A visit to the Virtual Reality Openair Cinema

Yesterday we were allowed to test the Virtual Reality Openair Cinema on Lake Zurich at the Mythenquai lido. Although there were a few drawbacks compared to the indoor VR cinema experience, the visit was worthwhile.

Just in time I was lucky! Yesterday afternoon, when the sky darkened, the wind began to whip and it poured from every hole, I already thought that the VR Openair Cinema would literally fall into the water in the evening at the Züri See. But later in the afternoon, the organisers gave the all-clear on Facebook that it would be dry in the evening. And so only the planned swim was cancelled.

What there was to see and marvel at

We Are Cinema have thematically combined several VR short films per show. Last night, the first show on the programme was "Mixed in VR" with a really colourful selection of 360° short films. The films Sonar, Ezekiel's Dream, Air Zermatt, Eiger Climb, Bashir's Dream, Skid Row gave a broad insight into what can be done with VR: From impressive recordings from all over the world to really impressive animations. We found the ascent of the Eiger North Face particularly impressive, with really impressive views.

The wow effect guaranteed on the homepage came quite audibly to at least some visitors, especially during the first film.

Despite wetness: Sold Out

Despite the less than ideal weather conditions, which brought wet benches, the first performance at 8.45pm was sold out yesterday and people were also waiting expectantly for the second one at 9.45pm when we took off our headsets. Since we had already started a bit late and some people were still sitting in animated conversations about the cool experience, I can imagine that this led to a further delay. After all, there were deckchairs outside to linger and the Hitl offered food and drink.

Bench vs. swivel chairs

The technology worked smoothly so that, as far as I noticed, no device had to be restarted. The biggest downside, however, in my opinion, was sitting on a bench at the table. At our last Visit In the We Are Cinema we had swivel chairs at our disposal, which made the 360° a lot more pleasant. But since the show only lasted about 35 minutes, there was no "neck cheri". So if you want to spend a cosy evening under the stars with a cool experience, you can recommend the VR Openair Cinema with a clear conscience - and otherwise definitely try it out indoors!

The Virtual Reality Openair Cinema is taking place in collaboration with Hiltl until Sunday 27 August at the Mythenquai lido. Tickets are still available at www.VRopenair.com/tickets