Stephen Black's notes for a panel discussion at the 2018 Singapore Young Writers Festival. The topic is Writing for Ar and VR. Hosted by Lionel Chiok, the other panelists are Karl Gan and S. Mickey Lin

1. AR/VR:
"Where" is a Star!
A brief presentation by Stephen Black for a panel discussion
at the 2018 Singapore Young Writers Festival, with Lionel
Chiok, Karl Gan and S. Mickey Lin

2. Outstanding characters and plots are needed
for great AR/VR experiences.
BUT…
now, more than ever,
LOCATION
also deserves a starring role.

3. POKEMON GO
AR’s first massive success
was based on
Location/ GPS.

4. Now, in most AR storytelling,
the possibilities of location
are under-utilized.
Current apps are brief experiences or
demonstrations and do not use film or storytelling
techniques.
File size is a factor.

5. 19 Crimes has produced a great example of AR
storytelling.
Location: the bottle of wine itself and the country
of Australia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX6botAysrQ

6. To enter VR
is to enter a different location.
360 spherical filmmaking, mistakenly called VR, is
also about location.
In both, the viewer looks around a space.
The location must be
believable and interesting; have a soul.

7. examples:
HERE IN THE TROPICS, the evening light
goes away so abruptly, you would
notice it as you would a person who
leaves your presence suddenly and
without a word.
From Singapore’s first true novel, If We Dream
Too Long by Goh Poh Seng.

8. examples
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four,
Privet Drive, were proud to say that they
were perfectly normal, thank you very
much.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by
J.K. Rowling

9. examples
Spirited Away, by Hayao Miyazaki, is one of the
world’s most successful films.
It features a wordless, two minute scene in
which the main characters, on a train, simply
watch the world they are traveling through.

10. examples
A long time ago in a galaxy
far, far away…
Star Wars

11. Conclusion
The heart and soul of a location cannot be
seen nor heard.
Paradoxically, writers and filmmakers must
use words, cameras and pixels to create the
heart and soul of a location.