The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Teams Up with Habitat XR to Launch Immersive Nature Experiences
17/06/2022
Built as part of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund's new permanent home in Rwanda, and with support from Ellen DeGeneres's The Ellen Fund, and investment from Leonardo DiCaprio, the theater can display 360 films in 25K resolution. Developed from the ground up by the Habitat XR team, the theater is controlled entirely on an app and has been built to screen ultrawide 16:1 footage - or superpanoramic films - upscaled using AI technology. The theater's eight daisy-chained 4K laser projectors display 50 million pixels onto a 140 x 8ft canvas, constructed using high-contrast film stretched over a custom-made 3D printed frame. This is complemented by a 10.2 matrix surround sound system, which features 37 individual speakers and two amplifiers as well as more than 2000 square feet of acoustic sound paneling designed and fabricated by the team to absorb reverb and allow the spatially-captured sounds of the forest to engulf audiences.
At Habitat XR, we believe immersive experiences can go far beyond entertaining audiences, said Ulrico Grech-Cumbo, Habitat XR CEO. That's why we are so excited for audiences to visit the Irmelin DiCaprio Theater. Our dream is for the theater, and our other XR experiences on the campus, to bring people closer to gorillas than ever before; to fill them with empathy and understanding and to inspire them to take action.
At launch, the theater is screening two original film experiences. The first, titled A Day in the Life of Gorillas and produced by Habitat XR and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, follows four-year-old mountain gorilla Gasizi and gives unprecedented insight into his family, known as Pablo's Group. The second film, Saving Mountain Gorillas: The Dian Fossey Legacy, produced by the National Geographic Societys Impact Media Lab in collaboration with Habitat XR, explores both the history and future of gorilla conservation at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Outside the theater, audiences can immerse themselves in gorilla behaviors at the touch of a tablet using Habitat XR's custom-developed, controller-free VR kiosks. In the lush gardens of the campus, which mimic the gorillas' natural habitat, visitors can embark on a virtual gorilla trek with Habitat XR's GorillAR augmented reality iPad app, which sees a photoreal CGI silverback gorilla leading visitors on an interactive and educational foraging adventure along the actual trails. The front-facing camera analyzes real shadows on the viewer's face to approximate lighting on the virtual hero gorilla in all light conditions, resulting in the best possible blending with the surrounding environment. The three Apple iPad Pro M1 devices are housed in special cases designed by Habitat XR and 3D printed using biodegradable cornstarch to mimic the volcanic rock textures that are so prevalent in northern Rwanda.
Dr. Tara Stoinski, President and CEO of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, said: Technology can play a major role in shaping people's attitudes toward nature, and we're proud to incorporate some of the most cutting-edge storytelling tools into our new home to help further tell the story of gorillas and our 55 years of conservation work in Rwanda.
Along with conservation, another key goal of the project for Habitat XR was to challenge the convention that technological innovation doesn't happen in Africa. We've created one of the world's most advanced projection theaters and envelope-pushing AR experiences, said Grech-Cumbo, and it's adjacent to a rainforest in the heart of Africa.
Learn more
Discover more about these experiences and Habitat XR at www.habitatxr.com. Follow the studio on Facebook and Instagram.
About Habitat XR
Based in South Africa, Habitat XR is a multi-award-winning, impact-led studio focused on democratizing access to nature through immersive extended reality (XR) experiences. Founded in 2016, the studio uses cinematic VR, virtual reality, augmented reality, holograms and location-based installations to create empathy for our environment, amplify conservation programs, facilitate policy change, and elevate environmental education to new levels. Habitat XR works with conservation nonprofits like the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, The Ellen Fund, WWF, National Geographic Society and UNDP as well as government agencies around the world.
LINK: | https://www.kitplus.com/news/The_Ellen_DeGeneres_Campus_of_the_Dian_Fo... |
See more stories from tvbay |
More from TV-Bay
18/04/2024
Dyn Media and NEP Germany pioneer new frontier in remote...
In August 2023, Dyn Media launched as a new broadcaster in European sports, aimed at giving sports beyond football the exposure and viewership they deserve. The...
18/04/2024
Hitomi partners with ES Broadcast Hire for US rentals
Hitomi Broadcast, market leader in audio/video alignment and latency tools based in the UK, has signed a partnership deal with global broadcast rental specialis...
17/04/2024
Riedel Enhances Interstellar Technologies Space Launch Wi...
Riedel Communications today announced its collaboration with Interstellar Technologies, a pioneering space transportation company based in Hokkaido, Japan, to o...
17/04/2024
Riedels Simplylive Production Suite Empowers Lafayette Co...
Riedel Communications announced that Lafayette College, a liberal arts college in eastern Pennsylvania and one of 10 core members in the Patriot League, is usin...
17/04/2024
Slovak Telekom and T-Mobile Czech Republic Upgrade Video...
