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posted by CoolHand on Monday June 19 2017, @04:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the don't-look-back dept.

YouTube's revealed the secret to making an engaging virtual reality video: put the best parts right in front of the audience so they don't have to move their heads.

Google's video vault offers that advice on the basis of heat maps it's created based on analysis of where VR viewers point their heads while wearing VR goggles. There's just such a heat map at the top of this story (or here for m.reg readers) and a bigger one here.

The many heat maps YouTube has made lead it to suggest that VR video creators "Focus on what's in front of you: The defining feature of a 360-degree video is that it allows you to freely look around in any direction, but surprisingly, people spent 75% of their time within the front 90 degrees of a video. So don't forget to spend significant time on what's in front of the viewer."

YouTube also advises that "for many of the most popular VR videos, people viewed more of the full 360-degree space with almost 20% of views actually being behind them." Which sounds to El Reg like VR viewers are either staring straight ahead, or looking over their shoulders with very little time being devoted to sideways glances.

A video channel wants people to treat VR like video. Hmmm. Perhaps the answer to their question is in the question: people should be considered "participants" instead of an "audience."


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  • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Monday June 19 2017, @05:05PM (16 children)

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Monday June 19 2017, @05:05PM (#528017) Journal

    I think VR video is pretty unnecessary as a form of entertainment. What else is the audience going to look at? The extra standing off frame talking to their fake extra girlfriend? The fireball from an explosion as it rises into the sky? I don't get it other than the "oh shiny" factor that dupes idiots into spending thousands on gimmicks that won't see use past the first or second day.

    I have tested a few VR rigs and while extremely impressive, still needs applications that make it worthwhile. Games are a big chunk of that along with simulations, virtual tours, and even medical or defence. But sitting in a chair at a theater or living room to watch a movie is just stupid. It reeks of trying to give VR mass appeal so more people throw their money away on stupid shit.

    And lastly, picture what that would look like. Imagine walking into a room full of people sitting in chairs, with a VR headset strapped to their head, each in their own little world oo-ing and ah-ing at nothing. Would look like an insane asylum. It's rather dehumanizing.

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @05:13PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @05:13PM (#528026)

    For instance, an interaction between 2 characters is frequently shot with one in the background and one in the foreground; I'm almost never satisfied with the choice of focus—I tend to be interested in looking at the person who is blurry, which kind of ruins the magic of visual media.

    If VR tech can handle my ability to choose what should be in focus, then that would be utterly transformative for the sense of immersion.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday June 19 2017, @07:23PM (4 children)

      by bob_super (1357) on Monday June 19 2017, @07:23PM (#528101)

      It is quite idiotic to use VR, a system designed for free-form 360 degrees viewing, to watch a movie or documentary, where a big part of the director's effort go to making you look at various things in a certain sequence to create a narrative.

      Use VR for open-world games (renew the detective genre, or go around shooting stuff as usual), architecture, landscapes... Anything where you're advancing the story at your pace, not someone else's...

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @07:40PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @07:40PM (#528103)

        I'm telling you that I think the director made a mistake; he has failed to capture my attention, and has instead broken the illusion.

        Then again, when I watch movies with other people, I find that they have almost zero conscious appreciation for the cinematographic choices that are being made; they seem completely oblivious to that aspect of the artistry.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @09:14PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @09:14PM (#528153)

          People care more for content than the delivery. If two people are talking then the importance of the videography is second to the story line. Generally people focus on what the people are saying more than the atmosphere they're saying it in. That is just normal, deviations from that norm require focus and attention otherwise the brain just works around any awkward visuals as long as they aren't too extreme.

      • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday June 20 2017, @06:25AM (1 child)

        by frojack (1554) on Tuesday June 20 2017, @06:25AM (#528355) Journal

        I find it idiotic for You to make pronouncements about how OTHER people use technology.
        Who appointed you?

