Directing for Virtual Reality
Our Future Nights evening last month generated a lot of great discussion. After the talk one of the attendees asked me what I thought of 360° video and the impact it was going to have on the content we consume. While I did discuss the importance of Virtual Reality during the talk, the truth was I did not have a good answer for her. The question stuck with me and I’ve been researching and thinking more about it ever since.
During the talk I touched on an issue which I believe is plaguing a lot of creators who are trying to work with VR right now — how do we make Virtual Reality content compelling once the initial novelty factor has worn off? What can we do with 360° video which couldn’t be done just as effectively with a well-shot traditional film?
This is a question which I do not believe anyone has comprehensively answered yet, and this is why I have been bearish about the impact of 360° video in the past.
What I had not grasped, however, is that VR isn’t a direct successor to traditional film — it’s an entirely new medium. In a recent interview Robert Stromberg, Oscar-winning production designer and founder of the Virtual Reality Company, said: “VR is a cross-pollination between what you might consider a live performance and cinematic storytelling. To me it’s something that is in its fledgling stages, and I still don’t believe that the nut has been cracked yet.”
Emotional Closeness
Visionary VR director Chris Milk echoed these ideas in a TED talk he gave last year. He describes Virtual Reality as the ‘last medium’, saying that VR is different because it’s the first medium ‘that actually makes the jump from our internalisation of an author’s expression of an experience, to our experiencing it first-hand’. What he’s describing is a concept known as ‘presence’ — the feeling of ‘really being there’ that well-made VR can induce in viewers. He also shares some practical insight about directing 360° video, including how to move the camera without making the viewer feel uneasy. He goes on to say that ‘contrary to popular belief, there is composition in Virtual Reality, but it’s completely different than film where you have a rectangular frame’. His examination of the close-up shot is particularly interesting because it demonstrates why we need to approach directing for VR differently to traditional film. In a film a close-up gives the viewer a window into the emotions of a character, but in an almost voyeuristic sense — we can see the character but they can’t see us. In Virtual Reality the illusion of presence makes a close-up an intense experience. Milk explains that, ‘you feel an emotional closeness to the character, because of what you feel to be a physical closeness’.
Presence in VR
Presence can be a powerful sensation, but it also puts restrictions on how we shoot for VR. Because our bodies are tricked into believing that the virtual scene is the real world, fast cuts and pans can cause intense discomfort. This means that in many 360° videos which we see today some shots seem to drag, and after the novelty wears off they can become boring. A traditional film can hold interest by cutting frequently and using multiple camera angles, but this produces a negative experience in VR. The Displaced, produced by the New York Times is an example of how some shots in 360° videos can drag, but it also demonstrates how effective VR can be when used well. There is one shot which is particularly striking, and highlights the emotional impact of presence. The scene from 0:23–0:45 which features a young boy pushing a boat out from the shore is very powerful. We see him struggling to push us out while we sit back in the boat, not helping. It forces us to confront the impact of our inaction, making us want to help the boy. The unique power of VR allowed the filmmakers to convey this key message in an extremely effective way.
Calling the medium ‘360° video’ really is selling it short, because Virtual Reality is about more than being able to look behind us while we’re watching a movie. The craft of VR storytelling is still in its infancy and we are yet to see the full power of this nascent art form. When done right, Virtual Reality can engage viewers on an emotional level unlike any storytelling medium we’ve seen before.
If you’d like to re-watch our discussion of Virtual Reality at our inaugural Future Nights event you can view it here.
This article first appeared in Taste Creative’s Forethought newsletter.
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