Virtual Reality (VR) And Storytelling

The Struggle to Adapt Storytelling for Virtual Reality (+Video)

"We're ready to tell stories, but how do you do that in VR?" asks Oscar-winning art director Robert Stromberg.

Mona Lalwani | June 23, 2016

Storytelling in virtual reality has yet to take shape. While the simulated world of gaming has proved the visual capabilities of the medium, few have taken a crack at the art of building a compelling narrative.
But now that the battle of the VR headsets is fully under way, a shift is evident. Content studios seem to be getting ready for the next wave of virtual reality. Over the past week alone, major VR studios have announced investments from Hollywood studios that seem indicative of the cinematic experiences to come. Within, formerly known as VRSE, has raised $12.56 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and 21st Century Fox, Felix & Paul Studios has seen $6.8 million in a round led by Comcast, and Virtual Reality Company (VRC) got $23 million from Beijing's Hengxin Mobile Business in exchange for exclusive distribution rights in China.

Over time, normal consumers may actually create the greatest amount of VR content for themselves and their friends.

360-degree VR breaks us out of that frame and delivers the scene as if one was at the event and viewing it from the center of the action.

When cavemen came back from a hunt, they told the story of the hunt in pictures in a cave on the walls. Eventually, storytelling was moved to a frame in paintings and pictures, where it has stayed for the centuries.

Source: http://www.recode.net/2016/5/25/11772502/virtual-reality-storytelling-app-cirque-samsung

"See Chris Milk discuss the future of VR storytelling." Source: http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/interactive-design/see-chris-milk-discuss-future-of-vr-storytelling/

<more at https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/23/the-struggle-to-adapt-storytelling-for-virtual-reality/; related articles and links: https://medium.com/stanford-d-school/the-storyteller-s-guide-to-the-virtual-reality-audience-19e92da57497 (The Storyteller’s Guide to the Virtual Reality Audience. April 6, 2016) and http://www.recode.net/2016/5/25/11772502/virtual-reality-storytelling-app-cirque-samsung (Is storytelling the key to VR’s future?
Virtual reality may be the closest to teleportation we will ever have in our lifetime. May 25, 2016)>