Four-time MVP awardee LeBron James teamed up with Facebook-owned tech company Oculus to offer a new, 360-degree, non-interactive video of the NBA legend's pre-season training. This virtual reality "experience" entitled "Striving for Greatness: An Uninterrupted Original" is produced by Oculus Studios and is available now for the Samsung Gear VR.
The 12-minute clip, directed by Canadian cinematic virtual reality creators Félix & Paul Studios, documents the Cleveland Cavalier forward's NBA star's journey upon entering his 13th professional season. It features James' training regimen along with the routine he follows to stay on top of his game as one of the best in the NBA. It is a great way to show fans what players have to do before heading to the court, and that their job involves more than just coming to the arena and playing a game.
Last month, it was announced that a new 360-degree video series from the popular Canadian content creators featuring the NBA star is in the works. The Striving for Greatness series had been placed into production for the Oculus Rift and Gear VR devices.
Three episodes have already been made available on Félix & Paul Studios' Facebook page. The newly released clip is created exclusively for the Samsung Gear VR by Oculus Studios in partnership with Uninterrupted. The latter is a video diary project for athletes launched by James earlier this year in partnership with Bleacher Report, a sports new outlet. It is a live-action VR push designed to portray him as a lifestyle and entertainment brand, and not just a prominent NBA player.
It is worth pointing out that it is not exactly virtual reality as people would usually describe it. As mentioned, it offers a non-interactive experience, so there is no virtual world, and users will not be able to move around. Instead, James have filmed a several 360-degree clips that people can look around within using only the Samsung Gear VR headset.
The new video is now available for download from both Milk VR, Samsung's premium content platform, and the Oculus Store. The Gear VR is the $99 headset released in November. It is powered by Oculus and is compatible with the latest Samsung handsets such as the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, and the Galaxy Note 5. Those who have yet to buy a Gear VR device can still watch the video in other places on the web, including Uninterrupted's Facebook page.
