Virtual Immersive launches to create immersive experiences in virtual reality + augmented reality

Simone Barker, Saxon Dixon, Andrew Lodge and John Doolan have co-founded a new studio called Virtual Immersive (VI) that creates immersive content in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

With the launch of Apple’s iPhone 8 and imminent launch of iPhone X, brands are scrambling to incorporate its new AR technology into their marketing. AR on smartphones has huge viral possibilities, giving advertisers and marketers the ability to create innovative content that blends the real and digital world, while retaining the attention of audiences and motivating users to interact with content time and again.

The most recent ‘Markets and Markets’ report states that the number of mobile AR users are predicted to reach an astronomical 200 million by next year, estimating the global augmented and virtual reality markets will hit USD 151.30 billion by 2022.

Virtual Immersive sees this potential.

Says Simone Barker, co-founder and head of production, VI: “Augmented Reality is huge for brands. We can create holograms, virtual graffiti, virtual interactive games – digital content of all types to place anywhere. Right now we are building a virtual snowscape with virtual yetis playing in the snow to place in the Sydney CBD in the middle of summer. In retail it presents the opportunity to draw customers back into the store, for restaurant and fast food chains it’s the ability to create Pokemon Go style game campaigns… the possibilities are truly endless.”

Bringing together artists from feature film VFX, realtime gaming and software programming is the key to VI’s success. While individually they have decades of experience in their key areas of expertise, its award winning team of co-founders Saxon Dixon (UX director), Andrew Lodge (VFX supervisor) and John Doolan (lead software engineer/programmer) has been working together for over a year now. This has put VI ahead of the curve in an industry that most people are still scrambling to get their heads around.

Says Dixon who designs the user experience for all of VI’s projects: “For a VR / AR experience to work, the user experience needs to be seamless, interactive and immersive. It needs to look amazing and be technically unbreakable. These are the experiences we are building: innovative, immersive experiences with feature film level VFX.”

Says Lodge: “Many agencies, production companies and marketers are still seeing VR as 360 video and don’t really know what to make of AR or how to build ideas and stories around it. We encourage anyone who is interested to come into the studio and experience the technology for themselves. The reactions have been fantastic! Seeing the “ah ha” moment on people’s faces is complete validation of what we are doing here at VI.”

Located inside the VANDAL creative studio in Redfern, the VI team have been making the most of its proximity, collaborating with VANDAL’s co-creative directors Richard Swan and Emile Rademeyer on experiences soon to be released.

Email: info@virtualimmersive.com.au.

Website: www.virtualimmersive.com.au.