Watch a Behind-the-Scenes Video for Google’s ‘Age of Sail’ Spotlight Story (EXCLUSIVE)

By Janko Roettgers

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Google’s latest Spotlight Story “Age of Sail” has been shortlisted for an Academy Award for Animated Shorts, and has been nominated for 4 Annie Awards. Now, the company is sharing a behind-the-scenes featurette to show us how the piece came together.

In the newly-released video, director John Kahrs talks about his real-life love for sailboats, which inspired the setting for “Age of Sail,” and the challenges to avoid VR nausea when you put the viewer onto a sailboat that’s being thrown around by rough waves.

The video also features the two voice actors, Ian McShane and Cathy Ang, as well as interviews with production designers, CG artists, as well as the film’s creative director Kevin Dart. There is even some behind-the-scenes footage from the recording of the soundtrack at the famed Skywalker Ranch.

“Age of Sail” world premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, and was widely released November on YouTube 360, Google Play and iTunes as well as Steam and Viveport. The film was produced by David Eisenmann and Gennie Rim, and executive produced by Karen Dufilho and Jan Pinkava.

Eisenmann told Variety earlier this year that he had been looking for a rough look for the pieces that resembled the forces of the ocean. This required stepping away from the idea photo-realism, he said. “Reality isn’t really what you want.” Instead, the team settled on a bit rougher, grainier aesthetic that Kahrs described as a moving painting. “It’s kind of a broken-edge quality,” he said.