While the musical La La Land is all set to sweep most awards at the Oscars this year, far away from mainstream cinema and from the land of technology comes a curious entry.
The Google made VR movie ‘Pearl’ has snagged a nomination for the Oscars under the ‘Best Short Film (animated)’ category this year , making it the first ever VR film to get an Oscar nomination. Google has tweeted about the accomplishment on its official Twitter account in a Googly way only Google would – with an emoji of ‘cool’ sunglasses or a VR pair, depending on how you look at it.
Directed by Academy award winning Patrick Osborne and produced by Google Spotlight Stories, the almost 6-minute movie showcases a cross-country car trip a father and daughter take, and all the conversations, sights and events they witness on the journey. The car’s turns, movements, and other visual events can be experienced like reality through VR technology. “try standing up to pop your head out the sunroof when she catches fireflies. It’s like magic.”, Google had tweeted in July when the movie had just come out.
Companies, especially technology giants like Google, Facebook, Samsung and HTC have been experimenting heavily with the VR technology and have launched their own VR headsets and other gear. Facebook had launched Oculus Rift last year which Mark Zuckerberg had demonstrated in a stunning show last year. Google too has invested heavily into VR, beginning with the rollout of ‘Google Cardboard’ the most basic form of VR Glasses. Google’s Daydream project is a more matured platform for all things VR – including its bestselling Daydream VR headsets and other VR tech.
While Pearl is the first Oscar-nominated movie, Oculus’ had won an Emmy last year. With VR movies entering the mainstream world of cinema may just be a sign of times to come. Who knows, maybe the entire Oscar ceremony could be experienced in VR next year.