Published in La Tercera April 1, 2016

An article published by The Guardian says: “It’s an old adage that any advance in technology – be it the advent of film or the invention of the VCR – will soon be applied to pornography. This seemed to be the case at SXSW, where a panel discussion had the subject VR Porn: Future is Upon Us, What’s Next?”.

From your point of view: How high is the potential of this technology for the porn industry? Which are the main benefits of VR for adult entertainment? Do you agree with Peter Rubin (Wired) when he writes this?: “Historically, we’ve found titillation at a remove. In erotic woodcuts, DVDs, even streaming webcam shows, there’s a frame—whether a book, a Polaroid border, or a screen—through which we experience whatever it is that turns us on. VR is more than just another iteration. It doesn’t just change the frame. VR erases it”.

The potential for porn parallels its potential for all industries. That’s the simple answer. If the goal is to manifest an empathetic response in the observer, virtual reality is fertile ground. In adult specifically, it’s able to amplify titillation, imbue one with the feeling of being part of the action. Virtual Reality brings you closer—to whatever you’re observing. It breaks through the display screen, introducing a new dimension, beyond 3D, beyond anything we’ve ever seen in telecommunications. That is not unique to porn. It has the same capacity for news, journalism, reporting. Virtual Reality is a transporter. It can place you anywhere; so you’re afforded a more palpable understanding of what it’s like to be there. That can be applied to the bluster of a campaign trail, or the fear and horror on the ground in Palmyra. Whatever the message, the idea, the form: done correctly, the subject matter can be made as awe-inspiring as a walk on the moon, or as intense as a dentist’s drill.

Rubin also says what we are going to do is “find something virtually (sorry) unheard-of in pornography: intimacy. The thing that’s going to take us there is “presence,” that phenomenon that occurs when head-tracking latency, screen quality, and processing wizardry combine to trick your brain into thinking that you’re existing in a virtual space, rather than just watching a screen that extends past the edges of your vision. If your brain believes it, your body reacts in kind—with all the responses that come along with that”.

Do you agree that intimacy factor is really absent from today’s porn industry? It is possible to say VR in porn offers the possibility of enjoying the ultimate human interaction? Do you notice a higher level of intimacy in the reactions of VR users? Is it true they request things like more eye contact?

It depends on how one defines intimacy. It’s easy to make the argument than anyone watching a porn movie is having an intimate experience, particularly if that person is doing so by him or herself and masturbating. Porn scenes do frequently lack passion, though. In my experience, that’s women’s biggest complaint about it. The screen partners just seem like they’re going through the motions. And generally speaking, that’s true. They are not in the throes of passion; they’re on assignment. They’re working. And the fact is porn stars are not actors; they’re performers. So absent largely-accidental sexual chemistry on the set—and never mind the bright lights and camera crew flitting about—it’s not going to come across convincingly passionate. Hot? Yes. Passionate? No. Now VR does help in that regard. Everything Rubin says is spot on. I just wouldn’t use the term ‘intimacy.’

Another report from SXSW published by The Guardian says: “Virtual reality headsets were available for use by a giggling queue of delegates. The Guardian put one on. In the real world, I was fully clothed in a conference hall. But in the virtual room I could see a glass-walled room with two giant egg-shaped sculptures outside, and a woman crawling on all-fours in front of me. Looking around, I could see other parts of the room: looking down revealed a naked lower half, to which the woman was attending”.

What kinds of actions are possible on these VR environments? Can you look at different angles? Can you walk or move inside a virtual room? Or the freedom of movement is limited? Most of the scenes are filmed in 180 degrees or we could see real 360 degrees environments in the near future?

BaDoinkVR brought those headsets to SXSW. There were 360° scenes on the reel that the Guardian was viewing, but owing to the sizable queue for the demo, few attendees had time to watch every sample. 360° scenes are a reality. That said, the industry as a whole is producing many more 180° scenes than 360° scenes. There a few reasons for this. First, 180° videos are less expensive, particularly on the post-production side. Second, it’s impossible, at this point to get the stitching 100% correct without editing frame-by-frame. Third, which is arguably the greatest justification: porn is generally viewed lying prostrate; seeing what’s happening behind you is not so easy—or necessary—from that position.

You can certainly look at different angles. The POV angle is the angle consumers are most engaged by since it’s arguably, the most immersive. But you can also turn to your left and watch a pair of performers on the couch; likewise, by turning around to see what’s happening on the dining room table. Any point on the compass, really.

The ability to move inside of a virtual room is already possible. In fact, we were approached by VixenVR very recently, whose principles come from a gaming background. They showed us some pretty amazing stuff, and their VixenVR Apartment provides users with a navigable ecosystem.

Ela Darling says in an Autostraddle.com interview: “In Unity, you can make a room — now it’s a lot more complicated than this, there’s a lot more math and computer-y science-y shit, but I would liken it to building a room in the Sims. You construct the walls, you can put skins on the walls, you can create elements to create furniture — you can actually buy pre-fabricated digital furniture and stuff like that. You place it in the room that you’re building, and then… that’s a 3D-rendered environment! Usually it’s used for like, building a game, but we’re using it to just build a space”.

The creation of digital environments for the performers is a common practice? Or the scenes are mostly filmed in real settings? 

