• Home
  • Events
  • Updates
  • Jobs
  • [ login / Join ]
About
  • Home
  • Events
  • Updates
  • Jobs
  • [ login / Join ]

Weekly Update for July 31st

 

New Projects & Updates for the Week of July 31st

Kaleidoscope's First Look

The Argos File_Video Thumbnail.jpg
ILF_Video Thumbnail.jpg
The Invisible Man_Video Thumbnail.jpg
The Ark_Video Thumbnail.jpg

Hello VR Creators & Industry Leaders,

Last week was a big week for us with the official announcement of our September marketplace event, First Look. We are following that up with the launch of five fantastic new projects on the Kaleidoscope platform: ChiChiLand's 24/7 Sushi, Fistful of Stars, Paper Doll VR, Thalu: The Buried, and Zero Days. These five experiences are created by some big-time artists with huge caché in both the VR and film industries, and we are honored to be working with all of them. Check out these new projects and other updates below the break.

Cheers,
René, Selena, Jill, & Max


Featured Projects

NAKURU KURU    Created by Steve Engman  &  Jay Henningfeld   In 1972, young yachtsman John Ritter set sail in search of raw moments of solitude and serenity. Six years later his journey to find himself would lead to one of the greatest discoveries in surf history — the now-famed wave of Fiji, Cloudbreak.  35 years later, director Steve Engman documents Ritter’s untold story in   Nakuru Kuru: Discovering Cloudbreak ,  a revolutionary three-part series .  Retracing the surfing pioneer’s original passage throughout the South Pacific,  Nakuru Kuru  immerses viewers in an extraordinary journey of inspiration, risk, and exploration – along the way providing a now-older Ritter the opportunity to give back to the ocean environment that has given us all so much. Employing the most advanced VR capture techniques available  today , Engman brings past and present together in a modern-day expedition like no other, one that imparts upon us the importance of the symbiotic relationship between man and ocean.  View stunning  360 timelapse  test footage from pre-production in Baja, MX last week.     SEEKING:   $190K for finishing funds. Deck available for members.

CHICHILAND'S 24/7 SUSHI

VIEW PROJECT

Created by Quba Michalski and Chi Michalski

Never-ending stream of consciousness
Never-ending stream of sushi
Nom, nom, nom


Imagine what would happen if we asked M.C.Escher to design a conveyor belt sushi shop and let Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Princess Bubblegum run its kitchen. ChiChiLand's 24/7 Sushi, executive produced by Kaleidoscope, attempts to answer this age-old question through a never-ending parade of colorful, tasty treats, interactive surprises and surreal cuisine, presented in immersive, vibrant, real time.

Build available exclusively for members.


SEEKING: Finishing Funds.

 
SKY KRAKEN    Created by The Pulse Originals   For centuries, the skies above have been terrorized by a cruel and ruthless scourge - pirates. They’ll do whatever it takes to get their hands on Combustium, the powerful precious mineral, found in clouds, that fuels and feeds everyone in the Citadel. The pirates’ relentless greed has stripped the clouds to dangerously low levels, and now, the sky is fighting back: Storms have become more frequent and far more ferocious, and a terrifying beast of unimaginable fury now lurks in the clouds, attacking and destroying all who come within its tentacled reach. Brought to its knees, the Citadel chooses you as its last hope - to fight back and retrieve the supply of Combustium, and to slay the beast terrorizing the heavens.   In   Sky Kraken ,  director George Kacevski brings us a new kind of VR, unfolding a gripping fantasy story linearly while still allowing for deep user engagement. The result is an experience that feels deeply cinematic while still leveraging the interactivity that makes VR such a tantalizing narrative medium.   Build available exclusively for Kaleidoscope members.    SEEKING:   $230K for production. Deck available for members

FISTFUL OF STARS

VIEW PROJECT

Created by Eliza McNitt

Fistful of Stars is a breathtakingly sensorial journey into the deepest reaches of space. Through the lens of the Hubble Telescope, this modern-day Space Opera transports you to the heart of the Orion Nebula, where you witness the foundation of the formation of our Universe: the birth of a star. Created by Eliza McNitt and scored with 3D audio from a live orchestra, Fistful of Stars is a visually and emotionally immersive experience, one that has gained grand acclaim from artists, industry leaders, media, and critics alike. The experience debuted at Sundance earlier this year and is available now on Samsung's GearVR app as well as Vice's Beyond the Frame app.

SEEKING: Additional Distribution and Exhibition Opportunities.

