Next month the 8th Annual Lumiere Awards take place, honouring creative work in movies, TV and virtual reality (VR). For this years event organisers The Advanced Imaging Society and The VR Society have expanded the VR category lineup, as well as recognising HTC CEO and Chairwoman Cher Wang, and Google Earth VR.
For 2017 the VR categories now include Best VR Experience, Best VR Film Experience, Best VR Animation & CGI, Best Episodic Content (360-degree), Best Live Action (360-degree), Best VR Documentary, Best VR Journalism, Best VR Sports, Best VR Music, Best VR Advertising/Branded Content, and Best VR Gaming.
Wang will be presented with the organization’s Sir Charles Wheatstone Award. “With the HTC VIVE, Cher Wang and her team have created a groundbreaking room-scale VR platform that has enabled the production of a dazzling number of immersive VR experiences which have pushed the boundaries of entertainment. The result has surprised and delighted the industry and consumers,” said Society Awards Chair Buzz Hays.
While Google Earth VR will be honoured with the rarely presented Century Award, reserved for achievements the Society deems a ‘milestone’ in content. “The Google VR Experience empowers every citizen of the world to explore and learn about our world with VR,” said Society President Jim Chabin. “This achievement will enrich countless lives and expand our understanding of our planet in the coming years, and we are thrilled to honor Google’s virtual reality team.”
Also writer, director and producer Jon Favreau, the creator of the Gnomes & Goblins VR experience with Wevr and Reality One, as well as directing Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Chef, Cowboys and Aliens, Elf and Jungle Book, will be presented with the Society’s 2017 Harold Lloyd Award for Filmmaking.
The 2017 Lumiere Awards take place at Warner Bros. Studios, 13th February, 2017, in Hollywood, California. For an update on the winners, check back with VRFocus.
Virtual Reality Categories
VR – Gaming
A Chair in the Room: Greenwater – Wolf & Wood
Accounting – Squanchtendo with Crows Crows Crows
Batman: Arkham VR – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Battlezone – Rebellion Developments
Chronos – Gunfire Games
Eve: Valkyrie – CCP Games
Job Simulator – Owlchemy Labs
Raw Data – Survios
Space Pirate Trainer – I-Illusions
Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One X-Wing VR Mission – DICE & Criterion Games
The Gallery – Episode 1 Call of the Starseed – Cloudhead Games
The Lab – Valve Corporation
VR – Film Experience
Fantastic Beasts – Warner Bros., Google, Framestore VR Studio
Ghostbusters VR Experience – Sony Pictures, The Void
Star Wars: Trial on Tatooine – ILM
Suicide Squad: Special Ops VR – Warner Bros., Mob Scene & Atlas Entertainment, MPC VR & Legend 3D
The Jungle Book – Through Mowgli’s Eyes Part 1: Trust in Me – Walt Disney Studios & Tangerine Apps
The Martian VR Experience – 20th Century Fox, Fox Innovation Lab, RSA Films, The Virtual Reality Company
VR – Animation & CGI
A VR Spacewalk – BBC
Allumette – Penrose Studios
Apollo 11 VR Experience – Immersive VR Education
Dear Angelica – Oculus Story Studio
Gnomes and Goblins – Jon Favreau, Wevr, Reality One
Grace – MacInnes Scott
Pearl – Google Spotlight Series
The Night Cafe: A VR Tribute to Vincent Van Gogh – Borrowed Light Studios
The Starry Night – Shanghai Media Group
theBlu – Wevr
Volt: Chain City – Vive Studios
Wide Awake President Trump VR Experience – MacInnes Scott
VR – Live Action
A Challenge – Brigantine Films
Cirque du Soleil, KÀ – Felix & Paul Studios
Knives – Adam Cosco
My Brother’s Keeper – PBS Digital Studios
Nomads: Sea Gypsies – Felix & Paul Studios
Perspective Ch. 2: The Misdemeanor – Specular Theory
The Harvest – Chapman University & AMD
The Mule – Dark Corner Studios
Through the Ages: President Obama Celebrates Americas National Parks – Felix & Paul Studios
VR Noir: A Day Before the Night – StartVR
VR – Episodic Content
Gone – Wevr
Halcyon – Syfy (produced by Secret Location)
Invisible – 30 ninjas, Condé Nast Entertainment (CNÉ), Jaunt VR, Samsung
VR – Documentary
A History of Cuban Dance – Lucy Walker
David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef – Atlantic Productions & Alchemy VR
Defying the Nazis VR – LIFE VR
Rhinos on the Move – Discovery VR
The Click Effect – Annapurna Pictures & Here Be Dragons
The Edge of Space – KonceptVR
VR – Journalism
Calais: The Jungle – Sky News
Chernobyl 30 Years Later – ABC News VR
Defying the Beast – World Vision & Koncept VR
Great Performers: L.A. Noir – New York Times VR
Out of Exile: Daniel’s Story – Nonny de la Peńa & Emblematic Group
Remembering Pearl Harbor – LIFE VR
Struggle for Survival in the Devastated City of Aleppo – CNN
Take Flight – New York Times VR
“Toxic Tour” 360 – Oil Exploitation in the Ecuadorian Amazon – Huffington Post RYOT
Valen’s Reef – Vice
VR – Sports
360 Rio 2016 Olympics VR – BBC Sport
Closer (featuring David Beckham) – Sky VR & Sky Sports
Experience the Rio Olympics in Virtual Reality – NBC Olympics & Samsung
Follow My Lead: The Story of the 2016 NBA Finals – Oculus Story Studio & m ss ng p eces
NFL Immersed – Episode 1: Eagles Defensive Line – NFL Immersed & Two Bit Circus
NFL Immersed – Episode 4: Melvin Gordon & the Chargers Game Day Prep – NFL Immersed & Two Bit Circus
VR – Music
Joshua Bell VR Experience – Sony PlayStation
Kygo: “Carry Me – The VR Experience” – Sony Music
OneRepublic: “Kids” – MPC Creative
Pentatonix: “Up on the Housetop” – Sony Music
TheWave – TheWaveVR
Waves – Wevr (with Reggie Watts)
VR – Branded
360 VR Tour of the Shinola Factory with Luke Wilson – Reel FX
Absolut Deadmau5 – Absolut
Audi’s VR Car Showroom Experience – Zero Light
Formula E “Leap of Faith” – Formula E & REWIND
Jack Daniel’s 360 VR Distillery Experience – Jack Daniel’s & The Mill
Jaguar: I-PACE – REWIND
Reimagine, VR Film by Etihad Airways with Nicole Kidman – The Barbarian Group
Stan Lee’s Cosmic Crusaders – The Hollywood Reporter, GBI, POW, Legend VR
The Field Trip to Mars – McCann (for Lockheed Martin) & Framestore
The Nature Conservancy: This is Our Future – MPC Creative
