As filmmakers take their first stabs at virtual-reality entertainment, the possibilities are numerous. So are the challenges.
Broadly speaking, the question is how to create screen content that offers the storytelling satisfactions of traditional cinema but with the new vocabulary and immersive possibilities of VR.
That effort takes shape with one of the first mainstream VR films -- “Henry," an animated short by the buzzy VR outfit Oculus Story Studio.
An animated piece about a lonely hedgehog, “Henry” examines what happens when the title character attempts to celebrate his birthday only to find that his unique characteristics make the usual party accouterments challenging.