A Dementia-Friendly Educational Program Using Virtual Reality for the General Public in Japan: A Randomized Controlled Trial for DRIVE.

IntroductionThe development of virtual reality (VR) films requires novel editing strategies to optimize narrative cognition in immersive environments. While traditional film editing guides attention through controlled sequences of shots, the interactive nature of VR disrupts linear storytelling, challenging creators to balance emotional experience and spatial coherence. By combining eye-tracking technology with neuroscientific findings, this study aims to investigate how different editing techniques in virtual reality (VR) films affect viewers’ narrative cognition, focusing on visual attention, emotional experience and cognitive load, and to optimize VR film editing strategies through a neurocognitive lens.MethodsA controlled experiment with 42 participants was conducted using three versions of a VR movie: an unedited movie, a hard cut edited movie, and a dissolve-transition edited movie. Eye-tracking metrics were recorded using the HTC Vive Pro Eye headset, and emotional experiences were assessed using post-viewing questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS and visualized using heat maps and trajectory maps.ResultsThe unedited movie (F1) elicited the highest visual attention (TDF: M = 18,953.83 vs. F2/F3, p < 0.001) and emotional immersion, with 75% of viewers rating it as “highly immersive.” It also showed sustained activation in areas related to emotional engagement. Edited movies, both hard cuts (F2) and dissolve-transitions (F3), reduced cognitive load (TSD: M = 16,632.83 for F1 vs. 15,953.18 for F3, p < 0.01) but resulted in fragmented attention. Dissolve-transitions (F3) decreased viewer enjoyment (APD: M = 0.397 vs. F1, p < 0.001). One-way ANOVA analysis revealed that seamless editing enhanced emotional coherence, while abrupt cuts disrupted spatial and temporal integration, leading to reduced emotional engagement.DiscussionUnedited VR films promote emotional coherence driven by the amygdala and maintain attention stability mediated by the prefrontal cortex, which enhances immersive narrative cognition. In contrast, editing techniques prioritize cognitive efficiency at the expense of emotional experience. To maintain immersion, filmmakers should focus on seamless transitions, while strategically using edits to direct attention in the complex 360° environment of VR. These findings contribute to neurocinematic theory by connecting the neural dynamics induced by editing with behavioral outcomes, offering practical insights for VR content creation.

There are many differences in narrative delivery between common movies and Virtual Reality(VR) films due to their differences in the appreciation structure. In VR films, scene changes by cuts have hindered the immersion of the audience instead of promoting narrative delivery. There are a range of experiments on narratives and immersion to solve this issue in VR films. Floating Tent applies hand gestures and immersive effects found in game elements and does not disturb narrative delivery by setting proper spaces and employing a direction technique to enable the melting of narratives into the characteristics of the spaces. There are time limits to offsound and mission performance, and devices fit for apocalyptic spatial expressions are made through a program. One of measures for the increasingly growing interactive storytelling in VR films is effective immersion. In narrative delivery, it is important to consider spatial setting and immersion to enable active intervention into events for immersion rather than passive audience only supposed to watch characters' acting.

Virtual Reality (VR) film has been described as an empathy machine. Filmmakers and producers have claimed that VR film’s immersive qualities can amplify empathy for victims of humanitarian crises and move the viewer to support humanitarian aid organizations. This paper questions these transformative assumptions about VR film. We call attention to how humanitarian VR films are techniques that promote emotional styles like empathy through the script of suffering and hope. Through analysis of humanitarian VR films, the use of character, narrative, and formal VR film devices, we show how empathy is created. Thereby, we focus specifically on the simulation of particular locales, intimate encounters with the suffering Other, and gratification of viewer needs. The paper concludes that humanitarian VR films simulate an engagement with global problems when, in fact, they are catering to the emotional needs of people engaging with those problems. The global citizen as a feeling self becomes caught in interpersonal affective textures, which obscure geopolitical causes of humanitarian crises. Hence, the paper questions empathy as a universal way to better the world and diverges from the celebration of humanitarian VR film as a universal empathy machine.

In 2015 The Tow Center for Journalism produced a live-motion virtual reality (VR) journalism story on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, ‘Secret Location’. They stated that this new form appeared to change how journalists must construct their stories. They also challenged the industry to explore the journalistic application of VR beyond ‘highly produced documentaries’ (Owen et al. 2015. “Virtual Reality Journalism.” Tow Centre. CJR. https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/virtual_reality_journalism.php). We decided to make a short news VR film that explored the construction of this form of media and asked which narrative characteristic engaged the viewer to continue watching in a medium where the viewer was already immersed in the storyworld. Our findings suggest that even when the VR technology immerses the viewer into an illusion of presence, the traditional characteristics of narrative, character, plot, and subject remain of fundamental importance in the construction of a news story, and, it was the tension of what happens next, that is the plot, that was the strongest narrative driver in this short journalistic VR film. We also reflect on some issues raised in the production of the piece, such as the time taken, the limitations of creative editing and whether the expectations that VR raises might impact on the experience of viewing a VR news items.

