Joe Hunting, director of the HBO film “We Met In Virtual Reality,” is starting a production company called Painted Clouds, focusing exclusively on virtual reality filmmaking. The company aims to create original films and series using real time VR, including the popular platform VRChat.
For Painted Clouds, productions will make use of virtual cinema cameras which Hunting helped design; they will utilize full body and facial tracking technology to capture the environments and characters that make up VRChat.
“I’m thrilled to be moving forward in my aspirations to create progressive, diverse and emotive films using VR with Painted Clouds,” Hunting said. “I formed Painted Clouds with a passion to build a collaborative studio dedicated to real-time VR film production. Filmmaking inside VR feels like home to me, and I intend to build a talented crew of like-minded artists to continue fostering this playful cinematic form.”
Hunting’s “We Met In Virtual Reality,...
For Painted Clouds, productions will make use of virtual cinema cameras which Hunting helped design; they will utilize full body and facial tracking technology to capture the environments and characters that make up VRChat.
“I’m thrilled to be moving forward in my aspirations to create progressive, diverse and emotive films using VR with Painted Clouds,” Hunting said. “I formed Painted Clouds with a passion to build a collaborative studio dedicated to real-time VR film production. Filmmaking inside VR feels like home to me, and I intend to build a talented crew of like-minded artists to continue fostering this playful cinematic form.”
Hunting’s “We Met In Virtual Reality,...
- 10/26/2023
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
People used to say, “There are worlds out there”, while gesturing to the horizon. These days, we could just as easily say, “There are worlds in there”, while gesturing to our computers. This documentary by Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse and Quentin L'Helgouac'h - shot entirely within virtual reality - takes us to one of them.
Last year Joe Hunting’s [film]We Met in Virtual Reality/fllm] explored a virtual world of socialising but the landscape encountered by the French directors - who previously stepped into gaming spaces with short Marlowe Drive - is very different. Knit’s Island is a post-Apocalyptic place in the game DayZ, where those who visit roleplay survivalism, banding together or taking others on as well as fighting the zombies which roam about the place.
As with almost any social space, real world or otherwise, the filmmakers - who spent 963 hours within the environs of the game -.
Last year Joe Hunting’s [film]We Met in Virtual Reality/fllm] explored a virtual world of socialising but the landscape encountered by the French directors - who previously stepped into gaming spaces with short Marlowe Drive - is very different. Knit’s Island is a post-Apocalyptic place in the game DayZ, where those who visit roleplay survivalism, banding together or taking others on as well as fighting the zombies which roam about the place.
As with almost any social space, real world or otherwise, the filmmakers - who spent 963 hours within the environs of the game -.
- 4/22/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
This week, Mark Zuckerberg introduced us to his vision of the Metaverse and the world averted its eyes. “Meta spent 10 billion on developing whatever the hell it’s doing with the metaverse last year, and all it’s got to show for it is a baby doll-faced Zuckerberg hovering in front of a miniature Eiffel Tower,” wrote PC Gamer. “If the future involves avatars that look like the Facebook CEO’s own,” Kotaku concluded, “then we are all screwed.”
The Internet is always a tough crowd, but in this case it’s right. The Meta CEO released a digital selfie from Horizon Worlds, his company’s metaverse social platform, to announce its launch in Spain and France and the results were painful. A few days later, he acknowledged that the graphics looked “pretty basic” and promised an update soon, but the damage was done: The billionaire’s robotic avatar against...
The Internet is always a tough crowd, but in this case it’s right. The Meta CEO released a digital selfie from Horizon Worlds, his company’s metaverse social platform, to announce its launch in Spain and France and the results were painful. A few days later, he acknowledged that the graphics looked “pretty basic” and promised an update soon, but the damage was done: The billionaire’s robotic avatar against...
- 8/20/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSDavid Warner in The Wars of the Roses.David Warner, who died earlier this week, is warmly paid tribute to by artist and filmmaker Tacita Dean in the Guardian. In the piece, Dean talks about her admiration for the actor's performance in Alain Resnais' Providence and how she convinced him to star in her own film of the same name.Mary Alice also passed away this week, aged 85. A Tony- and Emmy-winning actor, Alice was known for her roles in Charles Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger, Brian De Palma’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, and Penny Marshall's Awakenings, among many other performances on both stage and screen.As part of a series of events investigating "the new languages of the contemporary," the Locarno Film Festival will host a 24-hour-long talk titled "The Future of Attention,...
