Never let it be said that Facebook doesn't play with the toys it acquires.
According to a report at Reuters, Oculus VR will be getting into the movie business with an in-house studio solely devoted to making virtual reality films.
Drawing from a wide talent pool that includes both Pixar, the pioneering animation studio well-known for its computer graphics imagery (CGI) films such as "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc," and the realm of video games, Oculus' "Story Studio" will both create films for virtual reality and offer advice to budding filmmakers who want to dip their toes into the VR space.
Virtual reality has long been used in video games with mixed success over the years. But, as of late, the technology has been tempting Hollywood directors to develop their visions into the 360-degree vistas offered by virtual reality headsets such as the Oculus' Rift.
At the yearly Sundance Festival in Park City, Utah, a whole section of the event has been committed to virtual reality short movies by filmmakers such as Chris Milk and Felix & Paul in the hopes getting the independent film community on board.
"I think the (film) community has done a really good job about getting excited about VR and starting to work on things in on VR," said Oculus Chief Executive Officer Brendan Iribe.
The possibilities here are quite intriguing for sure, but let's just hope that Facebook isn't going the dilettante route and will bail on this venture when the going gets rough...and it most certainly will.
