Uncorporeal Systems Launches Two Room-Scale Narrative VR Shorts On Steam
SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Uncorporeal Systems launched two dramatic room-scale narrative VR short films, available for HTC VIVE, through Valve's Steam online store. The company's first narrative VR short, `Fluffy!', Directed by Academy Award recipient Sebastian Marino, is a camp horror story loosely inspired by the 1981 cult classic 'An American Werewolf in London'. A surrealistic motel is imagined in the world of the original film, starring a peculiar bellman (played by Michael Donaldson) who's obsessed with `pets'.
"Once you're able to cross the `uncanny valley` in room-scale VR, the question quickly becomes whether you're able to communicate an emotive and nuanced performance. We wanted to show that we hadn't lost our actor's humanity in the translation to VR," said Marino.
Leading Hollywood VFX Supervisor Ollie Rankin, who most recently helmed 'Alice Through The Looking Glass' for Double Negative Visual Effects, co-directed the company's second technical short, 'Alcatraz Island Lofts,' a dark comedy monologue set in 2025 San Francisco that imagines a rather cynical solution to San Francisco's housing crisis and NIMBY ('not in my back yard') dilemma: converting the historic prison on Alcatraz Island into over-priced lofts. The film stars Surina Jindal as Surina McBubble, as a virtual real-estate agent.
"The parallels between early cinema and present day VR are obvious," says Rankin. "We also have the benefit of decades of visual effects and game industry practices up our sleeves. We know how to rapidly prototype and iterate ideas, and Uncorporeal's technology enables exactly that. We're sharing our experimental films and our process in order to stimulate discussion and debate into the new language of narrative VR filmmaking."
Both `Fluffy!` (http://store.steampowered.com/app/500380?beta=0) and `Alcatraz Island Lofts` (http://store.steampowered.com/app/501380?beta=0) are available free of charge on Steam. 'Making of' blogs can be viewed on the company's website at: http://www.uncorporeal.com/shorts/
Based in San Francisco and New York, Uncorporeal Systems is known for its industry leading light-field capture technology. This unique technology marks the first opportunity for VR filmmakers to tell room-scale character driven stories featuring real actors. For more information, visit www.uncorporeal.com
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160721/391769
SOURCE Uncorporeal Systems
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