How Will Jon Stewart Turn Into a Hologram?

HBO and Discovery Communications have become part owners in Otoy, a special effects start-up that is working with Jon Stewart on his new HBO programming.

Stewart called Otoy “unbelievable” and “mind-blowing” in a statement. “My dream is to someday understand how they did it!!!” he said.

The investment will fuel Otoy’s development of original holographic content, the companies said. HBO and Discovery plan to use the hologram capabilities to “deliver new entertainment experiences to consumers across TV, mobile, web, social and emerging wearable technologies such as virtual and augmented reality.”

Also Read: Virtual Reality's Future Kings: Major Studios or Indie Upstarts?

In November, Stewart signed a four-year deal with HBO to create digital short-form content for its online platforms like HBO Go and HBO Now.

Otoy is best known for its LightStage facial-effects technology, which was used in films like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” to digitally play with the apparent ages of stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The New York Times reported that Otoy raised as much as $37 million, citing venture capital research firm VC Experts.

Paul Guyardo, the chief commercial officer at Discovery, called Otoy’s technology a “massive breakthrough,” while HBO’s president of programming Michael Lombardo called the company “a roadmap for the future of entertainment and technology.”

These Virtual-Reality Films at Tribeca Hint How Far VR Can Go (Photos)

Short film "Sens" is the first project to adapt a graphic novel into a virtual reality.
Joan E. Solsman
"Sens" leads viewers on a black-and-white journey, in which the point of view alternates between exploring a strange landscape through the main character's eyes and floating above the character, watching him do things like grip an edge of a cliff.
Sens
"Deep VR" combines a underwater fantasy world with a specialized belt the viewer wears around the waist, which monitors deep breathing. You control your movement in the experience by breathing in and out deeply, causing an initial rush of oxygen to the brain followed by a Zen-like meditative calm as you continue to play.
Joan E. Solsman
"Deep VR" is set in an underwater seascape, and is meant to explore the ways in which VR can change our relationship with both body and mind.
Joan E. Solsman
"The Turning Forrest" is a virtual-reality tale that takes viewers on a journey with a fantasy beast. At the Tribeca Film Fest's main hub, the creators bring viewers into hut before immersing them in the experience.
Joan E. Solsman
"The Turning Forrest" is a fully computer-generated movie, but the creators combined the viewing of it with a rumble pack that viewers wear to feel percussions that match the action.
BBC R&D / VRTOV
"Notes on Blindness" is a VR film that images the internal visions of John Hull, who -- after losing his sight in 1983 -- began recording an audio-diary documenting his discovery of “a world beyond sight.” His original recordings form the basis of this interactive experience, which uses real time 3D, virtual reality, and binaural sound to explore the interior world of blindness.
"Notes on Blindness"
"6X9: An Immersive Experience of Solitary Confinement" attempts to explain the effects solitary confinement of prisons, people who spend 22-24 hours a day in their cells, with little to no human contact.
Joan E. Solsman
"6x9" put virtual-reality viewers inside a cell, to hint at how the sensory deprivation prisoners live with can cause psychological damage.
Guardian