Fans get a full immersive VR experience in conjunction with the return of The Walking Dead Season 7, writes Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli
HOW would you fare if you were trapped in a zombie apocalypse? Just like the characters in the megahit thriller TV series The Walking Dead, survival would definitely be challenging.
Would you shriek in horror as hordes of human flesh-eating undead or “walkers” come for you?
For adrenaline junkies, experiencing the drama, dread and suspense up close is not a far off concept now with virtual reality (VR) technology.
“People are now talking about VR, but not many are doing anything with the new technology here yet. We want to be the first to do so,” says Penny Tan, marketing director of Fox TV.
UNDEAD RIDE
So in conjunction with TWD’s seventh season premiere today, Fox has launched a unique promotional campaign so local fans can get the full zombie experience.
The Riding Dead campaign, which sees Fox partnering with GrabCar and Samsung Malaysia, is currently running in the Klang Valley till Oct 30. Fans who hire GrabCars get to watch a specially-customised VR video on the way to their destination. This will transport viewers into the world of TWD, where they can experience an in-your-face account of a zombie outbreak.
“Every year, we try to organise a different promotion. Last year we held a premiere screening and in 2014, a real set piece similar to the show.
“This year, we have a 360-degree VR video that is based on the TV series,” says Tan.
Film experience company We Are Kix and app software developer Cake Experiential were hired to work on the VR video. Tan says: “This is the first such campaign for us in Malaysia. We believe this will help to engage and heighten the anticipation among fans.”
As part of its promotional effort, Fox provided Media Prima staff with the opportunity to experience the excitement a day prior to the launch. Two GrabCars, complete with the Samsung VR headgear, were brought to Balai Berita, Bangsar where MPB staff checked out the exciting Riding Dead VR video.
CREATING THE APOCALYPSE
The VR video was shot entirely in Malaysia - on an abandoned highway in Cyberjaya — using 360 video technology. Samsung Malaysia provided the VR headsets, smartphones and headphones for a fully immersive experience.
The video’s director, Ion Furjanic of We Are Kix, says: “We watched a lot of 360 videos. Usually people would put the camera in one spot and walk away. We wanted to do something different, that could tell much more of the story. We put our camera on a rig so we could move it. The result was a first person point of view,” he says.
But according to Furjanic, the execution of the idea wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
“We tested it numerous times. Using the 360 video camera made it feel like you’re moving when you’re actually not.”
It took around 100 cast and crew to make it happen, with 65 actors as zombies and 15 humans. “This was the biggest shoot we’ve ever done and it was total chaos. There were too many people with different tasks, and it was difficult to tell them what to do,” says Furjanic.
For the video to be dubbed into other languages, they filmed it in a way that the actors’ mouths were almost always never visible onscreen.
REGIONAL OUTBREAK
Because The Riding Dead campaign was such a big and interesting project, Fox Malaysia pitched the idea to its regional counterparts. “They loved it and decided that we should make a really great video for Fox to use in other countries as well,” says Tan.
Besides Malaysia, Fox in Indonesia and the Philippines will also launch their respective Riding Dead campaigns leading up to the Season 7 premiere.
Tan adds: “Malaysia has the advantage because the idea came from here and the video was shot here. So it’s our content that’s shared with the others.”
HEART-STOPPING SUSPENSE
“Who did Negan kill?” is the million ringgit question on viewers’ minds following Season 6’s harrowing final episode cliffhanger.
The villainous Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) brutally strips the survivors of all forms of stability, safety and power as he establishes dominance through his horrific threats. Faced with this new challenge, the survivors have no choice but to start over again, rediscovering and quickly adapting to the world they once thought they knew.
“There’s always extremely high interest when it comes to TWD. It’s one of the highest-rated shows on Fox,” says Tan.
“We’re also running a contest from tomorrow to Nov 8, for those who aren’t able to experience The Riding Dead campaign.
“Go to Fox TV Asia’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/FoxTVAsia) and watch the VR video, in which we’ve included some Easter eggs.
“If you manage to identify them, you’ll win some exclusive autographed merchandise.”