Orta Interactive Studio

We recently had the awesome chance to chat with the AwesomeCast podcast about our recent AR app release, Little Pizzeria! As a feature on their 600th (!) episode, Jaehee Cho and Erika June Christina Laing discussed the rewards and challenges of making this cute interactive AR experience for kids, as well as touched on the wide variety of VR experiences Orta has produced. Check out the podcast here: https://www.sorgatronmedia.com/blog/awesomecast-600-little-pizzeria-ar

Here's our first pass sketches of Romeo and Juliet, crafted by our summer intern Anlan Yang - aren't they adorable?! These will become 3-D models, rigged with an internal skeleton, and mapped onto motion capture of real actors performing the scenes. Just one of the many steps towards bringing Shakespeare-VR to life!

Help us welcome our fabulous summer interns, Bokang Wang and Anlan Yang! We have them assisting us with our summer project, Shakespeare-VR, wherein Bokang is hard at work building motion capture and VR interfaces, and Anlan is applying her skills as an artist to breathe life into the characters - Romeo and Juliet, of course! Both are students from CMU's Entertainment Technology Center(ETC), and our goal is to provide them with an excellent hands-on experience that accentuates their degree coursework. Welcome Bokang and Anlan!

“Wow this is so cool!” We play-tested our Little Pizzeria AR App with some young friends recently and they had a blast! Included in their commentary: cute graphics, fun story, and pretty music. Oh, and of course, the AR interactions were super fun! We’re excited to share Little Pizzeria with the world very soon – to be available for iPhones and iPads everywhere!

We are very happy to announce that our virtual reality project, Shakespeare-VR, has won a $100,000 Prototyping Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities!

This virtual reality experience we plan to develop will allow users to explore Shakespeare’s plays from the point of view of a performer. Shout out to our project director & collaborator Stephen Wittek! 👏

https://www.neh.gov/news/neh-announces-247-million-208-humanities-projects-nationwide?fbclid=IwAR0zF-_tTpT1Nt78YHMuo5lERxQT-knwk645156DBIlk9p8NObTthPbX89E

NEH Announces $24.7 Million for 208 Humanities Projects Nationwide Press Release NEH Announces $24.7 Million for 208 Humanities Projects Nationwide Grant awards support humanities initiatives at college campuses, innovative digital resources, conservation, research, and infrastructure projects at cultural institutions. TwitterFacebook Washington, DC (January 11, 20...

VDEP is the Virtual Dance Exchange Program that allows us to bring the beauty of exquisite choreography into a 360-degree experience of music and movement. We can’t wait to share the final products with you on October 1st!

Shana Simmons Dance Receives Arts Equity Reimagined Fund to Develop THE VIRTUAL DANCE EXCHANGE PROJECT Shana Simmons Dance announce an award from the Arts Equity Reimagined Fund for The Virtual Dance Exchange Project (VDEP), a collaboration between SSD, Chrisala Brown in Pittsburgh, Bianca Johnson & Dancers (BJD) in New York City, and XRconnectED in Pittsburgh.

An image from our Auschwitz VR exhibit developed in partnership with the Mania Nudel Holocaust Learning Center in South Florida, where the installation will be available for visitors to immerse themselves in the realities of one of history's deadliest concentration camps.

Little Pizzeria can be played anytime, anywhere, thanks to the incorporation of Augmented Reality technology that enables sunny tomato growing conditions even in the comfort of your living room.