Diving into the deep end with VR

I come from the land of classic film and television directing where the lesson on day one is the “rules of cinema,” and you spend years studying how the greats like Spielberg and Scorsese either created those rules or used them to craft visually and emotionally compelling stories.

Now, imagine as a director if suddenly the rules of cinema no longer apply – the rule of thirds, basic camera movement techniques, three point lighting, and, in fact STORY is no longer king, but LOCATION is king. My cinematic world was flipped upside down as I started preproduction on my first virtual reality project. I felt just like Alice plummeting out of control through a dark hole and landing new a world – the Wonderland of immersive technology. Only in this Wonderland there were no tea parties and frankly, I was lost searching for my directing bearings.

I began to research all things VR/360, watching hours and hours of different types of immersive experiences trying to figure out how to translate my years of directing into this new medium- if at all possible. It took a few days for my mind to break free from the traditional boundaries I’d always played within, but soon inspiration swooped in as I made peace with the idea
that the, Wonderland of immersive technology was a world of play and discovery. So I started to do just that.

I directed my first virtual reality project for a talent recruitment tool! Below are a few tips, not rules, to consider as you navigate storytelling in this Wonderland.

1. Ask yourself if this is right medium for your story.
2. LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION. It sounds like I am selling real estate, but
it’s so true. If the location is boring, you are in trouble.
3. Location is king. (Not story)
4. The camera = the viewer.
5. Don’t be afraid of not having a frame - you have a world.
6. Put the camera where the viewer can best explore spatially, and that does not
always mean put the camera in the middle of the room.
7. You may want the camera to be a character in the scene.
8. If you have actors, be mindful of having them cross the stitch lines.
9. Think about editing differently. Remember that a cut directs time.
10. Play.
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Wonderland can be exhilarating and scary at times, but there is so much to discover – which is what makes me passionate about continuing to step outside of my linear storytelling comfort zone and explore how I can use this amazing technology to tell bigger, bolder, braver stories - even beyond marketing!