- 8/3/2022
- MUBI
Virtual reality is as good a place as any to meet people, especially during a pandemic. In documentary helmer Joe Hunting’s nonjudgmental plunge into the fast-evolving metaverse — set entirely in the realm of VRChat, where thousands of players reinvent themselves behind the avatars of their choice — we meet couples who fell in love online, hard-of-hearing outsiders who find a new way to connect with others and lonely souls who say their online friends saved their lives. While the real world was losing its collective mind (Hunting started “filming” in December 2020), these folks were giving lap dances and house parties in cyberspace.
At times, “We Met in Virtual Reality” — which world premiered at the (virtual) Sundance Film Festival last January, and now finds its way into (virtual) release via HBO Max — feels like a feature-length infomercial for this relatively new means of no-contact connection. Except that VR has been around for years and years,...
At times, “We Met in Virtual Reality” — which world premiered at the (virtual) Sundance Film Festival last January, and now finds its way into (virtual) release via HBO Max — feels like a feature-length infomercial for this relatively new means of no-contact connection. Except that VR has been around for years and years,...
- 7/30/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
In the opening minutes of “We Met in Virtual Reality,” a bunch of avatars resembling animals and anime characters enter an open world based on “Jurassic Park,” hop into vehicles, and speed around the landscape with glee as a handheld camera tracks their moves. Later, that same camera visits house parties, dance classes, and a marriage ceremony.
Anyone who hasn’t strapped on a VR headset might think they were watching a low-budget animated movie with glitchy effects, but “We Met in Virtual Reality” is actually a groundbreaking documentary shot exclusively in VRchat, the popular VR social platform. The feature-length debut of UK-based filmmaker Joe Hunting stems from his experiences roaming VRchat over the course of three years, during which time he befriended many of the communities within. Hunting, who supports himself in part by working as a VR event photographer, has provided the most robust opportunity to experience the...
Anyone who hasn’t strapped on a VR headset might think they were watching a low-budget animated movie with glitchy effects, but “We Met in Virtual Reality” is actually a groundbreaking documentary shot exclusively in VRchat, the popular VR social platform. The feature-length debut of UK-based filmmaker Joe Hunting stems from his experiences roaming VRchat over the course of three years, during which time he befriended many of the communities within. Hunting, who supports himself in part by working as a VR event photographer, has provided the most robust opportunity to experience the...
- 7/29/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
All My Friends Hate Me (Andrew Gaynord)
Pete (Tom Stourton) hasn’t seen his university mates in years. Ten years to be exact. It happens. Life happens. We reach adulthood, mature, and set goals for ourselves that the people who were closest to us during that formidable period simply cannot follow—their own ambitions lie upon different forks in the road. So resentment shouldn’t factor in. Nor should jealousy. Yet Pete can’t help wondering about both. A little voice in the back of his head wonders if a decade was too long to pretend things could pick up where they left off. Would their very posh upbringing think he abandoned them to work with refugees? Do they think he thinks...
All My Friends Hate Me (Andrew Gaynord)
Pete (Tom Stourton) hasn’t seen his university mates in years. Ten years to be exact. It happens. Life happens. We reach adulthood, mature, and set goals for ourselves that the people who were closest to us during that formidable period simply cannot follow—their own ambitions lie upon different forks in the road. So resentment shouldn’t factor in. Nor should jealousy. Yet Pete can’t help wondering about both. A little voice in the back of his head wonders if a decade was too long to pretend things could pick up where they left off. Would their very posh upbringing think he abandoned them to work with refugees? Do they think he thinks...
- 7/29/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
When you see “We Met in Virtual Reality” director Joe Hunting’s avatar in the virtual reality platform VRChat, he’s holding a little camera that lets other avatars around him know he’s filming. And it’s a good thing, because he filmed a lot.
