VR Title Review: Pearl

Here is a link to the film on YouTube.

Pearl Patrick Osborn’s Oscar nominated 360 view short film that tells the story of a young girl, her father, and their love of music, the two of them connected by a song. The viewer witnesses the story unfold across the years and seasons from the passenger seat of the car that the two protagonists travel around in.

The film begins as an older Pearl finds her father’s old car in a scrapyard, she plays a cassette recording of her father’s song, bringing back memories. The film is a montage of scenes spanning from the girl’s childhood to young adulthood, how her love for music, and the friends she makes it with, develops as she finally makes it in the music world. Yet it primarily revolves around her warm and sometimes rocky relationship with her father over time, around the symbols of the song and the car, the space that the film takes place in.

The style consists of simple, not too detailed, 3D models with cel shading that gives them an almost 2D effect. What really makes the style, however is the atmospheric lighting that creates different moods as well as different times and places. The constant changes in lighting signal the change of scene. There is always a focal point to the action in the scene which the film effectively guides the eye of the viewer to the right spot. One of the moments that works best is where the kids run out into the sea, lit up by the headlights of the car.

What I love most about the film is that it makes use of the idea of how a space can contain memories. The choice of car, a contained space that moves around, revealing the space outside is particularly interesting. The use of VR, instead of telling the story through curated shots, works to make the viewer feel like an outsider, given an intimate glimpse into the lives of these two people. It also gives the viewer an association of themselves with the space of the car, like they are seeing the story unfold from its perspective.

Though it makes a great 360 view video, it is difficult to watch through a headset. The scene transitions between scenes happen rapidly and the car constantly switches from moving to stationary, making it a slightly nauseating experience.