Introduction to Oculus Story Studio and VR
The cinematic experience has always been one of never-ending evolution. From the days of silent films and the nostalgia of drive-in theaters, to our modern home theaters and explosive 3D superhero extravaganzas, we have always been uniquely drawn to the silver screen.
Now, the expansive world of VR entertainment, pioneered by Oculus, is changing the way we look at films forever. Oculus is utilizing VR to create a film experience unlike any other: one that completely immerses the viewer in the interactive films with its revolutionary technology.
As an unabashed film lover, I always accept new mediums with strong reserve. For me, the classic 2D experience has never been topped, and I vehemently refuse to pay to see a 3D movie.
However, the thought of being totally engulfed in a story and feeling like I'm with the characters themselves is far too enticing to ignore.
So let's take a look back at what Oculus has managed to accomplish in its revolutionary take on filmmaking, find out how Oculus is pushing the movie-making envelope and take a peek into what the future holds for VR films.
Oculus Story Studio is born
Although it's no secret that Facebook-owned Oculus has an interest in more than just gaming, the company had nothing to show for it until January 2015 when it unveiled its newest creative team, Oculus Story Studio.
At the forefront of a new storytelling experience, Oculus assembled the Story Studio team to prove that VR filmmaking isn't just possible, but deeply engaging.
"We knew how to get started with games, but we didn't know how to get started with film, with Hollywood, with cinema," chief executive Brendan Iribe told The Verge. He went on to say that he wanted the Story Studio team to prove that this revolutionary cinematic experience could actually be "compelling and rich."
Helming the fledgling creative team are Pixar animation veterans Max Planck and Saschka Unseld. With over 16 years of experience at the Disney-owned animation company between the two, they are aiming to bring that signature feel-good nature to Story Studio.
"I want you to come out of virtual reality and have a smile," Planck told Engadget at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. "Or [experience] something very touching emotionally, just like Pixar films do."
Planck, who typed up Story Studio's announcement blog post, said he left Pixar after 10 years in search of the next evolution in storytelling. He was eventually drawn to join the Story Studio team and helped create its content.
Story Studio is looking to break new ground. In a blog post, Director of Photography Jeff Brown said,"storytelling has a new vehicle and we couldn't be more excited about the possibilities," and that the goals for Story Studio remain "to build truly immersive cinematic experiences that were never before possible."
The first two films: Lost and Henry
Upon Story Studio's announcement, Oculus came out swinging, revealing it had completed its debut short, Lost, and would showcase it at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January 2015.
Not to be confused with the ABC show, Lost, the interactive short, directed by Pixar veteran Saschka Unseld is based, around the simple premise of a missing hand desperately trying to find its owner.
The film, which let viewers explore its wooded setting and react to environmental changes like a character in the actual narrative, positively charmed critics, fans and VR skeptics alike.
The inherently playful nature of Pixar-esque storytelling is an obvious fit for Oculus at this stage. Its friendly and inviting nature forces your brain to forget that the resolution may not be perfect and instead welcomes you with open arms into an immersive yet pleasantly simplistic cinematic experience. The length of the short film varies from three-and-a-half to ten minutes depending on who dons the VR headset.
"Our first short film Lost" was a chance for us to dive in and work out the challenges of telling a story in VR, everything from using traditional film techniques to scene staging and the many ways to grab the viewer's attention," Director of Photography Jeff Brown said.
Lost stands as a beautiful first step into a thrilling new world, and one that taught the developers lasting lessons to apply to future VR films.
In June, Oculus broke the cute quotient by revealing a trailer for a feel-good animated short about an adorable hedgehog named Henry, narrated by none other than Elijah Wood.
The premise of this short is very simple: Henry is a friendly hedgehog who wants nothing more than to dish out loving hugs, but his spikes scare the other critters away. We find him on his birthday all alone, but he makes a wish that "changes everything." If that doesn't tug at your heart strings even a little bit, there's a good chance you aren't human. (Don't worry, we don't discriminate.)
The goal of Henry is to make a character that viewers can identify and empathize with.
"Empathy for a character is one of the most important fields for us to explore in virtual reality," said Director Ramiro Lopez Dau. "And with Henry, we wanted to create a character that had special bond with the audience."
Another component of Henry is that the title character will occasionally break the fourth wall smiling at the viewer with big, friendly eyes, showing he's aware and happy you're are on this adventure with him. Overall, the innovation of Henry isn't in the visuals or editing, but rather in that it forces the viewer to form a bond with the title character and feel what he feels, so to speak.
If you're anything like me, I want to throw on the VR viewer and meet Henry at his birthday party ASAP. Unfortunately, the public won't get a chance to experience the 12-minute interactive film until the release of the consumer line of Oculus Rift ships in Q1 2016. Fortunately, it will come free with the new VR viewer, so we'll all be at Henry's party soon enough.
Story Studio's future lineup
Lost and Henry are just the tip of the iceberg for Story Studio. Before Rift's 2016 release five films are slated to be ready for viewing on the new device.
Not much is known of Oculus' upcoming titles, other than their Sundance announcement and a few details spilled by members of the creative team. The most divergent film that was announced is an action heavy story called Bullfighter that places viewers square in the crosshairs of a furious and presumably charging bull.
Another interesting title announced was Dear Angelica, helmed by Lost director Saschka Unseld. It's premise is described as "how would it feel if we could be inside of an illustration?" which sounds extremely intriguing, to say the least.
Despite not having much knowledge of the announced titles, if Lost and Henry are any indication, Oculus Story Studio will continue to push the envelope of cinema and escort us into the next step of film evolution.
Oculus Cinema
When the consumer version of the Oculus Rift hits the shelves early next year, you'll be ready to test drive these new film experiences. The Oculus Cinema app, currently available on Gear VR,allows you to walk around a virtual theater, choose a seat and watch both 2D and 3D films in your viewer.
If you're like most people, the idea of sitting in an empty theater is nice, but a bit lonesome. Thankfully, with the release of the Rift, Oculus will bring multiplayer into the mix, making it feel like heading to movies with your friends (but without the overpriced ticket and small child kicking the back of your seat.)
"We already have a lot of internal social functions in Cinema that are going to be rolling out in the next few months," Oculus creator Palmer Luckey told Road to VR, "Things like avatar systems, being able to communicate with people over long distances… rather than just local multiplayer, but having actual long distant multiplayer as well."
The Virtual future of film
Regardless of pre-notions on different mediums of film, it's hard to say that Oculus' strides in VR cinema aren't absolutely exhilarating.
Although I'm a firm believer that traditional 2D film will never go out of vogue, the evolution of VR film and the character interaction it promises is something of a brand new front, making storytelling feel fresh again.
Not all film should be applied to the virtual world of course. As the movement and technology grows, I sincerely hope it won't meet a similar fate as 3D films - where every new movie spat out of Hollywood is retrofitted to a format it wasn't made for.
However, for the films made with VR in mind, this new frontier promises to take us on a cinematic ride unlike any other, and it will be exciting to see where it goes.
Sources not credited in the article:
The Verge
The Verge
Engadget
Engadget
Techcrunch
from www.techradar.com/
