Take a Trip Aboard the ISS in Latest VR Film From Lauded Immersive Filmmakers Felix & Paul

Felix & Paul, the studio known for its pioneering work in creating cinematic immersive films, is set to release the first installment in a new VR trilogy shot from the International Space Station (ISS), which is slated to offer stunning views of Earth from low orbit.

Called Space Explorers – Blue Marble, the first in the series is set to launch on Earth Day, April 22nd. The trilogy will be available for free on Meta Quest and Quest 2 headsets.

The immersive film series aims to provide a deeper understanding of our planet’s place in the universe and the importance of protecting it for future generations.

The first episode offers up an unobstructed, 360-degree view, filmed at the nadir of the ISS, which points directly at the Earth below.

The studio’s goal is to offer the viewer a sort of virtual ‘Overview Effect’, or a phenomenon that occurs when astronauts view the Earth from space and experience a profound shift in their perspective and understanding of the planet.

Founded by Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël in 2013, the studio has created a number of original immersive film productions, including The Space Explorers series, Traveling While Black, and Strangers with Patrick Watson. The studio has also created productions with existing franchises, including Jurassic World, Cirque du Soleil and Fox Searchlight’s Wild and Isle of Dogs.

Felix & Paul has won a host of awards over the years, including five Canadian Screen Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Daytime Emmy, along with numerous other awards and nominations.

You can catch Space Explorers – Blue Marble for free exclusively on Quest devices, with the first episode launching Saturday, April 22nd.

Samsung XR and EarthX Debut Environmentally-focused 360 Short Films

Samsung has partnered with EarthX to debut a dozen immersive short films on the Samsung XR video platform from environmentally-focused filmmakers.

Samsung XR is Samsung’s immersive video platform, and home to more than 10,000 videos. This week the platform is adding new section of environmentally-focused 360 short films in partnership with EarthXR, the interactive arm of EarthX, an environmental non-profit.

Image courtesy Samsung, EarthXR

The EarthXR section on Samsung XR debuted this week with 12 free 360 short films which can be viewed in web browsers, on iOS or Android, or immersively through the Samsung XR app on Oculus (Rift, Quest, Gear VR), Windows Mixed Reality, and Daydream.

“This channel gives home audiences the opportunity to join conservationists at whale rescues, African elephant sanctuaries, and surfing trips in the most stunning and remote places on earth,” says Tiffany Kieran, EarthXR Director of XR Programming & Partnerships. “We get to show audiences not only the beauty of nature but inspire support for pressing current issues, like firefighters taking on wildfires and Indigenous communities in the Amazon protecting their land from deforestation.”

Ranging in length from four to 17 minutes, the 360 short films cover topics like conservation, climate change, humanitarianism, and humankind’s connection to nature:

Guardians of the Kingdom

In the waters of Tonga, a kingdom once torn apart is now reconnecting whales to humans for a future together in the place they all call home. There, a dramatic legacy inherited by a mother is passed onto future generations. Narrated by “Her Deepness” National Geographic Explorer – Sylvia Earle

Ghost Fleet VR

Ghost Fleet VR immerses viewers in the true story of slavery in the Thai fishing industry. Based on the feature documentary, Ghost Fleet, which exposes the dark side of illegal fishing and the heroes working to end it. Enter the heroic story of Tun Lin, who was kidnapped when he was 14. He retraces his ordeal, years of horrific treatment on board the slave ship, and his brave escape from a prison made of water.

My Africa

Narrated by Academy Award-winning Actress Lupita Nyong’o, My Africa takes viewers to an elephant sanctuary in Kenya, where a community is creating a place where humans and animals can once again coexist.

Valen’s Reef

Valen’s Reef is a touching, immersive VR film that shares the wonder of some of Earth’s most beautiful reefs through the eyes of West Papuan fisherman-turned-coral-reef-scientist and conservationist, Ronald Mambrasar, and his 8-year-old son, Valen. Together, they take viewers on an underwater journey among the region’s stunning sea life, including manta rays and sharks. Ronald shares how his people have reclaimed their ancestral waters, creating one of the world’s most successful community-based marine conservation projects.

