Fantastic Beast Virtual Reality experience launched on Google’s Daydream Platform inviting fans into J.K.Rowling’s wizarding world.

A Creative Revolution is taking shape driven by the still-emerging medium of virtual reality it’s setting the stage for never-before-seen kinds of creativity that is pushing storytelling forward in ways we never imagined. The sheer amount of problem solving, rule breaking, determination and inventiveness the VR creative and production process demands is fundamentally reshaping the way creatives, developers, producers and technologists work together, are you ready to go beyond the frame?

VR demands new ways of workings

Virtual reality has been a gift to artists and creatives who have been experimenting with it. Old ways of thinking bring the same old results, but when you are working in an undefined space, there is no tried-and-true process to fall back upon — new ideas and experimentation are the only ways to succeed. VR has forced us to work outside our comfort zones. Our parameters and our structure have been wiped away, no longer are we producing our work from traditional scripts and storyboards, we have be challenged to look beyond the frame and reshape the creative process. This means adopting a fail fast approach, trying new ideas, collaborating and creating prototypes not decks. More recently I have been using Tiltbrush as a tool to visualize ideas and collaborate in real time with clients. This unconventional way of working has proven to be highly successful in communicating an idea in 360°. Only when we are not afraid to break the rules and experiment in the virtual space will we be able to help move this medium forward to its full potential.

Google’s virtual reality painting app, Tilt Brush, allows architects, designers, creatives to walk through their sketches in real-time as they draw them.

We must invest in good VR — built to live not built to die

Not all VR experiences are created equally. Good VR is not cheap, and cheap VR is not good. Producing good VR requires a significant budget which can start at $150,000, with some projects even starting at $1 million. Not investing in good VR content has major consequences, we must have a ‘built to live not built to die’ mindset. This requires having a strategic vision for VR and AR that works best for your brand. It’s about future-proofing your brand, business, or industry, and adapting to changing consumer behaviors. The most successful work within VR today has a common trait: It authentically delivers content that expresses the brand purpose in ways that are culturally and humanly relevant.

All signs are pointing toward a future filled with virtual reality, but right now VR is really about lessons learned. It’s in an exciting (and frightening) experimentation stage, something that might not be perfect during the first go-around but we need considerable investment to enable this only then can we start breaking new ground and challenge the norms. The age of the passive audience is diminishing it is time to embrace the idea of participatory storytelling and just as the internet transformed our relationship with information, VR looks set to redefine our relationship with experience.

Google Earth VR lets you explore the world from totally new perspectives in virtual reality. Stroll the streets of Tokyo, soar over the Grand Canyon, or walk around the Eiffel Tower. It’s potential is limitless.

Are you ready to take a virtual leap of faith?

During work on Fantastic Beasts VR experience, a collaboration with Warner Bros and Google we took a huge leap of faith shaking up the creative process with a “fail fast, learn quick” approach, using our diverse skill sets, and forging together teams that were able to not only collaborate together but solve the unknown problems we encountered on a daily bases working with Google’s new hardware, controller and real-time elements on mobile.

Fantastic Beasts VR is the world’s first virtual Reality expeirence nominated for multiple VES awards for it’s outstanding visual effects in real-time.

Using a photo-­realistic style that combines real­-time elements and pre­-rendered environments, we wanted fans to feel like they had been transported right into the very heart of Newt’s magical world face to face with his beasts. This was the first time we combined real­-time interactive elements with high quality pre­-rendered environments — pushing both the interactivity and the quality in mobile VR. The ultimate challenge was to go beyond the frame and to make you part of the story, creating an emotional connection with Newt’s Fantastic Beasts unachievable in the cinema.

Conjure, tame and take care of Newt’s Fantastic Beasts.

Working in VR is a leap of faith that requires a high level of trust and collaboration between teammates and from clients alike, and ultimately, that’s what produces better work. Those who are intimidated by the unknown or who don’t enjoy a little chaos tend to shy away from this environment. It’s a medium for those who want to push the boundaries and explore new terrain, people who revel in solving the unsolvable, are unfazed by the impossible, and who thrive in adversity. And beyond shining a light on the bravest creatives among us, it has brought together disciplines that were traditionally kept separate — data scientists, architects, hackers, coders, designers, and UX experts can now be paired with film directors, actors, performers, VFX artists, directors of photography, and set designers to create worlds that often only existed in our imaginations.

Beyond the frames lies a powerful new dimension of Virtual experiences and for those learning the language early and experimenting they will reap the rewards in the long term.