Blue Zoo’s First Project Created in Quill, ‘The Beast’, Available Now on the Oculus
Skwigly
Concept Art by Grant Berry
Oculus and Facebook Reality Labs has teamed up with Blue Zoo to create The Beast, the new VR short film for the Oculus Quest & Rift. This is the first film created entirely in Quill VR by Blue Zoo.
A story of extraordinary willpower in the face of a challenging journey, The Beast follows a lone cyclist powering up the side of a giant snow-capped mountain. The film opens with the colossal, intimidating mountain. A cyclist approaches the peak, his bright red figure is juxtaposed with the stark whiteness of the snow and the looming peaks of the cliffside. As the cyclist pushes himself forward, the viewer can hear the narration, “There is only the road.”
Behind the cyclist the beast rumbles and roars. The cyclist glances back, causing the viewer to look that way instinctively, and behind him the snow and rocks rush forward. The Beast is gaining on the rider. #
What follows is an experience that encapsulates a challenge of mind over matter.
Concept Art by Grant Berry
In the exciting new VR app, Quill, the artists were able to collaborate and realise the cyclist’s world in real time. With a VR headset, Quill allows the artist to draw around themselves in VR, multiply their creations and animate. Furthermore, using a VR headset lends itself to hand-animate in three dimensions. This unique challenge gave the artists and animators at Blue Zoo the chance to create an astonishing and immersive experience for the viewer.
Co-director, Dane Winn, said:
It’s been an exciting process learning about Quill and playing with new ways to tell stories in VR. Thinking about where the viewer is looking and how the scale of movement within the space affects the experience makes you problem solve in different ways. I think we only scratched the surface with this film and it’s exciting to think about what else there is to try.
Co-director, Grant Berry, added about the project:
It’s always exciting to work in a new medium. Having a meaning at the heart of the story makes it even more powerful for me. The success of the Beast is down to the great collaboration of talented artists and producers.
Creative Director, Damian Hook, said:
Everyone who works inside VR is breaking boundaries. This medium is still experimenting to define its own language of cinematography and experiential storytelling. It was an honour and a joy to work with the team at Blue Zoo and Facebook to create a film that’s so emotionally evocative using the artist led Quill tools.
Experience The Beast now, available on Oculus Quest & Rift: ocul.us/2UEqXvU