“We Met in Virtual Reality,” an Xtr film that debuts via HBO Documentary Films on Wednesday night, is a cinema vérité documentary feature shot entirely in VR. It’s a film that explores the lives and relationships of a handful of people who spend much of their time within the world and many communities of VRChat.
And just when you think Hunting is about to pull back the curtain and finally introduce us to the avatar’s real-life counterparts, he never does. Because no matter how many of the film’s subjects resemble anime teens with wild pink hair and dragon tails, blocky and colorful robots,...
“We Met in Virtual Reality,” an Xtr film that debuts via HBO Documentary Films on Wednesday night, is a cinema vérité documentary feature shot entirely in VR. It’s a film that explores the lives and relationships of a handful of people who spend much of their time within the world and many communities of VRChat.
And just when you think Hunting is about to pull back the curtain and finally introduce us to the avatar’s real-life counterparts, he never does. Because no matter how many of the film’s subjects resemble anime teens with wild pink hair and dragon tails, blocky and colorful robots,...
- 7/27/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Updated, July 27 at 9:53 a.m. Et: The official Xr competition category of the 2022 Venice International Film Festival marks the return of the exhibition for the first time since 2019 to the island Lazzaretto Vecchio. Close to the Lido, Festival goers, industry members, and press will have the opportunity to screen 43 projects from 19 countries within the Xr exhibit.
The Venice Immersive, the new title of the Venice VR Expanded section, intends to acknowledge the growth of immersive media beyond the technologies of Virtual Reality and to include all means of creative expression in Xr – Extended Reality: 360° videos and Xr works of any length, including installations, live performances and virtual worlds. The Venice Immersive section of the 79th Venice International Film Festival will be held in person again this year, with the technical support of Meta and Htc Vive.
Returning Grand Prize winners like Celine Tricart (“Fight Back”) and special projects from...
The Venice Immersive, the new title of the Venice VR Expanded section, intends to acknowledge the growth of immersive media beyond the technologies of Virtual Reality and to include all means of creative expression in Xr – Extended Reality: 360° videos and Xr works of any length, including installations, live performances and virtual worlds. The Venice Immersive section of the 79th Venice International Film Festival will be held in person again this year, with the technical support of Meta and Htc Vive.
Returning Grand Prize winners like Celine Tricart (“Fight Back”) and special projects from...
- 7/27/2022
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Joe Hunting doesn't so much offer a documentary discourse about virtual reality with his debut film as take his viewers for a test drive within it. He briefly explains the circumstances surrounding We Met In Virtual Reality - which was shot entirely within the virtual reality platform of VRChat during the worldwide Covid lockdown of 2019 - before diving in. Questions inevitably remain about the physical mechanics of what is described as "full body tracking" but it's easy to leave them to one side and become immersed in, what for most people, will be a world that is both strange yet familiar.
The surroundings may be computer generated and full of spacedogs, sparkling anime-inspired humanoids and a plethora of other characters but the number one name of the game, if you want to call it that, is to socialise purely on your own terms. Like the chatrooms of old, only with.
The surroundings may be computer generated and full of spacedogs, sparkling anime-inspired humanoids and a plethora of other characters but the number one name of the game, if you want to call it that, is to socialise purely on your own terms. Like the chatrooms of old, only with.
- 7/26/2022
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Breaking ground as the first feature-length documentary to be filmed entirely in virtual reality, Joe Hunting’s We Met In Virtual Reality was a highlight at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will now arrive on HBO Max on July 27. The film explores digital connections made on the platform VR Chat, many of which began as the pandemic was gearing up and many were facing a world of isolation. Ahead of the release the first trailer has now arrived.
Juan Barquin said in their review, “There’s a casualness to the way Hunting drops the viewer into VRChat, truly making one feel like a part of the scene and space from the get-go—not far removed from how Frederick Wiseman’s films hone in on the atmosphere and perspective of their subjects. In late 2020, with Covid still raging, people communed within the safety of virtual reality, creating everything from...
Juan Barquin said in their review, “There’s a casualness to the way Hunting drops the viewer into VRChat, truly making one feel like a part of the scene and space from the get-go—not far removed from how Frederick Wiseman’s films hone in on the atmosphere and perspective of their subjects. In late 2020, with Covid still raging, people communed within the safety of virtual reality, creating everything from...
