tribeca2018
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Make trippy music in VR with pals (and OK Go)
When I heard that OK Go frontman Damian Kulash was teaming up with VR studio Within to create an interactive music-making experience, I was stoked. But when I checked out Lambchild Superstar: Making Music in the Menagerie of the Holy Cow at the Tribeca Film Festival, I was simply bewildered. Not in a bad way, though. Although it's not the traditional jam session I was expecting, Lambchild was still a supremely quirky and unabashedly weird trip of discovery and collaboration.
Augmented reality and yard sale junk collide to make art
Who doesn't enjoy digging through piles of old junk at yard sales? They're a window into the past, capturing lives and forgotten memories. At the Tribeca Film Festival, the installation Objects in Mirror AR Closer Than They Appear takes that concept to the next level. At first, it just looks like a random assortment of trash and old gadgets. But after donning a pair a custom pair of augmented reality goggles, built out of the shells of antique stereoscopes, you'll discover hidden videos and experiences tied to each object.
The devastation of nuclear war is VR's latest reality check
Whether it's a face-to-face encounter with a shark or being in a Syrian city during an air raid, VR is bringing us experiences that we might otherwise never have. One such example is the burned-out shell of a dome that was right under the atomic bomb that America dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. In The Day the World Changed, not only are you placed in this bombed-out structure, you're also invited to interact with ghostly floating artifacts that were recovered from the site. The idea is that by witnessing the effects of such devastation, you'll at least learn something, if not be so moved that you join a campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.
There's no escape from the harrowing truth about reality in VR
It's been a dark, harrowing week covering the VR experiences at the Tribeca Film Festival. From the devastation of nuclear bombs and air raids to a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the festival's filmmakers relentlessly depicted scene after scene of death and destruction, all in the hopes of getting the viewer to see the impact of their actions. And because many of these works were designed for you to watch alone in the confines of VR, you're at the mercy of the filmmakers -- subject to their narrative for as long as you keep the headset on.
A horror director brings slasher films to VR with 'Campfire Creepers'
Alexandre Aja, the visionary director behind High Tension, is used to dabbling with new filmmaking technology. With 2010's Piranha 3D, he delivered one of the first post-converted 3D films (meaning it was shot with normal 2D cameras) that actually looked great. (It's also a ton of fun, to boot.) Now he's diving into virtual reality with Campfire Creepers, a horror series that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last week. It's a co-production between Oculus, Future Lighthouse and Dark Corner, and you can check it out today on Dark Corner's Gear VR and Oculus apps.
'Dinner Party' tackles alien abduction in VR like an acid trip
When last we saw Dinner Party, the VR experience about the infamous Betty and Barney Hill alien abduction story, it was only half complete. That was enough to get the gist of it at our Engadget Experience event in LA (where it received funding through our Alternate Realities grant), but there was a pretty big cliffhanger just as the couple was about to encounter the unknown. At the Tribeca Film Festival, I had a chance to sit through the entire film, and it was just as trippy as I expected.
Mozilla’s 'Hubs' is a VR chatroom for every headset and browser
On a Manhattan rooftop earlier this week at the Tribeca Film Festival, Mozilla previewed its newest concept, a group VR hangout service called Hubs. Unlike the virtual-reality environments shown off by Facebook and others, you don't need to sign in to a platform or use a plugin -- just click a URL and you'll be taken straight to a digital space in full VR. And since Hubs is built on WebVR, Mozilla claims you'll be able to view it on any mixed reality headset starting today.
A VR film forced me to confront my fear of the sea
The first time I realized I was terrified of whales, I was surprised. I had been scrolling through Instagram and saw a picture of a boat adrift in the ocean with the gigantic shadow of a whale below it. The hairs on the back of my neck stood, and I was overcome with an unshakable sense of foreboding. Those animals are massive, and I know they're generally gentle (orcas aside), but the thought of such a large swimming creature gave (and still gives) me the heebie jeebies.
