As has been covered a number of times on VRFocus, an increasing number of film festivals and award committees are recognising the contribution of immersive media. The Raindance Film Festival is due to be held in London later this month, and some virtual reality (VR) experiences have made the cut. Notably, a VR experience from Figment Productions has been nominated for two awards.
Figment Productions is best known for its work in location-based VR experiences, and now the company has been recognised by a noted film festival for its work on cinematic VR experience Kinch and the Double World.
The story of Kinch and the Double World concerns a young homeless boy called Kinch, living on the streets of Victorian London. After stealing a loaf of bread and being pursued by the law, he hides in an old theatre and find himself being taken in by an old magician, who reveals a secret world where magic is real.
The immersive VR experience will have its premiere at the Raindance Film Festival, where it will be shown at OXO Tower on London’s Southbank. Attendees will watch the experience on an Oculus Go headset.
According to Figment Productions, Kinch and the Double World acts as a test bed for new production techniques, including the use of lightfield display technology. The 360-degree film was captured using a combination of different camera types, including Google Jump and Nokia OZO. Four different locations across London were used during filming, and the final product features a melding of 360-degree live action combined with CGI environments, lightfield technology and real-time interaction.
Simon Reveley, CEO of Figment said: “Kinch and the Double World is an original cinematic VR experience but it has an unusual origin story of its own. Its primary purpose was to be the test case for a government funded research project called ‘ALIVE’. With government funding from Innovate UK we worked with technology partners (Foundry and the University of Surrey) whose tasks were to develop the core tech and the toolchain that would facilitate next generation production techniques particularly around 360 video and lightfields.”
Further information about the Raindance Film Festival can be found on the official website. Future coverage on Figment Productions VR projects will be here on VRFocus.