The Altered States of the early VR age from special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull.
Before the world learnt about Steve Jobs, Douglas Trumbull created his magnum opus, casting the high-tech industry against the intrinsic web of dangerous interdependencies. Balancing the insatiable curiosity, design principles, and various groups of interest, a research group develops a powerful technology of experience transference, capable of transgressing life itself.
Calling VR works ‘experiences’ we presuppose some degree of simulation, a set of conditions which make it possible not only to see but endure the virtual narratives. In his last feature film, Douglas Trumbull, the man who brought the futuristic visions of the likes of Stanley Kubrick and Ridley Scott to the screen, channeled all his knowledge of the cutting edge technologies to speculate on what VR has to offer. Brainstorm is an insightful and prophetic analysis of what a development of immersive technology capable of replicating experiences would mean to the future of entertainment, industry, and our psyche.
