Sundance Film Festival
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The Sundance Film Festival is going completely virtual again
Sundance is going virtual for 2022.
Sundance’s ‘biodigital’ film festival will try to bridge the gap between VR and reality
Sundance isn't giving up on its groundbreaking digital platforms, which helped it stream films and bring cinephiles into a VR social hub last January.
Our favorite films and VR experiences at Sundance 2021
Here’s what we’ve learned from covering the 2021 Sundance: Virtual film festivals can be awkward, but it’s still an absolute rush to get an early look at some of the year’s most interesting films.
'Users' is a fascinating meditation on life and parenting in the digital age
It’s not hard to imagine Users becoming its own series like the Qatsi films. It felt as if I was handing my newborn over to our new god -- technology. “She's in the satellites orbiting around us in space. “She and I are in a battle over my children’s affection.
Apple just paid a record $25 million to buy a Sundance movie
Apple has paid $25 million to buy the movie 'CODA' — a record amount for a Sundance Film Festival deal.
Disney releases interactive short 'Baymax Dreams' on GeForce Now
Sundance Film Festival isn’t happening this year — not in person, anyway — so creators are finding new ways to showcase their creations. The folks at Disney, for instance, are offering an interactive short through NVIDIA’s GeForce Now, a streaming service that’s usually focused on blockbuster games. Any user can search for Baymax Dreams of Fred’s Glitch and experience the charming but all-too-brief adventure, which focuses on the cast from Big Hero 6.
The Sundance Film Festival makes a giant leap into VR
Anyone can access Sundance's VR platform by picking up a $25 Explorer Pass (or one of the festival's more premium passes), and logging onto a website. It's one area I hope Sundance expands on in the future. Overall, Sundance has 14 New Frontier exhibitions this year.
YouTube wants you to film your day for a Ridley Scott documentary
They're working with director Kevin Macdonald on a sequel to 2010's 'Life in a Day.'
Daily Roundup: The Pixar of VR, Apple Watch ship date and more!
In today's Daily Roundup, we look at Oculus Story Studio, the new film-innovation lab creating cinematic content to take advantage of VR devices. Meanwhile, Apple continues to crush it and announces when the Apple Watch will ship, and we learn more about how a drone landed on the White House grounds at 3 AM. Head past the break to get your fill of today's technology news.
What movies do you want to see in virtual reality?
It's no secret that virtual reality seems to be all the rage at this year's Sundance Film Festival. With a number of consumer oriented VR headsets on the horizon, filmmakers are clearly excited about this technology and experimenting with ways to take advantage of it. If there's one thing we know about Hollywood, it's its obsession with rebooting some of our most cherished movies. Given the opportunity, what classic and beloved movies would you love to see in VR?
How a queer black filmmaker made virtual reality a reality at Sundance
When Shari Frilot first kicked off New Frontier, an exhibit that pushes the boundaries of traditional storytelling through art and technology, at the Sundance Film Festival back in 2007, the attending press didn't quite know what to make of it or the works on display. "People came and they had no idea what we were doing, but they thought it was really cool," says Frilot of that inaugural exhibit. "And people were calling it 'art at Sundance.' So we had to fight that in the press. We're decidedly not doing an art show."
Play EVE: Valkyrie at Sundance Film Festival
If you want to strap on an Oculus Rift headset and give EVE: Valkyrie a spin, head to the Sundance Film Festival this weekend in Park City, Utah. CCP will be demonstrating the virtual-reality game as part of the festival's New Frontier presentation Friday, January 17th through Saturday, January 25th. Besides experiencing the game for yourself, you'll get to hobnob with CCP staff; CCP t0rfifrans, CCP BADCOP, GM Nythanos, and GM Ukulele will be on hand to answer questions and just chat with EVE fans.
Nintendo brought these three Wii U videos to Sundance
Earlier this month, Nintendo held a "48 Hour Wii U Challenge," grouping YouTube filmmakers into teams of four to make short films that focus on the Wii U. The resulting three videos premiered at the Sundance Film Festival*, but if you weren't at Sundance for whatever reason this year, you can see all three films right here.*in Nintendo's own "Nintendo Lounge" area
Schafer: 'It's not that stressful to get a whole bunch of money all of a sudden'
You might be surprised to hear it, but Double Fine head Tim Schafer isn't feeling too much pressure after receiving over $3 million from fans for his upcoming adventure game. "I don't know if I could describe it ... it's kind of relaxing," he told a crowd of attendees at a New York University-hosted forum last evening, much to the crowd's delight. Answering seriously, Schafer said, "It hasn't really felt that way," referring to the stress. "It just felt like, the whole thing, all the backing just felt like a big wave of goodwill and support. It was very emotionally ... it was a big happy moment for the company." Beyond his jokes about stress and receiving enormous piles of cash, Schafer said that he was "actually terrified of making a game for just $200,000." (The final Kickstarter aimed to raise $400,000.) He questioned whether he was still capable of producing a project for such scant resources, having spent the last decade making successively larger projects – at least until Brutal Legend launched. Thankfully, fans raised well over the original target, meaning Schafer, Ron Gilbert, and Double Fine "can actually put a real team on it now and have a whole year to make it." So there you have it, folks: expect that adventure game at some point in early 2013. As for Kickstarter itself, Schafer spoke highly of the new avenue it provides game creators who want to self-publish. He stopped himself short of calling it anything beyond that, however. "I think it's a great new way to make things happen that couldn't happen before," he said. More specifically, he thinks of it – symbolically – like the Sundance Film Festival. "That changed the [movie] business a lot, but it didn't destroy all of it," he said. "It made Hollywood better. It made more diversity in the kind of movies getting made, what kind of actors were in them – it made the whole art form richer I think. I think a similar thing could happen in gaming."