Under the Canopy

The Amazon rainforest gives us air we need to survive and is our best hope in this time of climate change. With its second virtual reality film, Conservation International invites you to plunge through the forest canopy, meet Amazonia’s stunningly abundant wildlife and explore the jungle with Kamanja, a wise member of an indigenous community, which is uniquely able to protect such a vital place. Under the Canopy lets you see first-hand how protecting this forest means protecting our future.

Awakening: A Prologue to Nakuru Kuru

Experience the defining moments that propelled surf pioneer John Ritter to a lifetime of exploration and discovery; igniting a mission to return to the famed wave Cloudbreak, while protecting the ocean along the way. Journey down dusty Baja backroads en route to a sublime sunrise surf session, dive amongst thousands of Jackfish and enjoy a meditative campfire on a deserted beach – experiences that can be found by leaving it all behind in pursuit of a dream.

Tree Huggers

Climb to the top of Portland Oregon’s tallest tree in this immersive 360 experience, where the view is spectacular from the top of a towering 246’ Douglas Fir in Forest Park. Expedition Old Growth, a local company, takes participants of all ages on recreational tree climbs with the goal to help them experience, learn and appreciate the forest. Founder and owner of Expedition Old Growth, Damien Carre, explains how this life-changing experience works and why it means so much to him. As a skilled arborist, Carre has dedicated his life’s work to trees.

The Fire in our Backyard

The Columbia River Gorge is one of the Pacific Northwest’s most amazing natural wonders. To those of us in Oregon, it’s like our backyard. We spend our Summers backpacking, camping, hiking, fishing, paddling and kiteboarding there. When a destructive wildfire was started near the Eagle Creek Trailhead on Labor Day weekend of 2017, we all watched in shock and horror as nearly 50,000 acres in the gorge were engulfed in flames.

as it is

Journey down the mighty Colorado River to see the Grand Canyon as too few do, from the bottom looking up. Run it’s biggest whitewater rapids, explore its narrow slot canyons, and meet the indigenous activists working to protect it from a controversial development proposal that would bring as many as 10,000 people a day to the Confluence, one of the most sacred sites in the Canyon.

The Hydrous Presents: IMMERSE

The ocean is over exploited, under protected, and out of mind. Too few people have the opportunity to explore marine environments such as coral reefs, which are rapidly degrading. This 360/VR film is therefore designed to take the viewer on an immersive, underwater journey to generate awareness, scientific understanding, and empowerment to protect our beautiful and threatened ocean.

Guardians of the Forest

The Amazon is burning. Decades of environmental protections in Brazil have been undone and ecological devastation has accelerated at an unimaginable pace and scale. The Guardians of the Forest, a volunteer monitoring force of the Guajajara tribe, are the last line of defense for the rainforest in the heart of an industrialized Amazon. Led by activist Sônia Guajajara, this VR documentary brings audiences on a journey into her culture and on an expedition into the rainforest to bring illegal loggers to justice. Along the way, we gain deeper insight into the roots of the crisis and see the Guajajara vision for the future.

World Tour

Wild Immersion produces breathtaking 3D experiences, leveraging the best augmented-reality footage techniques and cutting edge immersive technologies, to plunge the spectators into a Nature 360° action film. The spectator experiences the feeling of being in the middle of the wilderness, discovering mind-blowing situations, like it would happen in real life. This trailer is an extract of our movie, “World Tour”, it will take you around the world’s vibrant landscapes and ecosystems.

EarthXR is part of EarthXFilm, the film arm of EarthX and an environmental film festival which coincides with the annual EarthXExpo. The group’s goal is to “turn awareness into action through art and interactive media.”

On the new EarthXR section on Samsung XR, EarthxFilm President Michael Cain says “Samsung has been with us from the start of our festival and have been incredible supporters as we bring these important, topical projects to viewers everywhere. We are grateful for their ongoing commitment to using technology for good.”

More short films planned to debut later this year in the EarthXR on the lead up to the annual EarthX Expo in April.

