(Re-)Framing Virtual Reality

Abstract

We address the problem of translating the rich vocabulary of cinematographic shots elaborated in classic films for use in virtual reality. Using a classic scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest", we describe a series of artistic experiments attempting to enter "inside the movie" in various conditions and report on the challenges facing the film director in this task. For the case of room-scale VR, we suggest that the absence of the visual frame of the screen can be usefully replaced by the spatial frame of the physical room where the experience takes place. This "re-framing" opens new directions for creative film directing in virtual reality.