As a filmmaker, I'm extremely interested by the Rift, not least because it appears to partially offset the "uncanny valley", at least from early tests. Old games with dodgy character models (Half-Life 2) are much more immersive and compelling in a VR setting.
However, the challenge of telling a story without the ability to frame action, cut, or generally use any of the filmmaker's toolkit that has been in place since the popularisation of the medium in the early 1900s is going to be a hell of a challenge.
What we're actually looking at here is less like filmmaking, and more like theater in the round. It'll be interesting to see how it can be made to work - but I'm under no illusion that it'll be an easy transition.
as a film watcher i came to post similar thoughts. Gravity was the first 3d film that didn't make me hate 3d so there is time for my tastes to evolve, but i can't imagine getting down with a Rift movie. one of the most important story telling tools is lost.
as someone who will be attending Sleep No More (http://sleepnomorenyc.com/) for the third time next month i am deeply intrigued by more options for immersive theatre.
I have been to Sleep No More three times myself. While I enjoy it a great deal, I think it also lacks a strong storytelling component.
Part of this stems from the choices made in Sleep No More, such as the general lack of dialog, the size of the venue, etc.
The other part of it is the fundamental difficulty in creating a narrative when your audience is liable to walk off and explore empty rooms. The game "Gone Home" succeeds at this, creating a linear story via voiceover and restricting access. Yet, it feels a bit too limiting and stilted for it to be a primary medium for drama.
i'll agree. but when you are that immersed in a story it almost doesn't matter what the story is. i guess it depends what you're looking to get out of it. i feel like immersion and direction are mutually exclusive and you give up one for the benefit of the other. sleep no more went pretty hard on the immersion front.
but this is kind of my point and i think we are saying the same thing. with enough going on in a virtual environment, you make your own story. that is the experience i'd look for in true VR. if that is exploring empty rooms so be it. this differs from film where there is strict direction.
there is room for something in the middle, like "Gone Home", but that experience is not the future of film, nor does it exploit the best aspects of VR/Rift.
the obtuse point from the article is right: Rift, VR, (and i'll extend it to AR) is cool for games, but what's cooler are the new types of art they will enable.
As a filmmaker, I'm extremely interested by the Rift, not least because it appears to partially offset the "uncanny valley", at least from early tests. Old games with dodgy character models (Half-Life 2) are much more immersive and compelling in a VR setting.
However, the challenge of telling a story without the ability to frame action, cut, or generally use any of the filmmaker's toolkit that has been in place since the popularisation of the medium in the early 1900s is going to be a hell of a challenge.
What we're actually looking at here is less like filmmaking, and more like theater in the round. It'll be interesting to see how it can be made to work - but I'm under no illusion that it'll be an easy transition.