The post Samsung XR and EarthX Debut Environmentally-focused 360 Short Films appeared first on Road to VR.

360° Live-action Thriller ‘Agent Emerson’ Launches in November, Trailer Here

Shot in first-person as a continuous take, 360° live-action spy thriller Agent Emerson is slated to arrive on all Oculus headsets as well as PC VR headsets November 22nd, followed later by a release on PSVR.

Starring Lyndsy Fonseca and Tony Denison, Agent Emerson is set to run for a total of 15 minutes. Written and directed with VR sensibilities in mind, the film will tell its story entirely through the first-person perspective, similar to Hardcore Henry (2015). Granted, the fact that viewers will be able to pan their heads in all 360 degrees and still find something to look at means it’s very possible that director Ilya Rozhkov has hidden a few secrets to discover on subsequent viewings.

“CIA Operative David Emerson awakens to find himself the subject of an experimental program with his body under complete remote control of the imperious General (Tony Denison),” states a story summary on the film’s official website. “With the aid of a rogue operative Alexandra (Lyndsy Fonseca), David has to retake charge of own actions and fight his way through the top security facility inside the most complex live-action VR film ever made.”

Fonseca is best known for her appearance as Alex Udinov in TV series Nikita (2010-2013) and Angie Martinelli on Marvel’s Agent Carter (2015-2016), meanwhile Denison is best known for playing Lieutenant Andy Flynn in The Closer (2005–2012).

In a separate statement, Rozhkov commented on how VR uniquely influenced the narrative direction of Agent Emerson. “The story of Agent Emerson revolves around the themes of control over one’s own actions, the consequences, and personal responsibility that result from lack of that control. The protagonist is in the same boat with the audience of the film – he does not control his body, which is being manipulated by the General.”

Image courtesy Rogue Initiative

In order to create a non-stop live-action film told from the perspective of the protagonist in VR, body and shoulders included (with no cuts from beginning to finish), a special camera was needed. Calling it the ‘Identity Capture Camera’ or the ‘IC-Cam’ for short, Rozhkov said that the camera’s “3-point-axis stabilization system” allowed for the capture of the entire film from the first-person perspective without sacrificing viewer comfort.

Image courtesy Rogue Initiative

“While editing in cinema is a powerful artistic tool, crucial and unique for the medium, it does not work in VR,” Rozhkov continued. “In reality, there is no such thing as a magical jump from one angle to another one in a rhythm suitable for the drama, [and there is] no such thing as turning our world to the point of wanted attention.”

Agent Emerson will arrive for users of all Oculus and HTC headsets on November 22nd. It is planned to become available to PlayStation VR owners “shortly after”. No price of admission has been confirmed for the film just yet.

Agent Emerson was produced by Pete Blumel and Cathy Twigg (Rogue Initiative), Sergey Selyanov (CTB Film Company), and Ilya Rozhkov (Serein). It also contains musical performances from Tina Guo (Wonder Woman (2017), Dunkirk (2017), Lion King (2019)) and Corey Wallace (Artik (2019)).

The post 360° Live-action Thriller ‘Agent Emerson’ Launches in November, Trailer Here appeared first on Road to VR.

NextVR Brings Its Live Streamed Events to Oculus Quest

NextVR, the VR livestreaming event app, is now available on Oculus Quest for free, which is said to come alongside a new technology that promises clearer and sharper video rendering.

The studio calls the new rendering technology ‘PAVE’, which is said to enable new features like enhanced in-experience graphic overlays (e.g. stats, instant replays) and forthcoming multi-user interactions such as multi-user game trivia during timeouts.

Previously, NextVR content was only available on Quest via the Oculus Venues app, which provides communal viewing of select real-time live events. In contrast, the NextVR app is a single-user experience that also provides replays and extra content too.

“NextVR is pairing our newest rendering technology with Oculus Quest to provide an outstanding fan experience.” said David Cole, NextVR co-founder & CEO, “We’re launching with a collection of experiences that best demonstrate the capabilities of our technology including a show this September 10th hosted by Pete Davidson recorded live at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City.”

