Saturday, October 31, Halloween night. While on the streets people walk around happily wearing spooky masks, visitors to the first Virtual reality pop-up cinema their heads in a VR set. One of those futuristic goggles that lets you step into another reality. That is, the scene you see through the headset - in this case, the Samsung GearVR - is not just right in front of you, but all around.
It has been experimented with for some time, but next year it should really break through. Hence &samhoud media is organising this taster in its Amsterdam office. 360-degree cinema in 3D. You suddenly find yourself in the middle of a village square in Africa. Look up! There floats the kite launched by one of the children.
1. Not just for gaming adepts
I am looking at Waves of Grace, an eight-minute documentary about Ebola in West Africa. The story of a young woman who survived the disease. Moving text, spoken like a prayer. Around me, aid workers hoisting themselves into protective suits, a church service, a funeral, children waving at me. So it is also possible with virtual reality.
Jip Samhoud of &samhoud media explains that there will be no computer animations or game scenes on show tonight on purpose. "We want to rid virtual reality of its nerdy image".
2. Among the acrobats
Song for someone, a VR video clip of U2. And Inside the Box of Kurios, a kind of promo in which artists from the Cirque du Soleil perform their skills. Bono sings right in front of me on stage. When I turn around, the guitarists are standing there. It's a bit unsettling, that tendency to look around. At the Cirque, a group of dancers attracts all the attention, but, I think later, did I miss anything that was going on elsewhere in the arena? Do I actually want to be in the middle of the performers?
Meanwhile, I notice that such VR glasses could be quite a bit lighter and more comfortable. After all, some are already complaining about the 3D glasses in regular cinema. Also, the image sharpness is not yet quite what you would expect from a reality experience.
Incidentally, Samhoud thinks the technology will improve quickly. He says the biggest hurdle to be taken now is the change in thinking among VR production makers. He could well be right about that.
I would not be surprised if tonight's offering is not very representative of the future. Actually relatively conventionally designed short films in a VR jacket, such as the VR reportage Walking New York About a street art project. VR adds something, it is distinct and curious, but the concentration is less. It is not necessarily more penetrating or engaging than a focused photographed and tightly edited conventional documentary. So, jettison those storytelling techniques from the film world. A VR experience is something very different from a film narrative.
3. The Halloween bonus
The bouncer is Catatonic, in which, supposedly strapped in a wheelchair, I end up in a creepy madhouse. The scariest part is that the hands I see are not my own. But a spectacular scare effect as once seen in Jaws fails to materialise. Too much is happening at once for that anyway. So much that I forget to look back to see who is actually pushing me.
Later I see on the Catatonic site that the US premiere also involved real actresses dressed in nurse's uniforms, and a real wheelchair with physical shaking and shock effects.
4. Also for architects
So will it be spectacle again, or can we expect other applications? Besides VR cinema being about experience, Samhoud mentions examples that are not entertainment-oriented. Such as training, or presentation medium for architects. With VR, it is possible to walk through a new house or building while it is still on the drawing board.
5. Deeper with DEEP
I myself am also thinking of DEEP, that wonderful VR experience I got a taste of at Cinekid a fortnight ago. With the headset on, you float through a dreamlike underwater world while fish shoot by here and there. Your line of sight and your breathing guide you through it. Game designer Owen Harris conceived this as a kind of meditation tool. DEEP is my favourite VR so far. Yes, it all comes from the computer, and as far as I'm concerned, that's not an issue. After all, why should VR look like film?
After the sold-out one-off event in Amsterdam, &samhoud media is releasing the VR cinema in November on seven other places popping up in the country.
The GearVR is already on sale for home viewers. The Oculus Rift is coming around December. A model for the Sony Playstation is likely to arrive in January and other brands will follow. Standardisation has yet to be fought out, Samhoud said. Some content is free, but of course there is a need to earn. So you may soon just buy and download the VR experience from bol.com or Amazon.
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