Five minutes into watching Allumette, I realized what Penrose Studios' innovative VR project reminded me of. It's as if an elaborate model-train setup has come to life, floating at eye level on a 360-degree platter. And this intricate world is inhabited by tiny stop-motion characters straight out of a Rankin/Bass Christmas special.
Everything's computer-generated, but the digital 3-D models manage to look sculpted and organic, from the realistic textures of the stone buildings to the human figures. It's an inventive experience in a brand-new medium---but watching the characters with their herky-jerky motions makes it feel almost familiar.
You're not just a static observer in this world. Allumette was built for positional-tracking headsets, giving it a sense of dimension, realism, and dynamic perspective. Lean in towards the Smurf-size characters and tiny bridges to get a closer look. View the protagonist from all sides, following her around the corner of a winding staircase. Walk around a bit inside the miniscule, Venice-inspired city in the clouds, taking in the scenery from any angle you like. Oh, and you also have X-ray vision: Poke your head through walls and windows to see important plot developments going on inside. There's a story unfolding---a heartbreaking one, at that, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's short story "The Little Match Girl"---and you're the director of photography.
No matter what your personal shot list entails, Allumette clocks in at about 20 minutes. That may qualify as a short film in the boring old world of 2-D movies, but it's practically Gone With the Wind for a format where most experiences run about five minutes. After that much time with a face-computer strapped to your mug, you might think you'd be dying to come up for air. Instead, Allumette puts you inside a world you don't want to leave. And once you reenter reality, you'll want to watch it again---in part because it's so beautiful, but mostly because you'll want to make sure you didn't miss anything going on inside the walls (and hulls) of this virtual city.
Penrose Studios
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