Creative director/director Peter Martin and VR producer Sam Margolius have teamed with The Cavalry Productions’ commercial/digital EP Ross Grogan and business partner Aric Ackerman, Cavalry COO, to launch VR content house SPECTACLE.
Martin directed the recently released SI Swim VR project for Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition with platform company WEVR. Also with WEVR, Martin created and directed the VR music video “Crown” for hip-hop group Run The Jewels (released on The New York Times’ NYTVR app). Martin additionally used Jaunt’s new 24 x 4K stereoscopic 3D camera system for his latest VR music video for Ray LaMontagne’s, latest single “Hey, No Pressure,” which is available on the Jaunt VR platform. Both VR music videos were launched at the recent SXSW 2016. According to Martin, SPECTACLE will continue to use WEVR’s delivery system and transport whenever possible.
Margolius, who produced Martin’s recent VR projects with WEVR, explained, “SPECTACLE is not about VR platforms; we want to be the brightest light for providing content.”
Overseeing that content will be Martin who noted, “For the first time, users can be transported to another world using just their smartphone and a cardboard viewer. VR is on the cusp of mass adoption (25 million VR headsets by the end of 2016). However there is a lack of content as the majority of investment is going into the delivery technology. We need to redress that balance with a focus on the creation of engaging stories and immersive content that will evolve VR.”
Martin’s storytelling chops have been showcased in assorted projects, including his serving as co-producer on Waste Land, the 2011 Oscar-nominated feature documentary. In 2014–via his experiential company VALIS studios–Martin creative directed the holographic duet between M.I.A. and Janelle Monae to launch the new Audi A3. That same year Martin joined SFX Entertainment as head of SFX Studios where he specialized in virtual, experiential and immersive content. While no longer with SFX, Martin continues as CEO of VALIS which along with Cavalry are creative partners to SPECTACLE. VALIS brings its experiential expertise to the SPECTACLE VR venture.
Full Lineup Set For AFI Fest; Official Selections Span 44 Countries, Include 9 Best International Feature Oscar Submissions
The American Film Institute (AFI) has unveiled the full lineup for this year’s AFI Fest, taking place in Los Angeles from October 23-27. Rounding out the slate of already announced titles are such highlights as September 5 directed by Tim Fehlbaum, All We Imagine As Light directed by Payal Kapadia, The Luckiest Man in America directed by Samir Oliveros (AFI Class of 2019), Zurawski v. Texas from executive producers Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and Jennifer Lawrence and directors Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault, and Oh, Canada directed by Paul Schrader (AFI Class of 1969). A total of 158 films are set to screen at the 38th edition of AFI Fest.
Of the official selections, 48% are directed by women and non-binary filmmakers and 26% are directed by BIPOC filmmakers.
Additional festival highlights include documentaries Architecton directed by Victor Kossakovsky; Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie directed by David Bushell; Devo directed by Chris Smith about the legendary new wave provocateurs; Gaucho Gaucho directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw; Group Therapy directed by Neil Berkeley with Emmy® winner Neil Patrick Harris and Tig Notaro; No Other Land directed by a Palestinian-Israeli team comprised of Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Hamdan Ballal; Pavements directed by Alex Ross Perry; and Separated directed by Errol Morris. Notable narrative titles include Black Dog (Gou Zen) directed by Guan Hu; Bonjour Tristesse directed by Durga Chew-Bose with Academy Award® nominee Chloë Sevigny; Caught By The Tides directed by Jia Zhangke; Hard Truths directed by Mike Leigh with... Read More