ILMxLab Wants to Turn STAR WARS and Other Films Into Virtual World Portals for People to Visit
Lucasfilm's ILMxLab is working very hard to harness the power of virtual reality and what it's really capable of. They're already developing a couple of things like the Star Wars-themed VR experience called “Trials of Tatooine” which was previewed earlier this year. They have also been developing a Darth Vader VR experience that's being directed by David S. Goyer.
These are just stepping stones to what they are really wanting to accomplish. According to the executives at the Virtual Reality Intelligence conference (via Variety), they are looking turn the Star Wars universe and other movies into "portals for destinations that can be visited with virtual and augmented reality headsets." When talking about Star Wars, ILMxLab Executive Creative Director John said:
“We are thinking very heavily about creating a dynamic destination where stories flow through. People were so compelled by that universe that they wanted to get inside of it.”
They are obviously still in the early development stages of what can be accomplished with VR storytelling, but it's something that I'm extremely excited about experiencing one day! They are trying to figure out the rules of storytelling inside VR, and Vicki Dobbs Beck, Executive in Charge at ILMxLAB, explained that this can be overwhelming to people who are new to VR and they made need time to settle in. She said:
“Pacing was one of the important learnings. People will literally shut out something. They will shut out voice-over, they will shut out certain cues.”
It's crazy to think that one day audiences can be fully immersed in the world of Star Wars or even be immersed in films specifically made to be experienced in VR. The future of entertainment is about to take a big, intriguing leap forward, and I can't wait to experience it!