M+E Connections

Sony, Fox Make VR Strides

Two major studios made major announcements in the virtual reality space Nov. 14. First, 20th Century Fox announced that it was launching its first commercial virtual reality offering, “The Martian VR Experience,” which first debuted at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and puts VR viewers in the shoes of astronaut Mark Watney from the movie “The Martian.”

“The Martian VR Experience” — created by The Fox Innovation Lab, RSA Films and The Virtual Reality Co. — is available now for both the PlayStation VR and HTC Vive for $20. Executive produced by filmmaker Ridley Scott and directed by Robert Stromberg, the interactive VR video has users flying onto the surface of Mars, steering in zero gravity, driving a rover and experiencing other scenes from film.

“I’ve always tried to approach filmmaking from the standpoint of creating an immersive experience. Now with the tools that are available to us in virtual reality, we can raise the bar even higher. The audience can experience storytelling in ways we previously could only imagine,” said Scott, who previews the VR offering in a new YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoVc8f2uoRU. “Mars has never been closer to being within our grasp and I’m so thrilled that we can invite people into ‘The Martian VR Experience.’”

Since its CES debut, “The Martian VR Experience” has been accepted into the New Frontier Program at Sundance, and won the Cannes Silver Lion in Digital Craft and Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Next VR awards.

“Virtual reality is transforming what we think of as movie entertainment — people can be the viewer behind the screen, and now they can participate in the story,” said Stromberg, co-founder and chief creative officer of The Virtual Reality Co. “With ‘The Martian VR Experience,’ we were able to take Ridley’s cinematic vision and create an immersive VR experience that gives people the ability to be Mark Watney, to face his struggles, experience his successes, as if they were part of the film.”

This is the second VR release from the Fox Innovation Lab, the experimental arm of the studio that helps develop technology and new consumer experiences for every format and distribution model. The Lab’s first VR experiment was for the Reese Witherspoon film “Wild.”

“The Fox Innovation Lab is at the forefront of exploring virtual reality as a new storytelling medium,” said Mike Dunn, president of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and the Fox Innovation Lab. “’The Martian VR Experience’ is a testament to the opportunity for filmmakers to connect with audiences in new and deeper ways.”

Second, Sony Pictures announced that it was teaming up with Nokia to create virtual reality content using Nokia’s Ozo VR camera and software solutions, for both production and distribution. The studio announced it would integrate the Ozo Player Software Developer Kit (SDK) into the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s Privilege Plus app for Xperia phones (available via Google Play).

“VR is an exploding medium that is rapidly changing how we communicate and bringing a deeper connection to how we experience content,” said Paul Melin, VP of digital media for Nokia Technologies. “We’re thrilled to partner with Sony Pictures and its talented storytellers to apply our technology and create experiences only possible with OZO — like 3D 360 live VR broadcast.”

The multi-year agreement also sees Nokia providing the studio with hardware and software to help broadcast live VR experiences of Sony Pictures events, covering both video and audio solutions.

“Partnerships with cutting edge technology companies like Nokia are critical as we develop the market for VR experiences and build scale in our production and distribution efforts,” said Pete Wood, SVP of digital sales for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Scot Barbour, VP of production technology for Sony Pictures added: “Nokia’s Ozo camera and its suite of professional tools are an excellent solution for content creators because they seamlessly integrate into established production processes and workflows, and enable the real time capture and broadcast of VR content.”

This latest VR announcement for Sony follows the Sept. 20 partnership with VR company Reality One to produce VR experiences for the studio’s films and other franchises.