Storytelling Archives - Page 2 of 2 - VR Playhouse Immersive Content for VR and AR

Apr 16

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Adventures in VR Storytelling, Part II

Part II: There Is No Third Person We’ve already discussed the distinct, dreamlike presence one feels inside a VR narrative; that feeling of being intimately present up until a point and then definitively detached. It’s a very special kind of presence and it can potentially lead to some very special kinds of stories. But frankly, the quality of the presence one feels in VR is secondary to the simple fact that you clearly have presence and that this presence is unavoidable. “Clouds Over Sidra” is a virtual reality short film that takes us to a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. We meet a young girl who describes for us both the harsh difficulties and small joys inside Sidra as we immerse ourselves in scenes of daily life there; school, soccer games, family dinners. It’s one of the more emotionally arresting VR films to have come out, mainly because of the subject matter (a homesick little girl quietly crying in…

Apr 07

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Adventures in VR Storytelling, Part I

By jordanh | Storytelling | No Comments

The emergence of a new means of narrative happens, on average, about once every twenty-five years or so. This is a very inexact estimation, about as inexact as my definition of “narrative means.” Let’s just say that the means is the way in which a person receives their stories. So, for instance, in the 20th century, there were three big ones that emerged. First, there was film. Then came television. And then came video games. You could maybe also argue that comic books constitutes its own system but there have been serialized adventure stories with illustrations for quite awhile so is that really its own narrative conveyance? You can see what I mean about inexact. But so anyway, the point is that each of these systems came with their own rules and parameters and ways in which they function in partnership with the human brain and it took awhile for everyone to figure it all out. We’re…

Nov 05

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First Person: a series about life’s spontaneous moments

By jordanh | Storytelling | No Comments

First person was born from a desire to experiment with intimacy inside the Rift. Can one feel like he or she is sitting with someone and having a conversation? Will the conversation trigger real emotions? We had the pleasure of working with Mattie Hawkinson as our lead actress, and the Playhouse’s own Ian Forester as the voice of you, the viewer. The style is like Being John Malkovich– you see through his eyes and experience his experience. Each “episode” is like a moment in this guy’s memory bank. There are, as most things in the current 360 video world, many challenges to making it feel as close to real life as possible: It is difficult to stitch either close and/or moving subjects. The camera operator must be hidden. And if you’re shooting from one person’s point of view, that actor must also be out of sight. Our makeshift solution was this:…

Jul 18

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Immersive Experience vs. Screen Watching

By jordanh | Storytelling | No Comments

I love movies, and probably watch 3-4 per week via the usual portals: Netflix, Hulu, VUDU, and Amazon Prime. Don’t even get me started on the TV shows. I don’t anticipate that immersive VR experiences will ever change the appeal of watching a movie play out in front of me, especially since I can watch while also doing work on my computer. Much of the work I do involves tedious laptop editing, etc., and having something playing on the TV is pretty much the go-to for getting it done. But obviously, we over the Playhouse have fallen head over heels for VR. So let’s not say that VR and Oculus are going to make movies obsolete (we still listen to radio, right?), but what you get from the VR experience is different and deeply satisfying. The first thing I feel inside the Oculus is privacy. I feel like I’m in my own little…

Jul 14

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Virtual Reality | The Dawn of a New Story Telling Era

By jordanh | Storytelling | No Comments

“We should film people trying the Oculus Rift for the first time,” Ian says to me. It’s the same every time. Friend sits on couch, puts the Oculus Rift on his or her face, and below the ski goggle mask, a big smile emerges. Nobody puts on the Rift and isn’t totally blown away. I’m taking my friend Reyna through the developer’s kit demo, an animated virtual reality world of a small Tuscan villa. You start the demo inside the house, where you can look up at the vaulted, beamed ceiling, or down at the hard wood floor, at the staircase behind you, or out the window. By pushing the arrow keys on the computer, you can move out the door to a beautiful courtyard, where you realize you are on what appears to be an island. “You want to fly?” I ask her. A resounding yes. I push the =/+ sign on the…