PCMag was in Los Angeles recently as Bourne Identity director Doug Liman launched his new scripted VR series Invisible. The show, shot on the Jaunt One, is designed to be a showcase not only for Liman's talents and his 30 Ninjas production house, but the capabilities of the Jaunt VR platform.
Invisible is told in six episodes, each of which are about six minutes each, and concern the Ashlands, a powerful dynastic family with a secret (naturally)—the superpower to render themselves Invisible—and danger (you saw that coming)—a genetic DNA Lab that wants to track them down.
The project likely wasn't cheap. Which is probably why the whole thing was underwritten by Jaunt VR, Condé Nast Entertainment (CNÉ), Samsung, and "Presented by Lexus." The Jaunt VR camera rig is so high-end, it's only available for rent via Radiant Images. But its impressive tech specs capture high-quality 360-degree, stereoscopic moving images and spatialized audio.
During a panel discussion, Liman, the man whom Jon Favreau calls a "mad scientist of cinema," was honest about the challenges of the new medium. "The first tests were awful," he moaned. "More boring than real life."
You could tell this wasn't what the assembled crowd of the VR faithful had come to hear. And it certainly didn't feel on-message; various executives around the periphery of the studio floor shifted nervously.
"You can't cheat in VR," Liman continued, explaining how, in his movies, he can manipulate the audience's emotions using the tricks of the trade: close-up, fade, cuts and creating tension and beauty within the frame. In VR, "the story has to hook you so you want to find them in the frame, for a robust 360-degree experience," he concluded.
Luckily, Lewis Smithingham, VR supervisor and editor, was on hand. He neatly swerved the chatter away from the the number of terabytes in the output before backup (120TB, if you were curious) and back to the gear. Smithingham is a graduate of Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School and, prior to joining the Invisible crew, worked as a bullet time technician (yes, like those slow mo Neo-in-a-backbend shots in The Matrix).
After the panel, it was time for a demo. As the Oculus Rift crushed down on my cheekbones (somebody please fix the weight and fogging issue), I found myself in Haiti. I wasn't sure why. Then I realized I should be listening to the voiceover. The visuals cut to a news bulletin on a floating TV screen, then confusingly, multiple news anchors popped up in front of and behind me.
The story unfolded via some deeply odd camera angles. At one point you're looking down on a woman writhing in distress. Then it tilts up, and someone else is lurking in the doorway, looking directly towards you. You realize you're next to a mirror, but you can't see your own reflection, which was disconcerting. As the story unfolds, it cuts to a hospital hallway where Ashland family members are fighting.
The episode wraps up with the best part—an exhilarating swoop across a vast landscape, where you feel as if you're flying. That was glorious, but it proves that the most compelling thing about virtual reality is the absence of reality itself. Which is a polite way of saying, well, Invisible doesn't work on VR. But it's a cracking storyline and deserves a series on Netflix. The narrative just doesn't lend itself to the medium. Even from a world class master of the art of cinematic storytelling like Doug Liman.
However, all is not lost. The initial concept behind Jaunt VR was about providing the mechanism to travel to virtual worlds. That's a business model worth exploring. Who wouldn't want a subscription to far off lands to help wind down after a grueling day in the office? Imagine strolling the wide boulevards of Paris, sneaking into opening night of La Scala, Milan or gazing into the surf in Hawaii while letting the detritus of the day float away from your tortured psyche? The point of entertainment is to do just that. Most of us want to escape the realm of quotidian tedium. Beam me up when that VR project arrives.