Tim: “the potential of virtual reality for storytelling is so huge, and no one really knows where it's going to go, but I'm really excited to be right there at the forefront of what's unfolding. When director Jessica Brillhart first approached me about writing some music for RESONANCE, we talked about a song that could move very quickly from incredibly intimate (playing my violin softly for myself) all the way up to a full orchestra, and then back again in the space of a few minutes; it’s as if everything is happening in my imagination, evoking a feeling of the world unfolding in the moment as we are living it. We had a ridiculously amazing time filming! The Jump camera is shockingly mobile for a VR rig, so we could hit up multiple locations in one day, and we spent seven days shooting the piece over the summer, culminating with a 35-piece orchestra session at Avatar Studios in NYC.”

Violinist Tim Fain adds this to his long list of inspired collaborations today in partnering with Google Inc. on the release of its new virtual reality video technology for YouTube, illustrated in a film created by Google featuring Tim and his original composition Resonance. Launched by the Google Cardboard team, this new YouTube feature allows for stereoscopic visual content with motion sensitivity to be viewed on YouTube. The new technology will improve upon the current 360 video capability and create a more immersive live action virtual reality experience for users. The VR videos are meant to be watched with a Google Cardboard viewer using the YouTube app available for Android mobile phones. Compatibility with iOS will be available at a later time, and the VR videos can still be viewed as normal videos on YouTube across desktop, Android and iOS platforms.

Resonance was filmed with Tim using Google Jump, a camera rig consisting of 16 camera modules in a circular array, creating a vivid 360° video of Fain’s mesmerizing performance which allows users to experience the scene in every direction. Filmed by Jessica Brillhart, a principal filmmaker for Google Creative Lab, and produced by Nick Kadner at Greencard Pictures, the video depicts Fain, who Vanity Fair magazine said “plays like a virtuoso and thinks like a cinematographer,” performing his own new work for solo violin and chamber orchestra entitled Resonance with Eric Jacobsen (of The Knights) conducting a group of some of the finest musicians in New York City.