Three-Month Follow-Up Results of a Double-Blind, Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of 8-Week Self-Administered At-Home Behavioral Skills-Based Virtual Reality (VR) for Chronic Low Back Pain

Previous articleNext article No AccessMedia Essay ReviewEmpathy Engines: How Virtual Reality Films May (or May Not) Revolutionize Education Clouds over Sidra produced by Socrates Kakoulides, Gabo Arora, and Chris Milk. 360° virtual reality film. Distributed on the Within channel and Milk VR USA. 8 minutes, 35 seconds. On the Brink of Famine directed by Marcelle Hopkins and produced by Frontline. 360° virtual reality film.Ben HersonBen Herson Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Comparative Education Review Volume 60, Number 4November 2016 Sponsored by the Comparative and International Education Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/688582 Views: 745Total views on this site Citations: 4Citations are reported from Crossref © 2016 by the Comparative and International Education Society. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Valérie Gorin From Empathy to Shame: The Use of Virtual Reality by Humanitarian Organisations, (Dec 2022): 147–170.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-00824-5_7Daniel Bos Geography and virtual reality, Geography Compass 15, no.99 (Aug 2021).https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12590Bonnie Ruberg Empathy and Its Alternatives: Deconstructing the Rhetoric of “Empathy” in Video Games, Communication, Culture and Critique 13, no.11 (Mar 2020): 54–71.https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcz044Reese Muntean, Kate Hennessy, Mei-Ling Park, Yulia Rubleva Sustainable Production and Consumption in 360°, (Jun 2019): 1–4.https://doi.org/10.1109/GEM.2019.8811561

This paper presents a cognitive psychology experiment to explore the differences between 2D and virtual reality (VR) film editing techniques. We recruited sixteen volunteers to view a range of different display modes and edit types of experimental material. An electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded simultaneously while the participants watched. Subjective results showed that the VR mode reflects higher load scores, particularly in the effort dimension. Different editing types have no effect on subjective immersion scores. The VR mode elicited stronger EEG energy, with differences concentrated in the occipital, parietal, and central regions. On the basis of this, visual evoked potential (VEP) analyses were conducted, and the results indicated that VR mode triggered greater spatial attention, while editing in 2D mode induced stronger semantic updating and active understanding. Furthermore, we found that while the effect of different edit types in both display modes is similar, cross-axis editing triggered greater cognitive violations than continuity editing, which could serve as scientific theoretical support for the development of future VR film editing techniques.

Cinematic Virtual Reality allows viewers to watch films without the limitation of screen edges, whilst controlling their own viewpoint. The loss of screen edges and camera control leads to the problem that filmmakers cannot precisely edit each shot using traditional techniques, as the viewer's direction and field of view is dynamic. As such, many established film making methods should be reconsidered. In this paper, we present our initial exploration for the implementation of montage in Virtual Reality (VR) films, focusing on the investigation of transition effects. A pilot study is presented, which compared three transition effects. Two popular existing transition effects (cut and fade) were applied, along with a third method (VR portal). The VR Portal was designed and selected specifically to meet the requirements for montage in VR films. We present the preliminary results and our insights, concluding with future plans.

This paper proposes the role of an emerging job role within the virtual reality (VR) film production crew. This role we call the Embodiment Director, involves assisting the VR Film Director in the accomplishment of true immersive film experiences through the use of game engines and VR peripherals. The Embodiment Director will manage the inception of haptics and stimuli technologies that allow for the embodiment of humans within a virtual environment, and they must guarantee precise synchronicity between physical and virtual counterparts, while overseeing the safety use of software and hardware during the entire production process of the VR film experiences. This paper offers a contemporary review of the key creative roles within traditional and virtual film production, in order to generate a concise and valid argument for the role of the Embodiment Director supported by autoethnography.

This paper investigates the challenges involved in adapting traditional film editing techniques for Virtual Reality (VR) films, with a particular focus on developing effective scene transitions that sustain narrative flow and enhance viewer immersion. It analyzes conventional editing methods and juxtaposes them against the unique demands of VR, leading to the proposal of solutions tailored to the immersive nature of VR. These solutions employ techniques such as the Dramatic Covenant, Long Take, and Field of View (FOV) adjustments, which are designed to improve spatial continuity and boost audience engagement in VR environments. The findings reveal that, although traditional techniques lay a fundamental groundwork, the unique characteristics of VR require a specialized approach that honors the viewer's immersive experience and their interaction within the narrative space. By developing practical strategies for filmmakers, this paper makes a contribution to the evolving field of VR films, thereby deepening our understanding of its unique narrative capabilities.

