Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed-Reality add to an evolving spectrum of visualization tools that have invigorated the dialogue around how we pre-experience architecture. Los Angeles-based Shimahara Illustration discusses a fundamental difference between these new technologies and traditional CG film/animation.
Much of the fascination with VR/AR/MR lies in the shifting authorship of experience. The audience is now in control of the Mise-en-scène which yields a categorically different experience than when viewing a film. The reason is simple: with VR you have a user; with film you have an auteur.
The distinction comes down to the question: who is responsible for producing the narrative? Within virtual reality the user is the one creating the story, albeit as a kind of meandering by-product of exploration. The VR experience might be thought of more as a process of discovery than of actual story-making in a linear sense. In any case, it is in sharp contrast with the cinematic choreography offered by the filmmaker’s work. With a film or animation scenes are composed, sequenced, and timed to music with the collective intention of leading an audience towards a specific message.
