Smart Screen
Vast Media Smart Screen Round-Up: Girls in Gaming, Snapchat Horror
Story Highlights
Here’s a run-down of recent second screen-related entertainment items, via Berlin-based research and consulting company Vast Media.
• For the comedy series “People Just Do Nothing,” BBC created its first comedy reality short film, available for the BBC VR app, Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR. The film — “360 Degrees With Kurupt FM” — takes viewers on a five-minute ride as a record company boss that’s been kidnapped by the crew of a pirate radio station. Viewers are pressured to sign the group to a record label, with cast members MC Grindah and DJ Beats performing for the viewer.
• Documentary company Artifact Studios teamed with Facebook to recently launch a new series called “Girls Level Up,” which aims to inspire girls to become video game developers. PlayStation, Naughty Dog, Double Fine Productions and other companies teamed on the endeavor, which feature seven videos on a dedicated web site.
Each video features girls asking questions about game development, and includes answers from women who’ve worked on some of the biggest games out there. The series is being promoted on Facebook and Instagram.
• Snapchat recently added a new original, short horror series, “V/H/S,” based on the horror anthology films of the same name. Comprised of four new shorts, the episodes were created specifically for mobile viewing, and look as if the actors themselves recorded them. The series feature a “VHS Jump Scare” lens that transforms the viewer into a zombie-like creature.
• Sir David Attenborough, creator of natural history programs “Blue Planet” and “Planet Earth,” is collaborating with broadcaster Sky to create a new VR project, dubbed “Hold the World. Available to Sky VIP subscribers, the VR experience will be available via the Sky VR app in the U.K., Germany, Austria and Italy.
Taking place at the Natural History Museum in London, the VR experience sees Attenborough walk viewers through artifacts at the museum, offering history lessons.
