Published in New York Post

“OK, now with two d–ks.”

The producer is kneeling on the floor, fully clothed, less than a yard from popular adult actress Annika Albrite. She’s on the couch in a barely-there monokini and a helmet that looks more suited to football than sex. But her moans of ecstasy indicate that whoever is tackling her is a welcome encounter. Yet, if you look closely — and boy is it tempting, given the situation — nothing is between her legs. Not two penises. Not even one.

Capturing Albrite’s individuality is an extremely important part of CamasutraVR’s process.

The producer’s words are a gentle reminder that adult entertainment has a reputation for pushing boundaries, including those of technology. Having already conquered the internet, pornography is now moving on to the next frontier: virtual reality.

Contrary to common misconception, true virtual reality is not the same as 360 video. In 360 video, the viewer can look all around them, but they can’t move within the space and they can’t interact with the characters. In virtual reality, both of those things will be possible. And thanks to the team at virtual porn company CamasutraVR — and a hard day’s work by Albrite — it’s looking like that reality isn’t too far in the future. But what does it take to get there? Tucked in a nondescript office building not too far from Los Angeles International Airport, CamasutraVR’s recent virtual reality porn shoot revealed a few key ingredients: some serious technology, a seriously hot porn actress and a whole lot of cameras.

The two owners of CamasutraVR have been working in visual effects for ages, and it’s a good thing. Their small team — four people in the US and 10 in the Philippines — will have to use 12 different pieces of software to get from capture to completion. Some of the software will be technology borrowed from high-end video games, but some of it is proprietary and was developed for this specific purpose. In video games, there are thousands of people working to make sure the universe of the game looks good from every angle. In VR porn, the world is much smaller, often confined to a single bedroom, boardroom, or other location for a sexy romp, but the detail is much more important. And while CamasutraVR has automated much of the laborious, there’s still manual work to be done, largely cleaning up the images and finessing things like hair, wardrobe and eyes.

This attention to detail aims to traverse the “uncanny valley,” which is not something you can reach by following the happy trail. It’s the hypothesis that human replicas, which appear almost, but not exactly, like real human beings, elicit feelings of eeriness and revulsion among observers; crossing it is a must for any VR, let alone porn, to be effective. CamasutraVR believes they’ve reached the other side.
The biggest difference between VR porn and a high-end computer game is that the game can get away with just having a realistic face and sticking the body in a military uniform or other action-ready outfit, but there’s nowhere for the uncanny body to hide in VR porn. It’s realism or bust, and particularly, realism in the bust. Changes in the flesh are crucial — in an intimate setting, boobs and butts have to move, bounce and dimple when squeezed, or it just looks weird.

Albrite is used to performing with human co-stars.

The set where Albrite moans her way through today’s workday is about as sexy as your tax accountant’s office. She stands under fluorescent lighting, posed like the letter T, dotted from breast to bum with tiny white motion capture dots, in the middle of what appears to be a giant white birdcage laced with cameras, 132 of them, to be exact. On cue, there’s a bright flash, actually four synchronized camera flashes to capture every angle. This scanning of full-body poses — the T pose is one of many — is the first stage of the process to generate a realistic face and body in virtual reality. Stage two is for the details of her face, running through all the expressions that will be reconstructed — naughty, nice, oh-so-enticed — and the three Bs of triple-X: boobies, booty and baby-maker.

For Albrite’s close-up, the actress sits in a chair in the middle of the “cage” looking more like she’s about to be executed than like she’s about to be preserved for eternity. For each take, she isolates a different facial muscle and the cameras capture that discrete movement. Having each muscle movement isolated will later allow the production team to string together the movements to create any possible facial expression. While this feels less natural during the shoot than having the actress emote, it provides more options down the road. Interestingly, for all the cameras’ ability to capture minor facial movements, it can’t capture the tongue and the mouth. Those organs will have to be recreated by computer artists.

The third and final stage of the scanning process is motion capture of the full skeleton and the face.

Albrite is liberated from the cage, and “release” is certainly the word that comes to mind to describe the sounds she’s making as she sits on the couch in her monokini with a helmet on her head, imagining double penetration. She’s showing off her versatility, imitating five orgasms in a row, as little sensor dots stuck to her visage capture her facial movements. There’s a tiny video camera on the helmet, right where the mouth guard would hang, capturing her every excited squeal — of which there are many — to make sure viewers later get the full effect. The environment is casual, but professional. If either of the two-man crew is turned on, no one lets on.

The process is a balance of personal and technical, with a very real artistic component. The post-production graphic artist has the opportunity to improve on reality. They can make things that aren’t perfect perfect, like erasing scars, and they can make stylistic choices, too, like trying out different makeup and hairstyles after the photoshoot. The artist has the opportunity to go for virtual perfection, but that’s not always desirable. Albrite is a prime example: She’s known for her amazing arched back, a professional advantage that was gifted to her by scoliosis. Sometimes it’s the quirks of an individual that add character and make them feel human — a quality that’s all the more important in a virtual world.

No matter how gadget-filled the set gets, there is no doubt that CamasutraVR is shooting porn.

Adult entertainment is far from the only industry embracing virtual reality. There are projects under way in medicine, education and real estate, just to name a few. But no one in any industry has animated scans. This is the Holy Grail of virtual reality. And it’s nearly in the grasp of a company that formed mere months ago.

But the goal of CamasutraVR, like that of so many people on Match.com, is more than just a one-night stand. These avatars could become your virtual girlfriend or boyfriend, with their own traits and characteristics, or they could also borrow traits and characteristics from a real human; Annika could control her avatar through a Skype-like interface. Of course, if she can do that, other people could control bodies that look nothing like their own too. Not too far down the road, we could live out our every sexual fantasy, in the body we’ve dreamed of.

CamasutraVR is positioned to have a fully animated adult actress ready for interaction by this May, and once they do, they will have completely revolutionized the technological landscape, to say nothing of the sexual and interpersonal landscape. But for now, there’s Albrite and her helmet, paving the way.

Earlier this year, the tech veterans behind CamasutraVR were researching flesh deformations for their virtual humans and realized that porn would be a perfect learning ground. Since no one else was in the space yet, they dove in and haven’t looked back. Investors are excited to get on board and so is Albrite. Pressed for what she finds most exciting about the new medium, she says, “When the viewer can interact; nobody else has that.” And she’s right.

Very shortly, CamasutraVR will be pushing boundaries in a major way, and adult stars — or, more accurately, their avatars — will be able to react to the viewer’s actions, words and desires. What does this actually mean? It means that while the viewer will be in a VR headset, they’ll feel like they’re in the same room as the adult star. They’ll be able to touch and to see the results of their touch — the pulling of skin in a tempting pinch — though they won’t be able to feel the actress’ flesh … yet. The viewer will, however, be able to have virtual sex with the avatar. And, since feeling is key, “intercourse” could involve toys; the virtual reality interface will be able to link to real-world props.

Originally posted on eveweston.com on May 6, 2017 @ 19:39.