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'My Brother's Keeper' uses new VR tech to reenact the Civil War
A story about two estranged brothers facing off on a Civil War battlefield might seem like a strange fit for a virtual reality film, but My Brother's Keeper isn't your typical VR movie. The PBS film, which premiered at Sundance last week, uses its period setting to show off several new filmmaking techniques, including the first 120 fps slow-motion recording in VR and the use of a customized action camera rig. But most important, it uses all of that technical wizardry to craft a genuinely moving story.
'Dear Angelica' from Oculus shows the power of VR illustration
Illustration is an unusual choice for a virtual reality experience. After all, when you can build and render fully-realized 3D worlds, relying on drawings alone almost feels like a step back. But that didn't stop Oculus from pursuing a bold new animated style for its next short, Dear Angelica. In fact, the company had to build a new VR tool (Quill, its VR drawing software) to make the film. The end result is a truly unique short -- one that shows that virtual reality can be immersive even when you're basically looking at static images. It's premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and will be made freely available to Rift owners today.
