| dc.description.abstract | The horror genre has always played a role in the application and development of new media culture. From early examples of augmented reality effects such as the Pepper’s Ghost in the 1890’s or William Castle’s experimentations with augmented Cinema in the 1960’s.
One innovation of the 20th century did more than any other in defining the language of both cinematic horror and immersive media as we know it today; The Dark Ride (also known as Haunted or Spook Rides) brought technological and artistic innovations from the theatre to the mass audience of the amusement park. The cart based indoor ride helped to forge the language of immersive entertainment by creating unique 360 degree visual experiences. The first electric dark rides were installed in failing amusement parks in the 1920’s and would often be designed to make use of available spaces. Carts would move audience point of view from one visual element to another, creating thrills and a modular experience. These experiences –however rudimentary in construction- superseded the effects that cinema of the time could allow, particularly when it came to moving points of view. In this new electric environment, sounds could be triggered whilst objects appeared from behind or above the audience.
Horror is the single most popular genre for content available in Virtual Reality and Augmented reality formats today. Amazing examples include the hybrid cinema creations of Blumhouse studios and the augmented zombie games on the Microsoft Hololens. New technology is allowing developers to break out of the constraints of the screen and allow users to experience horror in available, public and specially designed spaces.
Joel Zika will discuss the evolution of the horror experience Dark Ride and the links it has to the new world of VR and AR media art. Signalling areas yet to be explored in the design and implementation of new media art experiences. | |
