Virtual reality film production at HELIX

Alex Neish, a third-year BA Fine Arts with History of Art student at the University of Leeds, has been using the facilities at HELIX to create a virtual reality film as part of his final year project. 

Passionate about VR and aspiring to work in film and virtual reality, Alex also serves as the president of the Leeds Extended Reality Society. With experience developing short VR cinematic experiences, he seized this opportunity to create a feature-length VR film. 

Location: HELIX XR Classroom

Aims: To experiment with representing fictional minds in first-person VR films.

Output: The result was Brahman's Rehearsal, a virtual reality film developed in Unreal Engine that examines the representation of fictional minds. The film serves as a prelude to a longer project exploring selfhood, memory, and identity through thought-constructed stories. In Brahman’s Rehearsal, viewers experience the introspective journey of Steve, a grieving man processing the loss of his wife.

Impact: Alex’s project benefited from HELIX’s high-spec PCs for development, Quest 3 VR headsets, and headphones to showcase his film at his exhibition. Without HELIX’s resources, bringing this film to life would have been impossible.

Why did you choose HELIX for your project?

‘’I chose HELIX to work on my project because of its ease of accessibility and convenience. Everything I needed technology wise is available under one roof. From high spec PCs and virtual reality headsets.” 

How did working in HELIX help you achieve your aims?

‘’Using HELIX enabled me to complete my project and saved me a lot of money. Experimenting with VR involves a lot of high-end expensive technology. HELIX allows its users to experiment without having to spend their own money so that students aren’t limited by budgets and costs. So, I was able to experiment as I please.’’ 

Do you have any advice to share from your HELIX experience?

‘’Make sure to do a tour and familiarise yourself with the booking system to see what tech is available to use for your projects. It is useful to attend the workshops to learn new things and further develop your existing skills. HELIX is also a great place to network with like-minded individuals.’’ 

Check out some of Alex's VR work on his website.