[A press release from Digital Elite Inc. via PR Web]
METAMORPHOSIS – A 360° Immersive Film Wins Hollywood Award
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 10, 2010
Digital Elite Inc. Los Angeles in partnership with researchers at the Technical University of Budapest in Hungary have developed a fully interactive Panoramic Broadcasting technology, called PanoCAST, for producing 360° Immersive Films for parallel cinematic and on-line experiences. Using this technology they have produced an experimental short film, an authentic adaptation of THE METAMORPHOSIS, a film that has now won the Best Short Film Award at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival.
“You have not ever seen a movie like this before. A retelling of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, where director Sandor Kardos has succeed more then one could ever expect in faithfully giving us the world from Gregor’s new perspective. Using innovative interactive panoramic technology that employs telepresence and virtual reality, shot with multiple cameras to give the viewer the experience of being in the head of the character. Add to that the psychedelic elements of seeing the world through the eyes of a giant insect, and you have a truly unique film experience,” says the review on the festival’s website.
The film tells the entire story using a subjective camera, experiencing what happens from Gregor’s perspective, as Kafka himself wanted it to be according to his own diary. It was shot with a 360 degree spherical remote controlled robotic camera that was directed and programmed to interact with the actors and to create an extremely low-angle view of the set as envisioned from the insect’s 1st person perspective.
“Beyond the cinematic release the film’s on-line 360° interactive version offers viewers complete control of the virtual camera and the ability to look around almost as if they were actually there. They can watch the story their own way, explore the set and even click on the actors to learn more about their character, mood or just simply to access behind-the-scenes-photos on how the film was produced,” said Barnabas Takacs, the lead scientist behind the project, head of the team.
“We are so excited about these possibilities that now we are producing stunning dance shots for a documentary film entitled Devoted to Dance, using the same technology. The film is mostly in cinema verite style but we’ll shoot some performances with the unique 360 degree spherical camera since through panoramic broadcasting we create experimental and visually more evocative dancing scenes,” adds Dorottya Mathe, the film’s New York-based producer.
Using such 360 degrees spherical vision cameras offer as many possibilities as challenges, the creators of the film acknowledge, but we firmly believe that panoramic broadcasting (also available on Android and IPhone mobile devices), when combined with artistic vision and technical skill, will find its way to offer viewers, cinema lovers and entertainment companies a uniquely new perspective.
Links:
On-Line 360° Interactive Immersive Film
http://www.digitalelite.net/Metamorphosis2010_Fullversion.html
Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival
http://www.hollywoodreelindependentfilmfestival.com/2010/Dec16_Program.html
Devoted To Dance on KickStarter
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/37503939/join-us-in-completing-devoted-to-dance?ref=email
Attachment (.pdf): Short description of the technology, how the film was produced and how viewers can interactively explore its content beyond the cinematic release
http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2010/12/08/824554/ImmersiveInteractiveFilmwhitepaper.pdf
Contact
Katharine W. Cook / Barnabas Takacs
Digital Elite Inc., Los Angeles
310 399-3942
Email
Dorottya Mathe
PanoCAST, New York
+1 646 715-6303
Email