In virtual reality, we're placing the viewer inside a moment or a story... made possible by sound and visual technology that's actually tricking the brain into believing it's somewhere else. Chris Milk More Quotes by Chris Milk More Quotes From Chris Milk What's always struck me is how different the sensory, especially auditory, experience is when you're in the middle of the music with the musicians playing off each other around you. I wanted to find a way to unlock the intensity of that, to recreate that unique perspective, first for the hundreds of people who attended the concert, and eventually for a much larger online audience. Chris Milk perspective unique people For some reason, humans have this funny thing about where we came from - it always has far more emotional weight than where we are. Chris Milk funny-things emotional weight My real motivation came from my desire for music videos to have the same equal soul-touching emotional resonance that straight music does. Chris Milk emotional motivation real I didn't realize how slow my four-year-old MacBook was until the web team wanted to start using it as the benchmark for a slow computer experience. Chris Milk four team years Music scores your life. You interact with it. It becomes the soundtrack to that one summer with that one girl. Chris Milk soundtracks girl summer Music videos are very concrete and rigid. They don't allow for emotional interaction. Chris Milk concrete video emotional As a filmmaker, you are constantly having the discussion with your team about whether something is "relatable". Chris Milk discussion filmmaker team What if instead of seeing a neighborhood that reminds you of the place you grew up in, you see your actual neighborhood? The data exists. The technology exists. It's just a matter of sourcing it and processing it in a compelling fashion. Chris Milk data fashion technology Virtual reality is the 'ultimate empathy machine.' These experiences are more than documentaries. They're opportunities to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. Chris Milk walk empathy shoes reality Virtual reality is a technology that could actually allow you to connect on a real human level, soul-to-soul, regardless of where you are in the world. Chris Milk you technology reality world It connects humans to other humans in a profound way that I've never seen before in any other form of media. And it can change people's perception of each other. And that's how I think virtual reality has the potential to actually change the world. Chris Milk change-the-world change people world I was born into a world in which the most compelling stories are through film. But that wasn't always the case. Everything changes; everything evolves. Chris Milk everything-changes always born world With virtual reality, I'm not interested in the novelty factor. I'm interested in the foundations for a medium that could be more powerful than cinema, than theatre, than literature, than any other medium we've had before to connect one human being to another. Chris Milk cinema powerful literature reality Journalism is about bringing people to an event or something that they couldn't attend. Chris Milk event something journalism people My real motivation came from my quest for music videos to have the equally soul-touching emotional resonance that straight music does. Honestly, I'm not sure they ever can. Chris Milk emotional music motivation real Virtual reality is already affecting people on an emotional level much more than any other media, and it has the potential to scale: all you need is an attachment for your cellphone, and you can have this experience. Chris Milk you experience reality people There's three things that you need for virtual reality to work. You need the hardware that's affordable and doesn't make people sick, you need an audience that is willing to pay for it, and you need the content. Chris Milk you sick work people My premise is that there's something hardwired into our DNA, that we as a species came and evolved from caves and clans and tribes, and therefore, we as a species care more about the things that are local to us than we care about the things that are 'over there' from us. Chris Milk more something things care Music is a great catalyst for emotion because it gets to your core. Chris Milk your great music emotion Virtual reality started for me in sort of an unusual place. It was the 1970s. I got into the field very young: I was seven years old. And the tool that I used to access virtual reality was the Evel Knievel stunt cycle. Chris Milk old place me reality
