Milica Zec:
"VR Director and Producer."
As VR becomes an increasingly essential artistic form, a new vocation has emerged. A few years ago if someone called themselves a professional VR director, it would have seemed aspirational at best. But much has changed in a very short time. As immersive technologies evolve at an almost dizzying pace, a first wave of VR directors have arrived to pioneer the medium on an array of fronts from the purely experiential to classic narratives.
Armando Kirwin is just such a figure. He has helped create over a dozen different VR projects which have earned one Emmy nomination, two Webby nominations, and the Grand Prix at Cannes, along with debuts at Tribeca, SXSW, and Sundance. Along the way Kirwin and his peers are helping to forge a brand new visual language and set about to discover which, if any, cinematic rules apply to VR.
As much as any experience, the New York Times produced “Great Performers: L.A Noir,” on which Kirwin served as director of VR, illustrates both the similarities and profound differences between the flat screen and immersive narrative experience. Featuring a cast of Hollywood heavyweights including Don Cheadle, Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart, and Casey Affleck, the experience transposes film noir, perhaps the most cinematic of film genres, into 360° VR.
