FIVARS is proud to present Vivaldi 3.0. “The Immersive Universe of Four Seasons.” We sit down with Director Carlos J. Ochoa Fernandez to discuss the creation of this award-winning piece.

What led to the creation of this piece?
The creation of Vivaldi 3.0 was born from a profound desire to reimagine the musical and educational experience through sensory immersion, technology, and the emotional power of art.
For years, I have worked at the intersection of immersive technology, sensory storytelling, and pedagogy. But it was during the times of greatest global disconnection—especially throughout the pandemic—that a fundamental question emerged:

How can we reconnect people with beauty, music, and nature through new ways of feeling and emotional engagement?

It was during COVID time, that we developed our first full-length immersive work: 12 stories inspired by the music of Mozart, Respighi, and Tchaikovsky, each one rooted in soundscapes and metaphorical landscapes. This experience has now traveled across Spain and Latin America for over five years, with extraordinary results.

Later, inspired by Antonio Vivaldi’s masterwork and his ability to evoke the seasons as a metaphor for the cycle of life, I sought to translate that experience into the language of today—an immersive, accessible, collaborative language brimming with expressive possibilities. With the inspiration and collaboration of the extraordinary musician Ara Malikian, Vivaldi 3.0 was born—not merely as a technological rendition of The Four Seasons, but as an emotional, educational, and multisensory reinterpretation of the piece, reimagined for the 21st century.

We were also driven by a clear motivation: to create a project that bridges generations, allowing both young people and older adults to discover—or rediscover—classical music through an intimate, enveloping, and participatory approach. This mission perfectly aligns with the core values of ONE Digital Consulting: to design experiences that transform learning, art, and human communication.

Thanks to the collaborative work of string orchestra, XR experts, musicians, neuroscientists, and virtual world developers, Vivaldi 3.0 became an experience that fuses hybrid concerts, virtual reality, 8K video, spatial sound, interactive games, and a powerful emotional core. It is a tribute to the power of music—but also a bold act of cultural innovation.

Ultimately, Vivaldi 3.0 is born from the desire to fuse the eternal with the emerging, the classical with the futuristic, the artistic with the technological. It is driven by a vision: that emotional, sensory, and aesthetic education will be at the heart of the learning and entertainment of the future.

What was the production process for you and your team? What did you learn?
The creation of Vivaldi 3.0 was a complex multidisciplinary choreography with more than 50 participants and more than 15 different skills—one that merged cutting-edge technology, artistic creativity, musical rigor, and educational passion. From the outset, we knew we weren’t merely adapting The Four Seasons to virtual reality: we were crafting an entirely new sensory experience, where every aesthetic, narrative, and technological decision had to be in dialogue.
1. Team Composition and Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

We assembled a remarkably diverse team: young international classical musicians from the Reina Sofía School of Music, led by the extraordinary Ara Malikian; experts in spatial sound, 360º and 8K video recording; XR experience designers; Unity programmers; virtual world creators; educators; and neuroscientists specialized in perception and emotion.
Each brought their own language and vision to the table, which required deep efforts of translation across disciplines. One of our greatest lessons was that empathy and communication are essential to bridge worlds as distinct as music and technology.

2. Experience Design and Immersive Narrative

The development focused on creating an emotional journey, guided by the structure of Vivaldi’s seasons, but reinterpreted through visual and sensory elements that awaken the senses and reconnect with nature. We began by crafting a circular narrative that reflects the cycle of life:

Spring as birth,

Summer as exploration,

Autumn as maturity,

Winter as introspection.

We used 8K video, 360° sound, 3D scanning, interactive illustrations, and subtle gamification to enrich the experience—always ensuring that the music remained the protagonist. One powerful insight we gained is that in the immersive world, less is more: silence, pause, or a simple but well-executed visual transition can carry tremendous emotional weight.

3. Testing with Real Audiences

A key part of the process involved running pilots and immersive sessions with students, older adults, and musicians. We discovered that the experience shouldn’t be purely visual or auditory—it had to be fully sensory. That’s why, in the physical versions, we incorporated tactile and auditory elements alongside the visual ones.

This approach allowed us to validate accessibility, improve headset usability, and adapt the duration and complexity of stimuli for different types of audiences. We learned that an immersive experience should not be overwhelming, but rather welcoming, intuitive, and transformative—making the visitor the central actor, free to feel their own emotions.

4. Key Learnings

Technology should never overpower content—its role is to elevate it subtly.

