Category: Pearl

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Google Shuts Down Internal VR Film Studio Spotlight Stories

Google is shutting down Spotlight Stories, the group tasked not only with pushing forward virtual reality as a storytelling medium, but creating a number of highly polished and thoughtful VR pieces in the process.

A copy of an email written by executive producer Karen Dufilho was obtained by Variety.

“Google Spotlight Stories is shutting its doors after over six years of making stories and putting them on phones, on screens, in VR, and anywhere else we could get away with it,” Dufilho said.

Variety also managed to get confirmation of the studio’s shutdown from a Google spokesperson:

“Since its inception, Spotlight Stories strove to re-imagine VR storytelling. From ambitious shorts like Son of Jaguar, Sonaria and Back to The Moon to critical acclaim for Pearl (Emmy winner and first-ever VR film nominated for an Oscar) the Spotlight Stories team left a lasting impact on immersive storytelling. We are proud of the work the team has done over the years.”

Spotlight Stories created a total of 13 short animated experiences over the course of its six-year existence. First starting out as an internal studio within Motorola, Spotlight Stories then joined Google’s ATAP division, going on to produce several immersive experiences, the most successful of which was arguably Pearl (2016), an Emmy Award-winner for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Storytelling and Oscar nominee for Best Animated Short Film.

Image courtesy Google

Most recently, Spotlight Stories released Age of Sail (2018), a powerful and emotional tale of a hardened sea captain in the early 1900s who rescues a young girl after she falls overboard a luxury ocean liner. As a real-time rendered experience, it was plain to see just how much time, effort, and expertise was put into producing it. Its hand-drawn quality and heartfelt acting made it not only one of the most sincere VR stories out there, but arguably the group’s greatest work to date.

Variety contends the shutdown was due to the lack of any clear avenue for monetization in the face of a less than brilliant launch of Google’s Daydream VR headsets.

Variety further reports that an anonymous source with knowledge of the situation maintains that Spotlight Story members were given the opportunity to look for new positions within Google.

The post Google Shuts Down Internal VR Film Studio Spotlight Stories appeared first on Road to VR.

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Life In 360°: Behind the Ambisonic Sound

Last year, Pollen Music Group and Google Spotlight Stories teamed up to create a virtual reality (VR) project called Pearl. Pearl was the first VR or 360-degree video to receive an Oscar nomination, and of the first to receive an Emmy award. Much praise was given to the music, particularly a song called No Wrong Way Home which featured prominently through the short. Pollen Music Group have now released a behind-the-scenes video detailing the process behind the immersive audio used in Pearl.

The feature song, No Wrong Way Home is subtly transformed through the short, beginning by being sung by the father, where it is performed by Kelley Stoltz before it is later changed and sung by the daughter through a performance by Nicki Bluhm. The song was produced by Scot Stafford and JJ Wiesler.

“In Pearl, there’s a continuous and seamless exchange between on- and off-screen sources of the song. Sometimes the actors perform it, sometimes they hear it on the radio, and sometimes we viewers just hear it in our heads, like a soundtrack.” says Stafford.

In the more technical areas, Wiesler speaks of the challenges of 3D audio: “Object audio, ambisonic audio and headlocked stereo audio were all used simultaneously. Given the high level of technical challenges, our main goal was to make the result feel very smooth and organic. We’ve had some viewers say, ‘I didn’t even notice the sound,’ and that in a way is the highest compliment.”

Pollen Music Group is a musical collective that consists of several songwriters, composers, producers and other musical professionals who together aim to make an impact on sound design in advertising, TV, film, videogames and VR. The group has since done other work in VR, working on projects such as Asteroids! From Baobab Studios.

The behind the scenes video is available to view below, as is the original Pearl 360-degree short film.

Keep an eye on VRFocus for more Life in 360°.

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6 VR Apps That Use Parenthood To Make A Powerful Impact

6 VR Apps That Use Parenthood To Make A Powerful Impact

This list was originally meant to simply encompass some of the most emotional VR experiences we’d had to date. We came up with a list of affectionate, memorable pieces that left us with more to think about than many of today’s VR games.

Once the list was assembled, though, we noticed something interesting; parenthood was a key theme in each of these experiences.