 
WHISPERS    Created by Jacek Naglowski & Patryk Jordanowicz   In   Whispers  , brought to us by Polish duo Jacek Naglowski and Patryk Jordanowicz, a doctor’s visit  the likes of which you’ve never before experienced comes to life around you. This live action 360 documentary takes us inside the life of Anna Bondaruk, the 80-year-old Slavic whisperer who, for her countless patients, represents a type of last hope.  Whispers  brings you to a world where orthodox adherence to religion meets nighttime pagan rituals of smoke and fire, all of which is intrinsically linked with Anna’s mysterious healing arts. And overarching all is the constant, awe-some, overbearing wildness of the natural world around Anna – both beautiful in its primordiality, and also demonic.  With over 45 films worth of experience between Jacek and Patryk, everyone here at Kaleidoscope is beyond excited to see the finished experience. In the meantime, head over to their project  page  to check out some incredible production stills.    SEEKING:   $25K for production. Deck available for members.

PAPER DOLL VR

VIEW PROJECT

Created by Skye Von and Stina Hamlin

In Paper Doll VR, two distinct users experience the interactive story of both an Origami artist and a paper doll, and the journey the two go on in which they become equals. An artist transforms into a paper doll, only to end up switching places with it when the paper doll becomes human – leaving the artist behind as a paper doll. With the immense power of VR to give a participant ownership of the story, when each user lives through the three different relationship dynamics the juxtaposition acts as a potent agent to inspire them to take the message of equality into the world – or in some cases to change their opinion and attitude regarding a minority.

Build available exclusively for members.
 

SEEKING: Funding, Festival Curation, and Distribution.

 
Visigoths_Video Thumbnail.jpg
VIEW PROJECT

THALU: THE BURIED

Created by Tyson Mowarin, Stuart Campbell, and Justin McArdle

Thalu: The Buried is a groundbreaking, real-time virtual reality experience that transports audiences into the Dreamtime stories of the ancient Ngarluma people of North Western Australia. Participants see the world through the eyes of Sheldon, an indigenous mine site worker, who is transported into the spirit world below. Sheldon’s guide, Jirri Jirri, shows him the spirits and custodians of the land, including the ancient faunal and floral spirits of Ngarluma country, and he learns about how these spirits and environments are connected to humankind. Thalu, which means “totem” in the Ngarluma language, refers to ancient Aboriginal ceremonial sites. These sites are currently under threat as the modern world expands and encroaches upon ancient sacred spaces.


SEEKING: Premiere and Distribution

 
Zero Days_Video Thumbnail.jpg
VIEW PROJECT

ZERO DAYS VR

Created by Scatter

Based on the Participant Media feature-length documentary Zero Days directed by Alex Gibney, the Zero Days VR experience introduces a new dimension to the original feature by telling the story from a perspective that wasn’t possible before the emergence of virtual reality. Zero Days VR explores the next chapter of modern warfare through the story of Stuxnet: the first cyber weapon in the world known to cause real-world physical damage. The experience tells the Stuxnet story through two main characters: the Stuxnet virus, and an anonymous NSA informant who testifies about a cyber mission hatched by allies with clashing agendas. Zero Days VR highlights how this digital threat is closer to home than we realize, representing a new chapter in modern warfare.

The Zero Days VR experience premiered to universal acclaim at this year's Sundance, and was recently featured on no less a website than Forbes. You can read the profile – which is glowing – here.

Build available on all Oculus platforms.
 

SEEKING: Funding, Festival Curation, and Distribution.

 

Project Updates

 
Vestige_For Email.jpg

NAKURU KURU

Our favorite VR surfing experience created by the folks over at Jiva VR has two huge pieces of news this week. The first is that Nakuru Kuru has launched a Kickstarter campaign to complete funding for their project. They've already raised over one quarter of their goal. The second piece of great news is that Surfer Mag featured an awesome profile of Nakuru Kuru on their site. For those who don't know, the Mag is arguably the first "true" surfing magazine ever made, so this is quite an accomplishment!

VIEW PROJECT
 
Vestige_For Email.jpg

VIRTUAL DRAG

Megan Beckwith recently presented Virtual Drag at the DiGRA conference in Melbourne. She was delighted to discover that Virtual Drag has been used as a case study for innovative VR development at a university in Montreal. The work has also just been featured at Cinemq, an alternative queer screen event in Shanghai. The team recently had an academic essay unpacking the thinking behind Virtual Drag accepted by the Journal of Transformative Technologies, which will be published later this year.

VIEW PROJECT
 

CHAPITA

We are thrilled to announce the official launch of Nexus Studios' Eran Amir-directed Chapita on Kaleidoscope. Chapita is a 360-degree live-action 360 virtual reality music video that relies on a never-before-used combination of technology and filmmaking techniques. Nexus recently announced the development of an Inside Out tracking device for VR experiences. We're anxious to see how this technology will be in used in conjunction with projects like Chapita.

VIEW PROJECT
 

Recently Added Projects

The Pull_Still 1.jpg
Virtual Drag_Video Thumbnail.jpg
Chapita_Video Thumbnail.jpg
The Superlative Light_Video Thumbnail.jpg
 
Tuesday 08.01.17
Posted by Max Kaleidoscope
Newer / Older

Terms of Service | Privacy Policy