Narrative rhythm in VR is fundamentally different from film or theater. You must think in spheres, angles, focal directions, and cognitive fatigue.

Co-creation with audiences is invaluable. Listening to their feedback was as meaningful as any technical test.

Immersive production demands extreme planning, but also flexibility in the face of the unexpected—and close collaboration with top-tier technological partners (which we are fortunate to have).

Conclusion

The journey of Vivaldi 3.0 was a symphony of challenges and revelations. We learned that producing an XR experience is not simply about technology or art—it’s about connecting deeply with human emotion, cultural and natural heritage, and the universal desire to learn, feel, live, and be moved.

How did you become an immersive content creator and why?

My journey began at the crossroads of technology, culture, art, and education. For years, I worked on designing educational innovation strategies and digital experiences that aimed to transform learning into something more meaningful, emotional, and participatory.
But something lingered—a constant unease: the emotional and sensory disconnection that persisted in traditional digital environments.

Over a decade ago, that unease became an urgency.

I began collaborating with artists and creators, crafting ephemeral landscapes through virtual reality, woven into musical contexts. And then came COVID. With it, isolation. And with isolation, a deep need to create human, intimate, and transformative experiences—even at a distance. That’s when I discovered the real power of immersive technologies—not as an end in themselves, but as tools to tell stories that are felt with the body, the senses, and the soul.
Inspiration and Turning Point

After years working on digital content creation, virtual reconstructions, and educational simulators, I felt a pull toward something more disruptive and heartfelt, more creative and emotionally honest.

As a jazz musician and lifelong art lover (photographer / movies), I had always owed it to myself to explore this side of me—to channel it into something deeply personal yet universally shared.

The turning point came when I began experimenting with virtual reality applied to classical music. I watched as students and older adults—many of whom had never experienced VR before—responded with wonder, joy, tears, and questions.
In that moment, I realized: this wasn’t just technology. It was a new language of connection. Deep. Sensitive. Accessible. Artistic.
A Creative Vision with a Human Purpose

Since then, I’ve devoted my creative work to designing immersive experiences that break the mold—experiences that blend digital tools with a commitment to youth, education, music, and sensory storytelling.
My north star has remained clear: to create experiences with human purpose.

That vision gave birth to my first immersive series around Tchaikovsky, Mozart, and Respighi. From there, it evolved into the emotionally rich journey of Vivaldi 3.0, and further into The Symphony of Senses and Immersive Music Planet, our most recent project currently in the design phase.

These projects are more than productions—they are acts of creative activism, attempts to reimagine how we learn, how we feel, and how we come together through technology, music, and meaning.

What is the VR/AR industry like in your region?

Industry Context: Building Bridges from Local Creativity to Global Impact
In my region, the creative industry is highly polarized—on one side, large studios working on high-budget international productions; on the other, hundreds of startups operating with minimal structure but immense creativity and innovation. We are fortunate to have a strong ecosystem of universities and training centers specializing in creative arts, game development, and digital design.

This gives us access to exceptional emerging talent. However, talent alone isn’t enough—it must be nurtured through real projects, with the opportunity to grow, fail, and co-create. One of our greatest challenges—and opportunities—is to open our minds and strengthen collaborative, international networks. We need to expand beyond silos, evolve toward interconnected models, and internationalize our vision, while still championing our local values, cultural identity, and spirit of innovation.

A National Commitment to Creative Growth: The Spanish administration has made a clear commitment to growing a stronger, more global creative industry. This aligns with a mission we’ve held since the very beginning: to forge a space for meaningful, forward-thinking, and culturally grounded innovation. As President of VRARA Spain (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Association), one of our core missions is exactly this:

To help internationalize immersive tech companies,

To foster global alliances,

And to emphasize the unique cultural and creative values that set us apart.

Looking Ahead: There’s still much work ahead. But the strong commitment from the European Commission and the Spanish Government gives us momentum and a solid foundation to achieve this collective transformation. Our challenge—and opportunity—is to build a creative ecosystem that is collaborative, inclusive, globally connected, and locally inspired. One that doesn’t just follow trends, but sets them through culture, emotion, and innovation.

What do you have planned for the future?

Looking Ahead: Expansion, Innovation, and New Stories to Tell

Our immediate focus is on the international promotion of Vivaldi 3.0 and its ongoing evolution into new formats—including stage adaptations, hybrid concerts, and fully immersive environments. There is still a long and exciting road ahead.

At the same time, we are embarking on a new project centered around the world of jazz, approached from a perspective never explored before. It’s a bold, creative challenge—and one that deeply excites us.

