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.

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.