theater
Latest
NeuroSky shows off MyndPlay, we control movies with our brainwaves (video)
Would you pay $100 to control the outcome of a movie with the power of your mind? That's what NeuroSky and Triete Labs are banking on with MyndPlay. Simply put, it uses NeuroSky's $99 Mindwave headset with a custom video player that monitors your mental activity during critical points in specially designed films, and offers multiple outcomes depending on your focus and relaxation levels. For instance, in Paranormal Mynd (above), you play an exorcist who must drive a evil spirit away -- if you don't focus intently, this woman will choke to death. Another gangster film has you dodging bullets and sports multiple endings; depending on how relaxed and concentrated you are, you could come away clean, take a bullet to the head, or dodge poorly and have the projectile strike your friend dead instead. MyndPlay plans to produce a raft of such short-form content for $0.49 to $1.99 per episode, and also let you shoot and share your own, scripting sequences with a tool to be released next month called MyndPlay Pro. We gave Paranormal Mynd a try at GDC 2011, and came away somewhat impressed -- you definitely can control the outcome of a scene, but it doesn't work quite like you'd expect. Since NeuroSky's technology is still limited to detecting the mental states of concentration and relaxation, you can't "will" the movie to go the way you'd like with your thoughts -- in fact, thinking about anything rather than what you're seeing on screen seemed to register as a form of distraction, and lowered our scores. Instead, the ticket to success seemed to be focusing intently on processing the images on screen and clearing our head of all thought or emotion, making us feel totally brain-dead even as we aced the scene. If that sort of zombification sounds like fun, watch a couple video teasers after the break!
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace returns to theaters in 3D February 10, 2012
It's time to mark your calendar Star Wars fans, whether you plan to be first in line to check out the new 3D-converted editions of each movie, protest their rerelease in a new format or just avoid the theater altogether now that The Phantom Menace has officially been slated to return next year on February 10th. The effects guys at Fox, Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic reckon the immersive visuals of each flick lend themselves to being viewed in 3D and the yearly releases of the movies should be good test of both whether a 3D conversion really is worthwhile and if audiences are interested in paying to watch it. Of course, there's also the alternative of just grabbing the Blu-ray discs (original trilogy only, if you so desire) skimming the Red Letter Media review and calling it a day, but we won't get pushy.
The Met's upcoming opera to boast glasses-free 3D effects that nobody requested
We don't mean to sound negative or anything, and we're not 3D naysayers by any means. But the news that the Metropolitan Opera's upcoming production of Siegfried will include mind-blowing 3D background effects is, well, mind-blowing. While you're undoubtedly familiar with 3D effects, you may not be acquainted with Wagner's 1876 opera which portrays the story of Sigurd, a hero of Norse mythology. Robert Lepage, the director of the operation, expects theater-goers to find themselves engulfed in a three-dimensional world of his creation, which will be projected on the 45-ton set. Lepage, who is directing Wagner's entire Ring cycle at the Met, worked with Geodezik -- famous for the stage shows of famed opera performers Pink and Justin Timberlake -- to create the show's effects. The 3D you'll be seeing if you hit the theater won't be like the technology you're familiar with, however, as it makes use of fractals, and the moving parts of the set to 'trick' your eyes into seeing in three dimensions. We don't want to say this sounds like a bad idea until we've seen if of course, but we've got our reservations. Hit up the New York Times link to see one rather small image of the set. [Image: Lincoln Center]
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Let's Tap, and more get theatrical adaptations in NYC
Yes, someone has decided to turn Wii Tennis into a real theatrical production. Ars Nova, a theater "committed to ... support[ing] outside-the-box thinking," will present a series of plays -- The Wii Plays -- each named after a title in Nintendo's motion controlled library. There are some familiar names here, including Marvel Superhero Squad and Tomb Raider: Anniversary, as well as some especially odd choices. Let's Tap? Bob the Builder: Festival of Fun? Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games? Really? While there's undoubtedly some copyright infringement at work, The Wii Plays won't be around long enough to cause too much trouble. Ten different plays will be shown off-Broadway from February 1-12. Tickets will go for $15 each. With musical accompaniment from a live band, The Wii Plays might warrant the price of admission based on novelty alone. Check out the full list of adapted works in the press release after the break.
