Where’s the James Cameron of Virtual Reality to Take Medium Mainstream?
“Colleges are teaching these courses now and are going to produce some amazing creators,” STXSurreal’s Andy Vick says
Matt Donnelly | July 25, 2017 @ 11:23 AM
Last Updated: July 26, 2017 @ 2:25 PM
Numerous A-list movie directors have been out on a date with virtual reality, but no Hollywood filmmaker has stepped up to put a ring it.
Not the way James Cameron did with modern digital 3-D thanks to his $2 billion-grossing 2009 fantasy blockbuster “Avatar.” It was a watershed filmmaking moment that enhanced his brand so significantly, we still associate him with the technology despite almost a decade of delays on four planned “Avatar” sequels.
Where are the visionaries who will storm in and bring full, feature-length immersive stories? Where is VR’s James Cameron?
So far, only a smattering of directors such as Alejandro Inarritu, Kathryn Bigelow, Ridley Scott and Jon Favreau have dabbled in the space with shorts and narrative-gaming hybrids. And VR has attracted even fewer A-list actors.
One challenge in landing top filmmakers is how the the medium itself explodes linear storytelling — the sort that auteurs have learned to master. In traditional movies, directors drive you through the story, cinematographers tell you where to look and writers tell you what you should feel. In a virtual reality headset, where users control the story and frame of reference, all bets are off.
Steven Spielberg signaled the challenge before he signed on to direct “Ready Player One,” an adaptation of Ernest Cline’s best-selling novel about a teen in a VR treasure hunt. “We’re moving into a dangerous medium with virtual reality,” he said at a press conference at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. “The only reason I say it is dangerous is because it gives the viewer a lot of latitude not to take direction from the storytellers but make their own choices of where to look.”
Given the cinematic anxieties of Spielberg and traditional auteurs, the true innovations in VR storytelling may have to come from younger generations, including those who grow up with the possibilities of the technology.
“There’s going to be a new breed of producer, director and writer that come up organically in this medium,” said Any Vick, who runs STX Entertainment’s VR division STXSurreal with partner Rick Rey.
“Colleges are teaching these courses now and are going to produce some amazing creators,” Vick said. “But in the interim to take people, either names from behind the camera or faces people recognize, and putting them in these headsets? That’s the differentiator.”
Similar top-notch programs exist at Emerson College’s splashy new Los Angeles satellite campus and an Oculus Rift-sponsored venture at New York University. Smaller classes exist across the country from Texas to Topanga Canyon.
While Spielberg may be reluctant to explore VR — except as a subject matter — Oscar winners Alejandro Inarritu (“The Revenant”) and Kathryn Bigelow (“Detroit”), four-time nominee Ridley Scott and Disney’s new golden boy Jon Favreau have all directed VR expireinces in the last year.
Favreau, whose 2016 live-action reboot of the animated Disney movie “The Jungle Book” was hailed as technological marvel, seems to have caught a bug for experimental high-tech filmmaking.
Last year, he teamed with Wevr and Reality One to create one of the most acclaimed VR experiences to date, “Gnomes & Goblins,” in which you inhabit the many realms of magical creatures, play in their treehouses and interact in their relationships.
It’s a strong narrative, and lags in story movement are due to the user’s own control of exploring the 360-degree environment. “I liked the sense of immersion and the idea of doing something somewhere between a game and a movie,” Favreau told the New York Times.
“Jon is a gamer and appreciated what’s different about VR,” Gigi Pritzker, a producer on “Gnomes,” told TheWrap. “His approach with ‘Gnomes and Goblins’ was not, ‘Let’s do a marketing piece for a film I’m working on,’ but let’s see what’s really unique and different about this medium and create for it.”
Inarritu had more serious things in mind building his highly emotional VR experience “Carne Y Arena” (“Flesh and Sand”), which puts users in the shoes of refugees during an attempt to cross a U.S. border.
The experience premiered in May at a warehouse 30 minutes outside of the Cannes Film Festival, where three field guides helped users roam through the environment (so journalists and the well-heeled of the French Riviera would not bump into walls).
Inarritu’s mainstay cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki (a.k.a. Chivo,) shot “Carne y Arena,” which follows a refugee crossing the border, being chased by a helicopter, then confronting border patrol agents.