Evidence suggests that limited public awareness and dementia-related stigma can create barriers to community inclusiveness. This study explored the relation between public knowledge of dementia, attitudes towards people with dementia, experience with dementia and openness towards dementia-friendly communities. Two-hundred and twenty-nine members of the public completed a cross-sectional online survey with three established measures [Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Test, Attitudes Towards People with Dementia scale and Understanding of Health Problems survey] and one exploratory scale [Openness Towards Dementia-Friendly Communities]. An existing 'mild' dementia vignette was used to evaluate dementia recognition. Factors contributing to correct dementia recognition (knowledge, exposure to dementia, education and gender), worry about developing dementia (knowledge, exposure and respondent age), and openness towards dementia-friendly communities (knowledge, exposure and attitudes) were examined through group comparisons and a multiple linear regression. Consistent with the literature, the respondents had poor knowledge, reasonably good dementia recognition, and mostly positive attitudes towards people with dementia. None of the proposed factors were significantly associated with correct dementia recognition, and only gender was significantly associated with dementia worry. Knowledge and attitudes towards people with dementia (not exposure) were significant independent predictors of openness towards dementia-friendly communities. The expansion of dementia-friendly communities will require further investment in awareness-raising initiatives to improve dementia knowledge and attitudes in the community. This study shows the importance of these factors in the broader community's openness towards dementia-friendly communities.

Exploring virtual worlds

Virtual reality stroke rehabilitation - hype or hope?

With the continuous progress of computer network technology and the burst of new digital media art, virtual reality technology, a revolution in transmitting information, has come into being. As a brand new combination of computer technology and film art, virtual reality films have an interactive experience that no other art genre can achieve. During the movie watching process, the audience can walk into the movie scene, panoramic arbitrary observation of any angle around, and active interaction with people or objects in the scene, creating a personal memory palace, creating a unique storyline, creating a virtual dream space, and re-creating personal life and personal experience in the process of virtual experience. This paper firstly, through understanding the origin and background of virtual reality, analyzing and comparing the development status of virtual reality movies at home and abroad and looking forward to its prospect, so as to arrive at the possible value of virtual reality movies realized under the future digital technology media; secondly, combining the characteristics of virtual reality interactive technology, through analyzing the development process of traditional movie experience, comparing and arriving at the difference between traditional movies and virtual reality movies in Secondly, by analyzing the development process of traditional movie experience with the characteristics of virtual reality interactive technology, we compare and contrast the experience difference between traditional movies and virtual reality movies in four aspects: time and space construction, screen boundary, subjective experience, and interaction mode; secondly, we analyze the experience process from shallow to deep in virtual reality movies, and explore the psychological demand value rooted in the spirit after the intermingling of technology and movie content; finally, we elaborate on the experience value feedback brought to the audience after the practical application of virtual reality technology, and at the same time, we think deeply about this new digital technology medium. Lastly, it is the feedback of the experience value brought by the practical application of virtual reality technology to the audience and the reflection and critique of this new digital technology medium.

People living with dementia (PLwD) and their caregivers prefer to “age in place” within the community. Community-based respite centers often have programming that enables caregivers to drop off their care receiver for a few hours while trained volunteers provide engagement. Few, if any, studies have explored Virtual Reality (VR) programming in community-based drop-in respite programs for PLwD. Within this exploratory study, a focus group with 8 volunteers aged 65+ was conducted to understand their experiences delivering VR in a drop-in respite center serving PLwD. Qualitative analysis revealed four primary themes: 1) Motivation, 2) Positive impact of VR, 3) VR Programming, and 4) Enhancing VR delivery. Volunteers shared a strong interest in learning new technology, and their motivation to use VR in respite center programming increased after training. Volunteers observed the positive impact of VR on client engagement and social connections and shared practical tips for improving VR delivery. Results provide evidence that VR can be successfully implemented in a community-based drop-in respite center for PLwD. Structural and individual-level factors may contribute to successful VR implementation, such as programs having technical and financial support from a larger social service agency, and volunteers’ motivation to receiving VR training. The level of enthusiasm demonstrated by volunteers in learning VR contradicts a persistent ageist myth regarding older adults and technology. In conclusion, VR is a novel approach for volunteers and clients to have meaningful social experiences within drop-in respite centers.