On Monday, the virtual reality (VR) company Oculus announced their “VR for Good” campaign. VR for Good aims to achieve social change through virtual reality initiatives, beginning with two pilot VR film programs: one for students, and one for non-profits and upcoming filmmakers. VR for Good is the next logical step from the Story Studio, the filmmaking arm of Oculus.
“You matter in that story—the way you experience the story matters.”
–Saschka Unseld, former Pixar director, current Creative Director at Oculus Story Studio.
VR has long been considered a facet of the gaming domain. Yet while some speculate that companies are adopting VR to “help them build sales and cut costs,” and scientific studies continue to explore the cognitive impact of VR, we’re very excited to see this technology debut in the social storytelling space.
Although VR has been around for years and experimented with in a limited artistic capacity, it has yet to make the jump to mainstream. However, in watching the short project videos on the Oculus Story Studio site, you experience an undeniable sense of the impact that insightful VR content can accomplish. Oculus films like “Lost” and “Henry” do an excellent job of showcasing, “the birth of [VR as] a completely new medium,” as Saschka says.
Oculus’ social-centric campaign not only tactfully positions them at the forefront of millennial marketing trends for brand positioning, it simultaneously creates and nurtures the space it needs for VR content creativity to flourish. The thematic sentiment of Oculus initiatives, paraphrased from Unseld, is to inspire storytellers so that storytellers can inspire the world. In going social and opening up for collaboration and inviting new perspectives, VR for Good will undoubtedly result in powerful and poignant narratives, and set new standards for what a story looks like.
There will be a big learning curve, but even bigger opportunities to produce entertaining, educational, and engaging content. In looking to the future, there is seemingly no limit to this medium for filmmakers and brands alike. We see a whole new realm of possibilities opening up for what can only be described as the most immersive storytelling art form the world has yet to see—or experience.
Editor’s note—Nonprofit and filmmaker applications for the VR for Good program are due in one week: June 17, 2016.