A New Day wins the XR Fan Experience, collateral award at the ‘81st Venice Film Festival

Atom, a robot, is standing in the park, with fanheart3 laurels surrounding him.

At the Campari booth in Venice, Italy, during the presentation of the award. Photo by @bisior

The Uncanney Alley team at the 81st Venice Biennale

An intimate VR experience featuring live theatrical performances from the award-winning VR companies:
Ferryman Collective And Virtual Worlds Company

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, October 17, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — Ferryman Collective, and the innovative Virtual Worlds Company, are proud to announce that the debut of their latest VR theatre experience, “Uncanny Alley: A New Day” garnered a Fanheart3 award at the 81st Venice International Film Festival

Fanheart3 was created by the association fanheart3 and dedicated to fan communities and participatory culture. The XR Fan Experience is awarded to the immersive work that, in terms of content, storytelling and storyliving dynamics, best meets the user/fan’s need for emotional and mental involvement, and thus has the greatest potential to impact their perception of immersive technologies.

Uncanny Alley: A New Day by Stephen Butchko and Rick Treweek was awarded this honor “For placing the audience at the center of the story and of the experience, and giving the user the opportunity to shape the tone of the adventure and the personality of their character, always finding someone on the other side who can adapt the performance in the best ways, through skillful use of improvisation and dynamics reminiscent of those in role-playing games” according to the fanheart3 jury statement.

“Connecting with our audience through live performance in VR is our goal, so receiving the XR Fan Experience award is quite an honor. It tells me that we are on the right track and a reminder of how powerful a medium virtual reality is,” said Co-Creator Stephen Butchko.

The jury statement continues, speaking upon the award itself, “In light of the current worrying environmental situation, fanheart3 has once again opted for an ecological award. To celebrate our winners, we have made a donation on their behalf to Wow Nature, an Italian initiative run by researchers, experts and creative people with the aim of helping citizens, institutions and companies to grow new forests and protect existing ones. The winners will also be presented with a frame handcrafted by local wood craftsmen Mario and Matteo Favaro.”

NARRATIVE SUMMARY

Adaptive Learning Industries is about to launch the New Day update through legislation that passed with little public support. Uncanny Alley’s “Metizens” will soon feel the amnesia-like effects from weaponized Radio Frequency waves.

Cyberpunk hacker-whiz, Gh0st, breaks a group of protesters out of jail to lead them and her increasingly sentient Service-Bot, Atom, to safety through a hacked portal, out of the city and to a new metaverse. They must stick together, evade capture, and decide whether to leave Uncanny Alley or stay and fight for their freedom, and their home.

HOW IT WORKS

“Uncanny Alley: A New Day” is a live performance featuring two actors who seamlessly bring multiple characters to life. This immersive theater experience differentiates itself from traditional theater by removing the stage and immersing audiences within the performance itself. Participants can expect a high level of interactivity, audiences will converse with the actors, other audience members and interact with their virtual surroundings.

PROJECT HISTORY

Uncanny Alley began as two award-winning virtual worlds before evolving into a theatrical show. Its creator, Rick Treweek, also known as MetaRick and praised as “one of the smartest minds in XR,” was approached by Stephen Butchko from Ferryman Collective to explore the idea of setting a live theatrical performance within the world of Uncanny Alley. However, MetaRick wanted to go further; he aimed to create a world specifically for the show, expanding the IP of his beloved characters and universe. The Ferryman team further challenged him to develop this expansive experience for standalone headsets like the Quest, which have significantly less computing power than tethered VR headsets.

This endeavor signifies a bold step forward, showcasing how new platforms and new media like social VR can transcend traditional boundaries, bringing immersive storytelling to a broader audience and redefining how we connect with digital worlds and characters.

THE TEAM BEHIND “UNCANNY ALLEY: A NEW DAY”

‘Uncanny Alley: A New Day’ is produced by Ferryman Collective and Virtual Worlds Company and is Co-Created by Stephen Butchko and Rick Treweek.

Theatrical Direction: Stephen Butchko

Artistic Direction: Rick Treweek

World Animation and FX: Christopher Lane Davis, a.k.a Screaming Color

Avatar Designer and Creator: Rick Treweek

Original Music and Sound Design: Screaming Color

Assistant Director: Deirdre V Lyons

Written by: Stephen Butchko. Story inspiration by Rick Treweek, Deirdre V. Lyons and Clark Kohanek.

Inspired by the Uncanny Alley, created by MetaRick (aka Rick Treweek).

The Ferryman Collective production team includes Deirdre V. Lyons, Whitton Frank, Stephen Butchko, and Christopher Lane Davis, a.k.a Screaming Color and Tanvi Agrawal.

Performers: Nicole Eun-Ju Bell (Collider, Snarl), Miles Berman (10E, Shenanigans), Brendan Bradley (Dolly Parton’s Magic Mountain, Friends with Benefits), Stephen Butchko (Scorpion, Gumball Dreams), Christan Copeland (Nothing Special, Undetermined), Whitton Frank (Stranger Things VR, Gumball Dreams), Athena Galvin (Skinnyfat, One by One), James Hyett (Find WiiLii, Through the Fairy Circle), Deirdre V. Lyons (Gumball Dreams, The Willows), Jonathan David Martin (Gumball Dreams, Life of Pi), Jacob Miller (Find WiiLii, The Willows) and Ona Zimhart (Gumball Dreams, Cages).

Voice Over Artists: Bruce Barker (Fairly OddParents: A New Wish, Fallout 76) Ava Lucas (The Only One series, Fix-It Witches series) and Adam Shedlock (Sundered Soul, Book I and Shatter War).

Poet: Caitlin Krause

Special Thanks: Ruben Asebedo, Ed Frank, Natasha Parkin, Rachel Pohl, Joker is Punk, Michel Reilhac, Liz Rosenthal, Michael Salmon, Paisley Smith, Gregory Sztain

This project was made possible, in part by Unity Charitable Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation.

Deirdre V Lyons
Ferryman Collective
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‘Uncanny Alley: A New Day’ trailer

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