I was lucky enough to watch a 14 min VR film some days ago, which changed my whole approach to this story-telling unit. I had been convinced that this 60-90s story of mine needed an interactive element for it to be successful in VR, but this film proved me wrong. I watched it with a cardboard headset on my phone and my eyes had a hard time adjusting to the camera focus, yet it still moved me to tears. The camera angles and movements are compelling and intuitive. The use of close-ups is ultra-successful and right on the necessary emotional beats. It proved, for me, that cinematic VR could very well be defined by the simple choice of letting yourself go as a VR user and being led. Of course, leading well as a director is no easy matter.

This realization comes at a good time because my priority for this unit is narrating space. I am now convinced camera movement will be my protagonist, and the user will only need to sit and look around. This may seem boring to users who are used to more of a gamification of experiences, but trusting a narrative to move for you has great potential. It is imperative, however, that it is a camera that thinks. My instructor has recommended a book on spatializing narrative which I ordered for my personal library and am very keen to read, but still hasn’t arrived.

Here is a sketch I did exploring character design and palette.

I have been exploring some character design, but my goal for the incoming week, now that I have decided to fully limit interaction to head movement, is to write a starting script. This will raise many questions about scripting 360 stories, and is sure to be a feat. Wish me strength and flexibility as I start building this narrative world.