        --
        No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
        • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday June 20 2017, @07:18AM

          by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday June 20 2017, @07:18AM (#528359)

          Someone who likes to read opinions preceded or followed by a rational, if arguably limited by time and format, justification.

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @05:21PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @05:21PM (#528031)

    3D in VR is pretty cool. it doesnt need a big TV and you can watch in the bed or stretched out on the couch.
    nevermind, that the "occulus app store" app "occulus video" cannot even access a samba share and the +1 GB 3D movie file has to reside on the mobile phone, which has like, you know ... storage space come out the ears ...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @05:27PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @05:27PM (#528035)

    Yeah, I'm not sure honestly what kind of potential VR has for movies. Isn't everything the director wants me to see going to be straight ahead anyway? I mean, maybe they could release a remake of Cloverfield where you're the camera guy, which would be cool. I don't see many other movies where that would work.

    On the other hand, there's a new Monster Hunter coming out, and I would love for it to support VR. Having 3D on the 3DS with MHGen really helped improve my accuracy. My spatial awareness without depth perception is basically non-existent, and judging exactly how far my character is from the monster can be the difference between dodging the move I know the monster is about to do and then landing a nice combo vs. being sent flying with a pixel of health left. I mean, not that my spatial awareness is great with 3D, but it needs all the help it can get.

    Even better if I'm able to glance around when I realize that I'm one wrong move away from getting my ass handed to me and desperately trying to run to the next area over so I can heal. The camera controls on the 3DS were pretty much shit, with which I fault the DS itself. (Options are a nub on 3DS XL that's nowhere near as good as the keyboard nipple on Thinkpads or a touchscreen with no tactile feedback so I have no idea what direction my thumb is pressing until it's too late and I run smack into a wall because the camera is now staring straight at the ground, quickly followed by a death blow from the monster. Also the d-pad is available, which is what I use sometimes, but it's on the same side as the movement stick, which made it next to worthless.) The Wii classic controller on MHTri was excellent, but being able to just glance would be perfect.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by arslan on Monday June 19 2017, @11:12PM

      by arslan (3462) on Monday June 19 2017, @11:12PM (#528198)

      Have you actually tried it? I have on my cheap $5 google cardboard, first version a while ago, and it is pretty good. Much better than the gimmicky 3D in cinemas. Yes things you're supposed to focus on is straight ahead, but the things that move past you are within your peripheral vision making it more realistic. Can't really get that in the movies. Of course back then, the resolution was crap but that was a while ago, hopefully they've improved now. Also I can lie down in my hammock or deck lounge comfortably while watching...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @05:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @05:55PM (#528051)

    Probably about as useful as 3D TV which died in 2 years...

  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Monday June 19 2017, @08:31PM (3 children)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 19 2017, @08:31PM (#528130)

    virtual tours

    I suspect this is where its gonna be at.

    The problem legacy TV has is progressive politics repels pretty much everyone making it impossible to produce something not-leftist while nobody non-leftist wants to watch.

    The politics of visiting the grand canyon are, so far, tolerable and profitable.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday June 19 2017, @08:43PM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday June 19 2017, @08:43PM (#528137) Journal

      The politics of visiting the grand canyon are, so far, tolerable and profitable.

      I think I can think of a political angle or two for the grand canyon [wikipedia.org].

      The federal government administrators who manage park resources face many challenges. These include issues related to the recent reintroduction into the wild of the highly endangered California condor, air tour overflight noise levels, water rights disputes with various tribal reservations that border the park, and forest fire management. Federal officials started a flood in the Grand Canyon in hopes of restoring its ecosystem on March 5, 2008. The canyon's ecosystem was permanently changed after the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1963.

