Daylight’s End – VR Edition Same Day as Theatrical Movie Release
Groove Jones – the Dallas-based, virtual reality (VR) studio specializing in the production of 360º commercials and interactive software – along with DAYLIGHT’S END’s theatrical Director and Writer, announced the planned release of a VR Edition of the film in conjunction with the theatrical release of the movie when it hits theaters on August 26th.
This is the first time a movie has been simultaneously released in theaters, as a digital download on iTunes, and as a VR experience. The movie will be available on all major VR platforms, including the HTC Vive and Samsung Gear VR. Dale Carman, partner and executive creative director of Groove Jones, directed the virtual reality chapter of the film.
“We think VR is a powerful storytelling medium, and we knew this movie had the right elements to show it off,” said Dale Carman. “It was an amazing shoot and we know that people will want to see what we created. Once movie audiences get the full VR experience we believe this will be the first of many for the industry. We think the timing is right to release a virtual reality movie.”
DAYLIGHT’S END was shot in Dallas and points ranging from East Texas to the West Texas town of Rio (pop. 3) along the famed Route 66. The film is a hard-driving action-horror-thriller starring Johnny Strong (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, BLACK HAWK DOWN), Lance Henriksen (ALIEN, TERMINATOR) and Louis Mandaylor (MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, SINNERS AND SAINTS). The movie focuses on a rogue drifter on a vengeful hunt years after a mysterious plague has devastated the planet and turned most of humanity into blood-hungry creatures.
The cast and crew of the movie DAYLIGHT’S END regrouped to shoot some special scenes recently in Dallas. These scenes will appear in the VR Edition of the film. Carman collaborated with both William Kaufman (THE PRODIGY, SINNERS AND SAINTS, and THE HIT LIST), the theatrical director of DAYLIGHT’S END, and Chad Law (THE HIT LIST, ISOLATION, and 6 BULLETS), the Writer of the film, on the postproduction of this edition.
“Seeing what Dale pulled off with this shoot in 360º turned out to be a great experience. He has a long resume of directing VR productions and understands what will and will not work,” Kaufman said. “The look and feel and energy align with the film.”
Chad Law wrote the story for the vignette, in which movie fans can recognize some friendly and unfriendly faces. The VR chapter is a prequel storyline that stars Johnny Strong, returning as “Thomas Rourke,” the dark and dangerous anti-hero in the feature film. Strong has appeared in BLACK HAWK DOWN, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, and GET CARTER. Strong was named “2012’s Breakout Action Star” of the year in William Kaufman’s “Sinners and Saints.”
The scene also features the work of noted industry Stunt Coordinator Clayton Barber, who helped the actors with physical scenes that included escaping the undead for both the movie and the VR release. Clayton has worked on stunts for such films as OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, THE BOURNE LEGACY, and the upcoming JOHN WICK 2 and THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS 8.
The VR Edition scenes were shot with the Jaunt ONE camera system, which includes 24 separate camera lenses to capture the 360º action.
“We are thrilled that we were able to get the theatrical team together for this virtual reality experience,” said Dale Carman. “Being agile and forward-thinking, we’ve pulled off something everyone talks about but rarely delivers.”
About The Film
William Kauffman and Chad Law have teamed up again to create the film Daylight’s End, which is a hard-driving action-horror-thriller starring Johnny Strong. After a very successful Comic-Con and film festival run, DAYLIGHT’S END is being distributed by Vertical Entrainment and Lionsgate. The theatrical release for the film is August 26, 2016. For more information, visit www.daylightsendmovie.com.
The film and the virtual reality vignette stars Johnny Strong as Thomas Rourke.
