What
would it feel like to be part of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944? If you could
experience the devastation of war through a Virtual Reality headset, how would
you feel? Sad, angry or both?
At ADFEST
2019, Przemek Drops Drosik will explain the techniques used
to make 'Warsaw Rising’ – Poland’s first feature film made using VR,
which premiered in 2018. His
session is called, ‘Make VR something more than just a rollercoaster ride –Cinematic
VR’ and it takes place on Wednesday 20th March, 11:15am.
What’s ‘Warsaw Rising’ all about?
It is the first feature film in Poland executed using virtual reality (VR)
technology. It tells a story based on the fate of one Warsaw insurgent, Captain
Władysław Sieroszewski alias "Sabała”. He received a note with a prayer
from his daughter when he was leaving to fight in the Uprising in August 1944.
At the time, he did not know yet that the note would influence his further
fate.
Why did you decide to make Poland’s first feature film using VR technology?
I would
like to quote Tomasz Dobosz – the director of Warsaw Rising:
“We no longer have to imagine what we would have done if we had lived in
those times. We feel our physical presence in that time and place, which –
given the right sensitivity – enables us to feel what choices we might have
made. Watching a scene of guerrilla fighting, do we feel like hiding or joining
the battle? Seeing Warsaw destroyed by the war, do we feel sadness or anger?
Thanks to the fact that VR can deceive the human brain in terms of experiencing
presence in the given place, we can come a little closer to answering these
questions.”
What do you hope people will learn from your
session at ADFEST 2019?
I would like to convince attenders to push VR to its boundaries. Like in the
title of my speech – do something more then just a roller coaster ride. I will
focus on the workflow of creating cinematic VR, especially when it comes to
postproduction processes and VFX in VR movies.
During the festival we will also make the screening of ‘Warsaw Rising’ available
on VR headsets. Everyone interested will have the chance to get fully immersed
into occupied Warsaw 70 years ago.
When did LocoMotive launch and what sort
of clients do you work with?
The LocoMotive brand is 12 years old. On a daily basis we work mostly on post-production
of TV commercials and full feature films. However, in our new LocoMotive VR
department we are also focusing on making VR experiences as well.
We are
working with both local and global clients such as Samsung, Huawei, Mastercard,
McDonalds, Volkswagen Group, Pepsi, Mirinda, Ikea, Virgin Mobile, Lays, Jack
Daniels, Dewars, Juicy Fruit, Bayer, Amundsen Vodka, Inglot by Jennifer Lopez,
Unicef and more.
In
relation to virtual reality, we have prepared various VR campaigns for
companies like Mitsubishi, Yes Jewelry,
Orafoil and more. Right now we are working on another full feature film in VR,
but at the moment it’s a secret one.
When did you first become so passionate about VR?
I became passionate about VR in the second company I co-founded: GoMega and its
sub-brand VRplanet. We are focusing there on bringing VR experiences to the B2B
sector. Our first jobs were for the aircraft industry.
Then,
given our background in building mobile apps, we started producing VR
applications for clients in Europe, Australia and Asia. We made VR apps for
architectural companies, various VR configurators, interactive tours in VR, or
brought to life whole factory lines in VR. The Virtual Reality sector is
rapidly growing and we are trying to get the most out of it for our
clients.
As the
quality of VR cameras improves, we have started professional VR postproduction
processes at LocoMotive, closing the gap between VR movies and interactive VR
experiences.
Is it true you’re into wakeskating and extreme sports?
Basically
all my life I was close to extreme sports, and I think I love wakeskating as
it’s my kind of skateboarding retirement:) In Poland we have strong winters and
pretty warm summers, so we have a possibility to get into various sports –
snowboarding during winter and then get on the water when it’s getting hot. The
weather mostly sucks, but we can get the most of it:)
Will this be your first trip to Thailand?
It’s my third trip to Thailand. I just came back from Bangkok last month
as we were shooting VR movies for an application for the iconic Dusit Thani
hotel in Bangkok. My first Thai visit was at ADFEST 2018. In March, I’m mostly
looking forward to meeting great people at ADFEST 2019. And hopefully I will
finally be able to stay longer in your beautiful country and get some proper
vacations!
