Many filmmakers and other creative people will have experienced the frustrations of presenting something to an unreceptive, critical or outright hostile audience. Many writers, artists and filmmakers will also know the feeling of seeing your work changed out of all recognition due to those pressures. EXTRAVAGANZA examines exactly this situation and will soon be available on Wevr Transport.
EXTRAVAGANZA combines 3D animation with traditional live-action footage to create a satirical virtual reality (VR) short in which the user finds themselves trapped in a puppet show that slowly goes off the rails, becoming an offensive parody of itself in response to the prejudices of a clueless executive, played by actor Paul Scheer.
The VR satire was first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as part of the March du Film NEXT VR program, where it challenged viewers to ask questions about the role of technology and whether technology could change society for the better, or if it just magnified existing problems.
Director Ethen Shaftel explains: “In EXTRAVAGANZA the viewer finds themselves in the novel position of being ‘consumed’ by an audience, subjected to their insults and confronted with many of mainstream entertainment’s blind spots and prejudices.”
Wevr Transport for the Samsung Gear VR will be making EXTRAVAGANZA available to its users later on this week. The Wevr Transport platform was launched last year to provide an independent network of high-quality VR content to Samsung Gear VR users.
A trailer is available to view below.
VRFocus will bring you further information on EXTRAVAGANZA and Wevr Transport as it becomes available.