Everything You Need to Know About VR Movies

From Smell-O-Vision and Sensurround to 3D, high frame rate, 4DX, countless technologies have been designed to enhance the film-watcher's experience. 

Sensurround launched at the Chinese Theatre in 1974 alongside the film "Earthquake." Image via Cinema Treasures

However, these technologies never truly gained traction with the broader movie-going audience, and as a result, they became nothing more than a gimmick.

Since virtual reality (VR) technology is still relatively new, it's valid to ask: Is VR destined to fall into the same category? Or can it become its own thing? In this article, we’ll explore virtual reality filmmaking and examine some of the core aspects of the medium.

What is virtual reality? 

Virtual reality refers to a technology that enables users to experience a simulated, immersive world within video content or a video game.  

TV and film consumers are passive participants. We sit back, relax, and escape into the world shown on screen, framed through the director’s vision. Whereas, with virtual reality, the user becomes a more active participant within the scene via a VR headset.

You do not view the media from a screen; you exist within it. While you can’t interact with the environment (unless it’s a game), you can look wherever you want, as if you were right there with the characters. 

However, the issue with VR is that it’s difficult to demonstrate without actually wearing a virtual reality headset. However, this play-through of “Horizon: Call of the Mountain” from "Virtual Reality Oasis" gives you a good sense of it. 

This brings immersion to a whole new level. Virtual reality was once a concept rooted in science fiction films and books throughout the 70s and 80s. However, by the 2010s, it had become a reality. Now, in 2025, virtual reality is more accessible than ever.

A form of virtual reality was utilized as a narrative device in the 1999 film “The Matrix.” Image via Warner Brothers

Yet, despite this accessibility, the medium hasn’t grown in popularity as VR pioneers had hoped, especially with filmmaking. Let’s look at why.

Filming for virtual reality

A core challenge is that you need to leave behind the filmmaking equipment you previously bought, as VR demands an entirely different toolset. Specifically, you’ll need a VR camera.

Unlike traditional cameras with interchangeable lenses, VR cameras are a single unit that combine both the camera and lens in one. This design is essential because the unique focal length and precise lens placement are critical for creating immersive video.

This looks more like a probe droid than a camera! Image via Insta360

These cameras are available in two different fields of view; 180 degrees or 360 degrees, and two recording formats: monoscopic or stereoscopic. You can capture either 180 or 360-degree footage in monoscopic (2D) or stereoscopic (3D) formats — but not stereoscopic like the 3D movies you're used to. Yeah, it's confusing, so let’s break it down.

A 180-degree field of view shows everything in front of the camera: left, right, up, and down, but not behind. A 360-degree field of view captures everything around the camera, except a small spot directly underneath.

The most popular type of 360-degree camera is the action camera. These action cameras usually cost a few hundred dollars, making them way more affordable than cinema VR cameras. Popular choices include the GoPro Max 360 and Insta360 X5, which can shoot up to 8K at 30 fps.

These action cameras are often used for stunts, sports, and tourism. They have two fisheye lenses to create a 360-degree image, allowing creators to capture their activities without worrying about camera position. However, and importantly, these images are monoscopic, meaning they appear flat.

Image via Insta360

On the other hand, we have the costly 360-degree 3D stereoscopic cameras. Now, these cameras will record the entire shot in every direction with multiple lenses, and you will often find that the ones that do this are significantly more expensive. We're talking tens of thousands of dollars to do so.

The difference with these cameras is that they are capturing the scene in a three-dimensional aspect. This enables the viewer to perceive the distinction between depth and distance within a virtual reality scene, thereby enhancing its immersive quality. This is done with an array of fisheye lenses that overlap and map out a 360-degree image.

Whereas with a 2D action camera, it appears flat. A good example is that it’s almost as if we're standing in a live theater room with a wraparound screen, as opposed to being physically inside the simulated experience. 

Given the ergonomics of a 360-degree 3D camera, as well as its price point, it is not entirely accessible to many. Canon sought to mitigate this issue by introducing the RF 5.2mm Dual Fisheye lens. 

Image via Canon

This lens utilizes a pair of fisheye cameras, positioned left and right, to capture hemispherical video. The footage is then stitched into a stereoscopic 3D image, allowing you to look around within a 180-degree viewport 3D space. That's less perspective than a 360-degree video, but more depth than a 360-degree monoscopic image.

Priced at $1,999, it is much more affordable than the options mentioned above, but it can only be used with a select group of Canon RF cameras that contain the necessary software to support the lens.

Image via Canon 

Filming issues 

If you're filming in 180-degree VR, the field of view is very wide. If your camera is positioned on a standard tripod, the tripod will be visible in the shot. Notice how the filmmaker below is using a specialist tripod to avoid this. 

