3Cat brings mixed reality to the general public at ISE 2024

ISE 2024, in Fira Barcelona, ​​welcomes the experience 'Songs of the water woman', an experience of 3Cat which has the collaboration of La Fura dels Baus. This is an innovative format in mixed reality, designed to offer an omnichannel offer aimed at both individual users and the general public.

The new mixed reality format offered by 3Cat at ISE 2024, still experimental, integrates live entertainment, augmented reality, video game and television production. Its content revolves around the problem of excess plastic in the seas and oceans and can be seen continuously these days in pavilion 4, stand 4D500, during the four days of the exhibition.

In this experience, in addition to the theater company La Fura dels Baus, the Barcelona Productive, which provides augmented reality technology; and other members of the Audiovisual Cluster of Catalonia, among them I am y Eikonos, who provide technical support and audiovisual material.

Gemma Ribas, Government Advisor of 3Cat, has highlighted the importance of the initiative presented at the ISE: “We have always been and continue to be leaders in new communication proposals. A fair like the ISE allows us to develop these experimentation laboratories and strengthen connections with the audiovisual sector, Catalan and elsewhere, to always take our communication capacity to the next level.”

As to Sigfrid Gras, director of TV3, has pointed out that initiatives like this will mark the television of the future: “it is an experiment that allows us to think about new formats and new ways of reaching the public through several channels at the same time. A viewer will be able to participate with virtual reality glasses, from home or live, or simply watch everything
through a television, phone or tablet. This format could be used for programs of all kinds, from cultural, informative or informative programs, to classic contests or escape rooms.”

Carlos Padrissa, co-director and co-founder of La Fura dels Baus, has been enthusiastic about the possibility of collaboration with 3Cat: “at the opening of the Barcelona Olympic Games we could all have been Antonio Rebollo shooting the arrow in the cauldron.”

Mixed reality at home

For its part, Ramon Morera, director of Produktia TV, has clarified how close the widespread use of mixed reality is: “we are still in the experimental phase, but very soon we will have it in homes.”

In the experience that can be enjoyed these days at Fira Barcelona, ​​the aesthetics are closer to cartoons than to the realistic recreation of the ocean floor, to enhance the playability that is characteristic of video games.

The montage stands out for its spectacularity, since the mermaid is submerged in a 1x1 meter pool and 1,000 m³ of water, coming from a natural well on the border between the Ter and Gurri rivers. When the experience is over, it will be recycled again due to the severe drought that Catalonia is suffering.

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