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It is with Jan Kounen, filmmaker known for his films " 99 francs ", " Dobermann " or " Blueberry, the secret experience ", but whose first realization in virtual reality, we invite you to begin the immersion.
"7 lives" is a fantasy tale. Inspired by Japan and Shinto philosophy, it tells the story of a soul, caught between the world of the living and the dead. In this dreamlike experience, users move from one dimension to another and explore a world that is usually invisible.
The project has a strong narrative ambition which has been enriched by a strong technique such as 3D shots, computer-generated images and interaction sequences at the heart of the film.
On the 7 lives website, download the application or watch the 360° video.
The fiction "7 lives" was selected for the Tribeca and TaiPei festivals. (2019)It received :
- The jury's special mention at the NewImages Festival of Paris (2019)
- The Fiction Prize at the VR Festival of Arles (2019)
- The Golden Halo Awards for Best Fictional Work at VR Days in Amsterdam(2019)
- The Audience Award at the VR Days in Amsterdam (2019)
Jan Kounen, what is your vision of "7 lives"?
"7 lives" is a special story, very sensorial. It's about someone who has an accident and goes in the moment of this accident, to be between 2 worlds and explore memories.
This project is a totally experimental space. Instead of doing as always for new things, trying little factual things, there everybody said: ok, let's go. And we've done something that is about experience with a very strong artistic, experiential and sensory aspect. It's not a film that you watch and say: "Oh yes! I completely understood the little story! ». It's something you can think about afterwards and it's also interactive because there are choices to be made. It's not a video game, but it's undeniably a real and new work of narration, of experience in a space where the viewer keeps an impact because he moves through the images, makes choices that will make him reconstruct the story.
Why did you accept such a project?
The project interested me because I like new technologies, new things that emerge.
"7 lives" is my first experience with this technique and I am convinced, now, that it is a revolution that will change our uses and also help to make a creative space for artists, filmmakers, theater directors. I sometimes have animated discussions with some of my fellow filmmakers, to whom I said that the adventure of virtual reality was equivalent to the arrival of "Un train en gare de la Ciotat". We are theater directors and cinema is coming!
Why does virtual reality seem important to you?
In 2019, virtual reality is part of the process that will allow the spectator to become an actor.
There is something of the order of fantasy for anyone who tells a story and does so through the medium of film, to become at some point a character within the film. And, in my opinion, VR (virtual reality), is similar to that path.
To work today in this space is good because it is a space that does not yet have a market. So in fact, we're creating and everyone says to themselves: "We're going to need creators, in France, of this system, we're going to need a know-how", so artistic projects such as "7 lives" are going to be made because it's like an artistic short film that will allow us to develop the technology, to apprehend things in order to be ready when there will be a consequent development. For a creator, it's the best moment because in five years, there may be a real industry and then we'll find ourselves in the situation of a feature film with people saying: "No, we mustn't do that! "or "We need this actor! "and so on.
You could say that we're clearing the way. For example, on "7 lives", there were some very very complex technological issues, some tricks... We're in the process of inventing the "Méliès" phase of VR. The very high-performance machines used for faking in the cinema have become very slow in relation to the size of the image, in relation to everything we ask of them. As a result, we're going back 10 years with enormous computing times. There are complex image manipulations; doing a cross-fade becomes a headache because you have to execute algorithms to get there... But it's still very pleasant to be at the beginning of something. On "7 lives" for example, we used Google's new 360° camera, YI HALO, which contains 17 cameras and has a fantastic rendering.
Some pictures from "7 lives"
How do you see the future of VR?
To me, this seems as important as the discovery of the Web in the late 80s. The web has not become an object of cultural creation, but it is a fabulous tool of diffusion that has changed our way of life. I think that virtual reality and augmented reality are things that are going to totally change our uses, we see them present in science fiction films like Minority Report for example and we see more and more artificial intelligence coupled with these systems.
"7 Lives", practical info
- "7 Lives" is a co-production between Francetv, Red Corner, a_BAHN and Frakas.
- The experiment is realized by Jan Kounen, written by Charles Ayats and Sabrina Calvo and set to sound by Franck Weber,
- "7 Lives" is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between the worlds of film and video games. Jan Kounen, the director (Dobermann, Blueberry, 99 francs) has combined his knowledge of scenography and staging with the universe and game design of Charles Ayats (Type: Rider, Sens VR, MOA) and Sabrina Calvo (Sous la colline, Toxoplasma).
- "7 Lives" has a strong narrative and technical ambition. The project mixes both real 3D and computer-generated images and offers interaction sequences at the very heart of the film.
- "7 Lives" will be available via the website:https://www.francetelevisions.fr/lab/7lives/in an interactive version on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive and inlinear 360° video.
