About a month ago, I had the pleasure of experiencing virtual reality video during Murmurs, a Toronto arts event held at The Grand Hall. Among various media related art installations, guests had to opportunity to relax on a big beanbag chair and watch a short 360-degree music video. The piece itself followed a man through several locations in Toronto, starting in the exact room you were sitting in in The Great Hall. I had heard how incredible VR was, but I could never have imagined what I experienced. Having the ability to look in any direction and be surrounded by video makes you feel like you are literally inside the story. Knowing that you are sitting in a room but really feeling like you have been transported somewhere else is truly incredible and seems like such a far fetched concept- until now. After this experience, it occurred to me that this maybe the future for filmmaking. As VR technology matures, from video games to animation to music videos, this has become more and more possible.
Although I was extremely impressed and mesmerized by my experience, I feel conflicted with this being the future of filmmaking. Films by themselves should already be an immersive experience through the story, the characters, the setting etc. without the need to feel literally placed in the story. As VR emerges in the film scene, the whole act of movie watching will completely change. Audiences will no longer be able to passively enjoy a story as an outsider looking in, and rather consistently feel “involved” in the experience. I see the appeal for the art department as set design and set locations take on a 360-degree format, allowing audiences to see all parts of a setting rather than the usual specifically framed area. As a result of this, production costs are going to skyrocket, not only from the specialized equipment needed, but from the cost of having 360- degree friendly sets and spaces. Moving to post productions, editing VR footage for an entire film would require specialized software, not yet available. In addition to this, I wonder how you can edit 360-degree video clips on a two-dimensional screen.
Immersive media experiences are the goal for many in the media industry, however film is a very old art that may struggle to fully embrace this level of immersion. In saying this, VR technology has a long way to come before it can be used for feature filmmaking. Only time will tell if this trend in technology will be picked up in the film industry- until then, we wait.
-Gabby
Although I was extremely impressed and mesmerized by my experience, I feel conflicted with this being the future of filmmaking. Films by themselves should already be an immersive experience through the story, the characters, the setting etc. without the need to feel literally placed in the story. As VR emerges in the film scene, the whole act of movie watching will completely change. Audiences will no longer be able to passively enjoy a story as an outsider looking in, and rather consistently feel “involved” in the experience. I see the appeal for the art department as set design and set locations take on a 360-degree format, allowing audiences to see all parts of a setting rather than the usual specifically framed area. As a result of this, production costs are going to skyrocket, not only from the specialized equipment needed, but from the cost of having 360- degree friendly sets and spaces. Moving to post productions, editing VR footage for an entire film would require specialized software, not yet available. In addition to this, I wonder how you can edit 360-degree video clips on a two-dimensional screen.
Immersive media experiences are the goal for many in the media industry, however film is a very old art that may struggle to fully embrace this level of immersion. In saying this, VR technology has a long way to come before it can be used for feature filmmaking. Only time will tell if this trend in technology will be picked up in the film industry- until then, we wait.
-Gabby
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