Virtual Reality brought life to Disney's new "The Lion King"

The Lion King will open officially in theatres worldwide in July 19, twenty-five (25) years after the original animated film graced our hearts.

With a star studded line up consisting of the Original Mufasa voiced by James Earl Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover to Beyonce, it has established itself as one of the most anticipated summer hit. Having grown up a fan of it myself, I am not only excited to hear the songs but even more excited to see how these characters were brought to life.

Needless to say, when I first heard, they were remaking the legendary animation, I was sceptical as first, being not interested in them messing up the masterpiece that it was. Yes, the line up of the remake was exciting and propelled me to want to watch it. But it wasn’t until I saw the first trailer, and watched Director John Favreau explaining how instead of physical sets, he and his crew used a Virtual Reality Set to bring these characters into life. I mean, The Lion King might rake in millions or even reach the billion mark in box office as it debuts later this weekend but for me the real winner is Virtual Reality. 

The Director, John, who never shy away from adopting technology in filmmaking, used a 360 degree virtual set via VR headsets created by Disney. The VR Headsets and hand held controllers allowed them to enter the Virtual Environment, create avatars, which allowed them to enter scenes and have film tools in virtual form which enabled them to perform functions such as adjust camera angles, motion controllers. It was basically like a built in multiplayer VR Filmmaking videogame with a sole purpose of making the movie.

So what is Virtual Reality?

Virtual Reality is an Artificial Intelligence technology that enables to create an artificial environment created by computer hardware and software, that allows the user to feel and experience things like a real environment. Virtual Reality, commonly referred to as VR, can be used in various fields such as Entertainment, Medicine and even Architecture.

With big companies like Facebook , Google, Youtube and Microsoft, having invested on what seem like the future of AI Technology, Virtual Reality seemed like the next big thing. The vision, of course was for VR to be utilized across various industries predominantly the gaming industry, Facebook with Oculus and Microsoft pursuing VR to work in X-Box video game and HTC with Vive and Industry Leader Sony who owns Playstation VR . However, The AI Tech has since failed to live unto its hype, due to the fact that consumers have not brought into the technology hence causing it to not go mainstream.

Nevertheless, this did not stop Disney using it for The Lion King, and as a fan of both animation and all things technology, I think am in for a double treat, as the movie is 100% CGI, emanating live action. The fact that I get to enjoy the movie and experience a movie directed via VR in the mix, is a plus for me. It’s like an homage to the people who invent such technologies, the endless hours and countless test they put in to make sure they give the users what is promised.

Despite, the slow adaptation of VR, I think it is still prominent in our future. It’s ability to create Virtual Environment with real like visuals has provided an assistance in various industry fields. In Medicine, such technology enable surgeons study the human body and get accurate information. This will help them make accurate decisions, work quickly and eliminate human error while operating. Resident Surgeons will also be able to prepare for surgery by practising to operate on patients enabled via real like views powered by VR.

In Education, it has enable students to interact with each other in 3D Virtual Environment, take virtual field trips such as visiting the moon or even some time travels. In entertainment, it has enabled gamers, create avatars of themselves, enter the environment and interact with that environment during the game.

The technology might have not reached mainstream yet, however the inclusion of it in the making of blockbuster films such as The Lion King, is definitely a step in the right direction to push it’s acceptance rate. With releases of VR Games such as No Man’s Sky, Defector and Stormland, Virtual Reality is set to become the next big thing, especially in the gaming world. VR Industry leaders such as Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and even Oculus (now owned by Facebook, after being purchased for $2 billion) should also low the price of the headsets and make them more affordable, so as to increase the number of users. 

So are there any chances of Virtual Reality breaking through in the near future? In my opinion, it feels we are one step away from it becoming mainstream, what step that is, however remains uncertain. One thing is for sure, later this weekend, I aim to enjoy VR end results in film making, in the highly anticipated, The Lion King.

Watch the trailer for Disney's new"The Lion King" here