We’re a long way from virtual reality’s Citizen Kane
VR film is failing to give audiences a reason to put on their headsets
Discussions about the role of perspective, embodiment and camera movements are all well and good, but these can be forgiven in the face of well-written and well-acted performances. Ctrl and Lucid are ambitious but their biggest fault is that they are ultimately middling. The dialogue is uneven. The characters are rough sketches. The emotional climaxes aren’t properly earned.
It’s telling that VR documentary is succeeding where scripted VR is failing. Transporting someone to the frontline of an actual warzone is a concept that, as fetishistic as it is, is easy to understand as something that can’t be got through a TV screen.
You either need a very good reason for your story to be told with a viewer-controlled perspective, or you need a shit-hot script.
See the full story here: http://www.alphr.com/virtual-reality/1008470/virtual-reality-film-vr-storytelling