24i, the video streaming platform expert, today announced that Slovak Telekom and T-Mobile Czech Republic, part of the Deutsche Telekom (DT) Group, have extende...
17/04/2024
OpenDrives Recognized on the 2024 CRN Storage 100 List
OpenDrives, Inc., the global provider of software-defined media workflow solutions and data management capabilities, is honored to announce its inclusion in the...
17/04/2024
Goldbach to Leverage Operatives new converged advertising...
Operative is pleased to announce a new and expanded partnership with Goldbach Media, one of the leading media sales organizations in Switzerland. This partnersh...
17/04/2024
Roberts Communications Network Selects Appear X Platform...
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, and Roberts Communications Network (Roberts), the leading worldwide video distribution and wagering dat...
17/04/2024
Mobilelinks Chooses Appear for UHD Upgrade of DSNG Trucks
Appear enables Mobilelinks to meet updated technical requirements. Appear, the global leader in live production technology, has been selected by Mobilelinks to...
17/04/2024
Appear and Skyline Communications Strengthen Partnership...
The expanded solution offers enhanced visibility and automation of production and distribution workflows for live event contribution applications Appear, the g...
17/04/2024
In a major step in its growth strategy Econocom launches...
Econocom, a sustainable digital enterprise and pioneer of the circular economy in Europe, today announced the launch of an ambitious campaign as part of the rol...
17/04/2024
Newsmax Extends Relationship with 24i to Rapidly Launch P...
24i, the video streaming platform expert, today announced that its 24i Video Cloud for OTT service providers is powering the new Newsmax+ subscription service, ...
17/04/2024
AIMS Welcomes Kakadu Software and 7thSense as New Members
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced its newest members: Kakadu Software provider of the world's leading JPEG 2000 development toolk...
17/04/2024
Amagi Integrates Intertrust ExpressPlay DRM for Deliverin...
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV, and Intertrust, the leading digital rights management (DRM) provider, to...
17/04/2024
Amagi Announces Collaboration with Argoid AI to Drive AI-...
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV, today announced a collaboration with Argoid AI, a specialist in AI-power...
17/04/2024
Triveni Digital Awarded Patent for Secure Television Dist...
Triveni Digital today announced that the company has been awarded Patent Number US 11,924,260 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for pioneering Secure Tel...
17/04/2024
Chyron Partners With GALSNGEAR to Host Student Production...
Chyron today announced that it will partner with #GALSNGEAR , a movement to bring parity to women in media and entertainment, at the 2024 NAB Show to host the o...
16/04/2024
Magnifi onboards Norway based channel TV2 to create highl...
TV 2, a television broadcaster in Norway, has chosen Magnifi, an AI-powered highlight generation platform, to enhance its coverage of football for fans across t...
16/04/2024
FilmLight chooses Jigsaw24 Media as exclusive UK partner...
FilmLight, best known for its grading system Baselight, has chosen Jigsaw24 Media as the first global and exclusive UK partner for their new product, Nara. The ...
16/04/2024
DPA Microphones Unveils AIR1 Universal Miniature Fur Wind...
DPA Microphones introduces its new AIR1 Universal Miniature Fur Windscreen at NAB 2024 (Booth C7307). Intended for quick mounting on round, omnidirectional head...
15/04/2024
Ikegami Announces Four New Additions to its Range of Broa...
Celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year, Ikegami USA will introduce four new additions to its range of broadcast-quality production equipment at the 2024 NAB...
13/04/2024
CueScript Turns 10 at NAB
Prompter manufacturer celebrates a decade of innovation at the show where it all started CueScript is turning 10 at NAB 2024. The leading developer of award-wi...
13/04/2024
Family Entertainment Television Selects ZIXI For Live IP...
Zixi, the industry leader for enabling dependable, live broadcast-quality video over any IP network, and provider of the award-winning Software-Defined Video Pl...
13/04/2024
TAG Presents New Intuitive Control Interface and Automate...
TAG Presents New Intuitive Control Interface and Automated Language Detection Technology at NAB 2024 - Both Aim to Simplify Day-to-Day Tasks and Optimize Media ...
13/04/2024
Intinor partners with US Broadcast for market expansion
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high quality video over the internet, has signed a deal with US Broadcast Distribution, th...
13/04/2024
Tolka and Amlogic Partner in Development of Advanced TVs...
Amlogic, a globally active producer of integrated circuit semiconductors, has chosen Tolka Telecommunications as its technology partner in the development of te...
13/04/2024
ZTransform continues team expansion hiring Mark Brown as...
Appointment of industry strategist underpins company's market ambitions and reinforces commitment to delivering business-focused technology solutions ZTran...
13/04/2024
Evertz Introduces New Co-Pilots For DreamCatcher BRAVO St...
New data-driven co-pilots for Evertz' DreamCatcher BRAVO Studio virtual production control suite will be showcased at NAB 2024 on the company's booth (...
