For the director Mark Romanek (“One Hour Photo,” “Never Let Me Go”), virtual reality has long been a fixation. About 25 years ago, he tried on a VR rig at a convention sponsored by the early cyberculture magazine Mondo 2000 and was disappointed by how huge and uncomfortable it was.

So in 1991, when he was directing the music video for “Love Conquers All” for the British pop band ABC, he jury-rigged his own contraption.

He covered a scuba mask in black spandex, paired that with a fake interface glove, and then concocted a 15-second piece of computer graphic imagery.

“I just sort of wished it into reality, even though the technology wasn’t there yet,” he said.

Last year reality caught up, when he was involved in an actual VR project with none other than Paul McCartney.

While he was talking to Mr. McCartney about collaborating on a short music film, the conversation turned to virtual reality. The former Beatle had never seen any footage, so Mr. Romanek asked the people at Jaunt VR, where Mr. Romanek is on the board of advisers, to supply a demonstration. Mr. McCartney was so enthralled, he urged them to film the concert he was performing the next day, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

Mr. Romanek, in Europe at the time, suggested camera angles to the Jaunt VR crew via FaceTime, and a performance of “Live and Let Die” was captured in 360-degree glory. Viewers start off right next to Sir Paul’s piano, where they can swivel to take in the rest of the stage or glance upward to find a sky filled with pyrotechnics. Moments later, they’re in the front row, but a glimpse behind reveals a crowd 70,000-strong.