What happens when VR tools are used not just for spectacle, but to channel the spirit of one of history’s most haunted painters?
Emmy-winning filmmaker James A. Castillo (Madrid Noir) set out to do exactly that with his animated horror short The Quinta’s Ghost, which reimagines the last years of Francisco de Goya. Rather than adapting history, Castillo asked: What might Goya have seen when creating his infamous Black Paintings?
The result is an eerie, painterly work that premiered at Tribeca this summer, using a VR-fueled pipeline to bring to life a world of ghosts, illness, and memory. From translating visceral brushstrokes into 3D geometry with Quill to blending painterly textures with subtle animation, the project pushed boundaries while preserving the raw, emotional tone of Goya’s work.
At its heart, Castillo describes it as “a ghost story" but also about the creative process, the price artists pay when they face their darkest truths.”
You can read the full breakdown here: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/the-quintas-ghost-short-vr-tools-255153.html
For those of you working in animation:
How do you balance experimental tools like VR with traditional workflows? With technology advancing so quickly, do you see VR becoming a larger part of independent animated storytelling in the years ahead?
That's pretty cool, Ashley Renee Smith! I'm looking forward to seeing The Quinta’s Ghost! I haven't used VR technology, but I've written VR scripts mixed with traditional scripts and 1st-person POV/regular POV scripts that could work as VR movies.
1 person likes this
Thanks for sharing Ashley Renee Smith. Our goal as a company is to eventually get into the VR space. I did my first VR game and interaction this year and I can definitely see how it's the future. For us though, we are currently focused on other aspect of business but look forward to entering into the VR realm at some point.