Virtual Reality is in such an early stage, it’s difficult to call anything ‘common practice.’ Primarily, the backdrops are real locations, though shooting with green screen to provide an entirely virtual environment is something you’ll see more and more of in the months ahead.

The Wired article adds that if you’re standing at the edge of a skyscraper in VR and you lean over the side, you experience vertigo: “If you’re in a darkened corridor on an alien spaceship and you hear a rustle behind you, you freak the fuck out—full, heart-pounding fight-or-flight response. If you’re sitting in a musician’s apartment while he noodles on a piano, his dog sleeping behind you on the hardwood floor, you feel serene (…) The big question is whether sexual content in VR will induce the same reptile-brain response”.

It is possible to say actual technology is very close to trigger that reaction in porn VR? Or the industry needs more years of research to reach that level? Which are the main users’ complaints when they use this technology?

It’s already there. It was already there before VR. Porn does not function to impart wisdom, explore literary motifs, or inspire one to tackle phonemic transcription. It addresses and satisfies a base urge, a hunger. It triggers that immediate response; in a VR environment, even more so. I don’t say that to undercut the value of VR relative to porn. VR evangelists, innovators, everyone with a stake in VR recognizes the power of porn, the importance of porn in the VR space. At this point, porn, more than gaming, for example, shows how starkly different VR is from 2D entertainment. It graphically illustrates the difference, and signals what lies ahead.

Users primarily take issue with the tech—the limitations of the hardware. For example, the screen door effect. Initially, there were more complaints of VR sickness. That’s largely a thing of the past though, owing to increased frame-rates. We look forward to the feedback as higher-end devices—the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, for example—begin shipping to consumers.

From that point of view: Which are the main technical difficulties right now to create VR content and viewing it? It is true that even the size of a small demo is about 3,5 gigabytes or more? What kind of cameras are being used? This kind of content is developed more for the mobile users or for desktop users?

Most VR is shot with GoPro cameras at this point. They’re far from ideal, and there is not a plethora of options. The cameras need to support Gen-Lock. They need to shoot at a minimum of 60 to 90 FPS, and the resolution needs to be gigantic. These requirements are satisfied by myriad camera rigs, but very few have a form factor slight enough to support the interaxial distance required for shooting stereoscopic video, which is essential for making the end-user feel like they’re in the scene.

The file sizes are indeed big. At BaDoinkVR, we offer formats for desktop-driven HMDs like Oculus Rift, as well as smartphone-driven HMDs like Gear VR and Google Cardboard. Sizes range from 2 gigs to 5 gigs, but these are 15 to 20-minute scenes on average.

The SXSW panelists said there are two kinds of virtual reality porn: recorded material and live, where “cam girls” interact with users who are wearing headsets.  Do you think the second one has more potential in terms of engagement and emotional bond? It is true many of those who go after the “cam girls” option just want to talk?

Any time you’re able to interact with someone in a live environment, you’re more engaged, and there’s greater potential for developing an emotional bond. This isn’t to say that the cam girl experience is the superior VR experience, it’s just a different one—in much the same way that live cam networks have been a unique, and enormously popular adult entertainment product for the past 15 years. Fans are drawn to the live-cam niche for many reasons; direct interaction with a live person is key.

According to The Guardian, Dinorah Hernandez, content manager for BaDoinkVR, said although watching porn is usually an impulse, her users “needed to invest a lot into VR: ordering a VR viewer, wait for it to arrive in the post, then waiting 20 minutes for the sizeable film to download”. 

From that point of view: Giving away thousands of VR goggles is a good strategy? Do you think Pornhub’s strategy will be replicated by other sites?

Absolutely agree with Ms. Hernandez’s assessment. The biggest challenge to VR isn’t the tech limitations, it’s marketing. It needs to be experienced. Nothing you can say or show in 2D can impart the power of VR. In spite of all the hoopla and excitement surrounding virtual reality, a recent survey showed that only 1/3rd of the public are aware that VR headsets exist. So giving away goggles is a huge help. BaDoinkVR gave away thousands last summer. New York Times gave away more than a million. Coca-Cola is changing its packing so consumers can fold it into VR headsets. Our collaboration with PornHub on a goggle giveaway is a huge step forward. They are among the biggest distribution platforms in the world. This promotion helps increase consumer awareness and uptake even more. More people experience VR as a result. More people ‘get it.’

Fabien Grey of AliceX suggested on the SXSW panel that soon augmented reality technology (AR) will be used with VR, meaning that a porn star would appear to be in your bedroom – or any other scenario the viewer chose. Do you think that will be the future of this technology in the porn industry? Or we could see what some experts call “teledildonics” or similar technologies?

Mr. Grey is correct. Integration with AR is inevitable. The technology will ultimately make it possible, and if the question is ‘Do you want a porn star to appear in your room?’ the answer for many consumers will be a resounding, ‘Yes.’ Teledildonics is already a reality. Kiiroo is a big player in that area, and BaDoinkVR is already working on integration. At the end of the day, the goal with virtual reality is to achieve ‘telepresence,’ or total immersion in a virtual environment. That’s not possible with sight and sound alone. Those are only two of the five senses. Teledildonics, haptic technology, addresses a third: touch.