SPHERES, a three-chapter space experience from Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures, was just bought by VR finance and distribution firm CityLights in what Variety describes as a “seven-figure deal.”
While the respective companies are remaining mum on the exact price of the acquisition, the Variety report maintains the deal was in “the low- to mid-seven figures.”
Songs Of Spacetime, the first chapter of Spheres, debuted at Sundance as a part of Oculus’ five funded experiences.
Written and directed by Eliza McNitt, Spheres is an experience that explores sound while taking you to the heart of a black hole. Speaking to Oculus in a recent ‘VR Visionaries’ profile, McNitt called Spheres a story about “the human connection to the cosmos,” and how we relate to the sound of the universe—gravitational waves.
“…as I dove into research and the science behind the project, I learned that the discovery of gravitational waves won the Nobel in physics, so that was a huge part of the development of this project. I wanted to capture the most cutting-edge scientific discovery, and, in fact, that was this idea of sound. The title is inspired by the ancient philosophical theory called the Music of the Spheres, that predicted that celestial bodies created a form of music—and we truly did prove that with the discovery of gravitational waves.
Spheres is also packed with talent, with narration by Jessica Chastain (The Martian, Interstellar, The Zookeeper’s Wife) and music by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of electronica band Survive (The Stranger Things theme song).
“We’re incredibly excited to work with Eliza and the entire team on Spheres,” CityLights co-founder Joel Newton told Variety. “The ambition and generative nature of the vision for Spheres perfectly fits with our mission to bring content to broader audiences and showcase the types of experiences only VR can deliver.”
Spheres is slated to arrive on Rift in the coming months, with a launch on other VR platforms to follow.