Perhaps that’s because VR, even in its primitive current state, is a chance to virtually reconnect with those we’ve lost, or tell them stories and help them relate in ways that gaming couldn’t have done before. We haven’t seen a VR masterpiece yet, but through their sobering focus on fears and occasional celebrations of the bond between child and parent, these are some of the most memorable experiences around.

Dear Angelica, from Oculus Story Studios

Oculus Story Studios’ latest app is its most memorable and potent yet, lovingly crafted in the virtual realm with all the same beauty you can achieve in the physical one. Created using the company’s now-released Quill app, it tells the story of a young girl remembering her mother, evoking a broad palette of emotions from within you as it unfolds. Dear Angelica is the right mix of whimsical imagery and heart-breaking tragedy that makes it unmissable for Rift owners.

Allumette, from Penrose Studios

Another visually striking piece that focuses on a parental relationship, Penrose Studios’ Allumette uses its airy setting of floating islands and flying ships to create a breathless tale that at times feels light and fluffy but also deals with some tough themes. Loss and sacrifice should never be taken lightly, but the fact that Allumette’s take on both hits so hard with so little running time is significant.

That Dragon, Cancer: I’m Sorry Guys, It’s Not Good, from Numinous Games

I’m sure you recognize That Dragon, Cancer. The 2016 PC game told developers Ryan and Amy Green’s unflinching story of their son’s battle with terminal cancer with astonishing bravery and commitment. It wasn’t made for VR, but the pair later brought one of its most biting and memorable scenes to Gear VR last year.  I’m Sorry Guys is a candid, frank few minutes showing many parent’s worst nightmare, and bringing it to VR only adds to the dreaded weight that sinks in as the scene unfolds.

Ctrl, from Breaking Fourth

Ctrl was one of the first VR experiences to address some truly dark themes, and showed a genuine desire to push the boundaries of subject matter for the medium. It follows a young boy, imprisoned in an impossible situation, trying to do what he believes is best for his mother using the one skill he can depend on: gaming. We watch from inside an online championship while the real world he can’t control falls apart around him. Ctrl is a hard watch that leaves an impression that few other VR experiences can claim to make.

Pearl, from Google Spotlight Stories

Google’s best Spotlight Story has all the charm and love of an animated Pixar short packed into a VR headset. We watch, through both tears and laughter, a father raise his daughter as if we were passengers just passing by. Fitting, then, that the entire experience unfolds inside the pair’s beaten but beloved car, which anchors their relationship just as much as their love of music. Pearl has moments both young and old will relate to, which is probably why it is VR’s first Oscar-nominated short.

Assent, from Oscar Raby

You might know Oscar Raby for his work on the BBC’s Easter Rising VR documentary, but his first VR piece is a powerful visualisation of a harrowing scene that came to define his father, a member of the Chilean military regime. Assent, to Raby, is an opportunity; a chance to capture the moments of peace his father could have taken in moments before he witnessed nightmarish horrors. Its balance of bliss and shock is a rare concoction for today’s current VR climate.

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New Worlds To Visit And Games To Play In VR This Weekend (2/17/17)

New Worlds To Visit And Games To Play In VR This Weekend (2/17/17)

Keeping up with everything new happening in VR is getting more challenging with each passing week. We track new releases on Oculus, Steam/Viveport, and PlayStation, but there is also a constant flow of new 360-degree video projects as well as live events and short demo experiences being broadcast in VR with increasing frequency, not to mention incredible hand-made worlds being shared more rapidly as well as meetups being planned in social VR experiences.

Take artist Danny Bittman’s Painting Within a Painting as an example of this new medium’s growth beyond the boundaries of existing distribution platforms. Bittman is exploring interesting ways of creating both 2D and 3D art using VR, and he says he spent around 100 hours creating this world by hand in Tilt Brush, letting “you explore an immersive painting of a sci-fi mountain range, and then paint paintings of that painting.” You can check out the creation for yourself in Tilt Brush, as he’s offered up the world for visitors to check out with instructions included for setting it up.

360-Degree Projects

The Oscars are next weekend so if you haven’t had the chance to see Pearl yet, be sure to give yourself a few minutes to check out the 360-degree version of the Oscar-nominated animated film.

