VFX Voice - Fall 2017

INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE
“In the filmmaking space the
real question about content is,
“Are we asking the right questions?
Will 360 film change
storytelling?” No. How it’s
told will be the same; how it’s
experienced will be different.”
—Christopher Gomez,
AR/VR Industry Evangelist &
Angel Investor
“VFX will play a large role in
guiding the [VR] user in overt
ways, and in suggesting action
to the user in more subtle,
even subliminal ways. VFX will
continue to play the same role
it has in 2D storytelling today
in enhancing and creating
worlds, scenarios and action
that is difficult, costly, or
impossible to do in real life.”
—David Schleifer, COO,
Primestream
CHRISTOPHER GOMEZ, AR/VR
INDUSTRY EVANGELIST & ANGEL
INVESTOR, SINGAPORE
VR and AR are alive and well in
marketing, especially in activation
campaigns and events. Storytelling is still
disjointed and pretty incoherent. But I will
say it’s not the big marketing names that
are getting it right. It’s the small studios
that are. If you heard about a project that’s
done by a big ad company, it’s very likely
outsourced. I am glad to be proven wrong,
but being proven wrong once or thrice
doesn’t make it the industry norm. So keep
a look out for the small-tech VR companies,
not the marketing VR companies. There
aren’t many, but they are out there.
In the filmmaking space the real
question about content is, “Are we asking
the right questions? Will 360 film change
storytelling?” No. How it’s told will be the
same; how it’s experienced will be different.
There are many other issues that come
with filmmaking and ‘transitioning’
film into VR film. Filmmaking is a linear
medium. Because storytelling is linear,
people may argue that there is so much
going on around you in the real world so
it’s not linear. But in a social, day-to-day
setting, we process things sequentially.
So stories are told in ways that help
you understand.
Stories on film are passive narratives.
Not experiential ones. When we go watch a
movie, we are telling ourselves we are going
to be an audience. Audiences are passive. In
fact, audiences like and want to be passive.
A cinematic experience is one that is social
and relatively safe. There are those who are
looking to get you to be a participant, and
I believe that’s still too far a leap. It’s like
cramming a video game into a movie.
I believe if there is going to be serious
breakthrough in ‘VR film’ it will come from
the animation field. The film language of
animation today fits a 2D viewing experience.
Now, because animation is essentially
made of bits, it is pliable. New storytelling
elements or tools can be invented and can
be introduced to the current film language
that we know today, and can be further
expanded on.
In the coming year, expect VR theme
parks. Not VR arcades or gigantic VR
90 • VFXVOICE.COM FALL 2017