- 7/11/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Thanks to topics like the Meta-verse, virtual reality (VR) is a hot-button issue in 2022. Will our lives change drastically and turn our world into “Ready Player One” as technology grows and people become more and more interested in living virtual lives? Well, if the documentary “We Met in Virtual Reality” is any indication, it sure does seem like there are groups of people who much prefer digital worlds to our real world.
Continue reading ‘We Met In Virtual Reality’ Trailer: Joe Hunting’s New Doc Was Created Using Only VR at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘We Met In Virtual Reality’ Trailer: Joe Hunting’s New Doc Was Created Using Only VR at The Playlist.
- 7/11/2022
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
The Metaverse is coming. But before we get to that future dystopia, be it Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash or Zuck’s cringey-what-have-you, there is this charming little cafe-stop along the way. Joe Hunting’s We Met In Virtual Reality is a surprisingly sophisticated documentary, shot entirely inside the VRChat platform at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The film follows a smattering of isolated VR users, and lonely souls from around the world, as they find community, companionship, and nuptial courtship. There is Jenny, who teaches American Sign Language (Asl) to whomever attends her virtual classroom. She lectures in short jean overalls, flowing pink hair, and large striped boots, occasionally with a black tie. She presents herself as a cartoon fantasy, doing seriously useful work, and...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/27/2022
- Screen Anarchy
Festivals
The U.K. premiere of “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande,” directed by Sophie Hyde, will open this year’s Sundance London (June 9-12), with lead actors Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack in attendance. The festival will close with the U.K. premiere screening of Jim Archer’s “Brian and Charles,” starring actor and comedian David Earl.
In all, the festival will host several features chosen from the larger U.S. Sundance Film Festival. These include Adamma Ebo’s “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul”; Andrew Semans’ “Resurrection”; Max Walker-Silverman’s “A Love Song”; Lena Dunham’s “Sharp Stick”; Chloe Okuno’s “Watcher”; Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love”; Ed Perkins’ “The Princess”; Joe Hunting’s “We Met in Virtual Reality”; Julie Ha and Eugene Yi’s “Free Chol Soo Lee”; and Hanna Bergholm’s “Hatching.”
This year, the festival will feature an equal number of male and female directors across features and shorts.
The U.K. premiere of “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande,” directed by Sophie Hyde, will open this year’s Sundance London (June 9-12), with lead actors Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack in attendance. The festival will close with the U.K. premiere screening of Jim Archer’s “Brian and Charles,” starring actor and comedian David Earl.
In all, the festival will host several features chosen from the larger U.S. Sundance Film Festival. These include Adamma Ebo’s “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul”; Andrew Semans’ “Resurrection”; Max Walker-Silverman’s “A Love Song”; Lena Dunham’s “Sharp Stick”; Chloe Okuno’s “Watcher”; Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love”; Ed Perkins’ “The Princess”; Joe Hunting’s “We Met in Virtual Reality”; Julie Ha and Eugene Yi’s “Free Chol Soo Lee”; and Hanna Bergholm’s “Hatching.”
This year, the festival will feature an equal number of male and female directors across features and shorts.
- 4/25/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The line-up includes UK premieres of ‘Good Luck To You, Leo Grande’ and Lena Dunham’s ‘Sharp Stick’.
The UK premiere of Good Luck To You, Leo Grande will open the 2022 Sundance Film Festival: London, with lead actors Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack both expected to attend.
The festival, which is running at Picturehouse Central from June 9-12, includes 12 feature films that premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, plus a surprise screening for a film that also bowed at this year’s festival.
Along with Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, titles selected for this year...
The UK premiere of Good Luck To You, Leo Grande will open the 2022 Sundance Film Festival: London, with lead actors Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack both expected to attend.
The festival, which is running at Picturehouse Central from June 9-12, includes 12 feature films that premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, plus a surprise screening for a film that also bowed at this year’s festival.
Along with Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, titles selected for this year...
