The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Storytelling in Virtual Reality

(YiViAn April 18, 2016) Virtual reality (VR) is a magical space where all your wishes can be fulfilled without pain and torture. I'm just kidding. Well, seriously, virtual reality refers to the simulation of reality through computer technology. Unlike previous user interfaces, virtual reality brings users a sense of immersion. In virtual reality, users do not just look at the screen, but are immersed in the 3D world and can interact with it.

Simply put, in virtual reality, we create a world and invite people into it. This means that in virtual reality, you're not just a bystander, you're a participant, and your every move affects the world. Pretty cool, isn't it.

Purpose of

This Guide This guide is for everyone who wants to get into virtual reality and filmmaking. This includes developers of virtual reality games, filmmakers and hobbyists new to this new technology.

I don't want to expand on the theoretical side of filmmaking, which is not the main content of this guide. I also won't teach you what equipment to choose, what lenses to use, or how to edit or what software to use for post-production. What I'm going to talk about is how successful filmmakers have used virtual reality and some methodological techniques. I just want to tell everyone how to tell a good story.

What we need to know is that we are all experimenting and learning about virtual reality. Therefore, you won't know much about books on this subject. Advances in virtual reality technology and learning are ongoing.

The purpose of this guide is to make you understand that virtual reality is possible. This new medium brings you the same power and creativity as the traditional film industry, and can even bring you more. But as Spider-Man says: "With great power comes great responsibility." I hope you can avoid the pitfalls that will keep you from participating in your next amazing VR movie.

At the same time, I would also like to thank you for taking the time to read this guide. Since 2016, virtual reality has started to make waves, but for those who are already feeling the wave and having a good experience, they need good content. That's what you're reading this guide for. In fact, when you read this guide, you have entered a new era, and you are already making history unknowingly.

Virtual reality used to be a science fiction dream, but just like computers and smartphones, that dream is coming true

— Zuckerberg

360 video, also known as 3D virtual reality or stereoscopic virtual reality, is made possible by Each lens captures images from 360 degrees. Some might argue that 360-degree video doesn't count as virtual reality. Strictly speaking, they are correct. A standard 360 video is just a flat video overlaid on a sphere. We can imagine a spherical world map. Through virtual reality technology, your head is in this sphere. As your head moves, the equipment connected to your head will also move, and then give you a kind of body The feeling of being in the map.

360-degree video increases the depth of immersion by enhancing the depth between the foreground and background through stereoscopic 3D. To do this, we need two lenses to shoot images side by side so that each eye looks at it from a different angle. If shot incorrectly, the image will look weird, but when shot correctly, the visual experience is superb. Through the stereoscopic 3D of virtual reality technology, the depth information in the video will be overlaid on the spherical surface. Because the lens is parallel and juxtaposed when shooting, it is not easy to operate. Any small errors or gaps in each segment will be enlarged in the 3D image. Our two eyes will see these images in different places, and these images will make us look bad, and even suffer from headaches, dizziness and eyestrain.

The purpose of 360-degree video and virtual reality video is the same - to fully immerse the user in the created world. Once the user feels comfortable in the created scene, we can bring him into the story.

What do we need to know about virtual reality storytelling versus traditional storytelling?

Virtual reality technology has already begun to be applied. The technology we've been craving is right in front of us; we can tell everyone in the world about this new medium, and we can show them the right way to use virtual reality. That means building a new habit, especially telling them what they can do in the world we've created.

Before, we only had mimes and black-and-white movies in theaters. Then we learn how to use the camera equipment, how to pan the camera, and try different shooting techniques and different viewpoints, zoom shots, stagger edits, change scenes, and more. Thus, the discipline of film shooting technology was born.

Just as pantomime is for movies, virtual reality will completely change the film industry. Different viewpoints and filmmaking techniques will break down the fourth wall separating the audience from the actors. That's why we say that in virtual reality, you need to come up with a creative idea to guide your audience.

In virtual reality, the audience is not passively watching the screen, your audience is in the "screen", they can look around freely, and in the near future, they can also move around in it, like this, You can imagine how big the impact of virtual reality will be.

We call this unique perception of being "in it" the sense of presence.

