Samsung Wants to Discover the Next Great VR Filmmakers with Gear Indie | SkyBox

The best VR hardware is nothing without content, so Samsung is on a mission to showcase and help develop Indie VR filmmaking. According to a recent article in Fast Company, Samsung is about to introduce Gear Indie, a curated channel for its Milk VR video service. One of the five films chosen to introduce the channel is Hamilton+Kidd’s “Nissan LeMans 360”, which uses mettle SkyBox in their production to add graphics onto the 360 footage, and export it into 360/VR format. Read more about LeMans 360 in our earlier blog posting. Congrats to H+K!

Samsung is betting that independent filmmakers can create great content that will build a large audience and help sell their Gear VR headsets. The initiative has 3 components:

1. A curated showcase for short VR films.

2. A system of challenges that will reward small filmmakers. Over the coming year, Samsung would hold between eight and 15 challenges, usually one at a time, lasting between four and eight weeks. In each case, filmmakers will be asked to make videos—perhaps on specific topics, such as music. Winners of the challenges will likely receive prizes in the form of VR filmmaking equipment, or cash.

3. Establish a mentorship program that teams some of the creators with established VR filmmaking professionals. It’s designed to offer direct assistance and feedback to aspiring VR content creators, not only about their videos, but also on how to go out and create.

According to Matt Apfel, vice president of strategy and creative content at Samsung, the company hopes to bring aspiring content creators and mentors together, and in the process discover the next great talent. Samsung also wants to understand what works in VR filmmaking, and what doesn’t.

This looks like a great opportunity for aspiring VR filmmmakers. Exposure and mentoring, and it may just sell some VR headsets for Samsung along the way.

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