[Commlist] CFP - Evolutions in Cinematic Virtual Reality

*CFP - Evolutions in Cinematic Virtual Reality*

Symposium at The University of Hong Kong, eXtended Humanities Lab

18. – 19. May 2026


*/Deadline for abstracts extended until 6 March/*


Just over a decade ago, the arrival of consumer-grade VR head mounted 
displays (HMDs) enabled the development of a new form of linear 
storytelling in digital virtual reality. In industrial and academic 
settings, this new narrative medium has been referred to 
as Cinematic Virtual Reality//(Dooley 2021; Mateer 2017; Ross and Munt 
2018), a label that recognises the adaptation of cinematic conventions 
and tropes within virtual spaces. The CVR medium continues to be well 
represented as an important filmic category within programs at major 
film and XR festivals around the world and has seen 
significant investments by leading media companies in the past. Noting a 
resurgence of cinematic narratives at the 2025 edition of Venice 
Immersive (a leading venue for XR), this symposium takes stock of recent 
developments in immersive linear storytelling. We are 
particularly interested in papers that examine how VR filmmakers are 
developing a new language of immersive storytelling by drawing on the 
conventions of cinematic form in combination with VR specific 
affordances of embodiment, interactivity, and immersion. We are 
also interested in how creators take advantage of new VR film 
technologies such as the latest wave of high-definition 180-degree 
cameras and high-fidelity HMDs.

As an initiative of the HKU’s Extended Humanities Lab, the symposium is 
designed to prepare a manuscript for a volume edited by the 
co-organisers of the symposium, Kath Dooley and Tim Gruenewald. We will 
circulate full papers before the symposium, and the meeting at HKU will 
serve as an intensive 2-day workshop.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

180-degree vs. 360-degree VR films

Interactivity in CVR

Embodiment in CVR

New Genres of linear VR storytelling

Linear VR retail experiences (e.g. Lost Gardens of Versailles, Horizon 
of Khufu, Machu Picchu: Journey to the Lost City)

Developments in VR film form including sound, editing, staging, camera, etc.

Technologies of image capture, including volumetric video and gaussian 
splatting

The affordances of game engines vs. VR cameras

VR documentary films

Animation and CVR

Literary adaptations for CVR

Production, distribution, and reception studies

Theoretical considerations of CVR within the broader XR landscape

The future of CVR

*Extended Submission deadline*: March 6

*Full papers due*: May 15

Please send inquiries to the organizers Tim Gruenewald ((_tgruene /at/ hku.hk) 
<mailto:(tgruene /at/ hku.hk)>_) or Kath Dooley ((_kath.dooley /at/ adelaide.edu.au) 
<mailto:(kathleen.dooley /at/ adelaide.edu.au)>_)

_https://www.extendedhumanities.com/ <https://www.extendedhumanities.com/>_

*References*

Dooley, K. (2021). /Cinematic Virtual Reality/. Springer International 
Publishing.

Mateer, J. (2017). Directing for Cinematic Virtual Reality: how the 
traditional film director’s craft applies to immersive environments and 
notions of presence. /Journal of media practice/, /18/(1), 14-25.

Ross, M., & Munt, A. (2018). Cinematic virtual reality: Towards the 
spatialized screenplay. /Journal of Screenwriting/, /9/(2), 191-209.

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