CREW is a Belgian performance group, founded in Brussels in 1991 by Eric Joris. CREW operates on the border between art and science, between performance art and new technology. Artist Eric Joris develops his live-art projects in close collaboration with scientists and other artists. CREW's immersion-based performances put the spectator right into the heart of the experience, exploring and innovating the potential of immersivity and state-of-the-art interactive technology. The running thread in the work of CREW is Eric Joris'drive for a deeply rooted utopia: the search for a medium that both dissects and expands our experience.
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CREW's creations range from one-to-one performances, staged performances and visual arts installations to scientific research set-ups and interventions in public spaces. CREW's work has been presented on stages across Europe, at large public events from Brussels to the Shanghai World Expo, and at scientific conferences in Europe, China and the U.S. In 13 years CREW has immersed thousands of people.
CREW is artistic partner in the EU-funded multidisciplinary research consortium Dreamspace, which develops tools that enable creative professionals to combine live performances, video and computer generated imagery in real time.
'AltR'
CREW creates immersion-based performance and was the first to combine 360° Omni Directional Video (ODV) and Head-mounted display (HMD) for delivering an 'Alternative Reality' ('AltR'). Unlike sitting and standing Virtual Reality applications, CREW's work delivers 'AltR' which is anchored in the physical: by moving, walking and running the 'immersant' experiences the virtual world from within his own body. This resulted in the 2004 Crash, a performance piece in which embodiment was a key element. A playful use of real time versus prerecorded material typified the work of this period and turned the 'immersants' into real protagonists. 'Headswap' sessions allowed integration of out-of-body phenomena into performances like Double U (2008). Terra Nova gave fifty-five people an immersive experience in the course of a ninety-minute show.
From CAVE to C.a.p.e.
In 2000 CREW built a performance Cave automatic virtual environment large enough to include actors, artists, technicians and an audience of fifty. CREW's inspiration came from a theatre technician, Paul Antipoff, who was paralysed from the neck down and survived through a symbiosis with technology. The University of Hasselt developed a PC-driven CAVE, with a 3D real-time painting tool, and a robotic leg. Antipoff was able to 'handle' his computer, electric wheelchair and robotic leg with tools attached to his head and mouth. Immersed with the audience in the CAVE, Antipoff started to paint and to interact with a live virtual actor and with the audience.
In 2002 Eric Joris and Kurt Vanhoutte (University of Antwerp) wanted to create a medium ‘like a prosthesis’ based upon Joris' work with the paraplegic actor. Eric Joris sought to combine 360° Omni Directional Video (ODV) with a Head-mounted display (HMD) and a tracking system instead of using computer graphics or ‘virtual reality’ tools (as in Computer Caves). EDM/University of Hasselt developed not only the camera but the whole system and software around. Their collaboration resulted in immersive performance like Crash,U, EUX and Terra Nova. Their system proved to be ahead of its time and led to many new applications. Ever since Omni Directional Video (360°) grew popular and the University of Hasselt made a first spin-off, centering on a 16head camerasystem for sports events.
An extraordinary level of presence can be achieved in immersive performances, leading to powerful physical, emotional and intellectual responses - and even the controlled inducement of Out-of-body experiences. The effects have been investigated in research projects such as FP7 ICT 2020 3D Media. As 'AltR' is fully anchored in the physical body it not only mediates perception through vision and sound, but also through the tactile, the proprioceptive and even the vestibular system. This results in an embodiment that has a substantial effect: the immersant experiences the Virtual world from within his own body.
Because the live performances were technically, financially and logistically very demanding CREW and EDM/University of Hasselt developed a new configuration: C.a.p.e. / Computer Assisted Personal Environment. It is a lightweight version consisting of a backpack with a PC, a Head-mounted display using prerecorded material for 15 minute walks or experiences of fictional, documentary and musical nature. Premièred at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, this participatory format offers a radically new way to engage with a narrative. C.a.p.e. comes in many versions: C.a.p.e. Brussels, C.a.p.e. Tohoku, C.a.p.e. KIT, C.a.p.e. Horror, C.a.p.e. Vooruit and C.a.p.e. Anima.
An new version of fully navigable 'AltR' (Alternative Reality), making use of lightfield capture is being investigated by CREW and University of Hasselt/iMinds with the FP7 ICT Dreamspace consortium.