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 world (or BIG world, depending on the video or simulation). Privacy equals intimacy. So my first thought was, is there a way to use the intimacy-feeling of the Oculus Rift and bring viewers a uniquely intimate experience?
I don’t feel intimate with actors when I watch a movie. I can sense their intimacy, which is compelling. Oculus Rift makes you the actor in the movie. And because of that, you feel differently inside it. The challenge for content creators like us is going to be what we do with that privacy, and how we make people feel. And will the feelings you get inside the Oculus (or whatever VR headset becomes mainstream) be more transformative and powerful from the ones you get watching movies. If the answer is yes, and I suspect it is, we may be looking at a new paradigm shift.
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