Empowering Ava Review

Distributor: Sssh.com / PervOUT.com Edition Details: VR 360° Streaming and Download Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Drama, Short Film Run Time: 23 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 2016 Director: Angie Rowntree Written by: Natalia Cross Cast: Ava Mir-Ausziehen, Lance Hart Release Specs: Audio: English Stereo Subtitles: none Video: VR 360° Video Format: NTSC Format: Streaming and Download Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): N/A Number of discs: N/A

Empowering Ava is the first VR 360° movie to come from Sssh.com, PervOUT.com, and director Angie Rowntree. I believe that Empowering Ava is also the first narrative adult movie to utilize the VR 360° technology. Overall, Empowering Ava is a mixed experience.

This was the first VR 360° movie that I have seen and honestly, it took a little to get comfortable with the format. Stationary flat movies and stationary 3D movies don't require changing the viewing perspective while watching, the content is presented in one fixed place. With VR 360°, the content isn't in one viewing perspective and the viewer interactively watches the movie; meaning that the viewer picks the perspective that is currently in view. A first time viewer will likely want to play with the format a bit to get used to it since this is a new way to view a movie; otherwise, the movie can seem awkward at first while viewing.

Empowering Ava has enough story within it I wouldn't classify this as a vignette scene but instead would consider it a short film, or short subject if you prefer, due to the developed narrative. Ava (Ava Mir-Ausziehen) is an erotic writer who is working on a new story. Her husband (Lance Hart) reads her draft and finds that her story contains pegging. Talking with Ava about pegging, he finds out that she did perform the act with an ex and becomes more intrigued.

As far as Empowering Ava goes, I can't be too heavy on its downfalls since this is the first attempt at a VR 360° movie and the movie itself is enjoyable and very watchable. There are three scenes in the movie; one of the scenes is a sex scene. Each scene has a stationary shot while the action moves around. The first scene is in the kitchen, the second scene is in the woods, and the third scene — which is the sex scene — is in the bedroom. As for the downfalls, the second scene in the woods was very brief. I would have liked it to have lasted longer. The viewer barely has a chance to explore the environment before it is gone. Each scene is one long take without edits and while in some scenes, like the kitchen one where the action happens on both sides of the room, this works. However, in the bedroom, all the action happens on the bed so the 360° view isn't as useful. The bedroom scene feels like it could have used some alternate camera angles, however, I am not sure how feasible this is with the technology.

As for the positives, playing with the point of view during the sex scene can result in some interesting shots if you zoom into the right places like the picture on the wall behind the camera, making some arty shots of the sex, or the mirror on the wall, giving some nice shots of the sex. Angie Rowntree, the director, has managed to make the VR 360° environment work within a feature movie and manage to immerse the viewer within the scene. Ava and Lance do a great job with the sex scene. They both bring a nice enthusiasm to the scene, which was done in one continuous take without any edits, which makes it all the more intriguing.

Overall, Empowering Ava is a fun short subject VR 360° movie that plays around with the VR 360° technology while offering an enjoyable short story with a nicely done sex scene. The movie isn't perfect but it is a good start and shows that feature movies have a future in the VR 360° technology.

Empowering Ava is presented by Sssh.com and PervOUT.com and is available for streaming from both sites. Empowering Ava is presented in the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is presented in the 1920x960 and 1024x512 resolutions. Empowering Ava is shot as a VR 360° movie and is presented to either be viewed on a virtual reality device or through a player that allows the viewer to watch the movie and be immersed in it on their web browser if they don't have a virtual reality device. The picture quality looked beautiful but as with any streaming title, can vary based on your internet speed.

Empowering Ava is presented with an English audio track. The audio sounds good, the dialog is crisp and clear at all times and can easily be heard.

Empowering Ava is Sssh.com and PervOUT.com's first foray into VR 360° movie making and I believe is the first attempt to make a feature style VR 360° adult movie. Empowering Ava isn't a perfect short movie but it is enjoyable and the few issues it contains are due to learning how to work with the new technology. If you are interested in feature movies and the technology, this is definitely worth checking out. Sssh.com and PervOUT.com have done a great job with this release offering the ability to either watch with virtual reality equipment or on your computer through a special viewer.

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