What are the pros and cons of Virtual Reality?

[István Kovács]

Recently, I saw a few discussions on the forums about Virtual Reality and it made me wonder what are the pros and cons of VR. I'd like to start a discussion about what are the advantages and disadvantages of Virtual Reality.

What is Virtual Reality? For those new to the topic of Virtual Reality, it is a new immersive technology that can be used for many things. VR has been previously used in areas such as engineering, gaming, education, media, medicine, films, and other fields. You will need special equipment to explore a VR environment and you will be able to interact with virtual objects or structures.

Pros of using Virtual Reality? I was thinking about the advantages of the VR technologies. For filmmakers, VR has the advantage of telling an immersive story that feels very real to the viewer. It also opens the possibility of creating open scenarios where the viewer can actually choose the outcome. We might even have movies with open endings that are different for each viewer based on what they choose. This would encourge each viewer to watch every movie more than once and explore all the possibilities and make different choices.

Cons of using Virtual Reality? I was thinking about the disadvantages of using the VR technology. For filmmaking, a disadvantage would be that the viewer needs to own special VR equipment to view the movies. If you have a family with 6 members (2 grandparents, 2 parents, 2 kids), they would need 6 devices to watch a movie in the same time. They would need to take turns if they have fewer devices. It is easier to watch a movie on Netflix on the TV than on VR. It is easier to go to the movie theater. Right now, movie theaters are not offering support for this type of movies.

 

[Maura N.]

Most of the pros and cons of virtual reality are currently unknown to us because it has not been adopted by the mass majority of people just yet. From the niche that uses it, as you mentioned, a disadvantage of vr is the price and the fact that you need to own a headset for each person that wants to use it (or take turns).

Your idea about creaeting interactive films is probably what will happen in the future. There are many advanntages of VR in regards of filmmaking that, as well, are yet uknown to us. What I personally love about VR is the immersion level and the fact that I feel as if I am in a completely different world. I like the fact that I move my body instead of staying on a chair or couch. I like the fact that I can turn around or look up and down and enjoy the 360 angles to the fullest.

I still believe the best is yet to come and that in the next 10 years, we shall see a major shift in preferences in regards of filmmaking. The ones who will start to create content in the near future will have a big advantage in this VR trend.

 

[juliadoyle]

I am happy that my posts sparked another discussion about Virtual Reality!
It is difficult to determine which weights more, the pros or cons of VR. There are some concerns that Virtual Reality can create obsession among its users because they will like the VR environment more than their actual life. They could also forget to take care of their physical bodies or even eat. On the other side, they would make a lot of moves using the VR gear compared to sitting on a chair in front of a computer or phone the whole day. Movement is more important than living a sedentary lifestyle.
I believe that each new technology can be a bit addicting until we get used to it and we can get lost in this new world. After a while, we can limit our interactions with it and everything will be back to normal. It is like when we were young and we got that new toy that we were so excited about and after a while we would only play with it when needed or once in a while. So yes, there are some cons that could be worryingsome however I doubt that on the long run, they will still apply to the majority of VR users.

 

[Oskar Kuusk]

The price tag is currently the biggest con of VR. It was the same with smartphones a while ago. Now everyone has one. It will just take time until people will get the new cool gear.
The pros are obviously many, you can't get the same level of immersion from any other gear that is out here and once people try it, they will want more. I know I did. It is just a matter of time until everyone will be hooked into VR

 

[julioschneider]

Very good article, I like Virtual Reality in movies

 

[Fightdesigner]

As a filmmaker, VR experiences can also mean zero ability to dictate focus, frame composition, etc... basically you're making a video game, not a movie. That said, the tech from VR is also being used more and more in creating traditional 2D entertainment (or 3D, to a lesser extent, but it does make that an easier transition). You likely end up having to create almost everything as CG assets, since just using a 360 camera still doesn't let the user move their own perspective around like they'd expect from most vr experiences, and if they just look behind them, they'll see whoever's holding the camera. It also means no crew, no lights that aren't practical lights, etc.

So part of the question is what you want to DO. If you're a filmmaker, you probably like composing shots, working with a crew, directing performers, editing for pace and cool transitions... none of which you can really do in full VR.
If you're a VR content creator, you probably enjoy world building, designing, and cursing at your computer screen. Or at least that's how it seems from the outside!