Cinematic VR Creative Studio Announces Exclusive Partnership with Stress Level Zero; First VR Experience, “Earth Encounter,” Now Available for Download

PALO ALTO, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 2, 2015 — Jaunt Studios, the creative studio pioneering the future of storytelling through cinematic virtual reality, today announced that it has signed an exclusive partnership with Brandon Laatsch’s innovative digital content studio Stress Level Zero. The first piece of content created together, Earth Encounter, is available today through Jaunt’s app on Google Play for Google Cardboard and Android phones. It will be available for iOS in the coming weeks.

Digital filmmaker Brandon Laatsch, whose YouTube channels have amassed over 1.3 billion video views and 8 million subscribers, founded Stress Level Zero as a content creation studio for emerging platforms and mediums. Together, Jaunt Studios and Stress Level Zero will push this medium to new levels with innovative use of VFX and creative storytelling for digital entertainment audiences worldwide. Earth Encounter, which combines live action and VFX, takes advantage of the way people consume content today: the audience is immersed in the exploits of a Martian DJ through a short-form storytelling style that is easily digestible on mobile platforms for watching on-the-go.

“Virtual reality represents an entirely new medium for entertainment and media; it’s an avenue where taking risks and thinking out of the box is rewarded for pushing the medium forward,” said Cliff Plumer, President of Jaunt Studios. “Jaunt is making VR accessible to the next generation of storytellers, and for brands like Stress Level Zero, which have risen to fame on the front page of YouTube, VR is a natural avenue for creative exploration. We’re excited to be working with Brandon as he explores all the ways we can tell stories through virtual reality.”

Jaunt Studios and Stress Level Zero will, together, create and release five live-action experiences, some including CGI enhancements, as well as five corresponding behind-the-scenes pieces of VR content in 2015. This content will be released in a steady stream with a new experience released every few weeks. The pieces will be filmed using Jaunt’s proprietary 360 degree, stereoscopic 3D cameras and 3D sound-field microphones. The Jaunt platform then makes use of advanced algorithms and computational photography software to enable the creation of seamless, omnidirectional 3D experiences.

"We couldn't be more excited to be creating cinematic VR experiences with Jaunt," said Brandon Laatsch, founder of Stress Level Zero. "With their production ready tools in place, as filmmakers we can focus solely on creating rather than being overly burdened with the technical challenges of producing stereoscopic VR experiences. The storytelling options in cinematic VR are limitless and we look forward to rapidly exploring the possibilities with Jaunt in the upcoming months and beyond as we create numerous experiences."

This announcement comes on the heels of Jaunt Studios’ launch just one month ago and jumpstarts a period of rapid growth for Jaunt’s new creative arm as it ramps up production of virtual reality content. With highly-anticipated VR headsets expected to hit the market later this year, Jaunt Studios is building an expansive library of VR content for this new audience to explore upon arrival.

Jaunt and Stress Level Zero first previewed Earth Encounter to much fanfare at virtual reality meetup VRLA in March. To download and experience the content, visit http://www.jauntvr.com/content.

About Jaunt

Jaunt is the virtual reality company pioneering end-to-end solutions for creating truly immersive cinematic VR. Founded in 2013, Jaunt is the leading developer of the hardware, software, tools, and applications to enable cinematic VR and put the power of virtual reality in the hands of today’s best content creators. In addition, Jaunt works with leading creatives – from brands to artists to filmmakers – to create cutting-edge content through its studio arm, Jaunt Studios. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the company also maintains a presence in Los Angeles and produces branded and original VR content for audiences worldwide. Jaunt’s investors include Highland Capital Partners, Google Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Peter Gotcher, Blake Krikorian, and British Sky Broadcasting (corporate.sky.com). Experience more at www.jauntvr.com.

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