Create your own films on a VR movie set

When someone mentions "VR filmmaking," they're usually referring to 360-degree video, or some kind of video game environment where the story unfolds around you. One developer in Japan, however, has taken the concept in a vastly different direction. 'Make it Film' is an experimental project by 'MuRo' that lets you operate a camera inside a VR environment. Like a film director, you can frame up the shot and then hit record as characters converse or take part in an action scene. It was built on top of Unity3D and currently works with the Oculus Rift and Touch controllers.

The idea is certainly novel. For aspiring filmmakers, it can be difficult to obtain expensive gear, find talented (but cheap) actors and travel to exotic locations. Inside VR, however, that's less of a problem. Provided you have the digital assets, you can go anywhere and shoot for as long as you like. You can also stop filming whenever you need a break and choose particular lighting or weather conditions on a dime. Mess something up? Simply reset the scene and start again. If you're a student, or someone that's interested in the art of cinematography, a tool like this could be invaluable.

MuRo's example film (above) uses 'Adam,' a collection of 3D, high-resolution characters and environments made by Unity. He says the tool could, in theory, work with other scenes and characters too. So if you have the necessary models, you could make home movies or recreate scenes with any of your favorite heroes and actors. The real genius, though, is using the Touch controllers to manually move the camera rig around. We just hope future versions will have virtual cranes, sliders and drones too.