The 10 Most Creative VR Experiences of 2017
With London’s annual VR/AR Creative Summit fast approaching, shots has selected ten of the most impressive virtual reality experiences we encountered in 2017.
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As the VR market matures, brands and bands are continuing to push the creative envelope with virtual reality experiences that educate and inform as well as entertain.
Over the past year, we've certainly seen some dazzling uses of VR for entertainment, with artists such as GORILLAZ and Bjork exploring the creative possibilities of the medium in their music videos, but brands are also taking the opportunity to engage with consumers on a deeper, more socially-conscious level, when it comes to marketing through VR. Take Deutsche Telekom's Sea Hero Quest, a VR 'gaming for good' initiative supporting dementia research, or Tree, a virtuall reality experience aiming to raise awareness of the devastating impact of deforestation in the Amazon.
Returning for its second installment, the one-day VR/AR Creative Summit event in London on Dec 5 will explore the potential for VR, AR and mixed reality across the film, broadcast and advertising industries.
A panel discussion at the inaugural VR Creative Summit
Attendees will have access to key industry content creators from Google, Sony, Microsoft, Vice, Sky and the BBC who will debate the influence of immersive content on their work.
Running alongside the main programme are a series of curated short talks which will focus on how some of the latest experiences are created, including a masterclass from David Karlak, director of Ridley Scott’s VR project Alien Covenant: In Utero.
Tickets are selling fast and places at the masterclasses are available by pre-booking only as spaces are limited.
To book your ticket go to vrsummit.co.uk
Ahead of the event, shots has compiled a list of ten VR experiences - in no particular order - which stood out for us this year.
10. Deutsche Telekom Sea Hero Quest
Following the success of last year's mobile game Sea Hero Quest, telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, working with Saatchi & Saatchi London, has developed the concept further and unveiled a VR version to better help scientists to understand dementia. Just like the mobile game, the VR experience will track gamers' spacial navigation so scientists can begin to determine the first signs of dementia. However, the VR game is 15 times more accurate than its mobile equivalent and of course, much faster than research that takes place in a lab. Sea Hero Quest VR was developed with Samsung Gear VR, as part of Deutsche Telekom AG's #GameForGood initiative which strives to solve some of the world's problems by investing in technological solutions.
9. Fall In Love VR
Inspired by a famous New York Times article about the 36 questions which lead to love, this VR experience, directed by Kevin Cornish and produced by Tool of North America promises to remind you what an emotional connection feels like as it uses your voice (and heart) to foster a surprisingly realistic conversation with actors. Launched at the Tribeca Film Festival, and shortlisted for an Innovation Lion at Cannes this year, the project uses AI and facial recognition software to make the experience as realistic as possible.
8. Eurostar Odyssey
Another aquatic experience: this summer, Eurostar took its passengers on an adventure to the bottom of the English Channel, via an immersive VR experience developed by AKQA London. Available on services between London and Paris, Lille, Brussels, Lyon and the South of France, Eurostar Odyssey allowed passengers to log on to the train's onboard entertainment system via their phones and explore a virtual world of sea creatures, sunken treasures and mysterious sea-scapes.
7. Audi Enter Sandbox
Created to promote Audi's Q5 model, Enter Sandbox, developed by Norwegian agency Pol and production company MediaMonks, encourages participants to embrace their inner kids and return to racing cars in the sandpit. The VR experience, launched earlier this year at Audi's flagship dealership in Oslo and then toured, sees participants enter a purpose-built sandpit and design a customised track. They then don an Oculus headset to 'drive' the Audi Q5 around the virtual world they've created.
6. Beefeater XO VR
Jellyfish floating around a sunken Venice, a palace in the clouds in Bombay, and a rave inside London's Big Ben are just a few of the fantastical scenes in this fever-dream VR experience for Beefeater gin. Developed by Future Lighthouse and Spanish agency La Despensa, the VR project aims to take viewers inside the mind of celebrated chef Dabiz Muñoz to promote a line of cocktails specially created for the brand.
5. Honda Candy Cane Lane
This virtual reality charity experience allowed sick children to experience the magic of the holiday season from their hospital beds, via a ride on Santa's sleigh. Created by RPA for Honda, the film took viewers on a journey through illuminated streets seeing snowmen and toy soldiers spring to life and fireworks explode, ending with Santa dropping a gift into their laps, just as a real present was being given in the hospital.
4. The Chainsmokers Paris VR
Unveiled earlier this year at SXSW, Paris.VR - created by VR specialists Kuju and brand experience agency Ralph Creative as part of Sony’s ‘Lost In Music’ campaign - lets viewers experience a live-remixed version of a track by EDM-pop duo The Chainsmokers. Viewers go on an epic journey through the Grammy Award-winning act's mind, through dreamlike environments and in a clever twist, can influence remixes of the track based on the choices they make throughout the experience.
3. The Guardian Sea Prayer
This beautiful VR animation, commissioned by the Guardian and created using Google Tilt Brush, brings to life a short story by author Khaled Hosseini about a pair of Syrian refugees - a father and son - on the eve of making the sea crossing to Europe. The piece marks the first time the Tilt Brush tech has been used to explore a 360 illustrated narrative.
2. Tree
Created by New Reality Company (the VR studio behind Giant) and backed by the team at Droga5 New York, this eight-minute immersive VR experience turns participants' arms into branches and their bodies into a trunk as they 'grow' from a seedling to a mighty kapok tree - and witness firsthand their demise in a brutal slash-and-burn operation. It's a powerful way of highlighting the challenges of logging and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, one of the biggest contributors to climate change.
1. GORILLAZ Saturnz Barz
shots cover stars GORILLAZ and Passion Animation Studios broke YouTube’s record for the biggest debut of a VR video in March this year, when they released a six-minute, 360 version of the music video for Saturnz Barz. Featuring a haunted house, a singing pizza, and a whole lot of chaos in outer space, the creepy promo perfectly illustrates the band's pioneering, tech-first approach.
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