Similarly, fellow Best Director Oscar winner Bigelow used VR tech to stir emotions in “The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger’s Shoes,” about ivory poaching in Central Africa. While Bigelow had a thoughtful dialogue with Hillary Clinton after its premier last spring at the Tribeca Film Festival, the audience had to endure nearly seven minutes of mutilated elephants in vivid VR.
“Alien: Covenant” director Ridley Scott, whose production company RSA Films has a division devoted to VR, shot a graphic but meticulous alien birth sequence called “In Utero,” which was a direct tie-in to his big summer movie from Fox. Scott has hinted at more standalone content in the future.
Actors are scarce in most studio VR content unless it’s an offshoot of films they’re leading — Michael Fassbender popped up in a VR short tied to “Assassin’s Creed.” Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern filmed a companion to their 2014 awards-bait drama “Wild.”
There is also a fascinating immersive short film starring husband-wife acting duo Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola called “Broken Night.” Filmed with a 360-degree camera, head movements by the VR user determine how the story pans out. Read more about it here.
At a press conference for “Broken Night,” Mortimer likened the experience to theater acting, noting how “exposed” she and her costars felt with only each other and the gods-eye camera on set.
Perhaps it’s that excitement that appealed to Spielberg — as a subject matter anyway. The filmmaker is not directly involved in the VR experiences that Warner Bros. and HTC Vive will be creating linked to “Ready Player One,” which is due in theaters next March.
Favreau believes that as more filmmakers and creatives explore VR, the possibilities for the medium will expan”d. With VR, it’s almost like we’re still in the nickelodeon phase,” he told Fortune last year. “It’s a bit of a novelty; it’s still overwhelming. People don’t really understand it, but they react very strongly to it. So we’re really at the very early part of the learning curve.”
15 Best Virtual Reality Experiences So Far, From 'Hello Mars' to 'Gnomes & Goblins' (Photos)
Virtual Reality -- the ability to strap on a headset and interact with a digital story in a lifelike way -- is a medium that’s moving beyond the fringes of the tech world and starting to be embraced by world-renowned creators. Here are the most intriguing ones produced so far.
Wevr's experience is the preeminent example of Hollywood and virtual reality joining forces. Directed by Jon Favreau of "Iron Man" and "The Jungle Book" fame, it transports you into a mystical forest where you interact with an enigmatic gnome, look inside his treehouse, throw him walnuts and follow him as he runs through the tall grass all around you. The experience was produced by Clint Kisker and Gigi Pritzker of Madison Wells Media, in conjunction with WeVR.
WeVR
"Life of Us"
This eight-minute production from VR guru Chris Milk and Within VR races you through millions of years of evolution -- from swimming in the ocean to crawling on land to running away from dinosaurs -- before you ultimately arrive as a modern businessman (or businesswoman). What sets "Life of Us" apart is that you can interact with your friends in the experience -- even if they're on the other side of the globe. You can not only talk but "pick up" objects and pass them back and forth as you're being chased by a T-Rex.
Within VR
"Batman: Arkham VR"
If you felt you could pull off the bat-suit better than Ben Affleck, this experience lets you become The Dark Knight himself. Throw on the mask and start fighting The Joker with Robin at your side in this crossover between video games and VR. After an initial launch on Playstation 4, it's now available on both Oculus and HTC Vive as well.
Sony Playstation
"TheBlu"
Save for marine biologists and shipwrecked sailors, this is the closest most people will come to being up close and personal with a massive blue whale. The VR experience allows you to explore a sunken ship while manta rays, angler fish and yes, an 80-foot whale swim right alongside you. "TheBlu" was prominently featured at the National History Museum in L.A. for several months, but is available to anyone with an HTC Vive headset.
WeVR
"The Protectors"
This adventure takes viewers into the heart of the Congo's Garamba National Park as rangers fight against elephant poachers. The 10-minute vehicle -- spearheaded by National Geographic and "Zero Dark Thirty" director Kathryn Bigelow -- places you in the tall grass of Central Africa as rangers look to stop the ivory poachers from getting to the park's remaining 1,300 elephants.
