Henry
This is my first time watching an animated film in VR and I’m glad that I started with “Henry”. The film has a very Pixar-y feel, from the character design, colour schemes, to its storyline. The familiar film style definitely helped me ease into experiencing a film from 2D to 3D.
The Story Studio also put a lot of thoughts into small details to help viewers experience the film. For example, I wasn’t quite sure what I was suppose to do when I first put on the headset – was I suppose to interact with the characters? Or should I just sit there and watch the film? But the ladybug at the beginning of the film helped guide me to turn around and explore the scene to see the details as I followed it around the house.
However, since the the story (such as balloon dogs dancing around the cake or storming out of the house) still happened right in front of my view most of the time, it still feels a little bit like watching a film on the screen.
Dear Angelica
My first thought when I started “Dear Angelica” was “WOAH this feels intimate” when I found myself standing right next to the protagonist’s bed as she wrote her diary. The film has a very artistic and abstract style as everything is constructed in elegant brush strokes. However, I feel a lot more personally connected with the protagonist as I went through her journey with her.
“Dear Angelica” has a more sophisticated use of the VR space. For example, the diary text wrapped around me in 360 degrees so I would naturally turn around following the protagonist’s monologue. I especially like the scenes where Angelica was fighting the monsters – the brush strokes were a lot more intense, moved faster, and had a more chaotic feel. Things were happening all around me so I had to turn around constantly, but it didn’t make me dizzy or nauseous. The end scene was also beautifully done when the whole bedroom sank slowly below me. It definitely added the vertical dimension on top of the horizontal plane.
Google Earth VR
After spending a few minutes exploring tourist attractions I’ve never been I spent the majority of my time going back to places that I have lived before –Taiwan, LA, and San Francisco Bay Area to find places that I used to hang out at. It’s funny that after the experience I talked to another student and found out that he also went to find his old house. So maybe people use Google VR to relive their memories more than they do exploring new places?
One thing I really really like about this VR experience is that there are functionality labels on the controllers. As a person who can only remember one function (this is why I lost in almost all the video game battles with my friends), having those labels really helped me do what I wanted to do (such as zooming in or rotating) instead of pressing and testing all buttons to try to figure out what to do.
Showdown
Everything is in slow motion. It was great in a way that I got to appreciate all the artistic details of the scene. However, I kind of wish that it was in normal speed so the tension and intenseness of the battle scene has a more realistic feel. But who knows, maybe if it were in normal speed I’ll get too nauseated or traumatized.
All About Process 