Oculus, Felix & Paul Studios, and Universal Pictures are launching the second chapter of Jurassic World: Blue, a two-part virtual reality experience produced to coincide with the recent release of the Oculus Go VR headset and the upcoming theatrical release of the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom film.
The new experience is one of a number of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom interactive experiences. Others include a new VR game at Dave & Buster’s restaurants and Ludia’s Jurassic World Alive mobile game. It seems Universal is being particularly aggressive about approving Jurassic World games and VR titles.
The VR experience debuted its first chapter earlier in May with the Oculus Go, which is a $200 standalone headset that is meant to be an entry-level device for VR users. It is also available on the Oculus Rift and the Samsung Gear VR.
Jurassic World: Blue’s visual effects and animation come from Disney’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), with sound done by Headspace Studio. Felix & Paul Studios, an Emmy-winning studio for VR experiences, is creating each chapter of Jurassic World: Blue as a single, continuous take, combining live-action and computer graphics in 360-degree VR.
That makes for some really long visual-effects shots. The idea is to give people a sense for a world in motion. Blue is an intelligent velociraptor, a very dangerous dinosaur, on a search for food and water. She has to fight against predators and deal with the destruction of Isla Nublar, the island where Jurassic World (the amusement park) is based. Each experience is just a few minutes long.
Felix & Paul Studios first got involved with VR in 2015 with the release of Jurassic World: Apatosaurus (available on Oculus Go and Gear VR).
“Integrating live-action filmmaking with visual effects and animation to deliver a seamless, immersive experience for the audience was no easy feat,” said Felix & Paul creative director Paul Raphaël, in a statement. “Each unique chapter ofJurassic World: Blue highlights how 3D, 360° experiences can create a visceral, emotional cinematic experience for users.”
In Episode 2, you follow the velociraptor in her fight for survival against a volcanic eruption and deadly predators. Blue is the dinosaur that plays a prominent role in the Jurassic World movie.
“Seeing the fantastic reactions to the first episode means audiences will probably lose their minds when they find themselves in the middle of a dino fight in this next episode,” said Universal Pictures executive Austin Baker, in a statement. “All of the hard work by Felix & Paul Studios, ILM, and Oculus has certainly paid off and we couldn’t be happier.”
