Making A VR Lyric Video
When I first began to explore VR, I wanted to create something that practiced emotional intelligence. When thinking about all of the ways that I could go about doing that, it didn’t seem like the most engaging way to go about an emotional experience in VR. One thing that I have always wanted to see in a VR experience is music. Music is full of emotions– it’s why we love it so much. For those of us who don’t go to counseling, we listen to right song. It’s cathartic in powerful ways.
Deciding on using music in a VR experience, I quickly realized that I would need to make a video. I wanted to use this opportunity to work on my own animation skills, so I didn’t want to use anything shot from a camera. I created a 2D lyric video for the song by creating stylize assets and animating them to tell a a bit of a story alongside the lyrics.
I think VR is going to be a primary medium that music will be delivered in the near future. The easier one can engage with an artist they enjoy, the better. They’re are currently some artists experimenting with the technology in their own musical creations such as Imogen Heap and Arcade Fire. The technology is still in its infancy, though as it is developed I think it will change the music industry in dramatic ways.
I chose to create a lyric video for the song “You Don’t Know” by Leon Bridges. It’s a fun, upbeat, cheerful song, a nice start into making VR lyric videos. When I make another version, I really want to try something somber to see how that experience compares. It reminds me of something that Radiohead would have done.
Below is a video displaying the view from the player as they walk around the setup– the audio isn’t all that clear. I created a scene in which four screens display the video. To me, this style of display could be a great solution for a VR concert or a display in a real concert, bar, or installation.
