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Framestore Gets Immersed in New VR & Immersive Content Studio

Framestore is opening a dedicated VR and Immersive Content StudioFramestore-vr
at their New York office inspired by the success of their Game of Thrones
virtual reality experience, ‘Ascend the Wall’.

Framestore Gets Immersed in New VR & Immersive Content Studio
Framestore is opening a dedicated VR and Immersive Content Studio at their New York office inspired by the success of their Game of Thrones virtual reality experience,‘Ascend the Wall’, which was shown at SXSWi 2014 and uses Oculus Rift headsets. The expertise and knowledge the team gained from this project will help get more projects underway for agencies, brands and entertainment companies at the new studio.
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For those who have yet to go to Westeros, ‘Ascend the Wall’ takes players into the world of ‘Game of Thrones’ by combining Oculus Rift VR headsets, the Unity game engine and visual effects – plus practical props like wind machines, elevators and rumble packs. Once they enter the elevator in Castle Black and virtually ascend The Wall, they can walk along it at the top to view The North.

Framestore's digital team used Unity to build the experience with 360° immersion and interactivity, while their VFX artists recreated photo-realistic environments, characters and elements from the show. The ability to bring nearly-photoreal CG images into game engines is a motivating factor for Framestore’s very talented digital team, who believe they now have much more to contribute to linear and non-linear storytelling.
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Framestore says the new studio will not only involve specialized equipment but also new ways of taking advantage of the company’s wider, long-term experience in immersive stories and interactivity. This includes IMAX-scale projects like‘Gravity’and‘Avatar’, down to the several years of game engine development put into bringing theCoke Polar Bearsproject,Beats by Dre Pillsand the Game of Thrones experience to screens. Now, they are preparing to use their knowledge to match new expectations of immersive experiences and non-linear stories.

Framestore’s more mainstream skill in live action, digital, design and visual effects will not go to waste either. Global Head of Digital Mike Woods will lead the new division and said, “For the past five years, we’ve had a team dedicated to working solely in game engine technology and completely refining non-linear storytelling traits and techniques. Now, we have the opportunity to combine our ability to convey a story with our understanding of new technology. We’re reaching a crossroads where users can control and interact with very high quality imagery, and look forward to finding out where we can go with that.” Mike and the team are currently working on new projects. www.framestore.com
 
 
 
 
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Category: Production