SEE ALSO
Oculus Quest Content Library Tops 100 Games & Apps

In addition to Quest support, the studio is also adding an exclusive ‘Best on Quest’ channel with a curated group of “new and optimized experiences,” among which is the NBA Finals Game Six Highlights with access to the Toronto Raptors locker room celebration, NHRA Drag Racing, Day to Night Timelapse and select concerts.

NextVR’s supported platforms now include Oculus Quest, Samsung Gear VR, PSVR, Google Daydream, Windows VR headsets, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index.

Check out the schedule below for NextVR’s 30 Days of LIVE Events:

  • Sunday, 9/1 | shallou in Concert | 6pm PT
  • Monday, 9/2 | Wood & Wire in Concert | 6pm PT
  • Tuesday, 9/3 | Erika Wennerstrom in Concert | 6pm PT
  • Wednesday, 9/4 | UCB: Comedy and Magic | 6pm PT
  • Thursday, 9/5 | Live From Gotham Comedy Club | 6pm PT
  • Friday, 9/6 | SoFar Sounds | 6pm PT
  • Saturday, 9/7 | HIRIE in Concert | 6pm PT
  • Sunday, 9/8 | jackLNDN in Concert | 6pm PT
  • Monday, 9/9 | UCB: Big Grande | 6pm PT
  • Tuesday, 9/10 | Gotham Comedy Club Featuring Pete Davidson | 7pm PT*- *Exclusively on Oculus Quest, Go and Gear VR
  • Wednesday, 9/11 | Batsu! | 6pm PT
  • Thursday, 9/12 | Live from Gotham Comedy Club | 6pm PT
  • Friday, 9/13 | UCB: Mystery on Fyre Island | 6pm PT
  • Saturday, 9/14 | UCB: Squadron | 6pm PT
  • Sunday, 9/15 | Paranormal Evidence: Pennhurst Asylum | 6pm PT
  • Monday, 9/16 | Live Music Now: Preservation Hall | 6pm PT
  • Tuesday, 9/17 | Live Music Now: Preservation Hall | 6pm PT
  • Wednesday, 9/18 | Batsu! | 6pm PT
  • Thursday, 9/19 | Live from Gotham Comedy Club | 6pm PT
  • Friday, 9/20 | SoFar Sounds | 6pm PT
  • Saturday, 9/21 | World of Dance: Dallas | 6pm PT
  • Sunday, 9/22 | Paranormal Evidence: Rolling Hills Asylum | 6pm PT
  • Monday, 9/23 | RJD2 in Concert | 6pm PT
  • Tuesday, 9/24 | Sound Cipher | 6pm PT
  • Wednesday, 9/25 | BrewHaha Comedy | 6pm PT
  • Thursday, 9/26 | Live From Gotham Comedy Club | 6pm PT
  • Friday, 9/27 | Watsky in Concert | 6pm PT
  • Saturday, 9/28 | Best of NHRA | 6pm PT
  • Sunday, 9/29 | Paranormal Evidence: Missouri State Penitentiary | 6pm PT
  • Monday, 9/30 | Best of NBA Finals | 6pm PT

Keep an eye on more scheduled events by heading to the NextVR website.

The post NextVR Brings Its Live Streamed Events to Oculus Quest appeared first on Road to VR.

Oculus Goes Behind the Scenes with Chris O’Dowd in VR Film ‘The Evolution of the Testicles’

In honor of World Cancer Day, Oculus unveiled some behind the scenes footage of their latest VR project highlighting testicular cancer, The Evolution of the Testicles.

Starring Chris O’Dowd (The IT Crowd, Bridesmaids, Thor: The Dark World), the short 3D 360 film features interviews with cancer survivors, explains the importance of getting checked, and sums it all up by taking you on a flight in a hot air balloon featuring a pretty distinctive shape—a 100-foot tall lighter-than-air vessel in the shape of a scrotum.

“We needed to push the boundary in awareness of male cancer,” said Patrick Cox, founder of MCAC. “We need something with really big impact, something that would start a conversation. Imagine if you saw a hot air balloon that was a giant pair of testicles flown through the air. That was the start of the conversation straight away, and that’s where Skyballs came from.”