EVE trailer debuts in selected cinemas before showing of Tron
Earlier this month, we heard the news that a few selected US cinema theaters would be showing a new EVE Online trailer. On the EVE forum, CCP Manifest published a list of the participating theaters and told players that the trailer would be aired between eight and fifteen minutes before the main movie showing. The new trailer is essentially a re-cut of the impressive and very cinematic Incursion trailer released last month, adapted for the big screen and the general cinema audience. With Tron's release last week, the EVE trailer has already been seen at several theaters on CCP's list. This is the first time CCP has tried to advertise via cinema, and if things go well, we could see more trailers on the big screen in the near future. This showing is the first of a series of small-scale tests designed to see how effective cinema can be as an advertising venue. If you'd like to see your local theater featured in future test-showings, post its name and location in the thread for CCP's marketing department to look into it. For those unable to attend one of the participating theaters, the short 30-second cinema trailer has been published as promised on CCP's YouTube page. Skip past the cut to watch the cinema trailer, embedded in high definition.
LotRO's Yule Festival Theatre transforms players into actors
It started as a simple idea: To include an interactive theater experience with Lord of the Rings Online's revamped Yule Festival. However, as Turbine's "Rhidden" writes in a new dev diary, the simple idea became fiendishly complex in application. With the advent of next week's festival, players will be invited to Frostbluff Theatre in Winter-home to watch "The Curious Disappearance of Mad Baggins," the story of Bilbo's vanishing at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring told from the Hobbits' point of view. What's interesting is that Turbine wants players to be involved, both as audience members (throwing flower petals or rotten fruit, based on the performances) and as potential actors (who may "choose their own adventure" with emotes to complete the story). Because the LotRO team wanted this to be more than just a "Simon Says" game, they created an intricate script and whipped up a powerful, yet invisible, NPC called "The Audience" that handles the interaction and score-keeping. Based on performances, actors can be rewarded with titles for stellar performances as well as horrible ones. Rhidden promises that no two performances should play out the same. Read more about this truly unique festival event over at LotRO's site!
Robots take to the stage again, and this time they're performing in an opera
We've seen enough robots performing in enough plays to know that they can really add to a production. This time, however, Death and the Powers, a new opera, features nine robots quite prominently. The show, which opens in October in Monaco, has been developed with Professor Tod Machover of the MIT Media Lab and his students, who will also put on the production. While we look forward to hopefully seeing the production in person some day, for now, we'll make do with the video below. Regardless, we're not going to be happy until we see a robot hit us with its best Jean Valjean.
NYC play 'The Dudleys' features chiptune music and 8-bit art
New York City playwright Leegrid Stevens, working with the Theater for New City and manager Danielle Karliner, will debut a new play titled "The Dudleys!" this August at the Joyce and Seward Johnson Theater. "What in the world does this have to do with games?" you may be asking your computer. First and foremost, it's straight up weird that you're speaking to a computer. More importantly, though, "The Dudleys" is a play about the thoughts and memories of a young man, conveyed through "a malfunctioning 8-bit video game." You see the connection now? Apparently, the play will feature chiptune music created on Ataris, GameBoys, and Commodore 64s, and 8-bit art will back up the actors. More specifically, the play aims to juxtapose "the two dimensional side-scrolling world of fun and happy endings up against the confusion and aimlessness of real life." Well then! If you're interested in snagging tickets, they're available online for $15.
Brooklyn theater putting on plays inspired by video games
Just because we're video game fans here at Joystiq doesn't mean we don't appreciate the more classical forms of art -- as long as they're related to video games, that is. Like this series of shows at the Brick Theater in Brooklyn, NY, for example. It's a whole month of some quality live drama, all driven and influenced by video games. There's Grand Theft Ovid, which tells some of the Roman poet's tales using everyone's favorite carjack simulator (along with a few other popular games). Modal Kombat features a set of guitar controllers that are used to play non-music games. The best, though, might be the Theater of the Arcade, which takes old games like Duck Hunt and Donkey Kong and presents them, re-imagined, as short theatrical vignettes. O Mario, Mario, wherefore art thou? The shows are going on at the Brick through the rest of July. Performances are just $15, plus there's also a Rock Band Karaoke night and a few other game-related events sprinkled throughout the run. If your significant other is complaining that you're spending too many nights in front of the TV and not enough out enjoying the arts, this seems like a perfect compromise. [Thanks, Edward!]
