”VR Film 《The Deserted》 and VR Animation 《Gloomy Eyes》 Debuts in Asia at Beijing International Film Festival
Golden Melody Awarded Singer and Actor Jam Hsiao Will Narrate2019/04/13
HTC VIVE, the global leader in smartphones and virtual reality design innovations, collaborated with director Tsai Ming Liang on the film The Deserted as well as co-produced and published holographic VR animation Gloomy Eyes. These two movies were invited to be featured in the Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) virtual reality category from April 13 until April 20. HTC VIVE ORIGINALS also announced on the opening of the BJIFF VR category that the VR animation Gloomy Eyes would star Golden Melody awarded singer Jam Hsiao as the narrator.
HTC VIVE ORIGINALS has been committed to the production and distribution of VR content for pan-entertainment since its establishment. Invited by BJIFF, VIVE ORIGINALS screened its two prized productions’ Asia premiere at the Beijing Pioneer Gymnasium, including the 8K version The Deserted directed by Tsai Ming-Liang, and the VR animation Gloomy Eyes EP1 The Encounter, which was just featured in the Sundance Film Festival earlier in January and was awarded “Best Storytelling” at the SXSW Film in March.
Renown Hollywood actor Colin Farrell narrated Gloomy Eye trilogy’s first installment The Encounter. It is the first time for Golden Globes awarded actor Colin Farrel to participate in a VR animation.“Anything that invokes a sense of magic and total immersion is worth gold, and it was amazing to be a part of the vision Fernando and Jorge created in Gloomy Eyes. It’s a completely transportive and beautiful experience, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and really connected with my passion for storytelling.” Said Colin Farrell.
Liu Szu-Ming, president of HTC VIVE ORIGINALS, said at the opening ceremony of the VR categories of BJIFF yesterday, “HTC VIVE ORIGINALS is happy to be presenting our joint production with director Tsai Ming-Liang, the film The Deserted. Although our team already reached VR filming standard two years ago, however, last year we upgraded The Deserted into an 8K version in response to the upgrade of our computer post-processing ability, which makes it the longest 8K stereo film in the world.”
President Liu continued, “We are also debuting our crossover collaboration with French studio VR animation Gloomy Eyes. We are working on localizing and creating the Mandarin version. In the second and third installment of the trilogy, more Oriental elements will be added. Other than enriching the VR animation story, the Asia version will invite Golden Melody Awarded singer turned actor Jam Hsiao to perform in the film. With his penetrating and enchanting voice, viewers will join in on an astounding mystical adventure.”
“We will continue to launch VIVE ORIGINALS’ self-developed content into the world. Our goal is to cultivate the world’s top content production talents, and bring forward the content ecosystem for VIVE Reality, further enriching people’s cultural enjoyment with cutting edge technology and creativity,” said President Liu.
The Deserted is using HTC VIVE Pro headset and the world-first commercial theater management system (TMS) in the screenings in Beijing. Due to the upgraded 8K resolution and enhanced headset, the intricate details of the image is highly praised by not only director Tsai Ming-Liang but also applauded by International Film Festival Rotterdam director Beto Beyer and Cinémas du Centre Pompidou director Sylvie Pras. Participants of the BJIFF would be able to experience the full details of 8K The Deserted with VIVE Pro headset, the best equipment for immersive viewing experience.
Gloomy Eyes used real-time game engine computing, with the flexibility and all-rounded free movement function, allowing viewers to walk freely within the animation as if they stepped into the world of the story in person. The story tells of a little boy Gloomy who stole from the mayor, which lead to him hiding in the forest to stay away from the bounty hunter. During the process, he accidentally fell love with a little girl, but she is the niece of the bounty hunter. A romantic and innocent love story begins.
About HTC VIVE ORIGINALS
HTC VIVE ORIGINALS is dedicated to the integration of pan-entertainment resources, primarily focusing on connecting talents from both technology and cultural industry, produces and distributes diverse VR works such as movies, games, art, animation and more. Aiming to establish production standards for the industry, VIVE ORIGINALS aspires to enlighten the VR pan-entertainment ecosystem and to enrich people’s cultural insight with cutting-edge technology and creativity. VIVE ORIGINALS’ team has produced the Best VR Experience Award winner of the 74th Venice Film Festival Chalk Room and Best VR and Best VR Story nominee of the 74th Venice Film Festival The Deserted. In 2018, VIVE ORIGINALS collaborated with Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee to produce film series 5×1, of which short films The Making Of and Mr. Buddha each was featured in the 2019 SXSW Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival. VIVE ORIGINALS also owns a self-developed VR Theater Management System (TMS) that meets the need of various film screenings. Through distributing great content towards the globe, VIVE ORIGINALS aims to provide self-made and authorized VR content for the world’s enjoyment.
