Seoul, Korea, June 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) used Proto Inc.’s Epic device to beam its XR Curator, Jay Kim, to a press conference in Seoul to talk about the Beyond Reality section of the July event. Kim used Proto holoportation to appear at the meeting even though he was physically in Annecy, France at the time — he was able to fully interact with the press and other panel members in 4K. Proto, formerly known as Portl, is the creator and leading provider of the hardware and software that make holoportation a reality. BIFAN’s holoportation event was produced by Proto’s Korean distributor and partner Nine Communications.
“Although it is visually interesting, the aim for using Proto was to see if viewers could accept this sort of teleportation. The metaverse depends on whether people can accept a concept that transcends established time and space,” Kim said. “We plan to make Proto available to festival attendees.”
Celebrating its seventh anniversary, BIFAN’s Beyond Reality programme will showcase 42 works such as Moon Joon Yong’s Augmented Shadow: Chasing Stars In Shadow, an XR installation that doesn’t require headsets.
Proto and Nine Communications have been busy in South Korea, having recently appeared as part of K-Con with SHINee and Sieun of StayC performing as Proto holograms, and with many other activations involving KPOP stars and even virtual idols like Eternity. Also in Asia, Proto also recently beamed presenters live from Taipei and Hong Kong into Mediacorp’s Star Awards in Singapore. Proto has also recently worked with HBO, Netflix, and Virgin Media 02, and won awards from CES, SXSW and Fast Company.
About Proto Inc. Proto, formerly known as Portl, is the creator and leading provider of the hardware and software that make holoportation a reality. With units deployed globally, the company is beaming people, brands and digital assets worldwide. Proto has become the fastest growing communications & marketing solution in retail, hospitality, entertainment, healthcare, education, financial services, tech and the arts. Proto recently won the top prize at SXSW for “Connecting People”, was a 3X honoree at CES 2022 and was named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list. Proto is a venture-backed company based in Los Angeles with showrooms and distributors in New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Columbus, Ohio, Toronto, London, Taipei and Seoul. More info at Protohologram.com