How is Virtual Reality Used in Movies?

 

When we think of Virtual Reality, most of us link it directly to the entertainment industry. And in all fairness, VR technology has had a significant impact in the entertainment domain comparatively.

Since everyone is well aware of how Virtual Reality has transformed gaming, we will discuss how this coveted technology is used in movies. There are several cases of which we shall run you down some of the most notable ones:

From Prediction to Reality:

The concept of virtual reality has been used for decades in the movie industry now. The 1983 movie “Brainstorm” featured a weird-looking helmed used to sync VR headsets in order to view the thoughts of people wearing the device.

However, the most talked about VR example is probably “The Lawnmower Man” which took a short Stephen King story to create a virtual environment that was highly thrilling and engaging at the time.

While all a lot of the movies that projected something remotely to VR were considered a far cry from reality during those times, things have turned around drastically and VR technology is now used to create movies. So, the shift of prediction to reality actually came from movies.

Virtual Cameras:

Virtual cameras have been used to such a great effect that they have literally transformed screenplay and elevated the level of engagement users can get from a story. In Solo: A Star Wars Story, virtual cameras were used to create realistic camera movements in space battles.

The camera would film the digital models of spacecraft allowing for a very natural camera motion bringing the audience into the scene. A more grounded and therefore more challenging project was the live-action remake of The Lion King in recent times.

This time photorealistic lions in Africa were filmed using virtual cameras on an empty sound stage. In order to sync VR headsets, a local network of devices was set up so the director and camera crew could walk among the lions as if they were actually there.

This allows the director to view the scene from the audience's perspective, instead of looking at a computer monitor from the comfort of an office chair.

Animation:

The art of animation has evolved at a brisk pace in the last few decades. From hand-drawn images in black-and-white to the groundbreaking multiplane animation of Disney, and now Pixar movies, it certainly has come a long way.

Now with VR technology added into the toolkit, animations in movies are getting better than ever. Lost was a ground-breaking short story from Oculus Story Studio followed by the more cheerful Henry. These were mostly 360 videos created with traditional animation tools.

Artists can now draw in three dimensions and walk around in the drawings which has literally added a new dimension to digital storytelling. By syncing VRheadsets, they can virtual cinema in any location.

Marketing and Promotion:

It has become pretty common to hire an alternate camera crew to record behind-the-scenes footage for promotional videos. With 360 cameras, it is now possible to shoot all angles of a movie set for a truly immersive experience.

Behind-the-scenes footage of movie actors like Tom Cruise or Jackie Chan are known to possess stunts performed without body doubles. These scenes can be captured on 360 cameras and the audience can also visually treated to the same.

360 Movie Tie-Ins:

With large amounts of money spent on the production of movies and even more on marketing, all possibilities of extra revenue are explored. The VOID, one of the most popular VR Arcades in the world made a deal to incorporate the famous Ghostbusters characters into their interactive playground.

The player becomes part of the crew and also gets to wear a Ghostbusters suit and a controller that closely resembles a real proton pack. This is a particularly interesting way of using existing properties to enhance VR experiences. It allows for more immersive presentations while doing movie promotions.

Conclusion:

VR technology is not just integrated into movies. We are also witnessing the production of actual VR movies and it has certainly boosted the progress that is being made.

As one of the leading Virtual Reality app development companies, we, at Sapizon Technologies are rendering services to our clients across multiple domains. Book a free consultation with our experts to understand how partnering with us will benefit your business.