[MUSIC] So Lance, would you like to tell us who you are? >> Sure, so I'm Lance Putnam, I'm a research associate at Goldsmiths, and I'm in the digital creativity labs. >> Can you tell us how did you get involved in VR development? >> Sure, I have some history with working with virtual environments. Such as kind of more general area where you're creating these virtual worlds through computers. And so, I started in that area kind of generating graphics and sound, and then I moved into VR. Once these new headsets are coming out to the market, I got more interested in VR. >> What excites you most about working in VR? >> Well, the thing that excites me the most is that VR is a technology that actually lets us transport other people to different worlds. So there is a notion of presence in VR, which is basically being there. And so I find that interesting that you can kind of put, it's immersed completely, visually and aurally, and put them in some other place. >> Can you tell us about a project you've been working on in VR? >> So currently I'm working on a project called Mutator VR. It's a virtual reality artwork where the idea is that we immerse people in a abstract world where they can interact with these forms. So it's kind of inspired by surrealism, and sort of a sci-fi fantasy art sort of element. So what we're really interested in is immersing people in this other world where they can kind of enhance their perception of abstract forms. And kind of see the world in a different way. >> Mm-hm. >> Now you see forms in the world, you kind of can associate them with our work. >> How is it different working in VR compared to other types of media for you? >> I think, well, the main difference is this immersion you get from the VR hardware. >> Mm-hm. >> So your eyes are fully covered and your ears in theory are fully covered as well. So you can basically replace all physical sensation with synthetic sensations. >> Mm-hm. >> For instance if you don't have a VR headset and you have to display visuals just on a normal screen. What you're really losing is a sense of space. And for us, we also found that was very important for the interactive parts. So in the work you can actually interact with the forms that are in the space with you. >> Mm-hm. >> And if that's not being done in VR, you don't feel like you have a bond with the actual forms in the world. >> What kind of interaction did you have in your application? >> We tried numerous things out, so things like, if you move your hands you can actually change the shapes of the forms. And also sort of attracting these forms over to you. >> Mm-hm. >> So using the controllers, they have triggers on the bottom. When you pull the triggers you can attract these entities over to you. And kind of orchestrate their movement through the space, like you're scuba diving or something like that. >> All right, interesting. [MUSIC]