WEBVTT -- English

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Hello. My name is Michaël Samyn. And I'm a artist.

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I'm one half of Tale of Tales.

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We have made 8 videogames over the past 12 years

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but now we want to make something different.

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Cathedral-in-the-Clouds is our most ambitious project ever.

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It's basically a collection of sacred images intended for contemplation.

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I was born and raised in Flanders, now part of Belgium.

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I live and work in the city of Ghent,

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where the Count of Flanders used to live.

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I am surrounded by beautiful art from the middle ages up until today.

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I love the effect that art has on me.

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Especially the work of my fellow countrymen:

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the Flemish Primitives.

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A lot of these buildings and paintings and sculptures are devoted to religion.

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I've long wanted to create something with that kind of intensity.

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I am not religious myself.

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But I do feel a need for contemplation.

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And these sacred images help me with that,

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even if I don't believe in them.

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The videogames we have made with Tale of Tales

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are often considered some of the most interesting artistic work done in the medium.

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I want to use those 12 years of experience

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to create something that is at the same time more accessible and more intense.

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Something that uses videogame technology but moves well beyond that.

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I want to create realtime 3D images:

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sacred scenes with living characters.

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Each image consists of a life-sized body encased in a box.

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You look at this virtual sculpture through the screen of your computer or your tablet or your phone.

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Since these bodies are life-size, so you need to scroll around to see the entire image.

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In many of these dioramas a dramatic event will take place, related to the scene.

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To house all these virtual sculptures, we are building a cathedral

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in Virtual Reality.

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Just like the old cathedrals, we consider this an ever expanding project.

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We think of Cathedral-in-the-Clouds as our masterwork:

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the culmination of our artistic career.

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Creation will require a lot of time and a lot of work.

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And we don't see this as a commercial project.

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The experience we have in mind is not something one should put a price on.

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With your help we can explore spirituality in a contemporary way

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and create a means of contemplation and meditation that is easily accessible to all.

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We hope that the rewards that we have selected can express our gratitude for your support.

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Thank you for making this happen!