James Cameron calls Oculus Rift a "Yawn", where moviemaking is involved.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by NARMAK

On a technical level, VR for movies is a pretty daunting idea if the expectation or aim is to create a fully mapped 360 degree view within the experience. In traditional movies, in order to get the right composition etc. there are SO MANY things going on off camera that you would find it nigh on impossible to film without and hence why 360 degrees VR is such a bad proposition.

We've already seen 3D adoption face a backlash even with improvements and stagnate. VR would arguably do even worse, and the experience whilst possible to be neat in some instances done in a certain way is for all intents and purposes a gimmick.

If you actually look at which medium is conducive to VR; it's always been gaming. That's because the virtual world doesn't requires lighting, cameras, stuntmen etc. like movies do.

There is perhaps a few instances where I see animated movies being able to take advantage of VR but in traditional movies, no way jose. Maybe if CGI ever gets photo realistic enough I can imagine a situation where a VR implementation can work.

VR is at best destined to be a very fringe and/or niche for the foreseeable future where the traditional movie medium is concerned and I think the mainstream is rather fine with the status quo but would appreciate as high a fidelity PQ & AQ from their 2D viewings in cinema or home.

+1,000. You'd think they'd learn with the 3D fiasco - or shall we say complete lack of interest and miniscule home adoption. I think most of us just want to sit down and watch our favorite movies like we always have. Give us the best image and sound quality you possibly can and we are good with that & will pay for it. We dont need to be "in" the movie. We dont need arrows or pirhanas flying at our face. We dont want to put glasses on or strap things to our head. Enough.

Just wanna watch the damned movie, ya know?

Ironically - image quality has taken a back seat to all the other BS. Plasma dying off just set image quality back 10 years, IMO. Instaed of making sure these TVs can connect to Facebook properly, how about getting the black levels right or hadling motion properly? Geesh.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by SymbioticFunction

What has he done for you lately? Am curious to read your opinions of his later work.

Well, even without any later classics I will always appreciate him giving us such great films. I pretty much adored the Alien and Terminator films. (Also Ridley Scott's movie). Spielberg hasn't given me much lately either but I still adore Jaws, Duel, Empire of the Sun, E.T and Saving Private Ryan.

Although not a classic, I thought Titanic was thoroughly entertaining for what it was by the way.

I don't see your point though. M. Night shyamalan imo had a bad run of films that I didn't really enjoy but The Sixth Sense is still in my top movie list. Any director that made a film in my top 100, 200 films is worthy of my admiration.

[Thomas Guycott]

Originally Posted by tigermoth

Some people just really want to hate James Cameron. Sad.

I just really want Battle Angel, that's all.

[kemcha]

I'm not narcissistic. I just think of 3D and VR as nothing more than gimmicks that add no value to movies or television. Personally, I don't care about James Cameron or his obsession with criticizing any technology that he doesn't create himself. What I do hate is when he proclaims himself as the messiah and savior of the movie industry.

Personally, there are far better directors than Cameron out there and I happen to respect those other directors than I do Cameron. There's no denying he's made some decent films but the man needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut. He simply comes off as sounding arrogant and spiteful.

[mrr1]

James Cameron is right. He is always right.

[kemcha]

Only GOD knows everything and James Cameron is definitely NOT GOD.

[Johnny Blu]

Can someone please explain to me how James Cameron was supposed to answer the question of what he thought about virtual reality? As far as I'm concerned, his answer was spot on. I find it refreshing to hear someone answer questions honestly, and not with a PC filter in mind.

We all know that James Cameron did not invent 3D technology. However, and please correct me if I'm wrong as I never saw Avatar in 3D, he did reintroduce 3D from a different perspective. 3D used to rely on images jumping off the screen. Avatar, on the other hand, created depth within the screen. To me, the 3D that jumps off the screen is more gimmicky, where as the 3D that adds depth can create an immersive experience.

When I read the article and realized that Oculus Rift was a virtual reality technology, I immediately thought of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books that came out in the 80's. Other than dictating the storyline, what is the point? The technology would work for games, but not movies.

[Tony208]

Why is there even a thread on this?

[Johnny Blu]

Originally Posted by Tony208

Why is there even a thread on this?

I was thinking the exact same thing. Haters gonna hate.

[aiman04]

Doesn't mean we hate him, he gave an opinion and so did we. I love his films but that doesn't mean I have to agree with him all the time.

PS: I actually agree with him about Oculus Drift.

[Elandyll]

I get where he is coming from.

From a Movie maker's PoV, to tell a story, VR bring very little to the table that a full immersive 3D wouldn't.

VR is about immersion and putting you inside a world, and then interacting/ moving in it.

It could be to gaming what Avatar's 3D was to experiencing a film, perhaps even more, but for a film (by nature not an interactive experience), it means very little, if anything at all.

So again from his point of view, yes, I get that VR is a bit of a yawn.

But then again, I'm not sure why he would be asked about VR in the first place...

[Johnny Blu]

Originally Posted by aiman04

Doesn't mean we hate him, he gave an opinion and so did we. I love his films but that doesn't mean I have to agree with him all the time.

PS: I actually agree with him about Oculus Drift.

My haters comment was aimed toward the OP. It seems like everytime we try to talk about Oculus Drift and its merit (or lack there of), the OP tries to shift the talk back to how we shouldn't care about James Cameron's opinion.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by kemcha

I have to agree about these 'niche' technologies like 3D and VR but Cameron seems hellbent on trashing anyone making any claims to new technologies regarding moviemaking unless he's the one doing that. James Cameron is acting like an egotistical, arrogant jerk about this and he needs to learn to shut his mouth about it.