Samsung is making six TV series just for VR
With all the immersive games, films and documentaries available, there are plenty of interesting VR experiences for your headset. Samsung wants to make sure you'll never run out, announcing today its "Pilot Season." It's a "new initiative aimed at infusing exclusive original episodic Virtual Reality content into the Samsung VR Video service," according to the company. Starting today, you'll be able to watch pilot episodes of six new series on the Gear VR, and who knows, you may find your new favorite binge there.
In 'This is Climate Change,' you can't look away from the destruction
It's one thing to read about melting glaciers. It's another to sit and stare at one, as large chunks slowly slide off, crashing thunderously into the water below. In that moment, watching the destruction of a natural wonder, it's hard not to feel like we're failing to protect the Earth. That's the experience I had while watching This is Climate Change, a virtual reality series from Danfung Dennis and Eric Strauss from the VR studio Condition One. It goes a step beyond Planet Earth, giving you a direct look at how humans are affecting our planet in 360-degree video.
Amazon Prime lands futuristic love story ‘Zoe’
Sundance film festival darling Drake Doremus' futuristic love story, Zoe, is one of the more anticipated titles of the year. The director of Like Crazy, Douchebag and Breathe In will premier his eighth film on Saturday as the Tribeca Film Festival's headlining title. According to Deadline, Amazon has acquired the exclusive rights to the movie, and will bring it to Prime Video this summer.
Experience the horror of a Syrian air raid in 'Hero'
I've never seen a warzone, but I got a small virtual taste of what it might be like at the Tribeca Film Festival. Hero is a multisensory interactive experience that drops you into a city in Syria right before an air raid. You're a spectator (and subsequent participant) to the minutes before and after a bomb falls and destroys everything around you. I can't tell you too much about what happens without potentially ruining it for you, but suffice to say I became part of the community and through a simple act, briefly took on the titular role. It sounds self-aggrandizing, but that's the whole point of the experience -- to let the viewer know they have the ability to save lives and make a difference.
The surprising beauty of nature reclaiming Toronto in VR
Post-apocalyptic stories are everywhere these days, so much so that it's not even surprising to see them in narratives meant for kids. But Biidaaban First Light, which premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, isn't that. Instead, it's more like indigenous futurism -- a vision of Toronto long after modern civilization has disappeared, where nature has overtaken every nook and cranny of the city. Humans are still around, but they co-exist with the environment similar to the way Native Americans used to. Most surprisingly, there's no sense of loss in the film. Instead, it's simply a neutral look at one possible direction for humanity.
Alicia Vikander turns 'Tide's Fall' into a VR masterpiece
Penrose Studios set a new standard for VR storytelling last year with Arden's Wake, a stunning short that introduced us to Meena, a young girl living in a post-apocalyptic, waterlogged world. But that was just the prologue. At the Tribeca Film Festival, the studio is back with the next chapter, Tide's Fall. And it's bringing some serious star power: Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider) has taken on the voice of Meena, and she's also serving as an executive producer. Just like in Ex Machina, Vikander instantly makes the character someone you can't help but connect with.
Tribeca Games returns with a dive into ‘Shadow of the Tomb Raider’
Last year's Tribeca Film Festival included a companion festival all about gaming and this year sees the return of Tribeca Games. During the 2018 festival, which runs from April 18th through 29th, Tribeca Games will give attendees behind-the-scenes looks at the upcoming Shadow of the Tomb Raider and God of War reboot as well as a League of Legends tournament.
VR, AR and immersive projects are a bigger part of Tribeca this year
Art museums aren't the only ones delving into virtual reality, with Sundance debuting a slate of Oculus projects back in January. While the Tribeca Film Festival has included both art and cinema VR projects before, this year's programming brings projects with film stars and screenings in a new VR theater. Around 30 pieces will be showcased in the festival's dedicated Immersive section, and the show will also screen 33 VR films and experiences starring a slew of Hollywood regulars including Terrence Malick, Laurie Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Lupita Nyong'o and Alicia Vikander, along with the band OK GO.