Can VR movies really replace traditional movies?

VR movies are a world-class fashion trend, and this immersive experience brings incredible immersive interactive participation to the audience. Famous directors Spielberg, ridley scott and Zhang Yimou are all developing VR movies. Zhang Yimou even claimed that "The Great Wall" should also be put into VR production. Although there is no relevant news yet, if VR movies are born, it will definitely bring a revolutionary breakthrough to the film industry and a new round of boost to scientific and technological creativity. And many people worry, can VR movies replace traditional movies?

Although the shooting techniques of traditional films have been quite mature, they have indeed encountered relatively severe challenges. Many viewers will choose 3D or 4D movies just to get a better viewing experience. But to put it bluntly, 3D technology is just the icing on the cake on the basis of flat movies, but today's VR movies have undergone essential changes. At present, the longest VR movie today is only 10 minutes, which is equivalent to the length of an extended trailer. Because VR film is a strict test of shooting technology, the production cost is high, and the shooting must be completed at one time, which requires high compactness of on-site coordination and layout. But movies can avoid and repair defects and deficiencies through editing and lens angle. In contrast, the same production cost and the same time may be enough to make an excellent traditional film.

Hard-core Henry, with VR-style experience as the core, is very dazzling in action design and rendering, but because of the limitations of VR movies, the story is finally lost, and the audience can not only see the true face of the protagonist, but also lose the charm of the plot. Because of the angle, the audience just keeps shaking the camera, and it will naturally faint after a long time. There are almost no episodes in traditional movies that temporarily relieve people's emotions. VR movies are different from games. The perspective of the characters played by the players is the first person. The 360-degree multidimensional space can make players feel immersive and let the audience really participate in the game plot. At the same time, the multi-branch task of the game and the choice of bifurcation plot can also be easily and effectively realized through VR technology.

But unlike movies, traditional movies often form strong artistic effects through the use and rendering of shots, clips, pictures and even colors. Even the performance charm brought by movie actors is a crucial part. Although VR can also have stage performances, the careful design of traditional movies can guide the audience to pay attention to the key points that the director wants to highlight. In contrast, although VR movies can incorporate more unexpected details, in the final analysis, it will still distract the audience from VR.

The development of VR movies is indeed a great challenge to the traditional film industry, which may lead to turmoil in many closely related industries, such as the unemployment of traditional employees and the need for cinemas to spend huge sums of money to renovate cinema facilities. However, after years of development of traditional films, the filmmaker's shooting experience and shooting techniques have been quite perfect. Especially like many movies with unconscious artistic temperament, it is probably impossible to tell stories with VR. Art film directors often use lens design to express themselves, so that pictures, characters and lines can be integrated to achieve complementary narrative purposes. If these elements are dismantled with VR technology, the result is unimaginable. So how to combine traditional techniques with VR is still unknown. At present, VR movies are still in the experimental exploration stage, and there will inevitably be a lot of investment. However, it is not objective to regard VR as a lifeline to break through the shackles of the film industry, which may lead to the loss of traditional film aesthetics and artistic skills. The application of VR technology in movies is only a sharp weapon to break through the imagination of movie audiences, and it is the right decision to do research and development according to the needs of theme and plot.