Chris Milk, founder of VRSE and VRSE Studio, calls virtual reality the ultimate resonance machine.

It is difficult to decipher virtual reality, because virtual reality is a sensory medium. You feel like you are in it. Virtual reality is also a machine, it's just that you are in this machine, you feel that this is real life, this is reality. You feel like you exist in this world, and the characters in this world are real.

As a storyteller, your first thought might be to apply everything you learned in film and television school to this new medium. Doing so can have bad consequences, however, as you'll soon discover that traditional filmmaking rules and techniques don't apply to VR. That said, we need to remember that we don't need to change our story, we just need to change the way we tell our story in VR.

Before you start making films... I mean before you write stories

If virtual reality filmmaking is possible, then we might have some doubts. Much of the confusion is because we don't understand the difference between 360-degree video and virtual reality. One basic difference is - interactivity

In reality, your actions (and inner thoughts) are influential. Your decisions have an impact on the world around you, or your experience of the world, and sometimes even profoundly and unpredictably.

These changes won't happen unless you believe in some kind of outcome.

Virtual reality should follow the same principles. The decision for virtual reality should change the already constructed world in surprising ways. This means that the virtual reality world does not follow a predetermined script.

Principles:

There are already many studios and artists working on VR projects; and I've prepared a few core principles, or axioms. Before you start filming, you need to consider these principles.

They are:

In order to write a good story, compromises must be made.

Think of yourself as a facilitator rather than a director. You can only do this because you're giving the audience not just a frame, but a whole world.

At the core of virtual reality is experience and presence. As a director, you need to keep your audience's attention on your film, they can't change channels or look away, and the virtual reality device is on the audience's head, and when the audience takes it off After this device, what they see will change a lot.

VR narrative is more like playing a video game.

Tip 1: Take it slow

The first task to achieve is to make the audience feel comfortable. Oculus Story Studio recommends that viewers watch a 30-second introductory video first. This will allow viewers to get accustomed to the headset and become familiar with the new medium.

The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Virtual Reality Storytelling

Lost

For most people, the 30-second video will allow them to get used to the environment and relax. In Lost, the audience starts out in a dark space, and then a ray of light comes into view: a firefly appears, flying from your left to your right. When the audience's eyes follow the firefly, the audience will gradually adapt to the virtual reality environment. And after that you will find a forest in front of you, and then the background will gradually become richer.

Most viewers are used to looking at flat screens, so when they first use virtual reality technology, they can just stare in front of them. At this time, you can use voice or visual cues to guide them to look around. Let your audience tap into their curiosity.

Tip 2: Direct the user's gaze or do nothing!

Do you need to decide ahead of time whether to lead them to the story and direct their gaze? Do you not encourage the viewer to look elsewhere?

Or give the user complete Freedom? As a director, ceding control is an entirely new concept. If the cue is right in front of the user, and the user still wants to keep looking at the sky, VR directors need to accept that fact. And cinema has more than enough tricks to tell a story and guide the viewer's eye.

You can use different lighting and voice prompts, or the focus of the character's viewpoint, or even dynamic prompts. What we need to remember is that there are two things that attract our attention: moving objects and different images.

Control is like a double-sided sword that may feel unreal to the user. Because virtual reality is about the freedom of the audience, so I suggest you take it. If you want to bring bizarre dreams to the world, then you don't spend time and energy on how to take control, unique experiences can make people feel real.

Tip 3:

Full immersion in presence is the ultimate goal of VR narrative. The first difficulty encountered was how to overcome some basic technical difficulties. This means that you need to prevent and fix screen connection problems; you also need to use the highest quality picture and appropriate sound equipment. The last thing you need to do is to eliminate the headaches and dizziness you experience while using it, which is an important guarantee that you will continue to show your audience the world you've created.

Second, you need to trick the audience's brain into thinking that this virtual world is "real" Remember Kevin Spacey's line in The Usual Suspects? "

The trickiest part is believing he doesn't exist, and it's like In this way, he disappeared from view.

Felix & Paul studios in Montreal had an "a-ha" moment when they were working on their first project. They brought in an amateur actor, a Kind Chinese grandma, this grandma walks into the church and sits in front of the camera. After a few seconds, she looks at the camera like she's looking at someone. This 20 second video is shocking. Their heads are always thinking about this old lady.

