AnimationWorld Magazine — December 4, 2018
Google Spotlight Stories and Chromosphere Raise the Bar for ‘Age of Sail’
Age of Sail, the longest and most visually complex project from Google Spotlight Stories to date, is a sweeping, cinematic tale set on the open ocean in the year 1900. Helmed by John Kahrs, the Academy Award-winning director of Disney’s Paperman, the 12-minute VR experience and accompanying theatrical short is ambitious on a David Lean-esque scale, using the language of cinema to deliver an expansive and truly immersive story.
Receiving nominations in four categories for ASIFA-Hollywood’s upcoming Annie Awards, Age of Sail is one of the biggest contenders for a nomination in this year’s Oscar race. It launched on multiple platforms in mid-November and is available for mobile users on the Google Spotlight Stories app on iOS and Android, in VR via Steam and Viveport, and theatrically via the GSS YouTube Channel.
As the first GSS project to employ dialogue, Age of Sail stars Ian McShane as the voice of William Avery, an old sailor adrift and alone in the North Atlantic who reluctantly rescues a young woman who has fallen overboard a passing ship. With production design by Céline Desrumaux, Age of Sail was executive produced by GSS EP Karen Dufilho and creative director Jan Pinkava, and produced by David Eisenmann (Pearl, Son of Jaguar) and Gennie Rim (duet, June, Dear Basketball) with design and animation studio Chromosphere.