Tribeca Film Festival, VR Round-Up: Dazzled & Inspired

After many, many years away from my home state, I finally made the trip back to NY for the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. It had been so long that I was worried I’d forget NYC or that it would forget me. Well, neither happened. I was embraced with open arms, and I didn’t want to leave. After a 7-hour drive, and an hour train, I had arrived. The energy, a kind that only New York City can really create, hit me as soon as my sneakers grazed the sidewalk. It swept me up right away, and though my trip was one quick blur of excitement, I’ve barely come back down from the warm, fluffy cloud that was the Tribeca Film Festival. My first film festival, might I add.

Another first? The Immersive program, which included virtual and augmented reality experiences. For anybody who hasn’t done this, I would really recommend it. As we progress in technology and the cinematic possibilities grow in scope, this program is an answer to the question – can it get better? It most certainly can, and for me, it took my breath away. This is not to say it’s a preferable venue, because nothing can quite capture the ambiance of the big screen, but, this is a worthy medium that can truly envelop you if you dare to let it.

When I entered the room, it was throbbing with possibilities, and through the crowded masses I could make out the booths for each option. It was a dark room of limited capacity, but to me it could have been an endless ocean. I was curious, and I was bursting with anticipation.

Because of the limited timing, and long lines, I only got to indulge in four VR programs, but I couldn’t have picked ones that were more different. Each had an exciting premise, and each enthralled me to no end. After lifting my jaw off the floor, my only regret was that I couldn’t do it again, and again, and again.

1. Storyscapes, Biidaaban: First Light

Project creators: Lisa Jackson, Mathew Borrett, Jam3 and the National Film Board of Canada

While this was only about six minutes in length, it lingered for a long while after. This was mostly because of the subject matter at hand, and because of the powerful mixture of visuals and spoken word (with a mix of indigenous languages). It’s Toronto, but it doesn’t look as it does now. While engrossed you see changing buildings in different states of decay, graphics that grab and shake you, and voices speaking in a way that feels like they’re inside your head.

You see glimpses of life among the ruins, plant growth, and a woman digging in the dirt. Things aren’t explained, but that mystery is part of its appeal. It’s an interactive variance on Toronto that’s engrossing and rich. When finished you enter into another room without the VR glasses, where there is writing on the wall and a live turtle in a tank. That comparison of the two, something concrete and something abstract, makes this a visceral experience.

I spoke briefly with Dana Dansereau, one of the producers, who described Biidaaban.

“Language helps produce your reality, and indigenous languages, the ones you hear in there, there are three of them, have such a different approach. It helps form your reality, and when you are in this world, this futuristic reconciled version of Toronto, you find that language and you see it, hear it. I think it’s a really interesting experience, that you are meant to discover. Then you have this final piece where you actually see something real. It’s an interesting interplay. Lisa’s (one of the creators) construct of how to go through it, and what words to put in there… it really helps articulate and get the point across.

“Many say it’s post-apocalyptic. But we try to find another word for that. The word is reconciled. Something has happened, and it has changed. It’s different. Lisa talks about how if you think of North American for more than just a short span, there has already been an apocalypse of sorts. And so it’s just… different. Something’s happened.”

I also spoke with 3D artist, who worked on the project, Mathew Borrett who commented “There are people still living there, and you can consider it a negative because of how things are run down, sparsely populated. But what happened? We don’t know. But there’s also nature that has come back. So, it’s very sort of deliberately poised to be as ambiguous as possible. I think. So, you could very easily go either way with your interpretation. There are many interpretations, and not one is necessarily valid.”

For more information on Biidaaban: First Light on the Tribeca FF website click here.

2. Virtual Arcade, Campfire Creepers: Midnight March

Project Creator: Alexandre Aja

As a fan of Alexandre Aja’s, I was already fascinated by this VR before even entering it. Paired with the concept of a campfire story, a very real and sentimental aspect of most of our childhoods, I was anxious for it. As it starts you are at the center of the campfire (quite literally, flames at your feet), as one of the children tells a story. It quickly transforms into the tale itself, of a scared child as he turns into a murderous creature.

