VR NOW Con & VR NOW Award All Set to Begin in Three Days
Berlin/Potsdam, 14 November, 2016. Everyone’s talking about Virtual Reality: as a technology, an engine for growth and the economy, a new medium that will change everything, and as „the next big thing“. There’s a lot of hype.
But what future prospects, applications and potential are likely to exist with Virtual Reality? These questions will be discussed by creative minds, artists film and media professionals, entrepreneurs, VR experts, professors and politicians at the VR NOW – The Tech Biz Art Conference (VR NOW Con) on Wednesday, November 16, in Potsdam’s Schiffbauergasse. The same evening will see the first presentation of the newly created VR NOW Awards that will recognise outstanding technical, business and artistic achievements by Virtual Reality projects in four categories.
Albrecht Gerber, Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Federal State of Brandenburg:„Virtual Reality as an innovative technology could substantially change our life, society and industry in a wide range of fields in the coming years. As a dynamically growing industry and business sector, which is closely allied with the areas of film and television, games, storytelling, design and the information technologies, Virtual Reality can tap into ideal conditions at this international media hub: major Hollywood productions are produced at the Babelsberg studios, the next generation of creative talents is studying at the Film University Babelsberg, the Hasso Plattner Institute offers excellent training opportunities in the field of information technologies, and the Media City Babelsberg with its more than 100 media, IT, film and TV companies provides an efficient infrastructure and competent partners for collaboration. The VR NOW conference and the presentation of the VR NOW Awards ideally complement what is on offer at this hub.“
The speakers of the VR NOW Con include Gabo Arora (Creative Director & Senior Advisor, United Nations), the journalist Martin Heller (Head of Video Innovations at WeltN24), James Jensen (co-founder of THE VOID), Pieter van Leugenhagen (co-founder and business strategist of The Yondr), Alysha Naples (designer and – until recently – Senior Director of User Experience and Interaction at Magic Leap), Debby Shepard (responsible for International Market Development at the social VR company AltspaceVR), the multi-award-winning Berlin-based documentary filmmaker and VR enthusiast Cyril Tuschi, and many more.
The one-day English-language conference and the awards ceremony will be held under the auspices of Virtual Reality e.V. Berlin-Brandenburg, which was founded this year, organised by Booster Space – Made with Love in Berlin, and funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
Website: www.vrnowcon.io
Facebook: www.facebook.com/virtualrealitynow
Facebook event page: www.facebook.com/events/676269155860989/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/vrnowcon, @VRnowCon, #VRnowCon, #VRlove
About Virtual Reality e.V. Berlin-Brandenburg
Virtual Reality e.V. Berlin-Brandenburg was founded in April 2016 by several companies and initiatives from Potsdam and Berlin. Another 15 leading Berlin and Brandenburg-based film and TV producers, tech entrepreneurs and research institutes have joined the venture along-side Studio Babelsberg, UFA LAB, Exozet, SMI, Metropolis VR, Babelsberg Film University and HPI (D-School). The new association brings all of the VR and AR expertise available in Potsdam-Babelsberg and the capital region together as a way of making this location internationally competitive in this field. The board comprises Stephan Schindler (Wonderlamp Industries), Henry Bauer (Exozet), Christian Villwock (SMI) and Sven Bliedung (SLICE Studios). Preparations in setting up the association were supported by Brandenburg’s Economics Ministry, the Zukunftsagentur Brandenburg and media.net berlinbrandenburg. www.virtualrealitybb.org
About Booster Space – Made with Love in Berlin
Booster Space – with its headquarters in Berlin and a global network of partners and contacts – is a professional event organiser and specialist in developing brands. Working in collaboration with experienced and qualified partners in the areas of production, PR and design, Booster Space facilitates the efficient organistion and successful promotion of events and other projects, as well as offering concept development, marketing strategies and event production from a single source. At the forefront of Booster Space’s interdisciplinary work is the desire to create and realise projects in an authentic and exciting way. The agency is the founder and manager of #gamesweekberlin. www.booster-space.com
Press contact:
SteinbrennerMüller Kommunikation
Dr. Kathrin Steinbrenner & Kristian Müller
Phone: 030 – 4737 2191 or 4737 2192
Email: mail@steinbrennermueller.de
