Storytelling for virtual reality: methods and principles for crafting immersive narratives

346 Pages·2017·3.803 MB·English

by  John Bucher

Storytelling for
Virtual Reality
Storytelling for Virtual Reality serves as a bridge between students of new
media and professionals working in the emerging world of VR technology and
the art form of classical storytelling. Rather than examining purely the tech-
nical, the text focuses on the narrative and how stories can best be structured,
created, and then told in virtual immersive spaces. Author John Bucher
examines the timeless principles of storytelling and how they are being
applied, transformed, and transcended in Virtual Reality. Interviews, con-
versations, and case studies with both pioneers and innovators in VR story-
telling are featured, including industry leaders at LucasFilm, 20th Century
Fox, Oculus, Insomniac Games, and Google.
John Bucher is an award-winning writer and narrative consultant based
out of Los Angeles, California. He is a regular contributor to VirtualReal-
ityPop.com, LA-Screenwriter.com, HBO.com, and MovieMaker Magazine.
He cohosts The Inside Out Story Podcast and The Westworld Watch Podcast
and currently teaches at the LA Film Studies Center, where he leads courses
in Virtual Reality storytelling and filmmaking. A popular speaker, John has
given talks on five continents regarding story, technology, and art. He is
completing a Ph.D. in mythology and depth psychology and is the author
of books including Master of the Cinematic Universe: The Secret Code to
Writing in the New World of Media, Storytelling by the Numbers, and The
Inside Out Story. He can be found online at his site, tellingabetterstory.com,
and on social media @johnkbucher.
For more information about story, Virtual Reality, this book, and its author,
go to StorytellingforVR.com.

