Check out excerpts of VRStorytellers Eddie Avil & Ashley Rodrigues’s interview on Crackle VR Horror Movie.
‘Crackle’ VR horror movie is all set to create history in Indian Virtual Reality segment. Directed by Eddie Avil and Ashley Rodrigues, Crackle is the first Virtual Reality horror short movie to thrill the audience in a brand new format. Check out the exclusive notes behind this 12 minute spin chill thrilling experience.
Hi Eddie. How you developed passion for music?
My Elder Brother Adam Avil introduced me to Rock Music and from that moment onward, there was no looking back. Played for “PRALAY” for almost 2 decades and when the music scene started changing, I moved on to the Advertising Industry and started composing/producing music for TV commercials and jingles. Along the way got the opportunity to compose music for a few Bollywood feature films.
The Movie Paanch, directed by Anurag Kashyap was loosely based on my band and we were the first Indian band to be shortlisted for the Grammy Awards in the year 2003.
Hi Ashley. Share your journey from Sound Engineer to VR Filmmaker.
The journey seemed logical as we were doing production for some time now, audio to video, and VR (Virtual Reality) seemed the next step forward. VR happened due to a clients request to create something Immersive for their customers.
Eddie, kindly share the journey and clientele of ‘Sound Good Studios’ so far.
I started my professional career as a Sound Engineer and the entrepreneur in me pushed to setup my first recording studio next to Phoenix mills in the early 2000’s. Eventually, I set up ‘Sounds Good Studios’ & Sounds Good Productions. We are currently amongst the top 5 Radio Spot/Jingle Producers in the country.
Our client list includes almost all the top Ad agencies & Production house in the country.
[Tweet “CRACKLE: INDIA’s FIRST 3D 360 DEGREE VR HORROR SHORT FILM”]Why you choose to dabble with VR?
VR happened when one of our clients asked if we could help them for a VR Project and as soon as we understood the potential of VR, we got consumed. In a few decades VR will blur the lines of reality. Reality could be redefined and its possibilities will be endless. Nobody in India was looking at the area of Cinematic VR and we saw an opportunity there to get in early on and grab the First Movers Advantage.
How the concept of Crackle VR horror movie got incepted?
We did some commercial Virtual Reality jobs but due to NDA’s, we were unable to show it to other clients. So we thought to produce our own Cinematic VR content to push the envelope in Technical/Creative side. Moreover, it will act as as our reel of VR in India. We also locked on ‘Horror’ as a genre knowing the thrilling impact it can have in VR.
How you crack the difficult shooting of ‘Crackle’ as such thing is never done before?
VR horror movie was a whole new challenge. VR has lots of technical difficulties right now, which will get sorted out shortly. We cannot use the most important requirement for getting a good footage that is Lights. As the camera captures everything, and covering that in post is a tedious task. So we worked around using some small LEDs which will be manageable for shooting of Crackle. We also had to work with the cast to treat this like a stage performance. So we had to rehearse extensively before the shoot. Even some of the action sequences were created like a live performance.
Share the details of gadgets and tools used for shooting of Crackle VR horror movie.
We have created an 18 camera rig that allows us to shoot complete 3D, 360. We also had to create our very own remote controlled dolly. We had also used a couple of wires and pulleys for some shots.
Bahubali 2: The Conclusion introduced first Virtual Reality teaser.
What are the challenges for you in the Post Production Pipeline?
The stitching of movie is one of the most time consuming parts in post. We will also have to work on an edit that does not overwhelm the viewer.
How Crackle VR horror movie will be distributed to the end user?
The Idea is to first send it to VR Fests/Awards abroad and use the mileage to drive the point home about VR’s potential. We are also talking to OTT platforms here so that it reaches a wider audience.
Does the viewer need any specific gears to truly get thrilled by the short movie?
Just watching it on a VR headset or Google Cardboard will do. We recommend using headphones to get a true thrilling experience.
How this VR horror movie has created waves in International Media circles?
Since Crackle is the first movie in the horror genre of VR in India, we are already getting noticed as ‘VRStorytellers’. It is self produced short movie with a minimalistic budget and resources. Unlike the big production houses doing VR internationally who have ready made cameras and available funds, we had to create everything from scratch. We created our own stereoscopic, 360 Camera Rig with 18 Cam’s.
We created our own Dolly for Motion shots and we are also working on our own Software/Script for stitching the videos. It has been challenging, exhausting and consuming as nothing was available here in India to create the 360 Rig, Dolly etc. but we managed and we are proud of what we achieved in the short movie.
What was the experience like shooting India’s first 360 VR Horror Short Film ‘Crackle’?
It always takes a rock solid team to make something cool and since this is the first of its kind in India, it was a pleasure to work with a brave new talented cast who believed in our vision and worked uncompromisingly giving their best with the minimal resources and time to create INDIA’s FIRST 3D 360 DEGREE VR HORROR SHORT FILM ‘CRACKLE’. The short movie was made possible by the awesome cast & crew people.
What do you think, the limitations of VR for true Immersive experience?
True Immersive experience will take a few decades when the lines of Reality will slowly but surely blur with VR.
We are at a very nascent stage of the technology and what VR can grow into, it will be simply mind numbing. Once the relevant technology matures the word ‘Limitations’ will cease to exist for VR. It will be Limitless, in real manner.
What are your future goals with these whole sum new learnings of this VR horror movie?
VR Throws up challenges every day and we have been having fun solving the problems and moving ahead. Commercially we are talking to The Tourism Ministry, Luxury Realty Business & The Travel Industry in helping them understand the Disruptive Potential VR can have on these verticals. We also have a few ideas to partner and create Cinematic Content that helps in mass adoption of VR in India.
With “VRStorytellers” we plan to be the one stop shop for 360 VR Ecosystem here in India for any and everyone who needs professional VR content.
Besides 360 Rig, Cameras, Dolly, Drones, Stitching, Audio/Video facilities; we have a team of experts who can come on-board right from the point of the inception. They will add creative value to the project with the technical knowledge of creating a Immersive 360 VR Experience.
Online Press Support is executed by The Virtual Assist for Crackle.