When was the last time you felt free? When was the last time you felt totally comfortable in your skin without the fear of being judged by others? That’s right, it was either when you were drunk or still walking under the table. Would you want to change it now?
If you answered “yes”, then you are in luck. Dance Euphoria offers everyone a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to feel free and wild in a Virtual Reality setting. Since we are all pre-occupied with our daily problems, Dance Euphoria allows for one of the best stress reliefs: dancing. By using advanced technologies such as motion capture, 3D modeling, VR and 3D animation, Dance Euphoria offers what no other VR project on the market does: freedom of expression in a safe environment where nobody is going to assess or criticise you. You can be you. If you want to laugh- you can; if you want to jump- you can; if you want to sit back and just enjoy the moment- you can，什么都可以 (anything is possible). Dance Euphoria’s mission is to remind people how liberating it is to just be. Sounds interesting?
During the creation process of Dance Euphoria, I have made a startling discovery: people do not know how to control their bodies. They feel awkward when moving the way they want to. Why? It is because we have been raised with the notion of dancing being something for “professionals”. People are used to the notion that dancing is not for everyone, hence, using it as a way of decompressing does not seem as a solid option for the majority of people.
AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE INSIDE OF THE OCULUS HEADSET:
Dancing 3D characters were modeled and rigged by me using Maya. Their motion is driven by the motion capture data I recorded using OptiTrack.
The club scene is fully textured by me in Substance Painter and Maya.
The first level of the VR experience is a club that is reminiscent of GTA (strip clubs in GTA have a similar aesthetics, on the right).
That was the main inspiration for this level.
The fat dancing guys were 3D modeled and rigged by me. The motion that is driving them was recorded
with OptiTrack motion capture system on the 9th floor (thanks, Christian). I had to dance myself.
The club itself is a 3D model textured by me in Substance Painter and Maya.
Other dancing characters were created with Mixamo (Adobe Software that lets you easily rig 3D characters)
Song: Lil Jon- Alive
The second level consists of the three planes with my dancing videos projected onto them. The videos were shot in front of a green screen and edited by me in Premiere Pro.
The main interaction works the following way: depending on where the user casts his gaze, the correposponding videos starts playing. As soon as the user looks somewhere else, the video pauses and the user hears “dance motherfucker” as well as encouraging sounds which I recorded that are supposed to invite the user to move.
While you are watching one video, the rest of them are on pause.
After approximately 90 seconds, regardless of the user’s input, he is transferred onto the 3rd and final level.
Songs: J-Lo- Let's Get Loud, LMFAO- I'm Sexy and I Know It, Akon- Bananza.
Level 3 is the final level on which the user will get to relax again and watch a funny video of Beyonce and Justin Timberlake dancing to “Single Ladies”. The point here is to further distract the user from daily routine and immerse him in the world of funny dancing.
