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We all know it’s coming sooner or later; the introduction of fully immersive, 360-degree Hollywood movies, paving the way for virtual reality to take off within the entertainment space. While not everyone agrees on how to present content in an immersive virtual environment without losing a viewer’s attention to the storyline, there is no doubt that over the coming months and years ahead a whole series of trial and error films will be released to the public in order to gauge their interest in the technology. Today one of the first such films has been released, by no other than Google, and I have to say it’s quite impressive to say the least.

Google, who had been working for some time with Taiwanese-American director Justin Lin, known for his work in ‘Community,’ ‘Star Trek Beyond,’ and ‘Fast and Furious,’ has released the 5-minute short film called ‘Help’ on their video platform YouTube. The film, which takes place in Los Angeles after a meteor shower which seems to have caused aliens to crash their vessel, is action-packed and filled with impressive special effects, thanks to the work of the production company Bullitt.

The film can be viewed here on YouTube, via the YouTube application on Android devices, or the Google Spotlight Stories app for iOS devices, and if you are at all interested in sci-fi content I urge you to take the five minutes to view the film at least once. I have personally watched it several times as it is impossible to catch everything that’s going on in a single viewing. While the main action may be focused in one direction, there are a lot of little Easter eggs and sub-stories happening in other directions as well. This is what makes the film so unique, but it also could be seen as a negative since the viewer’s attention can easily get distracted from the main storyline. With that said, the shortness of the film is what makes it work so well, and I highly doubt we will be seeing any 1-2 hour 360-degree, Hollywood-style films released anytime soon.

While ‘Help’ doesn’t appear to work with any stereoscopic headsets as of yet, Google likely will be bringing such content to VR headsets very soon, and I personally can not wait! Have you had an opportunity to watch this 360-degree film? If not I urge you to take the time. We have embedded the film below. Once viewed, let us know your thoughts in the ‘Help’ forum on VRTalk.com.

