Animated People: Van Phan, Director of Tribeca VR Premiere 'Upstander'

Animation director Van Phan won two Student Emmys for his first two animated shorts: Wild card e Values, that were made during his participation in the USC film. Values he also received the Best Animated Short Award at Siggraph in 2001. He has worked as an animator, artist and designer for films and games produced by DreamWorks, Sony Imageworks, Digital Domain, The Third Floor, Halon Studios, Activision, Zynga, Naughty Dog , 2K, ILM and Blue Sky Studios. Phan's latest project, a VR animated short film titled Upstander, debuts today as part of the Tribeca Festival's Cinema360 online spotlight. He was kind enough to answer some of our questions about his latest venture:

How did you come up with the idea of ​​your anti-bullying VR project?

Van Phan: Upstander was created in collaboration with the youth charity The Diana Award and Oculus VR for Good creator's lab. I partnered with the Diana Award to have a 360-degree video experience to support their anti-bullying message. During my visit to the Diana Award, the ambassador staged some possible bullying scenarios. The knowledge of their experience was invaluable and inspired several scenes Upstander, helping to make it more authentic. Using feedback from Creator's Lab, I reworked the original story and made changes in the story perspective from bullying to the viewer. I also changed the set from an outdoor playground to an indoor basketball court, as having an indoor space would make it easier to direct the attendee's attention.

The journey of creation Upstander it has been transformative for me, as I have discovered the potential of the new medium and believe in its potential as an empathic machine to make people feel and think more. Since it was created in VR, I wanted to structure the experience so that it could leverage the medium and push boundaries visually, and also by introducing some unique narrative components of VR, such as the participant's body movement.

When did you start working on it and how long did it take to finish?

The project started in June 2018 and production ended in December 2019.

What tools did you use to produce the animation?

We have used Unreal Marketplace for most of the models and environments and the Unreal game engine used for VR production.

How many people worked on it and what was your budget for the ballpark?

There were a lot of people involved, but the production had a couple of people working on it during the different stages of production.

What was your toughest challenge in this project?

Since the development of virtual reality is new, no workflow has been followed. I had to develop a workflow suited to my unique production needs and limitations. Since this is complex, it requires thousands of failures during pipeline development, pre-production and production.

What do you like about the finished version?

Since virtual reality is a new medium, a director can create something unique and fresh. I was able to explore the use of incarnation, space and shifts in perspective as a tool to guide the narrative of the new medium. It was very satisfying to be part of the whole process from concept to promotion.

Upstander it begins as a conventional linear narrative with extraordinary characters, as it uses backpacks to represent the characters. The changes in POV, camera movement and incarnation support the narrative arc of the experience, as well as to explore a new visual language. Bullying is more relevant than ever during COVID-19 as the pandemic has intensified racial bullying towards Asians. I hope to push the boundaries of storytelling with his next interactive project.

What is your opinion on the state of virtual reality in 2020?

Virtual reality is at a crucial moment and will resume due to better and better content created, such as Half-Life: Alyx. Additionally, COVID-19 could have a positive impact on virtual reality as people use it as a tool to connect virtually. For example, the Tribeca immersive film festival will continue and will be screened for free on Oculus Go and Quest headphones. Situations like this could lead people to explore VR as a tool for adapting to social distancing and exploring ways to cope with being stuck at home. Virtual reality is also much more affordable, as you can get a headset virtual reality on your own for just $ 200-400 now.

What kind of advice would you give to animators who want to access VR support?

Master the fundamentals of storytelling and animation well and use this knowledge to structure a good story. Also, learn about emerging technologies like Unreal or Unity, as these are the tools for developing virtual reality and virtual reality.

What are you working on next?

I want to explore using interactivity to create an experience that not only builds empathy, but also gives the participant a sense of agency, so that they can feel, think and act after experiencing it. We have developed a prototype and are looking for some partners to help us complete it.

Upstander is available to try the Tribeca Film Festival's Cinema360, presented in collaboration with Facebook's Oculus. Check out the schedule here and find out more about the movie on www.upstandervr.com