New Projects & Updates for the Week of July 31st
Kaleidoscope's First Look
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
CHICHILAND'S 24/7 SUSHI
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.
FISTFUL OF STARS
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.
PAPER DOLL VR
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.
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 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
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!
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.
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.
Recently Added Projects