13/04/2024
Open Broadcast Systems Launches Uncompressed Media Proces...
Open Broadcast Systems has launched the UMP, a sophisticated Uncompressed Media Processor built on COTS hardware. It frees ST-2110 and other IP media processin...
13/04/2024
EMG GRAVITY MEDIA STRENGTHENS LEADERSHIP TEAM WITH KEY AP...
EMG / Gravity Media is thrilled to announce a new US leadership team following the merger. These strategic appointments underscore the company s dedication to b...
13/04/2024
Clear-Com Empowers The Kennedy Center with Seamless Commu...
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts continues to raise the bar for excellence in live entertainment with the newest integration of Clear-Com com...
13/04/2024
pixitmedia by Kalray Forges Ahead with Alliances to Enabl...
Integrations with ngenea data acceleration platform featuring Perifery, Wasabi, 7fivefive, Nara, Grass Valley, and Tuxera simplify AI in Media Workflows pixitm...
13/04/2024
Mediaproxy highlights ATSC 3 monitoring solution at NAB S...
Mediaproxy, the global standard for software-based IP compliance solutions, will be back in Las Vegas for this year s NAB Show with the latest version of LogSer...
13/04/2024
Synamedia reshapes the future of streaming innovation at...
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced the game-changing technologies on display in its Innovation Hub at 2024 NAB Show. Each strategically d...
13/04/2024
Chyron Solutions at 2024 NAB Show to Reveal Next-Level Da...
Chyron today announced that its 2024 NAB Show booth (SL2238), the company will highlight customer-centric innovation in sports graphics solutions and its ongoin...
12/04/2024
TelevisaUnivision partners with LTN for flexible transiti...
LTN, the industry leader in transformative media technology and video transport solutions, announces a partnership enabling leading Spanish-language media and c...
12/04/2024
WWE LAUNCHES STATE-OF-THE-ART PRODUCTION FACILITY IN STAM...
WWE , part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), today launched The Studios at WWE, a 30,040-square-foot, state-of-the-art production facility equipped with five s...
12/04/2024
Advanced Systems Group Launches Adobe Premiere Plugin for...
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG) today announces the availability of the company's Diaquest plugin for direct communication between Adobe Premiere desktops...
12/04/2024
DigitalGlue to Showcase New creative space CLOUD and EDGE...
DigitalGlue is excited to announce the debut of its latest storage solutions, the creative.space //CLOUD and the //EDGE-X storage server, at the NAB Show 2024. ...
12/04/2024
MediaSilo to Offer Camera to Cloud with Atomos
EditShare , a technology leader that enables storytellers to create and manage collaborative media workflows, today announced it has partnered with Atomos to br...
12/04/2024
Blue Lucy expands senior management team with appointment...
Media operations technology company, Blue Lucy, has hired accomplished industry expert Alison Pavitt as chief marketing officer. Pavitt's appointment into t...
12/04/2024
Shift2Stream and Tolka announce technology partnership fo...
Shift2Stream and Tolka are pleased to announce a global technology partnership. The first project will enhance the V lo set-top box, a NextGen TV hybrid OTT/OTA...
12/04/2024
Operative Announces Adeline - A New AI Platform for Media...
The First Intuitive AI Technology That Enhances Productivity Across the Entire Revenue Workflow Operative is announcing Adeline, a new assistive AI platform p...
12/04/2024
Rise Academy Announces New Leadership and Plans for The F...
Following a period of consultation, Rise Academy (formerly known as Rise Up Academy) has re-launched with a new leadership team, which includes: Andy Beale, for...
12/04/2024
Addressing the Media Industrys Unprecedented Quality Chal...
The media and entertainment industry faces unprecedented challenges in maintaining content quality in today s rapidly evolving media landscape. With the exponen...
12/04/2024
European Patent Office Grants Cobalt Iron a Patent on Its...
Cobalt Iron Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today announced that it has received a European patent on its technology for cybe...
11/04/2024
Rohde and Schwarz launches new era of efficient sustainab...
Rohde & Schwarz will unveil the new R&S TE1 liquid-cooled transmitter at NAB 2024 (booth SU4039, Las Vegas Convention Center, 14 17 April). The new R&S TE1 i...
11/04/2024
MRMC Debuts Cinebot Max Camera Robot at NAB 2024
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC), a Nikon company, today announces Cinebot Max, the latest addition to its successful Cinebot range of camera robots. The Cine...
11/04/2024
Cinedeck Partners with Paramount to Revolutionize Content...
Cinedeck, a pioneer in integrated delivery solutions for the media and entertainment industry, has announced a partnership with Paramount, a leading name in the...
11/04/2024
Mo-Sys Leads the Virtual Production Conversation at NAB 2...
Mo-Sys Engineering (www.mo-sys.com), a world leader in image robotics, virtual production and remote production solutions, is hosting an exciting mix of keynote...