A Comparison of Immersive and Non-Immersive VR for the Education of Filmmaking

Abstract

Nowadays, both IVR (Immersive VR) and NIVR (Non-immersive VR) have already been adopted by filmmakers and used in the education of filmmaking, but few studies have shown their differences in supporting learning. This article aims to compare these two forms of technology as educational tools for learning filmmaking and give suggestions on how to choose between them. Two applications with the same purpose and content were developed using IVR and NIVR technologies respectively. An experiment of within subject design was implemented using these two versions as experimental material. 39 subjects participated in experiment and the quantitative measures include presence, motivation and usability. SPSS was used for data analysis and the statistical results, together with interview reports showed that both technologies led to positive learning experience while IVR had better performance in the presence (especially in the “sensory & realism” and “involvement” subscales) and intrinsic motivation (especially in the “enjoyment” subscale) while NIVR was more accessible to the public and may provide more complex and powerful functions with sophisticated GUI. In conclusion, both technologies are capable of supporting the learning of filmmaking effectively when chosen for proper educational missions.