Whether you believe the hype or not, virtual reality is here. Billions of dollars are being spent on vr headset development, vr content creation, and getting users to adopt the technology.
The content side of vr has opened up new opportunities for filmmakers (note: ‘vr’ is sometimes used interchangeably with 360 degree video). Indeed, already major directors and animators have tried their hand in the medium, from Jon Favreau with Gnomes & Goblins to Patrick Obsborne with Pearl. And animation and vfx studios have also made a major effort to become vr content producers by jumping into immersive and interactive projects.
But how different is that from making content for the linear narratives of old, and what lessons have creators learned so far in producing animation for vr? Cartoon Brew talked to studios Industrial Light & Magic, Framestore, and Reel FX, and with artists from projects including Gnomes & Goblins and Oculus Story Studios’ Dear Angelica, to find out the key things that anyone wanting to animate for – and in – vr should consider.
The biggest difference between vr and linear projects is that you are putting yourself inside the experience and looking at the animation with this new perspective
How is animation for vr different (or is it different at all)?
It’s clear that vr offers a new way to experience content, but for the content-makers, does that change the way they need to approach animated vr content? In general, yes, say the experts Cartoon Brew spoke to.
While linear mediums tend to involve locked off shots or camera angles from which to animate, vr experiences are akin to real world interactions, with multiple vantage points that are always changing. That means you have to start ‘thinking’ about vr animation in new ways.
“The biggest difference between vr and linear projects is that you are putting yourself inside the experience and looking at the animation with this new perspective,” said Jake Rowell, a creative director on some recent projects for vr studio Wevr, including Gnomes & Goblins. “This participation gives you a lot to think about and react to with regards to scale and speed of movement relative to the players’ size.”
That kind of thinking is certainly appropriate to room scale (or larger) vr experiences since at any time the user can look around and would need to see animation looking good at all times. However, animating for smaller scale vr experiences, say where the user is seated, require an animation approach similar to linear projects, according to Tim Alexander, a visual effects supervisor from Industrial Light & Magic, whose related studio ILMxLAB is forging ahead in vr and immersive experiences. “You only care about a single camera angle and although perhaps you have parallax, you can’t orbit all the way around a character so you can get away without polishing animation for all angles,” Alexander said.