Image courtesy Oculus

“Men tend to be embarrassed about sharing medical issues, especially when it comes to their genitals. The Evolution of Testicles is a light-hearted way to remind fellas that we’re all in this together, our balls need to be taken care of, and there’s nothing to lose from having a squeeze,” O’Dowd told Oculus in an interview.

“Our entire campaign is about raising awareness. These days, raising eyebrows is a must in doing that. VR is a wonderful avenue to tackle a difficult subject in a new way,” he continued.

SEE ALSO
Analysis: Monthly Connected VR Headsets on Steam Have Grown Exponentially

The Evolution of the Testicles was co-created by Oculus’ ‘VR For Good’ program, the company’s initiative designed to support content creators who see VR as a way to make the world a better place. The project was filmed in collaboration with the Male Cancer Awareness Campaign (MCAC), and directed by Flight School Studio VR technical director Ryan Hartsell.

The Evolution of the Testicles available for free through Oculus Video for Rift, Go, and Gear VR. You can also watch the 360 video via traditional monitors on Facebook.

The post Oculus Goes Behind the Scenes with Chris O’Dowd in VR Film ‘The Evolution of the Testicles’ appeared first on Road to VR.

Eminem’s VR Documentary ‘Marshall from Detroit’ Now Available on Rift, Go & Gear VR

VR film production house Felix & Paul Studios debuted Marshall From Detroit at Sundance 2019 last month, a short virtual reality documentary featuring famous rappers Eminem and Sway Calloway. Now Oculus platform users can hop into the limo with Eminem too on his pensive ride through the streets of Motown.

Update (February 22nd, 2019): Oculus has released ‘Marshall from Detroit’ for free on Oculus RiftOculus Go, and Gear VR.

The original article announcing the film follows below:

Original Article (January 23rd, 2019): Marshall from Detroit is a 3D, 360-degree video featuring Marshall Mathers (Eminem) and Sway Calloway. Directed by Caleb Slain, the short film takes the viewer on a night ride through Detroit, featuring a candid conversation about the rapper’s thoughts and views on the city.

Created by Felix & Paul in partnership with Oculus, the full 21-minute VR experience is set to premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier exhibition starting tomorrow. Marshall from Detroit is being shown alongside Traveling While Black, another Felix & Paul production.

SEE ALSO
Samsung's New Galaxy S10 Lineup Announced with Gear VR Support

There’s no word on when Marshall from Detroit will land on headsets for home users, however we’re betting it will come to the Oculus platform sometime soon (see update).

The Emmy Award-winning studio has created many original immersive experiences including MIYUBI, the Nomads series, StrangersThe Confessional, and the Space Explorers series. Felix & Paul have also created several productions for existing franchises such as Jurassic WorldCirque du SoleilWild, and Isle of Dogs. High-profile collaborations have seen VR experiences created for NASA, SpaceX, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, LeBron James, President Bill Clinton, Wes Anderson, Brie Larson, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Murray to name a few.

The post Eminem’s VR Documentary ‘Marshall from Detroit’ Now Available on Rift, Go & Gear VR appeared first on Road to VR.

‘Sin City’ Director’s Immersive Action Film ‘The Limit’ Comes to All Major VR Platforms

STXsurreal, the immersive content wing of STX Entertainment, today launched their latest immersive VR video, this time directed by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Sin City). Called The Limit, the 20-minute action film stars Michelle Rodriguez (Lost, Avatar, Fast & Furious) and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead, The Boondock Saints) in what promises to be a heart-pumping thrill ride.

In The Limit you step into the shoes of play a rogue agent with a mysterious past who enlists the help of enhanced super-assassin M-13 (Michelle Rodriguez) to retrieve your identity and strike against the deadly organization that created you.

Image courtesy STXsurreal

The Limit is said to feature something the company dubs an “all-new cinematic VR format,” that’s offered in both 3D and 2D variants at a slightly wider field of view than 180 degrees, but smaller than a full 360 capture.

