LeBron James had a surprise gift for all his fans. In a team up with Oculus and Samsung, James starred in a virtual reality short film which is available for download for the Samsung Gear VR.
The title of the 12-minute film is "Striving for Greatness: An Uninterrupted Original." It follows the NBA superstar's intense daily training regimen and interviews with James and his coaches, and offers an unparalleled 360-degree VR look into his daily life as he prepares for his 13th professional season.
However, the short film is not actually a virtual reality world in the strictest sense. You cannot interact with any of the objects and you can't move around on your own either. Those who own a Samsung Gear VR headset, however, can spin and pan around the shots.
Those who do not own the headsets will be able to view the film via other options like the Facebook page of Uninterrupted, the video-diary project for athletes which James launched last year.
Sections of the documentary were already previously posted on Facebook as part of the launch of their 360-video initiative. But this will be the first time the entire film will be available to view in its entirety.
"I want to give [my fans] the uncut, unedited version right then and there of what my thoughts are," said James of his Uninterrupted VR project.
This venture with Oculus is another step to define James as not only a basketball player but as a lifestyle brand. Reportedly, James's venture into the world of virtual reality entertainment will also help push the technology to appeal to a wider audience than just gamers.
Striving For Greatness: An UNINTERRUPTED OriginalI was born with God given talent, but I PROMISE you that when the bright lights go down I am grinding it out and working my tail off to get better. I will never cheat this game... Catch the full series on UNINTERRUPTED #StriveForGreatness #UNINTERRUPTED #IPROMISE
Posted by LeBron James on Wednesday, 23 September 2015
"Striving for Greatness" was directed by Felix & Paul, a renowned VR studio.
