This is understandable in context, and it's reflective of what we're seeing now with virtual reality. We see the action through a planar frame of view we're not moving around with the characters. You see, however - and this is not a knock against Melies - that at the same time during those early days he was exploring film and introducing visual effects, he still was constrained to a theatrical space very much like this stage. Melies was an innovative filmmaker who was working at a time when folks were just starting to figure out what film could be. This is a scene from one of Georges Melies' early film productions. VR likewise has not yet come into its own. The Tesla is almost like a space ship versus the Model T, which was in many respects still a horseless carriage. Aside from the fact that both have a "T" in their name, they're at opposite ends of the spectrum. Think about the differences between a Model T and a Tesla. There was a time when the car was referred to as the "horseless carriage." When cars were first invented, they were defined by what they were not: the carriage now has an engine and no longer needs a horse, so it's a "horseless carriage." It took decades for the horseless carriage to become the car. Most of you either have cars or have been in a car. It's analogous to the early development of the car. We still speak of VR in terms of what came before - games, film and television - while trying to figure out what VR can be. A mature language of virtual reality has yet to evolve. These experiences are valid entertainment, but they still fall within the realm of spectacle. We talk about how cool it is to be underwater surrounded by sharks, or in outer space blasting aliens. I think VR likewise produces this type of spectacle. The experience was so real and frightening that the spectacle overwhelmed them. Audiences would flee screaming from the tent because they thought they were going to be hit by the train. You'd go to circus sideshows and watch this train rushing at you. This is the Lumiere Brothers' ARRIVAL OF A TRAIN. In this respect - and I'm not the first person to make this observation - the current state of virtual reality is very much like the early days of silent film. It's easy to bring your preconceptions and old ways of working into play. When Demetri Portelli talked about shooting at 120 frames per second in 4k, he said something obvious, but also easily overlooked: the director needs to think differently about how to direct the actors need to think differently about how to act everybody involved in the production chain needs to review their assumptions, adapt and expand upon what's possible in the new media environment. There have been great comments made today on this point, not restricted to virtual reality, but related to any new means of storytelling. Virtual reality requires a different way of thinking. This development work began in traditional areas of film and television - which I have taught here at the Beijing Film Academy - and shifted to virtual reality over the past year. After moving to China in 2008, I shifted my focus to development. My own background focused on production during the first half of my career, the 12 years I spent with Walt Disney Feature Animation. I'm here to talk about the development portion of the entertainment workflow, specifically related to virtual reality. I like to speak extemporaneously, so please bear with any verbal clumsiness. The following is a transcript of a presentation on VR storytelling principles that I gave on December 1st, 2016 at the 7th International Conference & Exhibition on Visual Entertainment in Beijing.
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