What Role Does Virtual Reality Play in Film Production?

Virtual reality (VR) is a realistic simulation of a three-dimensional environment created with software. Also known as immersive multimedia, people can use devices like VR headsets and gloves to experience a completely artificial world.

VR has become increasingly more popular in the entertainment industry and filmmakers have already started experimenting with using VR as another tool for storytelling. The 2016 Cannes Film Festival even featured a full lineup of VR screenings and workshops.

Image © Makropol. The Doghouse, a VR film short shown at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

As you can probably imagine, cinematic VR can allow for some pretty interesting experiences for audience members. Typically in film, the viewer is directed to follow a main storyline and to look at specific things in a scene. With a fully immersive VR experience though, viewers can now choose where to look and what to pay attention to as well as experience some of the same things that the movie’s characters do, such as flying on a plane or visiting a national landmark.

While this could potentially distract viewers from the main storyline, it also gives filmmakers more creative space to work with in regards to telling their story. For example, new storylines could emerge from secondary characters or it could make people want to watch the same movie over and over again but focus on different characters, backgrounds and actions each time to discover new details they missed previously.

Cinematic VR requires some new technical considerations during production that aren’t otherwise needed in traditional film production, but more film production companies and independent filmmakers have been learning new skills and updating their equipment to make the process of developing, creating, and rendering VR scenes faster, more efficient, and more realistic.

Are you looking for production companies in Nevada that specialize in virtual reality? Check out our online Nevada Production Directory for a list of companies, individuals and crew in Nevada offering virtual reality production and post-production support services as well as 3D sound design for VR or drop by our office and pick up a free printed directory!

If you offer VR production and post-production support services in Nevada and are not yet listed in our Nevada Production Directory, you can learn more about how to sign up for the NPD here.

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