Introducing XR Hub team: Virtual Circus

Jul 20, 2020

Virtual Circus designs multi-platform solutions that bridge live entertainment, objects, and AR and VR content.

Petteri Jakobsson eating fire sitting on a rock. Behind him is a very Finnish lake landscape.

Petteri Jakobsson eating fire.

During 2020, we have been posting articles about our XR Hub teams. These articles have been written based on interview questions answered by the teams themselves. If you have missed the previous articles, you can find them in the Hub Team Introductions category!

Next up is Virtual Circus!

 

Virtual Circus

What does your team do?

We create content for AR & VR platforms.

 

What is the idea/mission behind your team?

Our mission is to create experiences for people. With our background in live entertainment we want to focus on designing multi-platform solutions that bridge live entertainment, objects and AR and VR content.

 

Tell us about your team members!

Our core team is the two founders, Petteri Jakobsson and Maksim Komaro. Our background is in circus where we both have done a long artistic career on and off stage. In Virtual Circus Petteri is in charge of production and Maksim is the artistic director.

PETTERI JAKOBSSON is the most experienced circus producer in Finland. Besides producing he has also done a long career as an artist and worked widely within circus influencing to the development of Finnish circus scene on many levels. Petteri has produced over 35 performances and he is one of the founders of Circus Ruska Festival, the oldest contemporary circus festival in Finland, which he managed for 10 years.

MAKSIM KOMARO is the most known director and one of the driving forces of circus art in Finland. He has worked with for various companies in Europe and directed over 30 performances that have been performed over thousand times in five different continents.

 

What project(s) are you currently working on?

For the past year we’ve been focusing on offline LBE concepts but in the current situation we’ve started to develop a VR film series for online distribution as well.

Our current concepts in development:

VIRTUAL NATURE RETREAT is a multi sensory experience for workplace wellbeing and healthcare industry.

WHAT IF WE HAD TIME? is a series of short performance films created for VR format. Each film invites the public to take a break with virtuoso physical artists in stunning and soothing nature locations and experience performing arts in a highly personal and immersive way.

MAGIC WUNDERKAMMER is a touring LBE attraction that combines different technologies and mechanical illusions to create a magical experience for the customers.

 

Why did you decide to join Helsinki XR Center’s XR developer hub?

We were strongly suggested that we should apply. 🙂 Joining the hub provided us the possibility to connect with tech companies and access to 360 cameras and edit equipment.

 

When did you join the XR Hub, and how long had your team existed before joining?

We joined XR hub in March 2020. Virtual Circus Finland was originally founded in November 2017 after we launched our first AR production, Circus in Person- photo exhibition.

 

As a part of the XR Hub, how has your experience been so far?

The experience has been good so far. The access to the equipment has been very valuable to us!

 

What is the most interesting or exciting thing about extended reality?

The possibility to create new and different experiences that you can’t do in live performances.

 

Virtual Circus contact

 

Petteri Jakobsson, CEO, petteri(at)maracatcaravan.fi

 

This post is a part of the article series about Helsinki XR Center’s hub teams. In this series, we have been posting team introductions on a weekly basis during the year of 2020. This has been your chance to get to know our talented XR community!

If you missed the earlier XR Hub team introductions, they are available in our website’s News section.

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