It's not often we write about a short film that doesn't even have a formal trailer, but this is no ordinary short. Virtual reality is racing to respond to the arrival of the first headsets, and the truth is we need to see something in them. That's where Oculus Story Studio comes in, and we discussed earlier this year. One of the projects mentioned there is Henry, which features a porcupine as its protagonist...
A New Era for Animation
Animation is on the verge of entering a new era. That's a bold statement given recent film projects, but what's coming brings a very particular set of rules. The so-called "tyranny of two dimensions" loses power against the potential of virtual reality. And while watching a film from inside it won't be easy to get used to, I imagine the projects involved will strive to deliver a superlative level of quality.
Inside Henry
One of those projects is Henry, created by Oculus Story Studio. The story follows a small porcupine that loves to hug, a challenge for obvious reasons. Its ten-minute runtime puts it on par with any cartoon, but here there are no pencils—just a full game engine, Unreal Engine 4, to be precise. Another striking aspect is that there is never a definitive version of Henry. A small error here, a misplaced object there... Director Ramiro López Dau has watched the short dozens of times, and each viewing reveals something new that needs to be fixed. The people involved in the project make films and eliminate bugs at the same time. Add to that the profound changes Oculus Story Studio made to Unreal Engine 4. Epic founder Tim Sweeney himself admitted they have pushed the engine to its limits, a clear sign that it may not be enough in the future.
Meanwhile, Henry is likely to stir our emotions as if they were made of yogurt. Every moment of joy and sadness will be shared with the audience because the porcupine can look us in the eyes. The idea is that Henry won't be alone when the Oculus Rift makes its debut next year. There's still much to fix, and the short may never be considered finished, but the press was ecstatic at its premiere last Tuesday, and these days, that's no small feat.