- 4/25/2022
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
True/False Festival Returns In-Person With Annual Parade and Spirited Response to Docus About Russia
True/False, the preeminent non-fiction festival, returned as an in-person event Thursday, drawing documentary notables and fans of their work to a Missouri college town for the first lineup under the artistic direction of Chloe Trayner.
There were 31 features and 19 short non-fiction films at the fest, which had more of an international tilt than usual and concludes March 6. Eight features, including “Fire of Love,” “I Didn’t See You There” and “The Territory,” had previously debuted virtually at Sundance in January, but screened for the first time for public audiences at True/False.
Their respective directors — Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love”), Reid Davenport (“I Didn’t See You There”) Alex Pritz (“The Territory”) – were among the filmmakers making the trek to Columbia for the 19th edition of True/False. Fellow Sundance 2022 doc directors including Isabel Castro (“Mija”) and Joe Hunting (“We Met in Virtual Reality”) also attended.
“Sundance was amazing, but True...
There were 31 features and 19 short non-fiction films at the fest, which had more of an international tilt than usual and concludes March 6. Eight features, including “Fire of Love,” “I Didn’t See You There” and “The Territory,” had previously debuted virtually at Sundance in January, but screened for the first time for public audiences at True/False.
Their respective directors — Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love”), Reid Davenport (“I Didn’t See You There”) Alex Pritz (“The Territory”) – were among the filmmakers making the trek to Columbia for the 19th edition of True/False. Fellow Sundance 2022 doc directors including Isabel Castro (“Mija”) and Joe Hunting (“We Met in Virtual Reality”) also attended.
“Sundance was amazing, but True...
- 3/6/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Joe Hunting has spent the last few years documenting VRChat, a social-virtual-reality platform that allows users to create their own worlds and avatars. His debut short, A Wider Screen, was just a taste of the kind of communities existing within the virtual realm, and his feature documentary We Met in Virtual Reality rather lovingly expands on that.
There’s a casualness to the way Hunting drops the viewer into VRChat, truly making one feel like a part of the scene and space from the get-go—not far removed from how Frederick Wiseman’s films hone in on the atmosphere and perspective of their subjects. In late 2020, with Covid still raging, people communed within the safety of virtual reality, creating everything from karaoke bars and amusement parks for parties to recreations of films (e.g. Jurassic Park) for users to explore. There’s sometimes an absurdity to how cartoonish avatars clash...
There’s a casualness to the way Hunting drops the viewer into VRChat, truly making one feel like a part of the scene and space from the get-go—not far removed from how Frederick Wiseman’s films hone in on the atmosphere and perspective of their subjects. In late 2020, with Covid still raging, people communed within the safety of virtual reality, creating everything from karaoke bars and amusement parks for parties to recreations of films (e.g. Jurassic Park) for users to explore. There’s sometimes an absurdity to how cartoonish avatars clash...
- 1/21/2022
- by Juan Barquin
- The Film Stage
On a sunny afternoon in L.A., Bryn Mooser, CEO of Xtr, folds his long frame into a patio chair perched above the headquarters of his growing documentary company. His green eyes scan the hilly enclaves of Silver Lake and Los Feliz, spotting landmarks: the Griffith Observatory in the distance, Hyperion Avenue below.
He points down the slope. “This is the Gelson’s right there, where Walt Disney bought that piece of land and built the first Disney studio. Mickey Mouse and Snow White were created in–what’s now a parking lot.”
His index finger inches west along the horizon, indicating bungalows with pitched roofs. “You can see the top of that house right there. It’s called the Snow White Cottages,” he says. “Snow White was based on those cottages. Anyway, I love early Disney stuff.”
Nearly a century after Disney laid the groundwork for his entertainment kingdom in the same vicinity,...
He points down the slope. “This is the Gelson’s right there, where Walt Disney bought that piece of land and built the first Disney studio. Mickey Mouse and Snow White were created in–what’s now a parking lot.”
His index finger inches west along the horizon, indicating bungalows with pitched roofs. “You can see the top of that house right there. It’s called the Snow White Cottages,” he says. “Snow White was based on those cottages. Anyway, I love early Disney stuff.”
Nearly a century after Disney laid the groundwork for his entertainment kingdom in the same vicinity,...
- 12/20/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
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