Some toughts on VR Filmmaking

I searched for a while online and found some devices. Some handheld devices that look like magic wands. These only work for hobby films. I saw a 360 rig with cinematic cameras and it was just overkill. I don't think 360 is meant to be just another step in the camera evolution.Like we evolved from the monkeys we have to acknowledge that 360 video recording share similar traits but is in fact not the same species. 

360 for me, is a way to be a character in the movie. 

The Ego perspective.

Until now, cinematic angles forced us to look one way. One specific angle that showed us one specific thing. But with an angle of 360 what are you going to do? You can't hide anything behind the camera because the viewer can just turn around.
So what to do? Is that why filmmakers don't touch the subject? Is it not developed enough for Cinematic Movies? Not just the idea of making the film, pre-production to post-production. But how do you begin with the script?

The script has a narrative like a book that shows us a specific thing. But with 360, the viewer chooses the narrative. He could just look at a wall the whole time while the characters of the movie are having a shootout. So what is the point of the shootout? Wasted money on pyrotechnics and nobody looks. A nightmare. It's like having blind people to a Michael Bay movie. "How was the movie? : oww the sound effects were great, and that white wall. A masterpiece"

I don't think that will be the case.

The Medium

When people first started making movies, the Viewers were figuring out how to handle the medium. How to digest it. They were not concerned with what the narrative was.
You showed them a Train and they almost died. The grabbed on to their seats because it was so overwhelming. 

Today people are much more concerned with the narrative. Because the "movie" in terms of technology is nothing new. People look at it and try to find new things or meaning in the medium (in terms of art) itself. That's why movie narratives you already saw seem dull and repetitive. 

"John walked in on his fiance having an affair with his (boss, friend, neighbour) his life is shattered and he goes out to "find" himself and turns his life around, then... So what can we do here, how can we make that narrative interesting again?
With technology. Think hardcore henry. That movie is great and fresh because it used technology to create a narrative, that has not existed before. "I am going to save my love"- in ego perspective. But not in 360.

With 360, we and can't expect the movie to be experienced the same way every time. It won't work because the viewer will not look in a certain direction 100% of the time. How do you make sure people look at the screen when they watch a horror movie? Well, you can't. That's how we should treat 360 filmmaking. Like a horror film or thriller. Meaning that if the viewer wants to know what's going on, he should open his eyes and look. I will get back to that later. 

The “Frame”

 A 360 VR headset sits on your head and with that, you can make movies where the viewer can fully immerse into the experience of being a part of the movie. Few explorations have been made in that direction.
The 'go pro helmet' can and should be modified to be 360 VR capable. 

I was searching for a product like that but no one seems to produce something similar. With a helmet like that, you could make a movie in no time. Just imagine simply going to work and recording it in 360 ego perspective. You might ask what is so interesting about that? 

In fact everything. If the person walks across the street you can see much more than the person can. Because the person is only looking in one direction. Frankly, that person has to watch his step as well. So he might actually miss, what you can see clearly. It might have a kind of wheelchair vibe. You don't have control of the direction you are going. But surrendering that control gives you the capability to direct your view to somewhere else. 

In terms of filmmaking that might be even worse. But people do tend to look in the direction of the forward motion. That means movies about racing cars are safe and stuff like that. What we can do is limit the screen. Instead of 360, we can show 180 degrees. You know because we can't turn our heads in real life, like the demon in the exorcist. 

With that in mind, we can make a movie that has a set of rules. Like many movies, they have to be visually compelling and has to have a good frame composition. “Visually compelling” is already taken care of. So we just need a great frame composition.

Imagine a desert and just 2 people there. An actor and of course the viewer. After he looked around sometime he will focus on the 2nd person, the actor. Because he has nowhere else to look. That of course, is not guaranteed. Maybe he will miss something important, but it's always a possibility. It's neither guaranteed in the cinema when someone will look down to grab some popcorn in the most important scene of your movie. What can you do?

Maybe make the sound in that direction compelling enough to look that way.

The Sound 

I don't know if there is something like 3d sound composing but with something like that you could change the sound based on which direction the viewer is facing. Like in video games. 

You want to make it really easy for yourself? Then make a movie like a video game. Look at some video games with strong narratives. Those cutscenes that some of them have are cleverly made. The player can look around freely, sometimes even move. But moving is not of the essence here. Does VR have the capability to be a great tool for storytelling? Yes, but we first have to figure out if people are ready for that. 

Having the choice to look wherever you want and not having restrictions is not something people might be able to comprehend. They will ask you why bother. "Why would I go to the cinema and watch something I might not even see?" People might not 'follow' the movie, direction-wise if the movie is made badly. This is the main problem here. Not the technology, not the viewer, not the narrative its all about the Film Maker.

The Director

The Director he is the only one who can vision himself watching his own movie. He has to know and articulate the narrative, the sound and the "I want to viewer to look that way!" to the crew. Normally the Cinematographer would be enough to talk to, but here the composer also has to be clued in what scene, what feeling is going to be articulated. With that in mind, the composer can make the sound different.

He and only he can truly force the viewer into a certain direction. Like a frame in a frame for the camera. The composer has to make the music in the music. In other terms, he has to make different soundtracks for the directions the viewer might look. And if there is a Score in that scene already maybe they are in a club. How do you make it different? 

You can always make it interesting enough. Horror filmmakers know when to play a sound to scare you, to make you look. With a 180 degree VR angle, the viewer can sit on his couch relaxed without breaking his neck and does the filmmaker a favour. With 180 degrees the cinematographer and composer have manageable work on their plate. This will not destroy their modus operandi, their workflow. It will just extend it.

 Is VR Ripe yet? I would say no, since that is uncharted territory for filmmakers. With failure we learn, from other people failures we learn as well. It is worth exploring. The Filmmakers who come after you will thank you. So why not be a pioneer in VR filmmaking? In the age of Netflix & Co maybe VR is what movie Theaters need. With failure we learn, from other people failures we learn as well. It is worth exploring. The Filmmakers who come after you will thank you.