Within VR
"NextVR NBA League Pass"
Hoops fans are now able to enjoy hammer dunks from LeBron James and 30-foot three-pointers from Steph Curry thanks to NextVR, an Orange County-based company that specializes in live content, and has partnered with the NBA to bring its "League Pass" members action in VR all season long. Viewers strap on their headsets and are able to watch the action from the viewpoint of a courtside seat, without having to pay Jack Nicholson-prices.
Getty Images
NextVR Concerts
Missed your favorite band when they came to town? No problem. NextVR is changing how we experience concerts after partnering with Live Nation to bring Samsung Gear users a myriad of top acts, from Lady Antebellum to Third Eye Blind. Viewers are put right in the pit and surrounded by hundreds of fans, as for this recent Imagine Dragons show in L.A.
NextVR
"Old Friend"
WeVR and director Tyler Hurd show the synergy between music videos and VR in easily one of the trippiest experiences the genre has produced. A dancing conductor leads his band of minions to "Old Friend" by synth-rock stars Future Islands. The colors and shapes of the virtual musicians constantly change, from vibrant purple to green to red. If you feel like dancing, too -- and it's hard to resist -- you'll catch your limbs sticking like wiggling pool noodles. Expect to see more bands experiment with VR as an immersive way to share music.
WeVR
"Carne y Arena" (Meat and Sand)
This is one of the more intense VR productions in the medium's history. The six-minute experience puts the viewer in the shoes of an immigrant crossing the Mexico-U.S. border, where you're confronted by border patrol agents with guns pointed at your face. "Birdman" and "The Revenant" director Alejandro Iñárritu said he wants the experience to put the viewer "into the hearts" of those looking to cross the border. "Carne y Arena" was first screened at the Cannes Film Festival and is currently being presented at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
"iAnimal"
This is another example of how advocate groups can harness the empathy of VR, giving viewers a look at the cruel conditions dairy cows are subjected to in several countries. Produced by Animal Equality, an animal rights group, the trio of experiences shows how many cows never set foot on grass and are confined to tight cages before ultimately being slaughtered. The series is narrated by Evanna Lynch ("Harry Potter") and is available on Samsung VR.
Animal Equality
"Alien Covenant: In Utero"
You know VR is coming into its own when Hollywood heavyweights like Ridley Scott are making content for it. "In Utero" was produced by Scott and launched alongside the latest "Alien," allowing fans to experience life from the alien’s perspective as it emerges from inside a human body before bursting through the chest. It's pretty extreme stuff.
Twentieth Century Fox / FoxNext
"Hello Mars"
Before Elon Musk colonizes the Red Planet, check it out first by trying this VR experience that lets you land on Mars and rove the terrain.
UCCVR Experience Lab
"The Recall VR Abduction"
This is the perfect VR experience for anyone who's been dying to hunt aliens alongside Wesley Snipes. The 2017 release lets you fight off an alien invasion through the eyes of “Breaking Bad” alum R.J. Mitte, who co-stars in the film, while working alongside Snipes’ character “The Hunter.” And in a feature that is becoming more common in VR, viewers are able to follow a path toward multiple different endings.
Darren Hull
"Raising a Rukus"
A rare example of VR for kids. The series -- produced by The Virtual Reality Company -- follows two siblings and their playful dog, Rukus, as they explore several fantasy worlds. The 12-minute episodes -- which remind some viewers of Pixar movies -- have been featured at several movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada, as well as on Samsung Gear.
The Virtual Reality Company
"Hallelujah"
Within's project is the definition of an "immersive" VR experience. Viewers are greeted by composer Bobby Halvorson singing Leonard Cohen's classic song in full 360 degrees -- with Halvorson performing six different aspects of "Hallelujah" as you turn. As the song reaches its crescendo, a chorus and beaming cathedral are revealed to the viewer (something that's pretty cool for even the most irreligious). The experience was lauded at Tribeca and Cannes in 2017 and will be coming to headsets later this year.
Within VR
1 of 16
If you haven’t experienced virtual reality yet, these are the stories you need to check out
Virtual Reality -- the ability to strap on a headset and interact with a digital story in a lifelike way -- is a medium that’s moving beyond the fringes of the tech world and starting to be embraced by world-renowned creators. Here are the most intriguing ones produced so far.