Storytelling for
Virtual Reality
Methods and Principles for Crafting
Immersive Narratives
John Bucher
First published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
The right of John Bucher to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bucher, John K., author.
Title: Storytelling for virtual reality : methods and principles for crafting
immersive narratives / John Bucher.
Description: New York and London : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group,
2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN
2017005830 (print) | LCCN 2017022849 (ebook) | ISBN 9781315210308
(E-book) | ISBN 9781138629653 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138629660 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Mass media—Authorship. | Virtual reality. |
Narration (Rhetoric)
Classification: LCC P96.A86 (ebook) | LCC P96.A86 B835 2018 (print) |
DDC 808.06/6302—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017005830
ISBN: 978-1-138-62965-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-62966-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-21030-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Warnock Pro
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Visit the companion website: StorytellingforVR.com
Contents
Acknowledgments    viii
Foreword    ix
Ted Schilowitz
1 A New Reality and How We Got Here 1
Spotlight on Directing: Storytelling in VR through
Cinematic Directing 8
A Conversation with Jessica Brillhart, Principal Filmmaker
for VR at Google 8
Spotlight on Cameras: Storytelling in VR through the Lens 20
A Conversation with Paul Meyhoefer, VP JK
Imaging/Kodak 20
2 A Stone Bridge Covered in Microchips 28
Spotlight on Gaming: Storytelling in VR through
Video Games 37
A Conversation with Brian Allgeier, VR Game
Designer, Insomniac Games 37
3 Science and Technology behind
Storytelling 45
Spotlight on VR Science and Storytelling: Storytelling
through Data and Neurology 47
A Conversation with Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, Director
of the Emerging Analytics Center, the University
of Arkansas, Little Rock 47
Spotlight on Story: Storytelling at the Oculus Story Studio 68
A Conversation with Jessica Shamash, Producer, and Pete
Billington, Immersive Storyteller 68
v
vi Contents
4 Storytelling Principles for Immersive
Space 80
Spotlight on Immersive Theater: Storytelling
through Immersion 84
A Conversation with Noah Nelson, Creator and
Host of No Proscenium Podcast 84
5 Designing an Immersive Narrative 93
Spotlight on New Frontiers: A Master Storyteller 99
A Conversation with Chris Milk, Founder and CEO,
Within 99
Spotlight on Ethics: Considerations for VR
Storytelling 122
A Conversation with Steve Peters, Experience
Designer, Host of StoryForward Podcast and
CCO of Mo Mimes Media 122
Exercises 127
6 Characters in VR 133
Spotlight on Acting: Storytelling through Drama
in Immersive Experiences 141
A Conversation with Keight Leighn, Actress 141
Exercises 153
7 Creating Narrative Structures 158
Spotlight on Visualization: Cinematic Storytelling
in VR 162
A Conversation with Chris Edwards, Founder,
Chief Production Officer, and CEO, The Third
Floor 162
Spotlight on Narrative: Fiction Versus
Nonfiction Storytelling 182
A Conversation with Steve Peters, Experience
Designer, Host of StoryForward Podcast and
CCO of Mo Mimes Media 182
Exercises 192
Contents vii
8 Theory in Practice: Interviews
and Case Studies 196
The Storytellers 201
Interview: Rob Bredow, Chief Technology Officer,
LucasFilm 201
Interview: Tye Sheridan and Nikola Todorovic,
Creators of Aether Inc. 209
Case Study: Baobab VR Studios 214
Interview: Sarah Hill, CEO and Chief Storyteller, StoryUp 217
The Technologists and Producers 224
Interview: Jonathan Krusell, Google Daydream Producer 224
Interview: Robyn Tong Gray and Andrew Goldstein,
Founders, Otherworld Interactive 233
Case Study: Light Sail VR 241
Interview: Tai Crosby, Founder and CEO, SilVR Thread 245
Interview: Adam Orth, Creative Director,
Three One Zero 250
The Artists 256
Interview: Angela Haddad, VR Artist and Producer 256
Interview: Annie Lesser, Immersive Theater Director 262
Case Study: Jaunt Studios and the Invisible VR Series 267
Interview: Mark Cordell Holmes, Art Director, Pixar 271
The Visionaries 282
Interview: Larry Rosenthal, VR Pioneer and Producer 282
Interview: Paul Debevec, Senior Staff Engineer,
Google VR 285
Case Study: Lucy VR series 292
Interview: Brian Rose, Google VR Team, Community
and Outreach 295
Interview: Ted Schilowitz, Futurist, 20th Century
Fox Studios 298
Glossary  309
Index  323
About the Author  333
Acknowledgments
My editors and the staff at Routledge, Emily McCloskey, Simon Jacobs, and
John Makowski for all their help and guidance and for believing in this proj-
ect. Thanks also to Jack Stenner at University of Florida, Michael Smith at
Pepperdine University, and Eric R. Williams at Ohio University for deep
insights about the organization, structure, and content of this book.
The LA Film Studies Center and extended alums and friends—Jeremy
Casper, Chris Krebsbach, Rebecca Ver Straten-McSparran, Paul Yoder,
Nathan White, Alex Swickard, Kris Young, and Sarah Duff.
My friends at The Alliance for giving me my first opportunity to tell
stories—Peter Burgo, Bob and Joan Sanford, Miles Reese, Rob McCleland,
and Heather Arment helped me greatly. Thanks to John Stumbo, Jordan
Christopher, Pam Fogel, and Deb Gregory as well.
My family—Katie, John K. Bucher, Cathie Bucher, Josh Bucher, Matt Bucher,
Jordan Bucher, Henry Bucher, Arlo Bucher, Tony Reyes, Luanne Reyes,
Aaron Reyes, Alicia Reyes, Caleb Reyes.
Dr. Kim Walker, Dave Anderson, Jim and Ashley Krueger, and all my friends
at Pacifica.
Special thanks to those who gave of their time to participate in the book . . .
Chris Milk, Tye Sheridan, Nikola Todorovic, Chris Edwards, Ted Schilowitz,
Angela Haddad, Rob Bredow at LucasFilm, Noah Nelson and the No Pro-
scenium Podcast, Annie Lesser, Keight Leighn, Mark Cordell Holmes, Larry
Rosenthal, Liz Markman, Jonathan Krusell and Brian Rose at Google, Paul
Debevec, Jessica Brillhart, Jess Shamash and Pete Billington at Oculus, Paul
Meyhoefer and Kevin Cruz at JK Imaging Ltd., Sarah Hill at StoryUp, Heather
Brenners, Matt Celia, Robert Watts, Steve Peters, Adam Orr, Brian Allgeier,
Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, Doug Liman, Melissa Wallack, Matt Thompson,
Robyn Tong Gray, Tai Crosby at SilVR Thread, and the entire crew at Jaunt VR.
viii
Foreword
I am a child of the theme-park world. I grew up in central Florida right
around the time Disney World opened. I remember going on the Haunted
Mansion ride, and though I couldn’t have articulated it at the time, I rec-
ognized that when you move people through space while telling them a
story, it creates the feeling of traveling on a journey and gives the experience
meaning. I was lucky enough to find ways later in life to apply my love of
spatial storytelling to the world of technology. I’ve always innately lived in
that world, but this story’s not about me, it’s about how the recent rise of
immersive media will affect our future.
We can reflect on every medium that has been created to tell stories
and see that people eventually settle on certain elements that they like,
and those elements then become the mainstream definition of what that
medium is. Novels, movies, video games, plays, and television shows all
have mainstream definitions based on the elements of those mediums
that have been successful and lasted. As a medium continues to grow
and explore new territory, you have departures and divergent paths off
the original idea and methods of that medium. The cinematic language
of VR is still developing. But it will only move forward and become more
advanced through experimentation and by increasing the volume of sto-
ries being told in its space.
Many people have referred to VR as a new medium, or at least a new way
to tell stories. I would be a contrarian to that idea. I would say that there is
nothing fundamentally new about Virtual Reality. It’s a new way to expe-
rience what I refer to as spatially oriented entertainment—much like that
Haunted Mansion ride I rode as a kid. The world of theme parks has been
doing this for number of generations now. The world of theater has been
doing it even longer. We have plenty to learn from these disciplines and
plenty others.
In the world of flat-screen media, a movie theater can be anywhere you want
it to be, including on an airplane or in your hands. The one element that
ix