World Cup 2010 final game is coming to movie theaters in 3D
So maybe you're like our friend Jimmy and want to check out some World Cup action in 3D, but don't know where to go to see it. Luckily Cinedigm is adding to its list of sports broadcasts by bringing the World Cup final to a few moviehouses in 3D. Check out the official site for the current list of locations, although there are far fewer than we've seen available for events like the NCAA Final Four and BCS National Championship game. Maybe if the US team moves on we'll see that number improve but if all you want to do is slip on some 3D specs and catch some football international-style, we'd get a ticket now.
The amazing shoe box theater powered by an iPhone
I love home theater. I love it so much that I have a real one in my house with a nine foot 2:35:1 screen and enough clean sound to be IMAX's little brother. Now Gary Katz has taken the opposite approach and built an absolutely gorgeous Liliputian theater out of a shoebox, some rubber cement, laser printed graphics and a very sharp knife. Take a look at the hand in the picture above and you'll be able to see the scale. Open the doors and you'll see a quite realistic-looking theater. And what powers the magic? An iPhone of course, which is cleverly slipped into a slot at the back of the shoebox. This little jewel box of a theater is a work of art in itself and the attention to detail is remarkable. I can easily see an audience of green army soldier toys happily watching Toy Story. I think they'd like it much more than Ratatouille. Read on to see the theater in action and then check out the inevitable 'making of' documentary. [via iPhone Savior]
Theaters brought in more cash than Discs last year
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/business_finance/Theaters_brought_in_more_cash_than_Discs_last_year'; During one of the worst economies our parents have ever seen, according to Adams research, people spent $9.97 billion to get out of the house to see a movie last year -- up 10 percent from 2008. At the same time, Disc sales (DVD and Blu-ray included) were down 13 percent to $8.73 billion -- which wasn't down nearly as much as most consumer goods. Now we know what you're thinking, all those digital downloads must be cutting into Disc sales, but you're wrong. In fact despite plenty of growth, VOD via cable and satellite services brought in $1.27 billion, while digital downloads only managed $0.36 billion -- so yeah not even 5 percent of what Discs brought in. What probably did cut into Disc sales more than anything else though was rentals, which rose 1.8 percent to $8.15 billion -- no wonder Warner made a deal with Netflix and other studios withheld titles from Redbox. Overall Hollywood fared pretty well totaling $28.38 billion on features movies alone so while there are a few potentially disruptive technologies out there, so far none have been.
Haier's Theater PMP sports a 3-inch touchscreen, recession-friendly price
There are PMPs in every shape and color, and while we've never been particularly fond of Haier's contributions to the segment, its latest might just find a home in that all-important lower-end of the spectrum. It packs a three-inch capacitive touchscreen of undisclosed resolution, an FM tuner, voice recorder, support for plenty of audio formats, a rather more spartan list of video formats (apparently just AVI and MPEG4), and comes in either four or eight GB sizes. Earth-shattering? No, but at prices of $89 and $99 it's a good value -- well, the bigger of the two is, anyway. Who wouldn't drop another $10 for twice the capacity?
AirScript translator beams live theater subtitles over the air
If you ask us, one of the best things about London is its theater scene. Turns out, however, that not every person who appreciates good theatre speaks the Queen's English -- we know, it's shocking to us as well. To serve those unenlightened souls, a new AirScript wireless translation gadget is being trialed at the Shaftesbury in central Londonium. Designed by Show Translations and built by Cambridge Consultants, it combines a simple WiFi-enabled device with an LED-backlit screen and a dude in the background who feeds live subtitles over the air. The pleasure of said dude's services will be a steep £6 ($10), which you might scoff at now, but imagine yourself attending a show in Tokyo or Beijing and suddenly the price becomes a lot more justifiable. Eight languages are available so far (American English is presumably still in the works), with translations done by professionals rather than machines, and all that remains now is to see whether this multilingual birdie flies or flounders.