We also found ourselves laughing pretty hard at the idiot gang from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia performing a “badass” jump in 360 on YouTube. You almost feel like a part of the group until they do something awful to you, which is pretty much exactly what the show is about so it is a fitting extension in VR.

Also check out this clever Internet Surfer video.

NBA All-Star Weekend

NextVR is showing highights from most of the events at the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, including the dunk and three-point contests. When the cameras are placed in the right spots we’ve found NextVR’s VR broadcasts to be among the best, and the various events held during All-Star weekend could let you see the action from some fun vantage points. Check it out on Daydream or Gear VR via the NextVR app.

IMAX VR in Los Angeles

If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area, we’d recommend picking up tickets to check out the IMAX VR center that opened recently — they have a good selection of experiences to try out in the sampler for walk-around VR.

New For Gamers

And speaking of those new releases list, we’d highly recommend checking out DiRT Rally on PlayStation VR, Syren on Rift and Vive and Harbinger Trail on Gear VR. Onward players should check out the field guide and if you’re a long-time fan of video games looking for a stroll through a bit of nostalgia, there’s a virtual world made from a map from The Legend of Zelda you can visit. The Art of the Fight also just exited Early Access as a full release, making it a great option for fans of competitive shooters.

Social VR

AltSpace has its full calendar of events lined up to watch with others inside VR, including a SpaceX Falcon rocket launch party in VR early Saturday morning. The company is adding Daydream support and support for non-VR Android phones as well — so there are more ways than ever to jump in and meet with people.

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Animated Short ‘Pearl’ is VR’s First Oscar Nominated Film

Pearl (2016), a 360 animated short film from director Patrick Osborne and Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP), has landed an Academy Award nomination for this year’s best animated short film, making it the first VR film in the running for an Oscar.

Pearl is an emotionally-charged ‘coming of age’ tale of a single father raising his young daughter on the road. Presented as a vignette spanning the life of both the father and daughter, you sit as an unnoticed observer in the little hatchback’s passenger seat.

“It’s a story about the gifts we hand down and their power to carry love. And finding grace in the unlikeliest of places,” writes Google ATAP.

Pearl is Osborne’s second Academy Award nomination following the Disney-produced animated short Feast. 

Pearl is in competition with 4 other short films: Blind Vaysha (2016), Borrowed Time (2016), Pear Cider and Cigarettes (2016), and Piper (2016).

The full 360 video is available below for viewing both on traditional monitors and VR devices. The video can be viewed using the YouTube app for Android or the Google Spotlight Stories app for IOS.

The post Animated Short ‘Pearl’ is VR’s First Oscar Nominated Film appeared first on Road to VR.

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Oscar Nomination For ‘Pearl’ Shines Spotlight On VR

Google’s ‘Pearl’ Gets The First Oscar Nomination For VR

Months after its release, Google’s short film Pearl remains the best of its Spotlight Stories series of 360-degree films. The Oscars seem to agree.

The nominations for the 2017 edition of Hollywood’s prestigious awards ceremony were announced today. While movies like La La Land are stealing the usual headlines for leading the pack, there’s a small victory for the VR industry in the Animated Short Film category: Pearl has been listed.

As far as we can tell this is the first time a VR-compatible film has been nominated for an Oscar, though Oculus Story Studio’s Henry did walk away with an Emmy last year. It is important to note, however, that Pearl wasn’t just available as the 360-degree video you can view right now; its creators also made a theatrical version similar to what you might see before a Disney movie. We’ve asked for confirmation but this appears to be the version of the film that’s been nominated for the award. All the same, the nomination brings enormous attention to VR as a medium.

Pearl was directed by Patrick Osborne, who previously won an Academy Award for his 2014 short film, Feast, that ran before Disney’s Big Hero 6. Pearl tells of a father and his relationship with his daughter, documenting their lives through the perspective of a passenger seat of a car they both share. The project includes a beautiful backing track that runs throughout and, if you’re not holding back a few tears by the end of the near six-minute running time, there may be no help for you.

The film was also released on Steam with support for the HTC Vive. The Oscars will be held on February 26th, 2017. The big question now is if VR could be in for its first big Academy Award? We’ll find out next month.

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