VR And How The Metaverse Will Change Films As We Experience Them

The metaverse represents a collaborative virtual space that unlocks immense opportunities and capabilities for users. Evidence shows that gaming and filmmaking can point out the future of technology as we know it. Gaming and filmmaking drive and accelerate innovation in computing through more powerful virtual capabilities, processors, and storage capabilities. Gaming has also spurred advancements in image resolution through the creation of a virtual and shared multiplayer environment. For filmmaking, virtual capabilities embedded in a 3D architecture provide superior viewing experiences as images become real with embedded features.

Metaverse And Predictive Algorithms

At its basic level, the metaverse is the successor of the internet, first postulated by Neal Stephenson 30 years ago. First appearing in a science fiction book known as Snow Crash, humans in the form of avatars interact and co-exist with each other in a virtual shared space known as the metaverse.

If we look at gaming to understand how we relate to technology and each other in imaginable and unimaginable ways — one example standouts “Fortnite.” The popular gaming platform Fortnite has reportedly invested in a virtual gaming application where brands and players interact in a digital-adjacent virtual space. A key application of the metaverse has been to revolutionize filmmaking in discrete and unimaginable ways.

Integration of VR and Films

The central focus of cinematic storytelling has always been empathy, to move the viewer as close as possible to the story. First, there was the use of motion pictures, then sound, color, IMAX, 3D, animation, and CGI. Now, animators and filmmakers are unlocking new possibilities with virtual reality by further immersing the audience. With virtual reality technology, the viewer transitions from being an audience of a story to being a participant in the story. How has virtual reality been applied in narrative structure? What are the prevailing opportunities in this frontier? And how can it be applied today in filmmaking projects?

Let’s delve in and experience ourselves.

VR Cinema

The Oculus Headset is a classic example of the use of VR cinema to transport the user to another world. We have seen the prevalence of Oculus headset in gaming, and its application is becoming widespread as developers eye on immersive user experiences. Virtual reality reflects a computer-generated 3D environment that focuses on experiential interfaces rather than observational ones. The immersive technology embedded in virtual reality architecture enables users to interact with objects, physically look around within the VR environment, and perform specific activities. Most VR operates with a set of headsets that users use to look into. However, more advanced VR designs utilize gears like special gloves, handheld controllers, and Omni-directional treadmills. A filmmaker or a storyteller can define VR as a technology that not only immerses a viewer into a story but further into the characters in the story.

Virtual Reality Filmmaking

Virtual reality has transformed filmmaking by embedding the Oculus as a premier technology. It must be acknowledged that the Oculus believes in the power of cinematic storytelling that it dedicated an entire department to this particular undertaking. The discovered power of VR, especially the VR movies, is in its immersive experience and nature. VR filmmaking is essentially a medium driven by participation: a sort of access that is predominantly restricted in the traditional viewing experience. Virtual reality filmmaking is transformative and merges the viewer and the art itself. When looked at keenly, virtual reality could precisely define the future of filmmaking as animators, studios, and creators eye new possibilities.

VR Movies

One of the very first short VR films was the Oculus’ premiere Henry (2005). Henry is a tale of an animated hedgehog — the very first character designed exclusively for virtual reality as a pilot study for the medium of connection. This example of virtual reality filmmaking is a critical aspect in the overall understanding of the emotive experience of VR in filmmaking. The ability of VR films and movies to grant viewers access to a character, to a character’s finest personalities and experiences, is what sets VR movies apart from traditional films.

The character in a VR movie can look into you.

Better still, it’s not pre-recorded; it’s life in its reality and wholesomeness. With VR movies, one can say without the fear of contradiction that if the film is a tool for empathy, then VR filmmaking is its closest iteration. The VR movies have defined a new frontier by extending immersive experiences and enabling viewers to be part and parcel of the cinematic storytelling.

How the Metaverse Shape Predictive Analytics

The creation of the metaverse will depend fundamentally on the collection, analysis, and packaging of intelligent data. This intelligent data reflects information and data trends that inform decision-making in business-critical operations. The metaverse provides fresh capabilities to amass more data through computing resources and endpoints that collect information about people and markets. The analysis of collected data leads to improved predictive analytics as systems and infrastructures inside the metaverse become more intelligent.

Dubbed Magic Verse by Magic Leap, Cyber verse by Huawei and Mirror world by Wired, AR Cloud by many, and spatial computing by academics, the metaverse has superseded the internet as a multi-personal shared virtual space with human-controlled avatars and system daemons. Based on a set of ideas from the metaverse, the augmented vision has become commonplace in futuristic films like Iron Man and Minority Report. Presently, companies are building the AR cloud as a persistent 3D digital copy of the real world to enable collaboration and sharing of AR resources across multiple devices and users.

With the accelerating adoption of VR and AR cloud by filmmakers and brands, there are questions as to who will power this new internet. Who will profit from this new frontier? Will new tech moguls emerge, or will the existing hegemony continue? Well, already, brands are making revamped investments to bolster virtual customer experiences. The goal is to drive sales and leads through innovative digital transformations characteristic of developments like the metaverse.

Predictive Analytics and Immersive Experiences

Evidence shows that location is at the heart of the AR cloud. A user’s experience is driven by where they are in the world, not just in terms of GPS coordinates but also in terms of their surroundings, indoor and outdoor. The world map in the metaverse is not a 2D representation of the street map as in Google Maps — nor is it a 3D terrain with huge volumes of buildings. The metaverse represents a hyper-local map encompassing terrains and buildings, street furniture, and doorways — an insane level of detail.

Accompanying this shift is a stateful use of geographic data to design assets, resources, and infrastructure in the metaverse. This data could be layers of information such as directions, instructions, information about objects, tourist information, artwork, and game characters. Big data will form the content for the metaverse by unlocking possibilities for predictive analytics and allowing the metaverse to be an interactive interface for users. Big data analytics will provide the metaverse with better predictive analytics to extend to viewers immersive experiences.

These are the features that will change film as we know it by ushering it into a new frontier.