Free climbing, mountain biking, kayaking and slacklining take athletes and viewers to the edge of their comfort zones
PALO ALTO, Calif., Jun. 21, 2016
Jaunt, the leading producer and publisher of fully-immersive cinematic virtual reality experiences, today announced a new VR series, Home Turf, which journeys from the peaks of the Sierra Nevada to massive drops of Icelandic waterfalls and several stops in-between. Produced in collaboration with Camp4 Collective, the four-part series follows free climber, Alex Honnold; mountain biker, Cam Zink; kayaker, Galen Volckhausen; and slackliner, Andy Lewis, better known as “Sketchy Andy” as they share their stories of home, adventure and where they go to push their limits physically, mentally, and beyond.
Adrenaline junkies and slackers alike will view these sports, and remote places, as never before. Shot over a series of days in each location, crews leveraged Jaunt’s end-to-end VR production solutions to capture stunning 360-degree video and audio footage, often relying on drones to carry the camera to new heights giving onlookers unprecedented aerial views of these amazing athletes and environments.
Needles, Alex Honnold
Free climbing legend, Alex Honnold, kicks off the adventure series as he climbs to the peaks of The Needles, a series of massive granite rock formations in Central California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. With no ropes, harnesses or carabiners in sight, Alex takes viewers to new levels as he explores his profound connection with extreme nature.
Rampage, Cam Zink
Despite having traveled all around the world, pro mountain biker, Cam Zink’s favorite place to push his limits is right at home in Virgin, Utah. Viewers will visit the Rampage course where RedBull hosts its annual Freeride event to experience Cam’s journey, from digging his run to completing the course, in this episode of the thrilling Home Turf series.
Iceland, Galen Volckhausen
19-year-old Galen Volckhausen has been kayaking over waterfalls since he was just a little kid. Now, viewers can accompany him as he drops out of his comfort zone and braves the boils of the 65 foot Aldeyjarfoss, a beastly natural phenomenon in Iceland where, as Galen observes, “nature still rules.”
Moab, Sketchy Andy
In this episode, join one of the world’s best and bravest slackliners, Sketchy Andy, as he balances 1,500 feet above the desert floor below him. Andy shares how his home of Moab, Utah has given him the freedom to evolve limitlessly not only as an athlete, but as a human who cherishes the space to reflect on “personal progression.”
“These almost surreal locations are places most people will never travel and now they’re getting unprecedented access,” said Cliff Plumer, President of Jaunt Studios. “There’s no better way to capture the intensity of these athletes and locations than with full 360-degree viewing in VR.”
“The concept for this series really came about because VR technology is finally giving us a way to capture a real sense for these places, like no other medium has,” said Tim Kemple, cofounder of Camp4 Collective. “These athletes are our friends, peers and idols, and now they’re able to bring viewers everywhere, directly into their world.”
The first episode in the four-part Home Turf series, Needles, is available now in the Jaunt VR app, with subsequent videos being released weekly. The Jaunt VR app is available on iOS, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Desktop 360.
About Jaunt
Jaunt is the leading XR solutions provider, helping partners produce and distribute the full spectrum of immersive content (virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality). Through its full-service global production house, Jaunt Studios, and the Jaunt XR Platform’s state-of-the-art distribution technology, Jaunt enables companies to leverage XR to tell their stories in the emerging immersive age.
With a portfolio of over 350 groundbreaking productions, two Emmy nominations, one Emmy Award, and two Lumiere Awards, Jaunt Studios leverages creative discipline and innovative production capability to bring partners’ stories to life in XR.
To solve the challenges of distributing immersive experiences, the Jaunt XR Platform is a distribution technology upon which enterprise customers, media companies, and brands rely to share AR, VR, and MR content through their own channels.
Jaunt is a two-time selection for Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies and back-to-back selection for CNBC’s Disruptor 50 List. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, the company maintains Jaunt Studios in Los Angeles, an international headquarters in London, and a sales office in New York. In 2017, Jaunt established Shanghai-based Jaunt China, formed in partnership with Shanghai Media Group (SMG) and China Media Capital (CMC).
Jaunt’s investors include The Walt Disney Company, Evolution Media Partners, CMC, Highland Capital Partners, Redpoint Ventures, SMG, Axel Springer, ProSiebenSat.1 SE, The Madison Square Garden Company, Google Ventures, Peter Gotcher, and Sky. Experience more at www.jauntxr.com.
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