The trailer you’re watching here doesn’t really do the movie justice. Zero Point is described as the first film shot specifically for the Oculus Rift, and if you want to see what that means, I’d suggest watching this interactive version instead, where your mouse can move your viewing perspective.
We can’t embed that trailer here, and even then it only supplies a 180-degree viewing angle, but for those who haven’t yet strapped on an Oculus (raises hand) it gives you an idea of what the viewing experience is like, without those off-putting double-fisheye spheres you see in videos such as this.
Zero Point is being produced and directed by Danfung Dennis, who also is the founder and CEO of Condition One, the company behind the filmmaking technology here. The trailer you’re watching is more of a tech demonstration; this isn’t actually a film about riding the escalators at E3 or watching people leave when they kick everyone out at 5pm Dennis, as a photojournalist, has covered the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2006 and produced 2011’s Hell and Back, a documentary about the Afghanistan war that was nominated for an Academy Award.
Matt Hawkins, for Attract Mode, says he watched a film Dennis shot of a training exercise in Afghanistan, through the rift. “The atmosphere was tense and confusing; soldiers and civilians all over the place, all yelling and screaming at each other. It was a challenge to comprehend who was coming and going, let alone figure out what I was witnessing. It honestly felt like I was transported into another world; this was seriously the stuff of Star Trek.”
Hawkins has a lengthy Q&A with Dennis at Attract Mode. “Everything that’s applied to filmmaking in the past no longer applies to VR,” Dennis says. “We’re trying to develop a new visual language, invent the syntax and grammar of how you can tell a story effectively in this new medium.” It’s a reminder that the Oculus Rift, and VR technology isn’t just for video games.
The Next Great Movie Might Be Filmed With the Oculus Rift [Attract Mode]
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