Missing the Point: An Exploration of How to Guide Users’ Attention During Cinematic Virtual Reality

In this collaborative project, published in the Proceedings of the 22nd ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology in 2016, we investigated how filmmakers can effectively guide user attention within the immersive world of cinematic Virtual Reality (VR). At the time, VR was experiencing a resurgence, challenging traditional methods of narrative control in film by allowing viewers to freely direct their gaze. Motivated by my interest in the intersection of storytelling and user experience, our team developed and tested subtle, in-story techniques to direct attention without compromising immersion.

The full paper can be accessed here.

My role encompassed a broad spectrum of tasks, including problem formulation, research design, data collection, implementation, testing, statistical analysis, and co-authoring the publication. I contributed technically by coding in MATLAB to process VR headset tracking data for statistical analysis, creating 3D models and shading assets in Maya, and filming and processing green-screen footage for integration into Unity. Furthermore, I developed the game engine mechanics within Unity to facilitate user experiments.

The study revealed statistically significant findings, demonstrating that user attention can be guided using subtle, narrative-consistent objects. These results have implications for maintaining narrative coherence in VR storytelling. The work was well-received at the Munich VR conference and has garnered over 180 citations, underscoring its influence in the field.

While this project was a team effort, each member brought unique expertise to ensure its success. Together, we aimed to push the boundaries of immersive storytelling and offer filmmakers new tools for directing user focus in a medium defined by freedom.