      Between 2003 and 2011, 2,215 mining claims had been requested that are adjacent to the canyon, including claims for uranium mines. Mining has been suspended since 2009, when U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar withdrew 1 million acres (4,000 km2) from the permitting process, pending assessment of the environmental impact of mining. Critics of the mines are concerned that, once mined, the uranium will leach into the water of the Colorado River and contaminate the water supply for up to 18 million people. Salazar's so-called "Northern Arizona Withdrawal" is a 20-year moratorium on new mines, but allows existing mines to continue. In 2012, the federal government stopped new mines in the area, which was upheld by the U.S. District Court for Arizona in 2014, but appealed by the National Mining Association, joined by the state of Arizona under Attorney General Mark Brnovich as well as Utah, Montana and Nevada. National Mining Association v. Jewell is pending before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as of September 2015.

      Here's a 360 video of the grand canyon btw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOajv_P6UQE [youtube.com]

      One related video shows a tornado. Let's slap 360 degree canyons cameras on the vans of all storm chasers.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday June 19 2017, @10:01PM

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Monday June 19 2017, @10:01PM (#528175) Journal

      making it impossible to produce something not-leftist while nobody non-leftist wants to watch.

      Come, now. Surely you can watch Left Behind and its sequels, Happy Days, Highway to Heaven, and the Lawrence Welk Show. There's plenty of conservative-friendly fare if you're willing to look and not insist that liberal fare not exist at all at the same time.

      Or maybe this is a business opportunity: create an all-torture channel, or a comedy channel that does nothing but make fun of minorities (not sure which way your conservatism tends).

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday June 20 2017, @06:34AM

      by frojack (1554) on Tuesday June 20 2017, @06:34AM (#528356) Journal

      Virtual tour of real estate probably is a market.
      Maybe grocery shopping after Amazon bolts all the doors at whole foods. And maybe you can ride along with your groceries when they start flying drones off the roof of all the whole foods stores.

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday June 19 2017, @08:34PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday June 19 2017, @08:34PM (#528133) Journal

    It's up to filmmakers to make it worth a damn for narrative experiences that aren't games. One glaring problem is that if the camera is translating and rotating, there's a disconnect between those changes in view and your lack of movement. I guess the test for this would be to watch something like Hardcore Henry in VR and then see if you feel like shit afterwards.

    Video of real life events such as protests or security footage could benefit. Also think of videos where someone gets on a motorcycle and films using a 360 degree camera. Stuff like that can already be uploaded on YouTube right now. If important historical events were captured in 360 degrees, you could pause and look around at certain frames. Might have made the Zapruder film more compelling, eh?

    Nature docs, night sky timelapses, views from plazas or street intersections, and concerts [youtube.com] could all be interesting to see in 360 degrees. W.R.T. the night sky, although applications like Space Engine, Stellarium, Universe Sandbox, Digital Universe Atlas, etc. are more obvious targets for VR support than astronomy videos, videos of the night sky would allow you to see real world phenomena including meteors, aurora, the ISS orbiting, etc. that would otherwise have to be simulated. Although you could just go outside and lay down on your back to get a 360 degree view of the sky, that won't work if it's cloudy or there's light pollution. Not to mention the bugs.

    Imagine walking into a room full of people sitting in chairs, with a VR headset strapped to their head, each in their own little world oo-ing and ah-ing at nothing.

    Your weakest objection yet. If it's too embarrassing for the movie theater, stick it in the living room. If you can't even stand to be seen by your (hopefully existent) friends and loved ones, then you exile VR to the bed or basement.

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    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @10:06PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 19 2017, @10:06PM (#528178)

    Oh just wait, it will take a while for people to create the content. It will be a different approach to entertainment, and likely one that requires some choices to be made.

    Off the top of my head I see two basic choices for movie makers:
    1) allow viewers to pause, go back, or otherwise explore the depths of your content that won't fit in one frame during a continuous timeline. Want to see every fight in the superhero movie instead of highlights for each hero? We can do that!
    2) allow viewers to change view but not timeline. That way every time they watch the movie they can explore different facets.

    You can mix/match those two choices throughout the movie

    This allows content creators to tell a much deeper story that I think would really rope people in.