The main goal of Virtual Reality (VR) in cinema is to immerse the spectator inside the scene. Recent VR headsets are trying to attain this goal using 360° videos. However, the storytelling and the cinema experience can be hindered because spectators using VR headsets have to continuously look around in order to explore the scene. Moreover, VR headsets restrict users to an individual experience, in which a big part of the non-verbal communication (i.e. facial expressions, gestures, and postures) is precluded. This potentially disrupts the shared and social experience of watching movies. This paper explores for the first time these potential issues by comparing a social VR system (Hyve-3D) with a cardboard VR headset during the vision of short movies including or not a storyline. Results suggest that the social VR system is more adapted for VR cinema experience.
['Tomás Dorta', 'Davide Pierini', 'Sana Boudhraâ']
Why 360° and VR headsets for movies?: exploratory study of social VR via hyve-3D