March 27, 2018 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
Dream is musician Philippe Lambert’s first virtual reality work as a director. Beginning April 10, the 10-minute creation will be available online all over the world, in 2D and 3D WebVR, at nfb.ca/dream. Dream will have its world premiere at the fourth MUTEK_IMG Forum for Digital Creation, taking place April 10 to 13 at the Phi Centre as part of the official lineup of events at this year’s Montréal Digital Spring. Visitors to this free presentation at MUTEK_IMG will be able to experience the VR work lying down, engaging fully in the creators’ virtual dreamscapes.
Produced by the NFB, Dream is more an alternate reality than a virtual reality—a brief immersion in a “parallel dimension” that asks us to reconsider our relationship to both our dreaming and waking states. Content development for Dream began in 2016 at the prestigious IDFA DocLab—at an event where members of the public were invited to render their dreams as drawings—and continued at other workshops, some of which included the participation of children.
Dream was created by Philippe Lambert, with Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit, Vincent Lambert and Caroline Robert. An NFB production by Marie-Pier Gauthier, executive-produced by Hugues Sweeney.
The experience
Built using a custom-coded audiovisual synthesizer, Dream immerses audiences in an ethereal world, featuring images and music generated by users’ interactions with the work using a joystick (in virtual reality) or the click of a trackpad or mouse (on computer). This impressionistic experience is made up of a fragmented array of colours, textures and drawings, accompanied by music that’s hypnotic, rhythmic, and in constant flux. Some of the illustrations were created by audience members who took part in the live-drawing events. Each visual memory is there to be morphed and transformed into another memory, creating a unique journey for each dreamer.
The creative team
Direction, music, sound design: Philippe Lambert, an experimental vocalist and electronic music composer who’s also co-created three award-winning interactive works for the NFB: BLA BLA (2011), A Journal of Insomnia (2013) and Way to Go (2015).
Technology and creative development (coded audiovisual synthesizer): Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit, a creative developer and technical director who is a member of Vincent Morisset’s creative team and of AATOAA (BLA BLA, Way to Go, and Arcade Fire projects including Sprawl II and Just a Reflektor for Google Creative Lab).
Illustration, animation, 3D modeling: Vincent Lambert, a visual artist who previously worked in videogame development and in animation.
Illustration, animation, visual design: Caroline Robert, who has contributed to all of AATOAA Studio’s interactive projects (including BLA BLA, Way to Go, Just a Reflektor and Sprawl II). She also designed the visual identity for Arcade Fire’s Reflektor and The Suburbs albums.
For more information on the work and the creative team, visit: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/dream/
CREATIVE PROCESS PRESENTATION WITH THE DREAM TEAM
On Thursday, April 12, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. during MUTEK_IMG, Xn Québec will present the Dream case study with Philippe Lambert and Hugues Sweeney, as well as two projects by other creators. The team will discuss the making of Dream, the latest project in a long creative collaboration that includes previous works BLA BLA, A Journal of Insomnia and Way to Go.
About the NFB
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is one of the world’s leading digital content hubs, creating groundbreaking interactive documentaries and animation, mobile content, installations and participatory experiences. NFB interactive productions and digital platforms have won 100 awards, including 17 Webbys. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for mobile devices.
-30-
Related Products
Electronic Press Kit | Images, trailers, synopsis: Dream
Associated Links
MUTEK_IMG Forum for Digital Creation
Phi Centre
Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit
Caroline Robert