Is Virtual Reality the FUTURE of Movies?
First came sound, then color, then a series of higher definition quality, then 3D, sometimes 4D — now virtual reality (VR) is lining itself up to be the next major innovation in filmmaking. Or perhaps that should be “experience-making.” Since 2014, when Facebook bought Oculus, a fledgling VR company, for $2 billion, journalists and investors have become part of the hype machine.
Virtual Reality in Cinema Theaters
IMAX has revealed plans to develop a “premium virtual reality offering.” Across cinemas and malls, IMAX will offer studio-quality VR experiences created by Hollywood filmmakers. This deal was recently announced after they also revealed a team project with Google to build a new type of camera. Action and Explosions addict Director Michael Bay has reportedly signed to be one of the first to lead these new projects. Fox, Disney, and Lionsgate have already committed huge sums to producing 360-degree movies.
Want to know what Steven Spielberg thinks about it? In a recent interview, Spielberg said — “The only reason I think it’s dangerous is because it gives the viewer a lot of latitude not to take direction from the storytellers but make their own choices of where to look. I just hope it doesn’t forget the story when it starts enveloping us in a world that we can see all around us and make our own choices to look at.”
I completely understand where he’s coming from. Filmmaking at its core is the way storytellers guide an audience.
Others don’t really agree with Spielberg. “Even the greatest cinematic achievements are inherently oppressive to the viewer,” asserts Digital Trends. “The camera tells you what to look at.” Ewww. Who’d want that? “Flatties” is what they are calling traditional movies.
Other filmmakers are framing VR as an opportunity by highlighting its potential to shift the dynamic between the audience and the director. In other words, they welcome the opportunity to give the audience some freedom in the exploration of the story that is in front of them.
Whether or not VR can make it into the mainstream will ultimately depend on the quality of storytellers and producers it can attract.
Will VR Replace Movies?
In my opinion, the short answer to this question is no. There is a towering problem that no VR filmmaker has yet cracked: audience attention.
Movie directors don’t just direct the actors; they also direct your attention, using camera angles, lighting, selective focus, even sound to create a desired effect. A movie is a story that everyone experiences the same way because we all witness the same events. Plopping down the panoramic camera somewhere interesting like a marketplace, a ship, a sporting event and having an audience just look around is not storytelling.
The biggest challenge for filmmakers in VR is to still have a plot within the environment. Yes, there are already very successful VR scenes, VR games, VR concerts, VR real estate “visits” and VR city tours. Someday there may be hybrid movie-games. But VR will remain a novelty experience, something like IMAX movies or those hydraulic “4-D” rides at amusement parks, malls and science museums. Until someone figures out a way to tell the same story to every VR viewer, those oppressive, linear flatties will remain our cinema.
New inventions rarely replace older ones as they’re predicted to; they just add on. VR is its own thing, and we have to discover so much about what are the tools in our toolbox. It will be like learning a new language for the cinema world. It will enhance the experience of many and open doors for other opportunities to tell a story and reach the masses.
What are your thoughts on VR and the VR movie experience? I’d love to know if anyone has any more clues as to where VR is headed in the comments below.
