Google Is Shutting Down Its Emmy Award-Winning VR Film Studio

Google is shutting down its Spotlight Stories immersive entertainment unit, according to an email sent out by Spotlight Stories executive producer Karen Dufilho Wednesday evening. "Google Spotlight Stories is shutting its doors after over six years of making stories and putting them on phones, on screens, in VR, and anywhere else we could get away with it," Dufilho said in her email sent to supporters of the studio. Variety reports: Spotlight Stories originally began as a group within Motorola, tasked with exploring the future of storytelling for mobile devices. The group then became part of Google's Advanced Technologies and Products (ATAP) group, and went on to produce a number of 360-degree videos and VR experiences with creators like Glen Keane, Justin Lin, Jorge Gutierrez and Aardman Animation, the makers of "Wallace and Gromit." "Pearl," a Spotlight Story from Patrick Osborne, the director of Disney's Oscar-nominated short film "Feast," was nominated for an Academy Award, and won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Programming in 2017. Most recently, Spotlight Stories released "Age of Sail," an animated short film directed by Oscar-winning animator John Kahrs.

Google is said to have invested significant amounts of money into Spotlight Stories over the years, without giving the group a mandate to monetize their works. However, while Spotlight Stories films pushed the medium forward, the group didn't necessarily improve the fortunes of Google's VR efforts, with the company struggling to find an audience for its Daydream VR headset. A Google spokesperson said in a statement to Variety: "Since its inception, Spotlight Stories strove to re-imagine VR storytelling. From ambitious shorts like 'Son of Jaguar,' 'Sonaria' and 'Back to The Moon' to critical acclaim for 'Pearl' (Emmy winner and first-ever VR film nominated for an Oscar) the Spotlight Stories team left a lasting impact on immersive storytelling. We are proud of the work the team has done over the years." A source with knowledge of the situation told Variety that staffers were given a chance to look for new positions within the company. Most artists who had been working on projects for Spotlight Stories were thought to be contractors on a by-project basis.

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[Anonymous Coward]

If that's a lame reference to Microsoft, what long list of products have they shut down after only a year or two?

Not in stores anywhere.

[Anonymous Coward]

I was looking into Daydream for VR a while back.

Unlike Cardboard it required specific controllers to work. The debug controller that ran on a second cellphone required Android 7+, meaning you couldn't easily use an old device. Furthermore, it required said device to be connected to a PC and running in debug mode to operate. That was the point at which I gave up on it.

There were some discounted daydream controllers available on amazon, but they were like 30 dollars apiece. I don't think google factored the c

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[lgw]

Sounds hardly newsworthy that google shuts down something. Perhaps a monthly list would be more interesting.

I think a monthly list of project they don't cancel would be shorter.

I sure as hell not taking their rockets. Halfway they will just decide: cancel the prroject.

If they get a working rocket in the first place they're ahead of the SLS.

I don't think the plan was...

[linuxguy]

I don't think the plan was to have this team around forever. I mean they produced "360-degree videos and VR experiences". How many of those does a company like Google really needs?

Once again

[Anonymous Coward]

Once again we have an example of a Google service or venture that I've never heard of until its announced demise. For a company that makes most of its money through ads they are terrible at advertising.

Its attention span exhausted

[OneHundredAndTen]

Google, the company with the attention span of a two year-old.

If you don't promote cool things, naturallthey die

[mcpublic]

It bums me out when the first time I hear about something cool is when it's getting shut down. I sounds like this Google project/subsidiary was doing great work, but Google didn't bother to give them a marketing department. Then they say it isn't viable. Catch 22 - QED.