Virtual Reality and the Oculus app
So I just had my first real demo experience with the Sasmsung Gear VR Oculus VR headset. I must say it's extraordinarily insanely cool! The headset is not equipped with a viewer. You must have a Galaxy Note 4 smartphone to fit into the front of the headset to have the VR experience. After you startup the VR app you fit the phone into the headset and you're off. This could truly be something special that is happening here. VR has come leaps and bounds since the 90's Nintendo Virtual Boy. The quality of the live action video is not HD but it doesn't matter. I found the live action VR demos to be the best. You can look anywhere while the film is playing. It's as if your eyes have become the camera and you choose what you're seeing at all times. A few very good demo examples are the Running of the Bulls, A piano player in his home studio, and a short Cirque Du Soleil performance. During the Cirque performance the camera is placed at the edge of the stage. Some costumed characters come out to the camera and start speaking to you the viewer to watch two gents perform a quick suspension routine. The kicker here and in any VR film is that you are immersed in the action for 360 degrees. You can look away from the performers and see an empty performance hall. Look left or right and see the costumed characters admiring the routine. You can miss the entire "main performance" by simply looking away from it to admire your surroundings. Another favorite of mine is a "Running of the Bulls" demo. The camera is suspended from a balcony. So when you look down it's like you're levitating over a street where the running of the bulls is taking place. It's such a new experience. I was elated and a bit freaked out at the same time. I watched about 5 demos in a row and it can be a bit disorienting. It's also a bit of freaky fun and I found myself reaching out to touch things that were close to the camera. With the improvement of VR technology in the coming months, the potential for it's applications across multiple mediums is vast. VR films, tv shows and video games will certainly have their place in consumer media in the future From what I've seen so far I don't think VR is going to replace the frame as the main medium for Film, TV, and games. But it definitely will have it's place in those mediums. These are what I thought were the best that the Oculus app has to offer so far: 1) Cirque du Soleil (film) 2) Milk>Run for Your Life (film) 3) Ansher Wars (game) 4) Strangers with Patrick Watson (film) 5) The Blue>Giants (animation)