Digital storytelling and storydoing with virtual reality
About this session
Date: various
Presenters: Dr Robert O'Toole
Main follow-up contact: Robert O'Toole
Overview: The level of experiential immersive we can achieve with the latest VR headsets is so great that we think it surpasses ordinary storytelling. Participants feel like they are actually present in the world we construct and the events that happen. This has been used to transport us back in time, or to distant places. Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel (BBC, producer Catherine Allen) transports us back to the 1916 revolution in Dublin. Empire Soldiers (MBD) takes us to the first world war and through the experiences of soldiers from the Caribbean and South Asia. Child of Empire explores the real experiences of people living through the Partition of India. Allen (a Warwick Theatre Studies alumnus) described this as "storydoing" - a more direct and immediate way to experience a narrative, through 360 images and sound, and sometimes with interaction. Creating these experiences has been expensive and technically complex. The DAHL has been exploring simpler and cheaper ways, including the use of Insta360 cameras. We will present our findings in this session.
Resources and further readings
- Easter Rising Voice of a Rebel trailerLink opens in a new window (2D)
- Empire Soldiers - A Caribbean Story trailerLink opens in a new window (2D)
- Empire Soldiers - A South Asian Story trailerLink opens in a new window (2D)
- Child of Empire trailerLink opens in a new window (2D)
- Building VR experiences with UnityLink opens in a new window