Although VR movies have just started, technology will always accelerate its development. With the gradual improvement of the AR and VR hardware environment in Taiwan, VR movies have become popular. In this year's Kaohsiung Film Festival, a young creator Wu Po-Hung's VR film, "My Syrian Neighbors" is now playing in the theatre. With the help of software technology, the trend of film VR has become clearer.
"My Syrian Neighbors" is a VR film shot by Wu Po-Hung based on the theme of foreign social care. It describes the Syrian civil war. The family of a young girl named Judy was bombed and they fled to a town at the border of Turkey and Syria, living a difficult life. However, the arrival of a mother from Taiwan brought these refugee children who had dropped out back to school. The entire scene of the film uses VR360 technology to restore the details of the story, allowing the audiences to feel that even though Syrian is far away from Taiwan, we can still be neighbors of each other.
Wu Po-Hung was born in 1989 and was graduated from the Department of Graphic Arts and Communications, National Taiwan Normal University. In 2018, he founded BonWu Photography. Wu Po-Hung has diverse image creation styles. He is specialized in documentary and VR360 image education. He has won the New Taipei City Documentary Award and a number of documentary awards for his documentary film, the "Lifesaver". In 2018, his VR work, the "Twenty Gifts" won the Best Audience Vote of the Taipei Film Festival. The subject of the film is novel and it is thought-provoking.
Why make a VR film? In the course of creation, Wu Po-Hung, who feels a sense of purpose, always wants to break the limits of images, taking the audience into the scene of the story and experiencing the sorrow and joy of life. Just like when he was filming the "My Syrian Neighbors", the audiences are brought into the scene to experience a world which is completely different from Taiwan. Under the 360-degree panoramic view of VR film, it is not just telling the story to the audience, but turning the audience into part of the story.
Modularization of VR technology that Reduces the Entry Barrier of VR Films
To make an immersive movie, VR technology is needed. Wu Po-Hung, who has made many documentaries, knows how to use documentary filming techniques. Therefore, when using VR for image creation, Director Wu quickly turned processes such as script writing, storyboard design, equipment selection, on-site shooting, post-production editing, sound and special effects processing into SOPs. He also wrote books and prepare the sound software for special effects by myself, greatly reducing the entry barrier for making VR films.
"Art needs to be democratized in order to become popular in the market." Last year, Wu Po-Hung received the Startup Terrace 2018 Selection Award of the second-tier international entrepreneurship demonstration project and was stationed in the Startup Terrace Linkou. Wu Po-Hung decided to start a business and gradually turned his role of a director into an entrepreneur, dividing 70% of his time in creation and 30% in starting his business. Wu Po-Hung opened a number of workshops, aimed at college and university students who have film and multimedia related background, leading them to enter into the VR world.
From creation to entrepreneurship, Wu Po-Hung used his accumulated creative skills over the years to turn film scenes into a database. He also adopted different stereo effects and turned them into creative software. Wu Po-Hung's first step is to pass on the application of VR technology to regular image creators. In addition to training talents with art related background, he also collaborated with talents from various field. For example, he received a case from a credit evaluation agency extended to court education and VR was applied to bring people into the court, allowing them to feel what it is like during the on-site defense.
VR Technology Powers Any Imagination to Expand Markets
If the reality of a documentary can create resonance, then what kind of impact will it make when taking the audience into the VR scenes? The iceberg scene of the Titanic, the historical battle scene of World War II, or bringing people into the paintings of the Middle Ages, these imaginations may all come true through VR. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wu Po-Hung even saw the huge market in online film festivals, online museums and immersive experiences. In the past, Wu Po-Hung spent most of his time in shooting films. Now, he has the VR filming technology, allowing him to expand the market.
The entrepreneurship of Wu Po-Hung requires the support from the government. Using VR films to start a business is a new attempt and challenge for image creators and the film industry. Wu Po-Hung once had an idea of building a VR experience theater in the Startup Terrace Linkou. After putting on the smart glasses, the audience can see the innovation of the Startup Terrace Linkou. Although there are still many challenges that need to be overcome, VR technology is like an engine that powers all kinds of imagination and possibilities at any time. These imaginations are likely to happen in the Startup Terrace Linkou.
Figure：Wu Po-Hung believes that VR can power various imaginary applications to bring more opportunities for entrepreneurship.
Written/Photographed by: Startup Terrace Editorial team