What happens when the cinema screen is no longer in front of the viewer, but the viewer is instead inside the film’s narrative?

Virtual reality and the metaverse are being discussed more and more, but for many people these concepts still seem foreign, technical and difficult to grasp. At the same time, there is increasing experimentation with storytelling possibilities in which the viewer does not observe the story from a distance, but experiences it as if they were right in the middle of the action.

Ermo Säks, PhD in Media Studies at Tallinn University, investigated how cinematic virtual reality, as a filmic experience, helps people become accustomed to virtual reality, spatial media and other emerging immersive environments that are highly engaging and alter one’s perception of reality.

A film that surrounds the viewer

Cinematic Virtual Reality (CVR) is a form of virtual reality in which the viewer puts on a VR headset and is immersed in a film where the action unfolds 360 degrees around them. Unlike the world of video games, where the user moves around freely and influences the course of events, in CVR the story, visuals and sound are predetermined by the creator. At the same time, the experience is not passive. The viewer experiences the film all around them and can choose where to direct their gaze and attention by turning their head. The experience also depends on what the viewer notices around them and how they perceive the space.

A bridge to the digital environments of the future

This thesis focuses on how current forms of immersive media help us gain an experiential understanding of possible virtual futures. “Virtual reality and the metaverse are often discussed in terms of their future potential, but a person’s first encounter with these environments is actually very practical – where do I look, how do I understand what’s going on, and do I feel comfortable in this space?” explains Säks.

“I was interested in how to make an unfamiliar technological experience more familiar to people. Cinematic virtual reality is interesting in that it uses storytelling familiar from film, but places the viewer in a new, spatial setting. It doesn’t immediately transport the viewer into a fully interactive virtual world, but offers an intermediate experience where they can get used to the sense of presence, spatiality and orientation within a 360-degree world.”

360-degree film is revolutionising filmmaking

For a filmmaker, cinematic virtual reality means that familiar cinematic techniques such as the viewer’s perspective, field of view, lighting and the direction of attention must be reinterpreted within a 360-degree environment.

This research contributes to the understanding and development of cinematic virtual reality, viewing it as a transitional medium, which helps both viewers and filmmakers move from familiar media forms to new and more complex spatial environments.

Säks’s doctoral thesis demonstrates that cinematic virtual reality is not merely a technological phenomenon or a short-lived novelty. It is a medium in its own right, but also a valuable format through which to explore how storytelling, viewer perception and the filmmaker’s work change in a situation where the cinema screen is no longer in front of the viewer, but the viewer is instead within the story.

This article was sent to us by Tallinn University.

If stepping inside the story changes how we experience film, what happens when filmmakers play with what we hear as well as what we see? Continue with Horror film viewers might actually want to listen to stories.