Let the character look at your audience. This intimate connection causes a real emotional flow between the actor and the audience. This is how virtual reality breaks the fourth barrier between the audience and the audience. between the walls.

Henry

There are situations you don't want your audience to notice, especially action scenes like car chases and fight scenes, because those scenes only make sense if they are presented from a different angle.

Tip 4:

This shift in rhythm from a flat screen to a 3D world is huge and confusing at first. If you can successfully make the audience feel comfortable, then you've completed the first phase of your goal.

Oculus Story Studio is using the "getting used to and setting the scene" approach. In the video "Lost," they let the fireflies fly from left to right to acclimate the viewer to the concept of looking around. Before the appearance of the mysterious forest, all the audience saw was this firefly.

Your audience is probably not used to virtual reality movies, and for most of them, this will be their first virtual reality experience. The shift from the TV screen to the depth of information immersed in the environment is huge, and you need to think about how you're going to slowly guide them into your story.

You also need to decide on the movement of the shot, especially the undulating shot, as this can cause dizziness.

There's a fine line between judging whether your story is interesting or not, because in VR a lot of things happen at the same time, and the momentary concentration of a lot of information can feel overwhelming. But if there's only one thing going on, then the scenarios are empty and unreal. Virtual reality should simulate the experience of the real world. Oculus calls it "spatial plot compactness," the way we tell stories in 3D around us.

Remember our first principle, we're going to have to make compromises.

Tip 5: Conditional Storytelling

Mass Effect is a popular sci-fi game where players take on the role of Commander Shepard. Players need to command the starship "Normandy" and choose a mission. As the game progresses, we need to make some tough decisions. And these decisions will have huge consequences, such as the death of a crew member, the genocide of a particular species, or even the destruction of an entire planet.

The ultimate introductory guide to VR storytelling,

Mass Effect, they make their own decisions, let them take responsibility for their choices...

In VR, we can leave the decision to our audience. How wide this option is is entirely up to us. The audience can think about it before making a decision. For example, our audience came to a checkpoint where he had to make a decision to continue the story. Choose a path, do our audiences choose the red pill, love or the blue pill?

The ultimate introductory guide to storytelling in virtual reality.

Would you choose a red pill or a blue pill?

But no matter what the audience chooses, we can Schedule a response. Virtual reality technology has gone beyond the average content experience. It can combine sight, hearing and feeling at the same time. When the audience gives voice or gesture input, the visual space of the story can respond accordingly. It's still a bit difficult technically, but now virtual reality is much better than it used to be.

Suppose you are in a particular scene where the actor and the audience are sitting in a car. While the street looked empty, the driver started to accelerate. When the vehicle came to the zebra crossing, a child ran into the street. If the driver does not brake in time, the accident will happen. If we screamed for a reminder, the driver would try to stop the car, but if we didn't notice the kid or did nothing, the results wouldn't be very different.

Tip 6: Experimenting with

virtual reality is a sandbox full of surprises, where we can find countless tools and tricks. These tips are more like advice than rules for filmmaking. However, if our tips are laws, we should be prepared to break them at any time.

Henry Ford said in a famous statement, "If I asked my guests what they wanted, they would say a faster horse." Henry Ford gave his guests a faster horse, instead He built a car. People didn't have the concept of a car at that time.

I can bet you that the same will be true of virtual reality narratives. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, because then we either know how to do it unsuccessfully, or find a neat solution. Charles Intern accidentally invented vulcanized rubber when he dripped rubber and sulfur into a furnace. To his surprise, the rubber didn't melt, but became stronger. Today this unexpected product is used in almost every car, and that is tires.

Tip 7: Test, test, test

Before products and services are brought to market, they are tested many times. The same applies to your virtual reality products. We already have a developmental relationship with the product, so we are not fit to test our designs. We may be overly critical or tolerant.

Ideally, we should show random products to strangers because they have little interest in our results and they don't hit our self-esteem. Their observations, feelings and especially reactions to our products are invaluable. (Source: Toutiao today)