The Uprising Creative has launched a virtual reality (VR) content studio called VEHICLEvr. The new venture will focus on the creation, development, production and direction of original and branded VR content, as well as providing VR production services to its partner companies.
VEHICLEvr launches with a roster of directors, including Darren Craig, Jeff Nicholas, Jonathan Craven, Justin Hantz, Dan Huiting and Alexander Thompson, as well as a partnership with commercial representation company Resource that allows VEHICLEvr to facilitate original and branded VR content development and production for a select portion of Resource’s roster of directors and production companies
VEHICLEvr’s upcoming slate spans shorts to original series and features, from comedy and sci-fi to music- and food-based projects, with talents like social media star Marcus Johns, Wolvesmouth chef and artist Craig Thornton and comedian and actor Ari Stidham (CBS‘s Scorpion).
“Right now, VEHICLEvr is under NDA on at least 10 projects that are already in the pipeline, and that was all pre-launch,” said Brian Schopfel, VP of partnerships and experiential at Uprising. “Across our original and partner-based projects, we have several that will be dedicated to different technologies and distribution platforms. We are putting serious resources into making original and branded VR content that will define the future.”
“While speaking on VR panels at SXSW, Cannes Lions and Digital Hollywood this year, people kept asking me when we’re launching our VR studio,” Nicholas added. “We intentionally started out slowly, so we could really understand the medium and the challenges of creating compelling content for VR. But with the success of the Fort Minor and CBSi projects, along with the fun we’re having experimenting and creating VR content in general, it really propelled us to take the next step and launch VEHICLEvr.”
In addition to developing, producing and directing original VR content, VEHICLEvr will also leverage Uprising’s creative, digital and experiential capabilities, as well as its strengths in traditional content development and production.
“Virtual reality is the special place where technology and empathy collide,” Nicholas said. “It creates an immersive universe for storytelling unlike any that has come before it. With VEHICLEvr, we are creating a home for our directors, producers, makers and creative partners to explore and create VR content largely unencumbered by deadlines and clients. We’re writing the rules as we go.”