If you’re a fan of horror it’s a must-see/feel, as the terrors jolt you and upend you into the core of the carnage. The darkened woods add to the texture of the setting and the use of D Box’s custom haptic motion chairs, has each horrific moment exemplified, bringing you a short story that is larger than life. There is another episode to the Campfire Creepers experience, that I didn’t get to partake in, called The Skull of Sam, which is part of the Cinema 360 program. If you have the chance, do both, I can only imagine that if it is as exciting as this was- it’s worth it.

Alexandre Aja said this about what attracted him to VR (originally published here):

“VR storytelling is very different—I understand that now. It’s something that I wasn’t measuring, even as everyone was telling me, “It’s so hard, it’s so difficult, it takes a lot of time, it’s not like a feature film.” And yes, I could imagine the obvious—you can’t be onset because the camera sees everything, you have to run back and forth between the actors and behind the booth where you’re hiding in a trench—but beyond that, I wasn’t expecting that there’s also an interactive part involved, even more than just traditional filmmaking.

The audience is locked in the position of the camera that you designed but still has the freedom to look around and do some other things, and you need to provide a full 360° stereo world around them to bring satisfaction, so no matter where they decide to look, there’s something happening that will attract them, that will lead their attention and create fear—because at the end of the day, the idea was to do something scary, to do something that was really haunting and would stay with you after and make you want to see more episodes of the show.”

For more information on the Campfire Creepers: Midnight March from Tribeca FF website click here.

3. Virtual Arcade, The Dinner Party

Project Creators: Angel Manuel Soto, Charlotte Stoudt, Laura Wexler

This VR begins with a group of friends, set for a dinner party. In fact (and I loved this aesthetic), you enter a room with an actual set table, prior to attaching your gear. Once you do, you are able to look around, view the inhabitants and catch murky sections of their conversation. This sets the initial atmosphere, which is gentle in comparison to the nose dive you take once it really begins.

This is based on a true story of Betty and Barney Hill, a couple in the 1960’s who reported being abducted by a UFO. Part of the VR is the two at the party, played by Malcolm Barrett and Sarah Sokolovic as a tape recorder is played, recounting the hypnosis they went under, and the memories as they come flooding back. The other is a dazzling display of the memory, and visual decadence as the story unfolds in a transcendent quality. I really enjoyed The Dinner Party and its almost dizzying portrayal of this extraterrestrial encounter. Sometimes I found myself too overwhelmed, but perhaps that was the point when referring to the unknown of abduction.

For more information on The Dinner Party from the Tribeca FF website click here.

4. Virtual Arcade, Into The Now

Project Creator: Michael Muller

For me, someone who is in awe of the ocean, I can relate. It’s simultaneously one of the most beautiful and terrifying things in the world. While I experienced Into The Now, a stereoscopic 360-degree experience, I was enamored with just how real it felt. These majestic creatures were swimming right at me! One in particular, a huge whale, whose enormity came through with excellent precision, was one of my favorite moments. It’s a journey, as Michael Muller (director and photographer) narrates, discussing how he confronted his fear of sharks by (literally) diving right in. It’s a very personal perspective, both creator but also as a viewer. I left the chair reeling from it. It was one of the most beautiful and enchanting things I experienced while here. I was moved.

I very briefly spoke with creator Michael Muller, who said “This is just the beginning of a series that I’m releasing, and I hope it can change perceptions.” Simply put, but the experience is anything but. In many ways this piece is a tool to help those dealing with PTSD, as an evolutionary piece of healing. Ten minutes in the chair, and I found myself more intrigued than ever by the big blue.

For more information on Into the Now from the Tribeca FF website click here.

This is just the beginning of the whirlwind that was my experience at Tribeca 2018, stay tuned for much more to come!