Image courtesy STXsurreal

The company says The Limit represents the first in a series of live-action, immersive cinematic experiences from STXsurreal. Several other projects are currently in development, including a Jay and Silent Bob project from writer and director Kevin Smith, a crime-thriller from director Christian Gudegast, an untitled Dave Bautista action-comedy, and an underwater Sci-fi-thriller from Johannes Roberts.

SEE ALSO
The Best VR Games to Show Your Family at Thanksgiving This Year

The Limit is available today as an app across major VR platforms including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Windows VR, PSVR, Gear VR, Oculus Go, Daydream, and Cardboard. You’ll find it now on the Oculus Store, Viveport, Google Play, with links for Steam, the PlayStation Store, and iOS cardboard coming soon.

The post ‘Sin City’ Director’s Immersive Action Film ‘The Limit’ Comes to All Major VR Platforms appeared first on Road to VR.

Facebook & RED Unveil ‘Manifold’ Volumetric VR Camera

Last May, Facebook and RED Digital Cinema announced they were working on a volumetric video camera based on Facebook’s Surround360 technology. At Oculus Connect 5 today, the company’s annual developer conference, Facebook and RED revealed a first-look at the camera, dubbed Manifold.


Manifold, Facebook says in a blogpost, captures multiple camera angles simultaneously from within a given volume, enabling what is says are “infinite perspectives to be generated from any direction within a field of view.” In short, it captures scenes volumetrically and preserves depth information for a more immersive view from within a VR headset.

Facebook’s depth estimation technology captures 3D information from the recorded scene such as characters, props, and backgrounds, and then lets you experience it in a positionally tracked headset, such as Rift or the upcoming Quest standalone headset.

While no pricing or launch date is available currently, it’s very likely aiming for the professional market—meaning big bucks, although you’d expect that for a new class of device that’s attempting to allow for users to finally watch 3D 360 video with positional tracking intact. Typically 360 video doesn’t provide depth information, even when it’s presented with a stereoscopic view, so this could deliver a new class of immersive VR video worth the wait.

“RED and Facebook worked closely to build this first studio-ready camera system for immersive 6DoF storytelling, aiming to connect creative professionals with audiences in a bold new way,” the companies say in a press statement. “We’ve made significant strides in realizing this new storytelling device—with plenty more work on the horizon—and today were excited to share the camera’s hardware design and tech specs as we continue on the road to commercial availability.”

The companies have also revealed some hardware specs, which are listed below:

SENSORS

  • 16 RED(R) Helium 8K(R) Sensors arranged to allow full 360 6DoF capture
  • Record raw from 16 cameras running 8k @60 fps simultaneously

OPTICS

  • Custom Schneider 8mm, F4.0, 180 degree fish eye lenses

I/O CONNECTIONS

  • Single SMPTE 304M cable for power, control and data
    Camera Control Unit and storage device may be up to 100 meters from Camera Head
  • 5, 12g SDI outputs for monitoring or third party stitch processing
  • Multiple third party storage device choices providing 1 hour or more record time

ACCESSORIES

  • Front of lens ND filters available
  • Quick release handles for maneuvering and setup

UI/UX

  • Web app based control interface for flexibility of user interface device choice
  • SDK provided for post processing

The post Facebook & RED Unveil ‘Manifold’ Volumetric VR Camera appeared first on Road to VR.

Oculus to Send 6 VR Projects to Tribeca Film Festival 2018

The Tribeca Film Festival starts next month, an annual screening of everything from indie documentaries to family-friendly films. Coming to the festival’s Immersive program, which showcases works by artists who are pushing boundaries and using cutting-edge technology, are six Oculus-funded projects.

Oculus most recently sent 5 VR experiences to the Sundance this year, one of which, SPHERES, was sold in a 7-figure deal while there. SPHERES is also taking part in this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

Many of the projects funded by Oculus came out of the company’s VR For Good program, which sees funding and expertise in VR film making go to causes for social change.