$15 buys the U.K. theatre experience in HD right on your PC
Move over opera, the theater is coming home via HD streaming as Digital Theatre has launched, offering downloads of theatrical productions for a mere £8.99 ($14.72.) There's no mention of any region lock, and since it uses Adobe Air the DT Player promises to work across platforms and browsers, with productions from The Almeida Theatre, Royal Court, Young Vic, Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and English Touring Theatre lined up first, all filmed from several angles over multiple performances, rather than a single static camera position. Now that the Concorde is offline, really, how else were you planning on getting the British theatre experience this afternoon?[Via The Hollywood Reporter]
IMAX taps Audyssey MultEQ for room-correction
Even dedicated theaters like those IMAX uses (well, at least some of them are dedicated) need a little help when it comes to achieving the best sound. Take a look across the consumer AV receiver landscape and you'll see that various flavors of Audyssey's MultEQ technology is pretty popular for measuring and correcting the artifacts that arise in real-world rooms. Small wonder then, that MultEQ (no doubt a pro variant) has been selected by IMAX to help iron out problems with in-theater sound. Who knows, maybe we were distracted by the armrest-gripping visuals, but we've never had a complaint about IMAX sound. Still, we'll take any improvements we can get once the technicians start running through IMAX theaters with mics and test tones in 2010.
Uncharted 2 being previewed on the silver screen
If you're waiting on pins, needles and mercenary machetes for the film adaptation of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Sony and Naughty Dog have come up with a pretty clever way of biding your time -- sneak previews of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves will be given on the massive screens of four theaters in Bellevue, WA, Rosemont, IL, Thousand Oaks, CA and San Francisco, CA on October 5 and 6. SCEA reps and Naughty Dog developers will be around to answer your questions and give you a guided tour of the game. Tickets for the October 5 showings have already sold out -- so you'd better act quickly if you want to see what a two-story-tall half-tuck looks like. We imagine it's a life-changing experience.
Robot Chicken coming to PlayStation Home Theater
We've come a long, long way from the opening days of the PlayStation Home Theater space, where the debut trailer for Twilight played in an endless cycle of brain-melting teen melodrama. Today, if you drop by the networking service's silver screens, you'll be able to view some programming that's probably more in your wheelhouse -- clips from Adult Swim's Mego-infused comedy series, Robot Chicken.Whether or not you enjoy Seth Green's stop-motion brainchild, we think we can all agree that it's a step up from teasers for vampiric romance novel adaptations. Unfortunately, we're physically incapable of watching Robot Chicken without succumbing to waves of nausea, a side-effect from our youthful diet of G.I. Joes.
UK moviegoers treated to industry's first interactive 3D game
Now here's a way to make us show up for the previews. O2 has evidently figured out that getting moviegoers involved in the action is a good way to get more fundaments in seats, and starting next week, the first in-cinema interactive 3D game will be rolled out in 20 Vue theaters around the UK. The title, dubbed Asteroid Storm, will rely on two overhead cameras that recognize hand raises down below. In short, moviegoers simply move their hands to direct a damaged spaceship out of an asteroid belt, but there's no word on whether or not "everyone's a winner." Here's hoping not, chumps.
TI sticks to its DLP guns, fires off 4k pro gear
You just knew that Texas Instruments wasn't going to leave the 4k cinema projector market to SXRD, right? Sure enough, TI unveiled its DLP Cinema 4k technology and announced that Barco, Christie and NEC will be sprinkling the new tech across more than a dozen new projectors. Now, if TI would get serious about 3-chip DLP consumer solutions -- not even 4k -- we'd be out of our seats (or maybe the movie house's). Until then, we'll have to settle for the possibility that the lowered costs of the next generation of the DLP Cinema platform will allow for more screens to go digital. One thing's for sure -- those IMAX DLP setups need all the pixels they can get.
