We all thought the new Suicide Squad VR experience would be just like every other VR movie promo. Then we saw exactly how it was filmed.
Superhero fans lucky enough to be at San Diego Comic-Con were able to immerse themselves in the world of DC’s upcoming movie last month, and the company has recently released a behind the scenes look at its creation. It puts you in an intense action scene from the movie that, fascinatingly, was partly captured using a 360 degree camera rig that also doubled as a helmet. You can see it in action at 1:28 in the video below.
Yes, that’s stunt actors from the movie really wearing a rig that’s covered with cameras, positioned to capture the area around them. Clearly sticking four GoPro units to a helmet wasn’t enough; this is a hugely elaborate setup that the makers didn’t even let the actual actors use. From the looks of it, you’ll spend a lot of time as Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, using a baseball bat with very little concern for people on the receiving end. We’ll be very interested to see how the actor’s movements translate to the VR experience.
The VR short will be launching on August 5, the same day the anticipated new movie hits theaters. That is according to PROXi VR, the Australia-based cinematic VR company behind the experience’s production. The group was founded by father-son duo, Guy and Harrison Norris. Guy himself was the second unit director on the full film, while Harrison was brought in to direct the VR short.
The experience is set to be launched via a Gear VR app, having already been seen by a staggering 10,000 people at Comic-Con.
Along with Robbie, Suicide Squad stars the likes of Will Smith, Jarred Leto, and Jai Courtney, who all appear as some of DC’s most recognized comic book villains. Let’s hope a Batman VR experience doesn’t follow far behind.