Image via Canon

Audio presents a similar challenge. As discussed in our audio article, the closer your microphone is to the subject, the better the quality. But in this case, you can’t get close at all! A boom operator isn’t even an option; they would be visible in the frame. Quite literally anything to the side of the camera will be captured. 

This means your talent has to wear lavalier microphones. While they don’t offer the same audio quality as a shotgun mic, they’re the only practical solution. But that introduces another layer of complexity: you now need a wireless receiving system for multiple actors.

When it comes to 360-degree VR, the list of potential issues mounts up considerably.  You can’t place lights just outside the frame like you would on a traditional shoot. Your ability to shape light is heavily restricted, often forcing you to rely on natural daylight rather than controlled lighting setups.

As such, you'd need to shoot on a set explicitly constructed with VR in mind, where practical lighting is integrated into the environment. Think of a cyberpunk bar, where neon signs, overhead lights, and glowing props double as motivated light sources, eliminating the need to hide conventional film lights.

However, crew members and additional cast members waiting on standby can not safely hide behind the camera. We could easily list most production elements that can't tucked away out of sight. This is why many VR videos end up being VR experiences rather than narrative-driven films. 

Nothing visible in this on-set photo would be usable with a 360-degree camera! Image via Unsplash

VR films

With all that being said, some auteurs or high-risk studios must have made some sweet VR films, right? Although many popular headsets are now in their second or third iteration, virtual reality as a medium is still in its infancy and has not been widely adopted.

As a result, VR films are few and far between. More often than not, when you experience virtual reality, it’s defined as a “VR experience” rather than a traditional narrative-driven film. Instead of being a participant in a story that pushes forward with a structured plot, you’re typically immersed in a location, perhaps a tropical environment on Earth or a fantastical alien landscape that you can explore in 360 degrees.

Up until now, the best VR content has come from animated films or video games, such as “Vader Immortal” or “Batman: Arkham Shadow,” which combine interactive media and visual storytelling.  

Animated films work well in VR because you can render an entire location in three-dimensional space using a game engine. That allows the viewer, or in this case, the participant, to look and move freely, just like in real life.

With that being said, here's a brief list of some of the better animated VR films that you can watch right now. 

The Great C 

Based on the sci-fi short story by Philip K. Dick, Meta Quest describes "The Great C" as "a cinematic narrative set in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event."

Gloomy Eyes

"Pepe Knows it" paints the following picture for this short: “In a world where the sun decides to hide and never rise again, a zombie boy falls in love with a human girl, their improbable love struggles in a world where the living and the dead cannot peacefully coexist.“

Spheres

Meta Quest describes this video as a way to "Uncover the hidden songs of the cosmos through this powerful, immersive spectacle that fuses art with science."

VR headsets

Now, if you ventured to one of those trailers and tried actually to watch the shorts, you wouldn’t be able to, unless you had a virtual reality headset. And this is one of the core setbacks of the medium.

A virtual reality headset offers much more than just a screen positioned in front of your eyes. It employs 3D displays and positional tracking to create a simulated virtual environment, ensuring the correct form of parallax occurs when you move your head.

Image via Unsplash 

However, if you don’t own a VR headset, you can’t properly demo or preview the content in the way it’s intended to be experienced. You can watch video game trailers for consoles you don’t own. You can preview TV shows for services you’re not subscribed to. You can watch film trailers for movies that will not premiere in your region. But with VR, the content is locked behind the hardware.

And that entry point is a steep one. Meta Quest 3 sits at around $500. The PlayStation VR2 costs more than the PlayStation 5 itself. And Apple’s Vision Pro comes in at a staggering $3,499.

Yes, there are some well-respected third-party headsets available, but most of them still fall within the same price range. So, unlike a television, which almost every household has, VR remains an elusive club you have to buy your way into. And from a studio's perspective, why would they take the risk of making a film that is inaccessible to so many people? Simply, they wouldn’t. 

Conclusion 

VR has certainly come a long way since the Oculus Rift first launched its crowdfunding campaign back in 2012. Both the technology used to create VR and the hardware used to consume it have made huge strides. The library of VR content for video games, learning, and immersive experiences continues to grow, too.

However, even with this progress, the widespread adoption of the format and genuine interest from the film industry have been stifled. Considering we’re nearly 15 years on from the original Oculus Rift and new VR headsets are still being released every year, this isn’t just some fad like the short-lived 3D era.

Virtual reality is here to stay, and it’s only going to get better. But will we be watching a full-blown VR Hollywood feature film within the next five to ten years? Probably not. Still, that doesn’t mean VR isn’t an exciting format and a worthwhile experience.