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VRTO 2024 Final Report

Events, General

VRTO 2024: Unveiling the Future of Spatial Media at OCAD University

Toronto, ON – [July 15, 2024] – The 9th Annual VRTO Spatial Media World Conference & Expo returned to OCAD University on July 10-11, 2024, produced by Constant Change Media Group Inc., programmed and produced by Keram Malicki-Sanchez, and co-produced by Aimee Reynolds. This event brought together the brightest minds and cutting-edge innovations in virtual and augmented reality in the heart of Toronto’s media arts district.

VRTO has become a cornerstone for industry leaders, innovators, and enthusiasts shaping the future of virtual and augmented reality. This year’s lineup featured an impressive array of speakers, including:

  • Curtis Hickman, Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer of The VOID, Author & Magician
  • Dave Cardwell, Head of 3D & Immersive Labs at Adobe
  • Caitlin Krause, Author, and Speaker from MindWise and Stanford University
  • Ryan Andal, CEO and Co-founder of Secret Location
  • Lianne Baron, Strategic Partner Manager, Meta
  • Anne Toole, writer, and narrative designer on Asgard’s Wrath 2, Days Gone, Horizon Zero Dawn, The Witcher, and more

Attendees had the opportunity to:

  • Experience Groundbreaking Demos: Live demonstrations and VR, AR, and IoT demos from over a dozen creators and colleges, including Durham, Conestoga, and OCAD.
  • Participate in Interactive Workshops: Hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools and techniques.
  • Network with Industry Leaders: Connect with professionals from various fields to share ideas and forge new partnerships.

The conference covered a wide range of topics, including:

  • Virtual Museums, Archaeology, and Cultural Anthropology
  • Generative AI for Virtual Production
  • Web3D/WebXR Optimization and Advancements
  • Digital Humans and Hyper-Reality 2.0
  • New Advancements and Content Approaches for AR/MR

With over 35 speakers from around the globe, VRTO 2024 was an event not to be missed.

Check out this amazing Matterport volumetric capture of the venue by Scott Bowie at QuickturnVR

Complete List of Speakers:

Confirmed Very Special Presenters Include:

Media Coverage:

Attendee Reflections

Drashti Pandya (Volunteer):

“I was privileged to have the opportunity to video record the event, which allowed me to listen to a plethora of inspiring talks. Some of my favorite sessions included:

  • Anne Toole elevating VR storytelling to new heights and reaffirming my belief in the power of VR narratives.
  • Tendisai Cromwell’s insightful discussion on VR in environmental causes.
  • Debbie Deer’s session on data disparities, crucial for our future AI innovations.
  • Mike Boers’ candid insights into virtual production.
  • Curtis Hickman demonstrating that magic can indeed be created within VR.

I extend my sincere gratitude to Keram Malicki-Sanchez for this remarkable opportunity and to all the organizers and fellow volunteers for their warm welcome and collaborative spirit.”

Nitya Shinde (Volunteer):

“Day 2 at VRTO was full of networking opportunities. I met Justin Baillargeon and celebrated one year of DR. VR. I experienced Debbie Deer’s VR presentation, which was inspiring and motivated me to be creative in spatial experiences. Connecting with AR pioneers Heather Dunaway Smith, Luke Hurd, and Lianne Baron was enlightening and provided valuable guidance on AR, design, and marketing concepts.

The energy, innovation, and collaboration at VRTO were truly inspiring.”

Jason Moore (The Metamovie):

“Huge thank you to the entire VRTO team for an incredible conference. I enjoyed presenting with Nicole Bernard, running a workshop with Whitton Frank, and meeting Carol Silverman & Dario Laverde. It was an uplifting, intimate, and inspiring event. I’m coming back next year!”

Dr. VR (Justin Baillargeon):

“Attending VRTO as a podcaster was unforgettable! Reconnecting with old friends and meeting past guests from Dr. VR in real life was wonderful. Despite technical hurdles, live broadcasting episodes ended up working well. A huge shout-out to the organizers for making this event feel like home. Thanks to the volunteers for their help!”

