MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—For those that have felt there’s nothing good to watch in virtual reality, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. has launched “Pilot Season,” a new initiative aimed at generating fresh, exclusive VR-rich content via its Samsung VR Video service.
Through the program, Samsung awarded a grant to a select indie filmmakers to fund their creation of original VR episodes for six VR pilot series. In addition to exclusive distribution via a dedicated channel on the Samsung VR Video service, the filmmakers were given the opportunity to shoot with Samsung’s 360 Round 360-degree 3D-camera, which features 17 lenses in a stereoscopic 8-pair configuration, plus one on the top, to capture an immersive 360-degree image with no blind spots.
[Read: Samsung Gear Rolls Out $229 360-Degree 4K Camera]
Pilot episodes were produced for the following six VR series:
· “Bro Bots:” a sci-fi VR comedy series set in a New York City of the future, featuring Otis and Roberto, two British robots with big, quirky personalities that join the NYPD.
· “The Interpretation of Dreams:” a narrative fiction series that tells Freud’s original case studies as haunting, psychologically complex VR dreamscapes.
· “Lightcatcher:” a sci-fi adventure featuring the challenges and triumphs of Earth’s people in the year 2150.
· “Sam’s Surreal Gems:” a story-driven VR experience that challenges viewers to find Easter eggs hidden in various VR scenes.
· “&Design:” a global journey looking at artifacts and inventions to explore the relationship between design, technology, anthropology and science.
To watch the Pilot Season episodes, viewers need Samsung Gear VR with a Controller, powered by Oculus, coupled with a compatible Galaxy device, such as the Galaxy S9 or S9+. Once on the platform, viewers can navigate to the Oculus store, and find the content in the “Featured” section of the Samsung VR Video service.
