cogburn, it asks users to go through the life of Michael Sterling, a Black male, and experience racism from the first-person perspective. It is a collaboration between the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University and the Cogburn Research Group at Columbia and was funded by the Brown Institute for Media Innovation.
1000 Cut Journey
2018 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection
Co-Creator
1000 Cut Journey is an immersive exploration of race and racism. Conceived of by Dr. Courtney Cogburn, it asks users to go through the life of Michael Sterling, a Black male, and experience racism from the first-person perspective. It is a collaboration between the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University and the Cogburn Research Group at Columbia and was funded by the Brown Institute for Media Innovation.
Becoming Homeless: A Human Experience
2017 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection
Co-Director, Co-Writer, and Lead Programmer
Becoming Homeless grew out of the world’s first large-scale academic VR study, conducted at Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab. The study was based on over a decade of research that indicates VR can be a powerful tool to invoke empathy. This VR interactive attempts to counter the stereotype that losing one’s home is always due to the choices one makes, and instead show that there are many situational factors that can lead to losing one’s home.
Available for download on Steam
Becoming Homeless: A Human Experience
2017 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection
Co-Director, Co-Writer, and Lead Programmer
Becoming Homeless grew out of the world’s first large-scale academic VR study, conducted at Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab. The study was based on over a decade of research that indicates VR can be a powerful tool to invoke empathy. This VR interactive attempts to counter the stereotype that losing one’s home is always due to the choices one makes, and instead show that there are many situational factors that can lead to losing one’s home.
Available for download on Steam
The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience
Released 2016
Co-Creator, Music Composer, and Programmer
The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience (SOAE) was the Virtual Human Interaction Lab’s first publicly-available VR demo. It is a virtual field trip to the rocky reefs off the coast of Ischia in Italy. Users interact first-hand with the same reefs that scientists study to predict the effects of ocean acidification around the world.
The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience
Released 2016
Co-Creator, Music Composer, and Programmer
The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience (SOAE) was the Virtual Human Interaction Lab’s first publicly-available VR demo. It is a virtual field trip to the rocky reefs off the coast of Ischia in Italy. Users interact first-hand with the same reefs that scientists study to predict the effects of ocean acidification around the world.
Accolades
This four-minute film takes viewers to the titular island nation to show how residents are protecting coral reefs from global warming.”
Public Appearances and Press
Talks and Recorded Interviews
Six Degrees of Storytelling Podcast
VR Voice and Field Of Views Interview
Planet Forward: The Reality of Virtual Reality with Tobin Asher and Elise Ogle
Press
Leader’s Edge:The Role of Virtual Reality in D&I
PCMA Convene: Can VR Experiences Be a Force for Good?
Observer: How This 4-Minute Virtual Reality Short Is Taking on Climate Change
Recode: Can VR make us healthier, smarter and less racist?
Engadget: Changing your race in virtual reality
SFGate: Universities dive into VR research
KQED: Stanford’s Virtual Reality Lab Cultivates Empathy for the Homeless
Full List of Public Appearances
San Francisco, USA, October 2019 – Kaiser Permanente Beyond Conference
Anaheim, USA, October 2019 – CoreNet Global Summit
New York City, USA, September 2019 – Columbia University Emerging Technology Colloquium
Pittsburgh, USA, January 2019 – PCMA Convening Leaders
Sydney, Australia, November 2018 – TAFE NSW Engage
Berlin, Germany, September 2018 – Mediale Pfade Conference
London, England, September 2018 – Open City Documentary Festival
Washington, D.C., USA, April 2017 – Planet Forward: The Reality of Virtual Reality with Tobin Asher and Elise Ogle