On September 7th, 2017, CieAR announced that its interactive, Augmented Reality “film” experience, City of Ghosts, will premiere as an official selection of the FIVARS Festival of International Virtual and Augmented Reality Stories in Toronto, September 15-17 at the House of VR. FIVARS focuses on curating the best immersive story-driven content from around the world with the aim of exploring and nurturing this platform for new narrative forms. This year, FIVARS received 250 entries for its festival. Established in 2015, it was the first independent festival of its kind and openly challenges content creators to showcase and develop ideas that defy and transcend the status quo, with bonus points for exhibiting a unique mechanic.
City of Ghosts is an interactive, mobile Augmented Reality cinematic experience directed by Olivier Asselin that allows users ̶to interact freely in real space with life-sized, motion-captured 3D virtual characters using nothing more than a smart phone, tablet or AR glasses, all within a 20×20 foot area or even across several real world locations.
In City of Ghosts, participants begin at the beginning of the 20th century in the middle of a criminal investigation. Their spectroscope (mobile device) helps them solve the mystery and the circumstances around the death of La Stilla, one of the most famous sopranos of the Belle Époque.
The spectroscope is a ‘magical device’ that will give visitors special powers and help them be an active participant in City of Ghosts – a story of love, death, ghosts and technology. When sufficiently “magnetized”, their spectroscope allows them to see haunted places, ghosts and the aura of objects, to resuscitate the past, interact within scenes, unlock hidden auras and see things that nobody else can see. During the experience, players of all ages are invited to discover your city and explore different real venues such as theaters, museums, historical and cultural locations and other places of interest.
At FIVARS, participants will have the opportunity to interact with the film and meet City of Ghosts director Olivier Asselin.
Get tickets for FIVARS now – running September 15-17th at the House of VR in Toronto, Canada.