Here’s a cheeky lil hack that elevates VR180 immersion like never before!
Pretty simple: if the camera is at standing height, physically STAND UP. And when it’s low, sit back down. I figured that it kinda helps your brain to believe it’s in the physical space, like a quasi-6dof experience though you’re watching a 3dof vid. Check out the full demo in VR:
Watch on YouTube
Best for Questies, Pico ppl, & flatscreens
Watch on DeoVR
Best for PC VR users. D/L DeoVR free on Steam
But if you just wanna watch a flat screen (not as cool) version, here you go:
VR180 video is 3dof, meaning you can look around, but no moving front-back or up-down. But to trick your brain into thinking you’re in 6dof space, try matching the camera’s height. If the VR camera is high, try standing; if the camera’s low, sit. Just watch your step!
Playing VR Simon Says while watching a vr video isn’t an ideal viewing experience, but it serves as a little hack you can do to increase your immersion.
For us VR video creators, we need to be mindful of the viewer’s context – if the audience is likely seated, then maybe we can lean into that fact and place our cameras at similar heights. And that might help keep the audience immersed.
There are exceptions, like tour videos or live venue captures, where different camera heights are necessary. But, ideally, the camera position should mirror a real-world perspective to aid viewer immersion.
ULTIMATELY, the first line of immersion is the VR video creator. We gotta keep the end user in mind, and that includes the fact that the audience is most probably seated. So by having cameras at seated height, we can help with keeping a user immersed. Granted, there’s times when you HAVE to have your cam at other heights, but keep in mind how that may feel to the viewers.
Got any tips for increasing VR180 viewing immersion? Hit me up on Instagram, X/Twitter & Bluesky! Thanks for reading/watching, and stay immersed.
~Kuya