While he has directed and produced some great films such as the Terminator films, Abyss and Avatar ... he hasn't really been involved in too many films. You don't see anyone else talking about these new technologies like they were on some kind of ego trip. James Cameron seems to love inflating his own ego and he needs to learn to stop making dumb comments.

I imagine that ten years from now, he'll make some idiotic remark that VR should only be used for 'event movies', like he said with 3D. The man is a moron. I'm actually wondering why anyone even listens to him anymore or if they just laugh at him for making such dumb remarks.

VR isn't here yet so let's not label it 'niche' yet?

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Johnny Blu

My haters comment was aimed toward the OP. It seems like everytime we try to talk about Oculus Drift and its merit (or lack there of), the OP tries to shift the talk back to how we shouldn't care about James Cameron's opinion.

Agree. I am basing my opinions purely on his movies nothing else.

[SymbioticFunction]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Well, even without any later classics I will always appreciate him giving us such great films. I pretty much adored the Alien and Terminator films. (Also Ridley Scott's movie). Spielberg hasn't given me much lately either but I still adore Jaws, Duel, Empire of the Sun, E.T and Saving Private Ryan.

Although not a classic, I thought Titanic was thoroughly entertaining for what it was by the way.

I don't see your point though. M. Night shyamalan imo had a bad run of films that I didn't really enjoy but The Sixth Sense is still in my top movie list. Any director that made a film in my top 100, 200 films is worthy of my admiration.

Thanks. Was just curious.

Would have been interesting to read your interpretation/verdict of Avatar.

[travOtaku]

Originally Posted by kemcha

I'm not narcissistic. I just think of 3D and VR as nothing more than gimmicks that add no value to movies or television. Personally, I don't care about James Cameron or his obsession with criticizing any technology that he doesn't create himself. What I do hate is when he proclaims himself as the messiah and savior of the movie industry.

Right.

He was asked a question and he answered it. He didn't provide this opinion unsolicited or preface it with "As the king of movies...".

Get. Over. It.

[Optimus]

Originally Posted by kemcha

Only GOD knows everything and James Cameron is definitely NOT GOD.

That he is not but he IS a submarine explorer.

[DoubleDownAgain]

Originally Posted by Johnny Blu

My haters comment was aimed toward the OP. It seems like everytime we try to talk about Oculus Drift and its merit (or lack there of), the OP tries to shift the talk back to how we shouldn't care about James Cameron's opinion.

I ddin't get that from the title but after reading his post

[Show spoiler]

Originally Posted by kemcha

I didn't know where to place this topic, so bear with me for a moment.

Every time James Cameron speaks, it simply makes me gag. When the producers of Piranha 3D were making the film, Cameron came out and blasted the producers because he personally believed that the 3D process should only be used for what he called "event" movies. The crap he spewed forth made it sound like HE invented the 3D process, which was laughable since the 3D technology has been around for a lot longer than he's been an imprint on the face of the planet.

Well, James Cameron is at it again, this time blasting away at Oculus Rift, claiming that the technology is a major yawn.

I'd like to know just how James Cameron thinks that people actually listen to the crap he spews. The man's ego is larger than the solar system we live in. Virtual reality movie viewing is the next logical leap and since Oculus Rift is a relatively new technology when it comes to film-making, it's the most logical step for producers to start taking advantage of that technology.

http://www.slashfilm.com/james-cameron-oculus-rift/

While I agree with the article that it has more impact with the videogame industry than with the movie industry, there are some benefits to movie producers to start experimenting with the new technology. I guess according to James Cameron, Oculus Rift doesn't suck if he's the only director using it.

I totally agree. #SMH Part of film making is to point, or nudge the viewer where to look. How many great shots would you miss in a movie if you were looking at the girl with the great breasts to the right when the action, and main focus, was to the left?

FWIW I think Cameron is an ass, but a very talented ass. OR may provide a great experience in a movie/video game hybrid but is it a game changer for film? Hell no.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by SymbioticFunction

Thanks. Was just curious.

Would have been interesting to read your interpretation/verdict of Avatar.

Avatar? As an experience at the cinema and my home theatre five stars out of five.
As a movie three stars. Take away the stunning 3D and you have quite a shallow film. I have now watched it three times and I am not in any hurry to revisit it. It lacks such iconic characters as Ripley, Sarah Connor and the Terminator. It also lacks the thrills and tension of those movies. I can't connect with Sam Worthington as an actor to be honest, so that didn't help.

[kemcha]

That's actually incorrect. I watched Avatar without the 3D effect and it's a decent enough film. The reason I posted this topic was that James Cameron just can't stop attacking new technologies unless he's the only one using them.

The problem regarding his slam on Piranha 3D and his comments about how the 3D conversion should only be used for event films was self serving. If memory serves, James Cameron was actually fired from Piranha 2, which might explain his ambivalence toward that film franchise and his crude comments.

I just find it odd that history seems to be repeating itself with Cameron. First off, I think it's too early to condemn a technology, especially when it hasn't even been developed for other industries yet. Cameron is simply prejudging Oculus Rift before it has had a chance to be developed by the movie industry.

Second, 3D and VR is simply what I called it, "niche" technologies. Gimmicks, designed solely to generate inflated costs on movie tickets. I just don't see how these "niche" technologies add any value to the product. I'm not saying that Cameron is wrong where it concerns VR technology being used in movie production but that his comments are so far off base that they make no sense until we see how they are applied to the first movie to use that technology.