The annual Sundance Film Festival opens in a few days and over the past few weeks VRFocus has reported on several virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree experiences debuting at the event. For those in attendance there’s going to be plenty of immersive content to explore, HTC Vive and Viveport are taking a lineup of apps as part of VR hub VR on the Mountain, which will be premiering PBS Digital’s My Brother’s Keeper.
A story-driven VR reenactment of the Battle of Antietam, My Brother’s Keeper is a companion piece to PBS’ Civil War series Mercy Street, set to debut a second series later this month. To create the experience PBS Digital partnered with StoryTech Immersive, Perception Squared and the Technicolor Experience Center, using a new action camera rig built by the filmmakers. My Brother’s Keeper is written and directed by Connor Hair and Alex Meader.
One app being showcased at the hub will be Mindshow, an app enables users to improvise short animated vignettes in VR and share them with friends. “Mindshow lets you make VR cartoons with your body and voice,” describes the developer. Featuring a variety of playsets – from a distant planet to a comedy club stage – people can act out scenes using their bodies, then share content either as a VR scene visible through HTC Vive, or exported as 2D videos for online social channels.
In December VRFocus reported on the announcement that Baobab Studios’ sequel to popular VR animation INVASION!, ASTEROIDS! would be debuting at the festival. In fact ASTEROIDS! will be showcased at VR on the Mountain this Saturday 21st January, continuing the adventures of bumbling duo Mac and Cheez and their robot-dog, Peas.
Other titles exhibiting include: Deluxe VR and TIME-LIFE VR’s Remembering Pearl Harbor, The Price of Freedom from Construct Studios, Google Tilt Brush and Pearl from Google Spotlight Stories.
For any further news from the Sundance Film Festival, keep reading VRFocus.