Imagine gliding through Avatar’s lush, alien world of Pandora or experiencing a moment of history, seen from a completely fresh vantage point — those are some of the scenarios filmmakers could create as they bring virtual reality technology into the cinema.
But is VR the future of movie-making or a gimmick movie fans will ultimately give the thumbs down?
The still-burgeoning technology is one of the topics being tackled at the Toronto International Film Festival during its final weekend. Organizers, who have dipped into the VR world with different events (including public VR-viewing “cubes”), are showcasing a few “compelling, high-calibre” virtual reality projects from Sept. 16-18.
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Picture above : As part of free programming during the Toronto International Film Festival’s opening weekend, organizers screened virtual reality programming for the public in viewing ‘cubes.’ (Bruce Reeve/CBC)
Jody Sugrue, digital studio director at TIFF, said it might seem funny to recall “ginormous” phones attached to massive battery packs, “but you were mobile and it felt so cool [at the time]. I think that’s where we are at with virtual reality.”
There’s “an element of wonder and delight of suddenly being someplace you’ve never been before or being transported in a heartbeat. It’s almost like a time-travel machine or a teleporter. There’s something really powerful to that.”
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Source: CBC News