VR Diaries: Focus is essential in VR storytelling

After watching six virtual reality pieces, I learned that there are two major types of VR — experiential (e.g. 6x9) and immersive.

My favorite is Clouds over Sidra because it is a very personal, very intimate piece. The narration by Sidra really connects the audience to her experience and brings the audience into her world.

Another piece that I like is 6x9. There is not a visible character in this piece like Cloud over Sidra, but I think it works really well as an experiential piece. Incarceration is a problem in the country and a lot of us are aware of it, but not many of us have had the actual experience of being in confinement. This VR experience definitely brought the audience to another level of understanding. Despite the absence of a distinctive character, the voice of the prisoner narrates and takes us through the whole story, which I think is enough.

Generally speaking, I think what drives a VR piece is a focal point, be it a character, a voice or a story line. When we are placed in a virtual environment, where you are look around and see your surroundings, sometimes the audience might feel lost, or simply just can’t find anything to focus on. When there is a focus that the audience can hook onto, that’s much better.

The presence of sympathy or empathy in VR pieces depends on the content and the topic. For example, with the topic of refugees, people usually are more drawn to visuals than text. Putting people in a visually-rich environment, especially in one that they are not familiar with might help them to generate sympathy or empathy. (But of course execution of the video is crucial to make the experience a good one).