I would like to pitch a 360 video that uses a number of scenes to tell a story that the VR participant follows along with in an attempt to figure out by the end of the video. It would ultimately be something where the participant would need to observe things to figure out the villain or plot of the story before it ends, kind of like a game of clue. For example, one scene could be the participant sitting in their office cubicle and then getting things like emails on a computer screen or looking at items on a desk to reveal information. Another could be the participant in an office meeting listening to different people and another scene could be in an apartment living room or bedroom. Basically, each scene would provide information leading to the next scene and to the reveal of the story so by the end the participant would either be surprised if they did not pick up on the clues or have a “I figured it out” moment.

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So, after thinking of the logistics of the proposed project but wanting to keep to the same idea we decided instead of the “Clue” idea to attempt to create a VR experience based off of a detective or crime scene theme. It still proved to be challenging and did not come out the way it was anticipated. With that said, this video is a test of the concept for a non-fiction story similar to a TV crime drama where the user assumes the role of a character. The first thing that we learned in production this video is that it is entirely different than a normal tv/film production. For example:

• There is not really a way to light a scene (you can only use practical lighting). Anything you put within view of the camera will show which means you cannot use a light kit or have overhead lighting. The only thing I could think of with overhead lighting in a location like a studio would be to try and superimpose an image of the ceiling in the video during post-production however that still may not work if there is movement.
• Audio is more challenging because, again like the lights, you cannot mic characters with a boom. It may be possible to hide the microphones and cables on the set however we did not have the capabilities of doing that.
• Acting is different. You need actors that can run through a scene in one take and that can also ad-lib when needed. You also need to have any extras in the scene be able to run through in one take. There is not a way to edit VR scenes without breaking the continuity of the experience which means you need to basically run the acting as you would in a theatrical production.

Going into the project we wanted to attempt to do something other than just setting the camera in location to capture an event. We knew it would have it challenges however once actually starting to produce the project we found that it was basically out of our scope with the resources that we had.