Speaking at Cannes, the multiple Oscar winner and BFG director expressed fears that storytelling will suffer if viewers of virtual reality films are given the choice where to look

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

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Steven Spielberg has warned the rise of virtual reality technology represents a potentially “dangerous” development for traditional film-makers.

Speaking at the Cannes film festival, where a number of VR movies are screening alongside his own movie, The BFG, the three-time Oscar-winner suggested the new format risked undermining directors’ control of their art.

“I think we’re moving into a dangerous medium with virtual reality,” he said. “The only reason I say it is dangerous is because it gives the viewer a lot of latitude not to take direction from the storytellers but make their own choices of where to look.

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“I just hope it doesn’t forget the story when it starts enveloping us in a world that we can see all around us and make our own choices to look at,” added Spielberg.

Film-maker Eric Darnell, whose six-minute VR film Invasion is also playing at the festival, said he believed virtual reality film-making would one day become the norm.

“It’s not, in my mind, just an extension of cinema. It is its own thing and we have to discover so much about what are the tools in our toolbox,” Darnell told Reuters. “It really is just a brand new language.”

Another virtual reality film, Milica Zec’s Giant, is also playing at Cannes. The festival has dedicated a pavilion to the immersive technology, featuring screenings and discussions, as part of its Marché du Film programme.