A total of 21 AR/VR projects are coming to the film festival (check out the full list here). Here’s all of the Oculus-funded projects heading to Tribeca next month:

Meeting a Monster

image courtesy Oculus

Gabriela Arp + Life After Hate: Meeting a Monster examines the memories and motivations of former white supremacist Angela King. Through audio recordings, dramatic re-enactments, and present-day footage, the film invites us to experience both the stereotypes and bigotry that lured Angela into the white power movement as well as the encounters that led her back out. While the monsters of Angela’s past and imagination define much of the eight years she spent mired in bias and hate, she finds the path to redemption only after encountering and acknowledging the ultimate monster—herself.

The Hidden

image courtesy Oculus

Lindsay Branham + International Justice Mission: In southern India, debt bondage enslaves entire families in a vicious cycle of deception and violence. The Hidden follows the developing case of a family of nine that has been enslaved in a rock quarry for 10 years—over the ludicrous sum of just $70 USD. Indian government representatives and human rights activists plot a raid to attempt to apprehend the creditor and free the family. The Hidden takes you to sites of active slavery and inside the rescue mission itself, bringing you face-to-face with two families as they endure the unspeakable.

Authentically Us: She Flies By Her Own Wings

image courtesy Oculus

Jesse Ayala + Pride Foundation: Even as transgender visibility in pop culture continues to break glass ceilings, direct violence and discriminatory legislation against the transgender community continues to rise. Shannon Scott stands up at a time when her communities—proud transgender service-people and veterans of the US Armed Forces—are vulnerable and under attack. Shannon has dedicated her entire adult life to defending and safeguarding American citizens at home and abroad. Driven by the military tenet of “Leave No One Behind,” she seeks freedom and justice for all from the marbled halls of Washington, DC, to the hallowed ground of those who championed equality before her.

Campfire Creepers: Midnight March

image courtesy Oculus

Directed by Alexandre Aja (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes) and starring iconic ’80s horror icon Robert Englund of Freddy Krueger fame, this episodic narrative from Future Lighthouse and Dark Corner leverages the unique affordances of VR storytelling to chill and thrill audiences like never before.

Untitled Ok Go & WITHIN Project

image courtesy Oculus

WITHIN Founder and CEO Chris Milk joins forces with OK Go’s Damian Kulash to let you and a friend experience the joy of music creation. Enter an environment surrounded by magical music-making contraptions, involving animals and robots wondrously working together with your help to create an original song.

SPHERES: Pale Blue Dot

image courtesy Oculus

The Big Bang was silent. Then came sound. Journey through the history of sound in the Universe and uncover the strangest song of all. Following the premiere of the first episode of SPHERES at Sundance, Eliza McNitt returns to debut the second installment at Tribeca. And with an unprecedented deal signed as a result of the project’s first public showing, we can’t wait to see what the encore has in store.

– – — – –

The post Oculus to Send 6 VR Projects to Tribeca Film Festival 2018 appeared first on Road to VR.

‘Sin City’ Director Robert Rodriquez to Debut VR Action Series ‘The Limit’ This Summer

Robert Rodriguez, the director of films such as Sin City (2005), Planet Terror (2007), and the Spy Kids franchise, just wrapped production on a newly announced VR action series with The Fast and the Furious franchise actress Michelle Rodriguez. Called The Limit, the VR series is set to premiere this summer.

According to a Variety report, The Limit is a short-form first-person POV action series that was written, directed, and produced by Robert Rodriguez.

Michelle Rodriguez is said to play the role of a “genetically enhanced weapon of mass destruction hellbent on destroying the covert agency that created her.”

image courtesy Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons

Immersive entertainment studio STXsurreal will be releasing the series on its app this summer. STXsurreal announced last year it had partnered with Google’s VR team to launch a new “pay-per-experience” app on the Daydream VR platform, which is said to host a selection of curated live-action 360 films. It’s uncertain at this time if other headsets besides Daydream will be included at launch.

Surreal, a cinematic VR company, was acquired by STX in August 2016. The company has produced more than 70 360 videos, some of which feature celebrities such as Gordon Ramsay, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, and John Hamm.

The post ‘Sin City’ Director Robert Rodriquez to Debut VR Action Series ‘The Limit’ This Summer appeared first on Road to VR.