With Oculus’s place at the forefront of virtual reality technology becoming shakier with the departure of its CEO Palmer Luckey, the news that the company was shutting its filmmaking division, Story Studio, was a surprise. Some have accused Facebook — the company which owns Oculus — of being behind the move, as a way of prioritizing the social functionality of VR.
Whatever the motive, what was hailed at its inception as “the Pixar of virtual reality” is no longer a going concern. But will the former Oculus Story Studio staff — who counted former Pixar employees amongst their number — simply take their talents elsewhere?
Or is this a flare sent up to the industry that VR film isn’t worth making to begin with?An offer we can’t refuse: Is there a market for virtual reality film?
Firstly, it is worth noting that when people talk about virtual reality film, what they are really talking about are movies shot with a 360° camera. This has led those in the industry to take pains to note that 360° film isn’t really “true VR”, as it lacks the interactive element — virtual reality is, by definition, entirely computer-generated, after all. Last year, UploadVR convincingly argued the case for “True VR” being reclassified as “responsive VR”, in the hope that both 360° cinema and VR experiences could coexist peacefully in the eyes of the industry.
Speaking at the Cannes festival in 2016, Stephen Spielberg told journalists of his scepticism towards VR filmmaking. “It gives the viewer a lot of latitude not to take direction from the storytellers but make their own choices of where to look.” This may seem like futurephobia from the director of some of the most beloved films of all time, but it’s a view shared by those in the VR industry as well.
Virtual reality production company REWIND have noted that, as a film medium, VR can be technically dazzling, but lacking in story: “there is no certainty that anyone watching a film in VR will even notice the plot points of the narrative going on around them”.
However, with most virtual reality films clocking in at under ten minutes…The post What does the closure of Oculus Story Studio mean for VR filmmaking? appeared first on FeedBox.