In addition to video games, the virtual reality will also
change the way we enjoy cinematic content such as movies. The film industry has
been toying with VR since DK 1 was available, even Oculus VR has created in-house team, Oculus Story Studio, in order
to focus on that area. And now they are preparing 'Henry'.
Henry's presence was announced in early June through the
Oculus' blog. Henry is an animated comedy story that tells about a cute
hedgehog. The film will be bundled for free in the retail version of Oculus
Rift when it's launched in the first quarter of 2016. But some lucky people got
an opportunity to watch it in the exclusive event held on July 28 in Beverly
Hills.
There, the guests were given an opportunity to use the
retail unit of Oculus Rift and they were invited to explore the world of Henry
that's made in a very attractive way measuring 360 degrees. Narrated, Henry is
celebrating a birthday. He loves to hug, but unfortunately the other characters
feel afraid with the thorns on his back. Henry was directed by former Pixar
animator, Ramiro Lopez Dau. His works may be very familiar to you, including
Brave and Monsters University.
Lopez Dau explained that the purpose of making Henry was to
challenge the creativity of the talents behind it. The storytelling and
narratives in VR are of course different from standard films, they have to find
a solution how to show emotions of the characters, as well as to find out
whether the steps are effective and what are the impacts on the audience.
According Oculus Story Studio, Henry is a small picture of the potential of VR
in the film industry of the future.
When normally the audience looks at the story and characters
of the film from a certain perspective, the absence of a screen that separates
the audience will make the character of Henry looks very close and real. Via US
News, co-founder Palmer Luckey explained that they want film like Henry will
facilitate people to learn, give an example, and inspire them to make a better
VR content.
Unlike the VR game, Henry presents a passive experience and
doesn't require a controller. You only need to move with the Oculus Rift to
explore the tree house of this cute hedgehog. Interestingly, Lopez Dau adds the
ability for Henry to looking towards the user during the film progresses. The
duration is quite short; it's running only for about 10 minutes.
Henry is the second film of Oculus Story Studio. Their first
creation was Lost, that's exhibited in the Sundance Film Festival at the
beginning of this year. Keep in mind, you need a fairly high PC spec so that
the Oculus Rift can run optimally.