In parallel, we’re collaborating with several international consortia on the design and development of next-generation immersive museums, powered by advanced experiential technologies. These projects seek to transform how we engage with cultural heritage, turning visitors into participants in rich, multisensory narratives.

Our creative library is growing every day: we’ve already captured hundreds of recordings of natural landscapes, cultural spaces, and iconic locations—each one waiting for its story to be written.

There is so much still to live. So much still to share.

What would you like to share with fellow content creators and/or the industry?

Why I Create: A Manifesto for Immersive Storytelling

Because I believe technology should return us to the power of feeling and connection.
Because we live in a time flooded with hollow experiences—when what we need is wonder, empathy, poetry, and meaning.
Because I’ve witnessed it firsthand: a well-designed immersive experience can transform a classroom, a concert hall, a therapy session—even a life.

To be an immersive content creator is not just to produce in a new medium.
It is to commit to exploring the limits of the sensory, to co-create with multidisciplinary teams, and to shape a new language for the 21st century—a language spoken through sound, light, body, and emotion.

What I Wish to Share with XR Creators and the Industry

1. We create to move people, not just to impress them

In a field often dazzled by metrics and technical breakthroughs, we must remember: authentic emotion is the true engine of immersion.
Virtual, augmented, or mixed reality has no inherent value—its worth lies in what it makes us feel, remember, and dream.

I invite every creator to ask themselves:
What emotional imprint does my experience leave? What transformation does it offer?
The answer to that question is worth more than any technical specification.

2. Accessibility is not optional—it’s essential

Across all our projects—from Vivaldi 3.0 to The Symphony of Senses—we’ve embraced the principle of radical inclusivity: creating experiences that can be lived by children, older adults, and people with disabilities or reduced mobility.

This means designing with the body, ergonomics, time, and the senses in mind.
Designing for everyone is designing better.

The XR industry must move toward open, accessible, and universal standards. That is true progress.

3. Interdisciplinary collaboration is a source of magic

In working with musicians, neuroscientists, engineers, sound designers, educators, and visual artists, I’ve learned that the most profound outcomes emerge when languages intersect and egos dissolve.

I encourage creators to seek dialogue between worlds, to be surprised by other ways of thinking, feeling, and building.

Immersion does not belong to a single industry.
It is a shared language, still under construction, that needs every voice.

4. Social impact must be at the heart

XR holds immense potential to transform education, mental health, art, culture, inclusion, and sustainability.
But to fulfill that promise, we need an industry that puts human impact before business metrics.
That invests in projects with soul, in initiatives that transform communities, in ideas that serve the common good.

The question is not only “What can we do with this technology?”
It’s also “For whom? And for what purpose?”

A Wish for the XR Community

I hope we continue building an XR ecosystem that is more than just innovative.
I hope we make it brave, poetic, inclusive, and profoundly human—
A space where creating also means caring, transforming, and sharing.

Because the future isn’t only about technology.
It’s about how we want to live, feel, and dream together.

Do you think VR festivals like FIVARS are important?

A New Medium Demands Its Own Space

The world of XR and immersive experiences goes far beyond video games, 360° video, or animation.
It has its own formula, context, narrative logic, and unique modes of communication, participation, enjoyment, and interactivity.

Festivals like FIVARS are essential spaces—and if they didn’t exist, they would have to be invented.
We are only at the beginning of a new medium of communication, one that urgently needs its own platforms, communities, and languages to thrive.

That’s why we are both deeply grateful and genuinely enthusiastic about FIVARS and its mission. It represents the kind of vision we are fully committed to supporting and advancing.

The Future of XR experiences Is a Shared Responsibility

The evolution of immersive media will depend on the collective commitment of creators, producers, technologists, investors, markets, and—crucially—audiences.
Only through this ecosystem of collaboration can we shape a future where immersive storytelling becomes sustainable and accessible.

We believe that this shared effort must lead not only to experimental pilots or niche installations for a small group of XR explorers, but toward the emergence of viable, scalable business models—capable of reaching broader audiences without compromising artistic or emotional depth.

FIVARS Can Lead the Way

FIVARS is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap—to serve as a catalyst between artistic innovation, market development, and public engagement. It can lead the charge in establishing XR not just as a novelty, but as a transformative storytelling medium in its own right.

We look forward to continuing this journey—with passion, purpose, and the firm belief that immersive creation is not just the future of art, but a new language for humanity.