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Google Is Shutting Down Its Emmy Award-Winning VR Film Studio (variety.com)
Google is shutting down its Spotlight Stories immersive entertainment unit, according to an email sent out by Spotlight Stories executive producer Karen Dufilho Wednesday evening. "Google Spotlight Stories is shutting its doors after over six years of making stories and putting them on phones, on screens, in VR, and anywhere else we could get away with it," Dufilho said in her email sent to supporters of the studio. Variety reports: Spotlight Stories originally began as a group within Motorola, tasked with exploring the future of storytelling for mobile devices. The group then became part of Google's Advanced Technologies and Products (ATAP) group, and went on to produce a number of 360-degree videos and VR experiences with creators like Glen Keane, Justin Lin, Jorge Gutierrez and Aardman Animation, the makers of "Wallace and Gromit." "Pearl," a Spotlight Story from Patrick Osborne, the director of Disney's Oscar-nominated short film "Feast," was nominated for an Academy Award, and won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Programming in 2017. Most recently, Spotlight Stories released "Age of Sail," an animated short film directed by Oscar-winning animator John Kahrs.
Google is said to have invested significant amounts of money into Spotlight Stories over the years, without giving the group a mandate to monetize their works. However, while Spotlight Stories films pushed the medium forward, the group didn't necessarily improve the fortunes of Google's VR efforts, with the company struggling to find an audience for its Daydream VR headset. A Google spokesperson said in a statement to Variety: "Since its inception, Spotlight Stories strove to re-imagine VR storytelling. From ambitious shorts like 'Son of Jaguar,' 'Sonaria' and 'Back to The Moon' to critical acclaim for 'Pearl' (Emmy winner and first-ever VR film nominated for an Oscar) the Spotlight Stories team left a lasting impact on immersive storytelling. We are proud of the work the team has done over the years." A source with knowledge of the situation told Variety that staffers were given a chance to look for new positions within the company. Most artists who had been working on projects for Spotlight Stories were thought to be contractors on a by-project basis.
Google is said to have invested significant amounts of money into Spotlight Stories over the years, without giving the group a mandate to monetize their works. However, while Spotlight Stories films pushed the medium forward, the group didn't necessarily improve the fortunes of Google's VR efforts, with the company struggling to find an audience for its Daydream VR headset. A Google spokesperson said in a statement to Variety: "Since its inception, Spotlight Stories strove to re-imagine VR storytelling. From ambitious shorts like 'Son of Jaguar,' 'Sonaria' and 'Back to The Moon' to critical acclaim for 'Pearl' (Emmy winner and first-ever VR film nominated for an Oscar) the Spotlight Stories team left a lasting impact on immersive storytelling. We are proud of the work the team has done over the years." A source with knowledge of the situation told Variety that staffers were given a chance to look for new positions within the company. Most artists who had been working on projects for Spotlight Stories were thought to be contractors on a by-project basis.
Oh n00oo..
It makes anything new they announce seem transient and not important. Why bother paying attention when they're just going to shut it down in two years or less?
I was looking into Daydream for VR a while back.
Unlike Cardboard it required specific controllers to work. The debug controller that ran on a second cellphone required Android 7+, meaning you couldn't easily use an old device. Furthermore, it required said device to be connected to a PC and running in debug mode to operate. That was the point at which I gave up on it.
There were some discounted daydream controllers available on amazon, but they were like 30 dollars apiece. I don't think google factored the cost difference in when they started pushing daydream in place of cardboard and significantly increased the hardware requirements mandatory in order to use it.
Like everything google has touched in the past 10 years, this is another project they have managed to turn to shit, despite being a transformative technology if they just SCALED THE COSTS DOWN. The cardboard tutorial apps more than made me want to play with VR, even low poly cellphone based VR. But 3+ years later it is still out of reach from both a software and hardware pricing standpoint. There is no excuse for this, especially from the 'best and brightest.'
Sounds hardly newsworthy that google shuts down something. Perhaps a monthly list would be more interesting.
I sure as hell not taking their rockets. Halfway they will just decide: cancel the prroject.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
pictures of watches flash over everything, pressing any key causes more pictures of watches & yachts to flash over everything.. almost any kid could do a better layout? motive=results again..
I don't think the plan was to have this team around forever. I mean they produced "360-degree videos and VR experiences". How many of those does a company like Google really needs?
Didn't seem as though this was ever planned to be around as a core team. Its one of those Google decided to throw some money at and see what could be done. I guess they accomplished what they set out to do.
Once again we have an example of a Google service or venture that I've never heard of until its announced demise. For a company that makes most of its money through ads they are terrible at advertising.
Google, the company with the attention span of a two year-old.
Google funny not cutting edge is into the bureaucracy stage and has burned most of its 1990s giga-growth goodwill with failed not revenue producing products and services. They're like Apple with only 4 or 5 moneymaking products and several of those products are growing less each year.
If Google again adjusts downward its ad revenue sharing payments, expect many percentage points of the number of web sites to shut down.
Emmys self promoting jobs and film production industry careers.
It bums me out when the first time I hear about something cool is when it's getting shut down. I sounds like this Google project/subsidiary was doing great work, but Google didn't bother to give them a marketing department. Then they say it isn't viable. Catch 22 - QED.