Film Students To Compete in Virtual Reality Production Contest

One of the first ever competitions involving virtual reality production will challenge college film students to create their own 360-degree films.

360fly, which produces single-lens cameras to capture 360-degree video, will sponsor the 360 VR (virtual reality) Film Contest for film students at New York University and the Rhode Island School of Design along with Drury Design. The students will use 360fly HD cameras, which they were briefed on during an April 9 presentation on the NYU campus.

"Virtual reality represents the next chapter in the evolution of storytelling and giving these young open minds the chance to explore it can go far in unearthing new ways to utilize it that haven't even been anticipated," said Evan Polivy, director of Drury Design's Creative Lab. "This is very much unexplored creative terrain, which is why we're so excited about where the creative minds of these talented students will go when utilizing this immersive format enabled by the 360fly camera."

Submissions will be due by May 3 and then be showcased at the Wanted Design space May 17, in conjunction with Design Week in NYC. They will also be available for viewing online at Drury Design's YouTube channel. A panel of judges will pick winners in three categories: narrative, documentary and experimental.

The three winners, which will be announced June 1, will receive $500 and a 360fly 4K camera.

"We believe that the young, creative minds that embrace and expand the possibilities of this new medium will be this category's most significant driver," said 360fly CEO Peter Adderton. "That's what makes this competition so exciting."

About the Author

Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.

Featured

  • interconnected glowing nodes and circuits in blue and green, forming a neural network on a dark background with a futuristic design

    Tech Giants Launch $100 Billion AI Infrastructure Network Project

    OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle have unveiled a new venture, Stargate, through which they aim to build a massive AI infrastructure network across the United States. The initiative, which was announced at the White House with President Donald Trump, has been described as the "largest AI infrastructure project in history."

  • Two figures, one male and one female, stand beside a transparent digital interface displaying AI symbols like neural networks, code, and a shield, against a clean blue gradient background.

    Report Makes Business Case for Responsible AI

    A new report commissioned by Microsoft and published last month by research firm IDC notes that 91% of organizations use AI tech and expect more than a 24% improvement in customer experience, business resilience, sustainability, and operational efficiency due to AI in 2024.

  • blue and green lines intersecting and merging in an abstract pattern against a light gray background with a subtle grid design

    Data Integration Market: Cloud Giants Down, AI Up

    "By 2027, AI assistants and AI-enhanced workflows incorporated into data integration tools will reduce manual intervention by 60 percent and enable self-service data management," according to research firm Gartner.

  • Two autonomous AI figures performing tasks in a tech environment; one interacts with floating holographic screens, while the other manipulates digital components

    Agentic AI Named Top Tech Trend for 2025

    Agentic AI will be the top tech trend for 2025, according to research firm Gartner. The term describes autonomous machine "agents" that move beyond query-and-response generative chatbots to do enterprise-related tasks without human guidance.