Director Randal Kleiser Kicks Off Virtual Reality Narrative Short ‘Defrost’
A technically-savvy director, Kleiser was excited to experiment with the format. In the story, told in the first-person, the viewer "plays" Joan Garrison, who awakens after being cryogenically frozen for 30 years. As the story begins, Joan's in a wheelchair, being led down a hospital hall as the doctor (Carl Weathers) explains to you what has happened, given you the sense of disorientation that “Joan” would feel. You then meet your family, and one by one they reintroduce themselves. It ends with the doctor asking if you’d like to see what you look like, and holds a mirror up to you (the camera) for the reveal.
“It’s a first person experience and you can make the viewer a character,” Kleiser told The Hollywood Reporter of his impression of the new medium. “I came up with the idea of the wheelchair ... as well as making her speech not possible due to the defrosting process. [This is because in VR] you couldn't talk to the characters, but they could talk to you."
Defrost’s production company is VR firm IM360, a joint venture between VFX house Digital Domain and VR technology developer Immersive Media. IM360 also provided its 360-degree VR camera system for the production.
See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/director-randal-kleiser-kicks-virtual-816092