Ivette Hernandez (Journalist):

“I had the opportunity to attend VRTO and explore Latin American and Hispanic representation in the Tech Industry. Talking with Carlos E. Paz-Soldan added valuable insights to my piece for CHHA 1610AM and Frequency News. I encourage you to explore the Canadian Hispanic-Latin American Virtual Museum exhibition at VRTO 2024.”

Dario Laverde:

“A big shout out and thanks to the VRTO team for a conference unlike any other. The quality of discussions and connections made was unparalleled. Plan to attend next year.”

Carol Silverman, Creator of Belongings:

“Thank you for the opportunity to speak about my room-scale VR experience ‘Belongings’ and designing nonlinear spatial narratives in VR, and demoing to amazing people in the exhibition hall! It was fantastic to hang out with Justin Baillargeon AKA Dr. VR for two whole days. I’m still pinching myself that it really happened.”

Dan Blair of BSDXR:

“This year VRTO was a slice, spent most of my time talking about custom peripherals, haptic experiences, and questioning reality. It was great meeting up with Megha Shah and Abhi P. from my team in Toronto, and hanging with Corey King, Blair Renaud, Robyn Smith, Ashley Huffman, Julie Smithson, Alan Smithson, Justin Baillargeon, Stephanie Greenall, Rob Theriault, and many more. Sponsors should take note because this stuff is taking off. It’s worth exploring.”

Gustavo Sanchez-Perez from the Visual Effects Society:

“An epic experience at VRTO this week representing Visual Effects Society (VES) – Toronto Section together with Josh Miles Joudrie. Thanks to all the panelists for their insightful presentations and to everyone we got to interact with on behalf of the VES.”

Jason Hunter from Durham:

“That’s a wrap! Had a great two days at VRTO. Thank you for another great year!”

Corey King – Co-Founder of ZenFri Inc.:

“VRTO has the highest per capita quantity of cool people I’ve ever seen.”

About VRTO

VRTO (Virtual Reality Toronto) is an award-winning, critically acclaimed conference that has catalyzed new ventures and opportunities in media, arts, entertainment, education, and enterprise since its inception in 2015. Known for its practical approach and positive business and development outcomes, VRTO remains a leading force in the VR and AR industry.

Toronto is renowned as a global hub of innovation and technological prowess. It consistently leads breakthroughs in digital media, artificial intelligence, and immersive technologies. The city’s vibrant ecosystem of startups, research institutions, and industry leaders fosters a dynamic environment where cutting-edge ideas flourish and transformative technologies emerge.

Looking Forward

VRTO 2024 was an inspiring event that showcased the future of spatial media and provided a platform for industry leaders and enthusiasts to connect, learn, and innovate. We look forward to seeing the advancements and collaborations emerging from this year’s conference and eagerly anticipate VRTO 2025.

VRTO 2022 Spatial Media World Conference – Final Report

General

For VRTO 2022, Constant Change Media Group (CCMG) ran a 2-day in-person event featuring 50 international speakers who presented in the 350-seat auditorium at OCAD
University in the heart of Toronto’s media district.

It was the first in-person event since 2019, (VRTO having operated as an award-winning virtual events between 2020 and 2021) and included 2 networking lounges, a VIP reception, an exhibits hall, and a private Discord server as an additional tool for networking and resource-sharing.

Here was the teaser trailer for this special event

Media and Influencer Coverage

The event ran 2 days, and featured thought leaders from around the world who represent and lead such companies as Pixomondo, Virtual Production Academy, HTC Vive, Masterpiece Studio, Virtualware, Webaverse, MetaVRse’s TheMall.io, SIRT, LIFT, Trinity Square Video, QuickTurnVR, Dark Slope, Metropolitan, York and OCAD universities, and many more.

The event was covered by a number of industry newsletters, communities, and platforms including Playback, Forbes: This Week In XR, Immersive Wire, XRMust, BlogTO, The Lodgge, Between Realities. The event earned over 300,000 social media impressions.

