Nokia’s giving indie filmmakers $42K and an Ozo camera to create its first VR movie

Former smartphone giant Nokia made an interesting announcement earlier today — it’s getting into the virtual reality (VR) game with the new Ozo camera.

Sporting eight synchronized shutter sensors and eight microphones to create stereoscopic three-dimensional video, the Ozo is scheduled to launch later this year. However, ahead of that, the Finnish tech titan has taken to Tongal, a platform used by brands to tap the filmmaking community, to ask indie filmmakers to submit their proposals for a short film that demonstrates the capabilities of the Ozo camera.

Founded out of Santa Monica, California in 2009, Tongal is basically a crowdsourcing platform that allows brands to access creatives, including writers, directors, and production companies. It claims some pretty big names, too, counting the likes of Procter & Gamble, LEGO, Bacardi, and NASA among its users.

Through this project, Nokia says it’s looking for help “defining what’s possible” in the VR medium, while leaving “any hangups to linear storytelling at the door.”

Above: Nokia and Tongal

Nokia is pretty much giving creatives a blank canvas to see what they can come up with. The only condition seems to be that film-makers must demonstrate the “awesomeness” of the camera in 120 seconds.

From today, anyone can submit a 500-character concept for a film, with the top two ideas receiving $1,000 each. Then, during a pitch phase which kicks off on August 26, contestants can propose how their ideas will progress through production. Two winners receive $20,000 each and access to an Ozo camera.

The overall winner will then be given their own Nokia Ozo camera to keep.

While this is a first for Nokia, it’s also a first for Tongal, which has never seen a virtual reality project such as this hit its community before.