Ladbury PR

Taking Flight

The New York Times celebrates this year’s best actors for their annual Great Performers issue with the Virtual Reality experience “Take Flight.” Created by specialist VR studio Vrse.works and inspired by some of the most iconic airborne moments in cinematic history, Take flight is a spellbinding Virtual Reality feast with powerful performances from Melissa McCarthy, Michael Fassbender, Lily Tomlin, Kristen Wiig, Jacob Tremblay, Jason Mitchell, Rooney Mara, Mya Taylor, Benicio del Toro & Charlize Theron.

The VR short lifts the viewer up into a strange and beguiling night-sky tableau, directed by Vrse.works creator Daniel Askill. The Virtual Reality experience was co-produced by Vrse.works and shot on a soundstage using Vrse.works camera technology, Askill captured the performers individually and, with the help of Vrse.works post team (led by post producer Armando Kirwin), placed them within a 360º VR space. The sum of the individual pieces is a gorgeous patchwork of performances suspended amid the moonlit clouds.

Patrick Milling-Smith, Co-founder/President of Vrse.works says, “This is our third Virtual Reality collaboration with The New York times (Walking NY, The Displaced) and once again a very different and ground breaking experience.  It has been a great source of pride to build on the legacy of the Great Performers annual series and be a part of such an exciting collaboration between The New York Times and Vrse.works creator Daniel Askill in bringing this unique world to life in the ever-evolving medium of VR.  'Take flight', with immensely original and meditative beauty, shows a new level of cinematic craft, photography and artistic expression that we hope will continue to engage and thrill this new audience while showcasing and celebrating these amazing performers with a sense of intimacy and imagination not seen before.”

Vrse.works creator Daniel Askill says, “I’m definitely a convert to the incredible potential of Virtual Reality after working on this project for the New York Times. The visceral response that people of all different backgrounds have when given the chance to try this new technology is undeniable. One of my favorite responses to ‘Take Flight’ was from the superintendent of the apartment I stay in downtown NYC. He’s a tough, no nonsense dude, but when he removed the headset, he almost had tears in his eyes and was completely blown away. There is something so magical about the idea of being to be able to lift up off the ground, free of gravity. It is at once playful and childlike but also profound and transcendent.”

To experience the magic yourself or to just watch breath-taking images we urge you to grab your VR headset, download the app if you have not already done so, and watch it now.

TAKE FLIGHT is available to watch on the Vrse app www.vrse.com - (Apple iTunes, Google Play store and Oculus Gear VR store)

www.vrse.works