10 Best Virtual Reality 360° Short Films!
Virtual Reality (VR) film has seen tremendous growth recently. The technology presents endless possibilities for the entertainment industry. There was the fear that this new medium will not be popular for 1) costly production and 2) the technology is not mature. However, with the advance of camera, software and VR headset, the market seems to be adapting pretty well so far. There is quite a number of critically-acclaimed VR/360° films out there that are already popular among viewers.
Here are the 10 best short films we’ve picked out! Some are funny; some are scary; some are heartwarming; some are big studio projects; some are made by common folks who love VR. But they all deserve to be on this list simply because they are fun to watch! If you haven’t seen these yet, now is your chance!
IT: FlOAT – A Cinematic VR Experience
It (2017) is the latest remake of Stephen King’s world famous horror story. It follows our young protagonist, Georgie Denbrough, as he runs into a demonic clown, Pennywise, who inhabits the underground sewers below Derry, Maine.
The VR experience brings us along for an adrenaline-infused visit to Pennywise’s sleazy abode. More than anything, however, was the terror waiting for you around every corner while you virtually float with the infamous red balloons…IT opened in theaters on September 8, 2017.
INVASION
2017 Emmy Winner! Colorful VR animation from the director of Madagascar and narrated by Ethan Hawke.
INVASION is about a duo of aliens with grand ambitions to take over our world. Instead, they are greeted by two adorable, white bunnies…. The official selection of Cannes Le Marché du Film, Toronto International Film Festival, and Tribeca Film Festival.
Ashes To Ashes
The film tells the story of a dysfunctional family dealing with the death of their pater families and his unusual dying wish to have his ashes blown up.
The viewer experiences the film from the perspective of Grandpa’s urn, allowing a passive view of the tensions within the family which become increasingly apparent as the story unfolds. Furthermore, there is a surreal play on the layers of reality which are revealed when the set changes in real-time around the viewer and shamelessly exposes the crew behind the scenes as well as the actors out of character. An additional unique component is the moving camera, which was placed on a remote-controller dolly track. This allowed for seamless set changes, given that the entire 10-minute film was shot in one take. The unusual fellowship of three directors; one film, one theater and one VR specialized, creates a unique interplay between the three niches, which is evident from the set design, use of space and camera work. Ultimately, the collaboration of these niche directors as well as the expertise of all the partners involved allowed us to push the boundaries of cinematic VR and create an entirely new experience for the medium. This one won Gold at the Dutch VR Awards, and is nominated for a Gouden Kalf.
WeMakeVR also won the Best VR Film award with Hollow, a Sci-Fi film they made for the 48 Hour Film Project in Amsterdam 2017.
Jack of All Trades
The international production company where imagination takes center stage. Cirkus is a well-established and award-winning animation house, fortunate enough to enlist an experienced troupe of animation directors. They believe in mixing up styles and teams to keep our output fresh and varied. Cirkus artists use a diverse range of techniques, helping to create the most exciting and entertaining images. We provide concept storytelling, modeling, character animation, environment, live-action shoots, graphic design and visual effects.
VR Dream Treatment Follow Up Patient DCAEX431
1st Place Winner for the AT&T creators challenge held in Atlanta, GA May 21, 2017. This one takes you into a crazy dream scientist’s lab for a follow-up treatment as patient DCAEX431. The team of Artist Life Vision is super active in VR 360° scene. They aim to bridge the gap between life and vision. We have also exclusively interviewed the founder Stephanie Marlo here.
Dirrogate
iClone VR animation made by Clyde DeSouza. A teaser of the Stereoscopic 360 VR novel; Dirrogate: Memories with Maya. Available on Google Cardboard. This is a just a small demo of what iClone can do! Reallusion’s iClone VR 360 video content creation pipeline is a fast and intuitive way to create and animate VR experiences. Create a project with iClone – Environments, Lighting, Cameras, Props, Animation, Characters and all of it now VR-ready.
Heroes of Night and Tragic
A story about a person being trapped inside a shoe box, and then something tragic happens…
Ateater is an experimental theatre company. This is the only one from them we have seen so far, and it’s totally different from others. We put this one on the list because not only it’s entertaining, but also we hope more creators would try using VR/360° more creatively.
The Conjuring 2
Paper Triangles collaborated alongside SunnyBoy and Warner Bros. to bring James Wan’s The Conjuring 2 right into your living room – “Experience Enfield” is an exciting and unique virtual reality experience. This was made to promote the home-entertainment release of Conjuring 2.
The Dream Collector
“The Dream Collector made one of the finalists in Venice VR this year. It follows the story of an old man and his dog, who collect broken dreams and try to fix them. Discover what happens to our abandoned dreams in this VR animation film.
The Invisible Man
Low-level drug traffickers Nick and Kid share a secret: they have high-value narcotics stashed in a barn somewhere. But they also have a debt to pay – to Frank. When Frank suddenly shows up at their’ hideout, they have no choice but to oblige in his sadistic proposal to settle scores with a variation to the game of Russian Roulette. Each click of the chamber reveals a little bit more about each character in the room. How does Frank know which chamber the bullet lies? And what role does the viewer play in the drama? It may take you 5 views to figure it out, but in The Invisible Man, the answers are all around you, literally.
Hope you have enjoyed this top 10 list for VR 360° films. It’s an exciting time for this new form of story-telling as we constantly see more interesting projects surface in the past year alone. What’s worth mentioning is that many of the brilliantly executed productions are not by big studios, but smaller, more independent groups like Artist Life Vision, Ateatar, Adrift Pictures and etc. They are the real signs of a healthily growing industry. Like many of the creators, VeeR believes that everyone can make VR content. And We dedicate the team, products, services all around creators to help VR 360° production easier. By taking on unseen challenges and entertaining with unexplored ideas, only can VR entertainment develop. If you wish to see more VR films, you can visit VeeR film category.
Why Choose VeeR?
- We are dedicated to VR/360° content.
- Many films have seen huge viewership success with us: IT: FLOAT; War Knows No Nation (World of Tanks); Dunkirk; The Dream Collector; The Philosopher’s Apple; The Conjuring 2 and etc.
- VeeR can be accessed using desktop, mobile app, and most VR headsets including Samsung Gear VR. We are the “go to place” for VR/360° content.
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I can’t find the files I’ve uploaded to veer.tv from inside gearVR – there’s appears to be no search function – only browse by category etc…
or has the search button eluded me thus far?
also – how’s the pay per view option coming along? keen to see that implemented =)
otherwise, veer.tv rulz. heaps better than vimeo and youtube
cheers
ed