'Everything's happening now:' Indie Game: The Movie at Sundance
In many ways, documentaries are not truly tools for documenting events. Instead, many documentaries choose to delve into the minds of their subjects, presenting not documentation, but something else entirely -- an up-close trip into the human psyche.During one such moment from Indie Game: The Movie, which I caught at a screening at the Sundance film festival, game designer Phil Fish states that if he couldn't finish his long-awaited game Fez, he would commit suicide. The camera remains on him for an awkward moment, and the line draws a number of uncomfortable chuckles from the audience. He seems to rethink his outrageous statement and then states once more: "I will kill myself."This attitude for the most part represents the majority of the film. Focusing primarily on the development and production of Fez and Super Meat Boy, Indie Game is really the story of obsessed developers pouring their insecurities and hearts and souls into a game, without leaving much, if anything, for themselves.%Gallery-145969%
Indie Game: The Movie: The HBO series, produced by Scott Rudin [Update]
Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky's Indie Game: The Movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend, and already it's gaining mainstream attention. High-profile producer Scott Rudin (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and HBO have optioned for the rights to Indie Game: The Movie, with plans to develop it as a half-hour fictional series, with Rudin as executive producer, Deadline New York reports. We picture Super Meat Boy's Edmund McMillen and FEZ's Phil Fish as a hilariously unfit buddy-cop duo patrolling the mean streets of Hoboken, New Jersey with an 8-bit-animated talking-dog sidekick. We picture that, but we really hope it's not the case -- the trailers for Indie Game: The Movie suggest a classier vibe, although if Trent Reznor signs on to compose the HBO series' soundtrack, we may expect to see a very different side indie development, indeed. Update: Pajot and Swirsky have clarified the original report, which stated the possible HBO show would be a comedy series, and apparently the joke's on us. "HBO has optioned IGTM for the basis of a (fictional) series," Pajot and Swirsky write on the Indie Game: The Movie Facebook page. "It is NOT a comedy. It is NOT a sitcom." We're all sleeping better tonight.
Indie Game: The Movie making its debut at the Sundance Film Festival
Good news, everyone! Indie Game: The Movie -- which you may have helped fund at some point or another during the last year and a half -- will finally make its debut in late January 2012. We know, we know; you're worried about how that's going to conflict with your scheduled attendance of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. There's no need to worry, silly goose: That's exactly where it's making its debut. Crazy, right? The crowdsource-funded film's official blog announced that the movie had earned an official selection in the World Documentary Category of the festival. If you can't make the trip to Utah, don't worry: You can also request a screening of the film in your hometown, or wait until the movie hits DVDs following its initial screening tour. Us? We don't have to see it, Dottie. We lived it.
Spike Jonze's free web film features robot love, vodka, long wait times
We wanted to tell you what Spike Jonze's new web film I'm Here is all about, we really did, and not just because it reportedly has robots in it -- though that was certainly a major factor in the decision. But after we crossed the virtual street to the virtual box office, we were informed that there were no seats left in the virtual theater. Imagine that. So instead of providing our impressions here, we'll just give you the facts. I'm Here is sponsored by Absolut Vodka; I'm Here is a 30-minute love story about humanoids living in Los Angeles. I'm Here can be viewed alongside Facebook friends; I'm Here can only be seen by 5,000 viewers a day. I'm Here promises a "striking online cinema experience," and we were struck by just how lifelike waiting for tickets could be. And if you, too, can't get "in" to see it, I'm Here can satiate you slightly with a one-minute trailer after the break.
YouTube introduces movie rentals, only independent titles for now
In an atypically low key beginning, YouTube is starting to roll out a new movie rental service. Currently stocked with only five titles from independent film producers, it won't be posing any threats to the Netflix empire any time soon, but plans are naturally afoot to expand what's on offer. Available between this Friday and the end of this year's Sundance Film Festival, the movies can be rented for $3.99 a piece through the Google Checkout payment system. Prepare your muscles to do some cringing though, as YouTube is said to be working on adding health, fitness and educational videos as well. Still, the focus seems to be on getting indie filmmakers more exposure -- and cash, "the majority" of rental revenue will go to the film producers -- and we can't really argue with that.
Cinemassively: Double Happiness Jeans recruits virtual workers
Over the weekend, we'll be looking at an art project led by Stephanie Rothenberg and Jeff Crouse in January 2008. They first found an island, Eyebeam, which would serve as the base of operations for Double Happiness Jeans. Then they began recruiting residents to work in their factory.These new employees would work for five days, in three hour shifts, and in return, receive a tiny parcel of land and 200 Linden dollars per real hour. A variety of positions were available, including laser cutters and dye vat operators. The catch is that while they were pressing buttons in Second Life, they were actually part of an assembly process for jeans manufacturing at the Sundance Film Festival! Tomorrow, we'll view the results of their project.If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.
