#iframe: https://samsungvr.com/watch/xT2ojUrrne9?autoplay=true” frameborder=||||||
We may have watched VR grow over the past four years, but it's really only this year that narrative storytelling in the medium started to become accessible to wide audiences. From live-action documentaries to animated shorts like Oculus' Emmy-winning *Henry *to interactive adventures like *Allumette, *it seems each week sees a new type of VR project arriving. And now, you can add "scripted drama" to that list.
Invisible, coming soon to Samsung VR, will be the first major scripted series designed specifically for 360-degree virtual reality. It also boasts the highest-profile creative team of a VR project to date, with acclaimed film director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow) and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Melisa Wallack (Dallas Buyers Club). (Disclosure: Condé Nast Entertainment, an arm of WIRED's parent company, is one of three producing partners on the project.)
The six-episode series centers on the Ashlands, a rich and powerful New York family coping with its patriarch’s death. Despite their wealth, the Ashlands lurk in society's shadows, and for good reason: Some family members have the power to become invisible. However, one rather brutal genetic research lab is about to uncover exactly what gives certain Ashlands their ability.
This first trailer offers a glimpse of what the scripted series will be like, showing aerial shots, split-screen conversations, and even a funeral scene shot from within a freshly dug grave. Highly-touted stunt coordinator and second-unit director Simon Crane (Rogue One, Goldeneye) is also involved, which suggests that we'll get some creative action scenes—but even without seeing a full episode, the trailer is a good look at the biggest opportunity yet to show off what scripted 360 filmmaking has to offer.