Event Highlights:

– The reunion of the many old and new Toronto companies and XR enthusiasts
– Introducing visitors from outside Canada to the Ontario tech sector
– First look at hardware and software demos (Tilt Five, VIROO 2.0, HTC’s Mars CamTrack)
– First public behind-the-scenes look at PXO’s production pipeline for McDonald’s and Star
Trek: Strange New Worlds

Check out Between Realities’ coverage of the event

Attendee Testimonials

“I met incredible people pioneering amazing things in XR, made great connections” – Ari Tarr, Active Replica

“Great people and thought-provoking conversations!” – Lucie Lalumiere, Interactive Ontario

“This is the VR / Metaverse event for OGs. I’ve been going for years. If you’re in Toronto, this is the place to be.” – Jonathan Gagne, Masterpiece Studio

“What an incredible opportunity to learn so much in these past couple of days and share the room with incredibly smart people!” – Adrian Onsen, Construkted Reality

“I’ve always found VRTO to be one of the most intelligent, interesting and creative gatherings in the #XR space” – Linda Ricci

As an independent, we continue to lobby for access to all, removing socio-economic barriers to that access, always improving the means of providing that access, and ensuring a safe, open future for the industry and its outputs.

We believe in the importance of symbiotic relationships, particularly in this developing industry. Thank you for your continued support, we couldn’t do it without you.

VRTO – Toronto’s Spatial Media Arts Conference – Returns To Earth This July 20-21

Events

Have you ever wondered how the latest Star Trek series brings their alien worlds to life? How will a new form of immersive, experiential television blur the lines between the real world and the virtual one? And who owns the art that AI is generating? Answers to these questions and more, only at VRTO!

VRTO is a special two-day event featuring a bleeding-edge conference track, fast-track workshops, an exhibits hall comprising the core spatial media community, and a special symposium where attendees will network and learn about Virtual Production, live VR theater performance, Hyperreality TV, natural language Holodecks, next-gen haptics—in short: new and fast-expanding technologies defining the future of production for entertainment, television and film, arts, performance, design, and communications.

The Pixomondo team at work on Star Trek in Toronto
The Pixomondo team at work on Star Trek in Toronto

You will be a part of the behind-the-curtain view of these sectors; consumers have more access to being creators in their own right. Not only will you leave this conference with innovative knowledge of how immersive media is spanning industries, but you will gain the leadership to take these ideas with you and incorporate them into your own user industry.

Event Highlights

Join us in the interactive Exhibits Hall featuring a variety of projects and products pushing the boundaries of this rapidly expanding, complex, and nuanced industry—from multi-user virtual worlds to the latest Augmented Reality art exhibits, (and some free pinball). Be in the same space with today’s startups, and dev studios, playtesting new games before release, and meet companies looking to hire. Be at the centre of Toronto’s tech industry and its key players.

Enter our Workshops featuring instructors that include Award-winning Tisch instructor Ari Tarr and discover the secrets to using 3D web-based and Virtual Reality technologies for live theatre performance and dance, or take a deep dive into the increasingly ubiquitous Virtual Production pipeline with the Emmy-Award-winning team Pixomondo as they show you how they brought the worlds of Star Trek: Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Halo to life.

Learn from our esteemed Speakers including Tim Bettridge (Voice Tech Global,) Michael Rosas (Virtualware,) Shenaz Baksh (LIFT/ SIRT), Ashley Huffman (TITAN Haptics,) Dario Laverde (HTC), and Justin Cathcart (Dark Slope) to name only a few of the rare experts featured at this year’s special summit.

Featured Discussions include:

Virtual Humans & Production | AI, GPT-3, GANs, ML, Processing, Image to Text, Computer Vision, Chatbots | Marketing, Retail, & Commerce | The Spatial Web | Immersive Game & Experience Design | Live Performance & Events in Virtual & Hybrid Worlds | The Future of Work & Play | Education, Training, Metrics & Analysis | Accessibility, Neurodiversity, Design & Communications | Health, Data Capture & Visualization | Enterprise | Law, Ethics, Privacy and much more.

Exhibits hall is free with registration on the event site. For additional information on events, see individual ticket descriptions.

Follow VRTO on social – @VRtoronto and #VRTO2022

https://conference.virtualreality.to/