SCREEN NSW & ABC ANNOUNCE FIRST SLATE OF ‘360 VISION’ VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECTS

Six virtual reality projects to be developed by leading screen creatives under the ‘360 Vision’ initiative have been announced today by Screen NSW and the ABC.

World-leading, Sydney-based VR artist Lynette Wallworth will mentor all six projects through this stage of development.

The VR projects bring together top NSW screen talent including director Samantha Lang (Carlotta), producer Chloe Rickard (Soul Mates, No Activity), producer Michelle Hardy (Skitbox), writer/producer Rosie Lourde (Starting From Now…) and a team from Western Sydney arts company CuriousWorks with expert local technology gurus to expand the possibilities of VR narrative drama.

The selection of the projects follows the inspiring intensive VR lab hosted by 360 Vision partners Screen NSW, ABC, Screen Australia, AFTRS, Carriageworks and Event Cinemas in June this year.

The selected projects for 2016 are:

Aussie Cops

Genre: Narrative Comedy

Company: Hardy White Pictures

VR Company: Paper Moose

Creatives:

·  Writer/cast: Seaton Kay-Smith

·  Director/cast: Nick Hunter

·  Producer: Michelle Hardy

Synopsis: Aussie Cops is an Ozploitation comedy series about two very fair-dinkum cops investigating a grisly murder. A locked door murder of sorts experienced in 360 degrees from the point of view of an inquisitive new recruit.

The Hold Up

Genre: Narrative Comedy

Company: Jungle FTV Pty Ltd

VR Companies:Cutting Edge,Nylon Studios,Panavision Australia

Creatives:

·  Executive Producer: Chloe Rickard

·  Producer: Sarah Nichols

·  Director: Scott Pickett

·  Writer: Charlie Garber

Synopsis: A young man's preference for the 'real' over the 'virtual' is put to the test when his life is threatened by two ethically conflicted bank robbers.

Colony: Departure

Genre: Drama/Science Fiction

Company: CuriousWorks Incorporated

Creatives:

·  Writers: S. Shakthidharan, Rosealee Pearson, Elias Nohra

·  Sound Artist, Composer: Leah Barclay

·  Producer: Vanessa Hyde

Synopsis: Colony: Departure is a VR experience about one Australian family over fifteen generations, from pre-colonial times to an imagined future. It immerses audiences in migrational journeys to and within Australia, told from the perspective of our shared past, present and possible future.

Breach

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Company: In Cahoots Creations Pty Ltd

VR Company: The Pulse

Creatives:

·  Producer: Rosie Lourde

·  Producer: George Kaceviski

·  Writer: Rosie Lourde

·  Adviser: Rose Troche

·  Adviser: Mike Jones

Synopsis: 50 years from now, society is fractured and rapidly disintegrating. A virus has made the human race infertile: but you are born and must survive.

Into the Prehistoric Aquarium

Genre: Childrens/Factual

Company: Erth Visual &Physical Inc.

VR Company: Handmaid Media Pty Ltd

Creatives:

·  Director: Samantha Lang

·  Director: Scott Wright

·  Producer: Gemma Pepper

Synopsis: Moving from the depths of the ocean floor you will swim towards the surface, encountering a range of prehistoric marine creatures of the deep.

The Church

Genre: Drama/Horror

Company: Proxi VR Pty Limited

Creatives:

·  Writer: Harrison Norris

·  Director: Guy Norris

·  Executive Producer: John Gregory

Synopsis: The Church is a 5-7 minute long, slow-building psychological horror experience, created specifically for VR headsets. The viewer accompanies a repairman who is called to a rural church; realising too late that he’s been lured into a horrifying trap.

______

ADDITIONAL VR PROJECTS FUNDED BY SCREEN NSW AND 360 VISION LAB TO RETURN IN 2017

In separate news, Screen NSW has announced that a second 360 Vision intensive lab will be held in 2017. Expanded to two days of VR immersion including masterclasses, demonstrations, presentations and workshops with high profile international and Australian VR practitioners, the lab will be held on March 29 and 30 with venue partner, Carriageworks.

Screen NSW has also announced development funding for three additional VR projects, involving the practitioners behind Redfern Now and Deep Water, Cleverman, Holding The Man and The Sapphires and Avalon Now, broadcaster Yumi Stynes and Indigenous director Darlene Johnson.

The First Artists

Genre: Arts

Company: Blackfella Films Pty Ltd

VR Producer: Fergus Pitt

Creatives:

·  Executive Producer: Liselle Mei

·  Producer: Darren Dale

·  Producer: Troy Lum

·  Director: Liselle Mei

·  Writer: Liselle Mei

·  Writer: Jacob Hickey

Synopsis: This is a journey into the most extraordinary and unique art galleries anywhere on earth. Australia is home to the most extraordinary and unique art gallery anywhere on earth. 100,000 sites. 50,000 years of history. Countless stories. To most Australians, this is a hidden world. Unseen. But imagine if this gallery could be opened up. To anyone. At anytime. Anywhere. Imagine being taken on a journey deep into the world of Aboriginal rock art to meet the ‘First Artists’. For the first time, Virtual Reality can make this journey possible. For all Australians.

Cockatoo Island Ghost Stories

Genre: Drama/History

Company: Yumi Stynes

VR Company: Triggar

Creatives:

·  Writer: Yumi Stynes

·  Producer: Bruce Walters

·  Director: Darlene Johnson

Synopsis: What can the ghosts that lurk on Cockatoo Island teach us about our history? Cockatoo Island has ghosts. Virtual Reality goggles allow you to see them.

Cleverman

Company: Goalpost Pictures

Creatives:

•  Producer: Liam Heyen

Synopsis: 360 exploration of the world of Cleverman

Media enquiries:

Tracey Mair, TM Publicity

For Screen NSW

Ph: 02 8333 9066 or 0419 221 493