Saturday, April 23, 2016
MAPPING THE MOVEMENT
The first problem I ran into when creating a world for a virtual reality narrative was that I didn't want it to be passive. Although there's really nothing wrong with the approach, I think what makes VR so captivating is that you as the viewer now exist in this world as a character. Your perspective matters and you really need to be able to have some interactivity to sell that. I didn't, however, want to create a video game. I know and love cinematic experiences set in the real world. But what would that look like?
While this wouldn't be a video game, I knew I needed elements of the space to change upon interaction with the viewer. For example, early in the pilot episode, I wanted the TV to blare static if you look at it for too long. That's a hard effect to time purely in a live action environment. So I knew 3d post effects would need to come into play. To make these work, the post team would need to know the exact layout and dimensions of the physical set so they could start work creating effects before/during/after shooting took place.
The next realization came from how important it would be to direct the viewer to the correct area of the space. The viewer would be moving "on rails" through the environment at specific times, which would simplify the process. But mapping this movement before hand helped narrow down the possibilities that would have to be covered during shooting.
The first problem I ran into when creating a world for a virtual reality narrative was that I didn't want it to be passive. Although there's really nothing wrong with the approach, I think what makes VR so captivating is that you as the viewer now exist in this world as a character. Your perspective matters and you really need to be able to have some interactivity to sell that. I didn't, however, want to create a video game. I know and love cinematic experiences set in the real world. But what would that look like?
Another way to attack the same problem, is to map out key spots where interactions could happen. Here's an example of the viewers location and another character moving through the space.
Combing narrative cinema and virtual reality.
I was recently at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas to explore what's new in the world of cameras and the technology that comes with them. To no ones surprise a huge proportion of the show floor was dedicated to virtual reality. New fully integrated cameras and combinations to combine multiple cinema cameras into a 360 degree views. It seems VR is going to be a huge part of the entertainment industry; and not just in a distant future. The thirst for content is about to be massive. The first place VR can easily find itself is in sports and action environments. It's even relatively easy to do; nearly plug and play. But there's more story to tell, and that's where filmmakers and storytellers can have there chance.
The world of narrative filmmaking is one that most people are inherently failure with, even if your average person wouldn't know it. We've grown up with movies as a society, and have become accustomed to there flow and mechanics. As close to cinema as it seems, VR is in some ways on another planet when it comes to directorial, visual and editorial decisions. One of the first speakers I was able to listen to at NAB described the difficulty of cueing the viewer to be looking in the appropriate direction for a cut to make sense. Assuming the viewer was looking at a window where an intruder to a house was entering, a quick cut to the upstairs worked well. The problem was, you can't force the viewer to do so, and in tests, a third of viewers were looking the wrong direction. Some of the proposed solutions included lighting cues and especially 3d mapped audio that can cue viewers to a specific spot. These solutions are among many, but they are creating new and interesting ways to tackle the challenge of VR.
The world of narrative filmmaking is one that most people are inherently failure with, even if your average person wouldn't know it. We've grown up with movies as a society, and have become accustomed to there flow and mechanics. As close to cinema as it seems, VR is in some ways on another planet when it comes to directorial, visual and editorial decisions. One of the first speakers I was able to listen to at NAB described the difficulty of cueing the viewer to be looking in the appropriate direction for a cut to make sense. Assuming the viewer was looking at a window where an intruder to a house was entering, a quick cut to the upstairs worked well. The problem was, you can't force the viewer to do so, and in tests, a third of viewers were looking the wrong direction. Some of the proposed solutions included lighting cues and especially 3d mapped audio that can cue viewers to a specific spot. These solutions are among many, but they are creating new and interesting ways to tackle the challenge of VR.
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