Chornobyl, documented in VR

Virtual reality has been a staple of the gaming industry for some time. But what if you make a documentary film that's truly immersive, 3D, and where the viewer controls the narrative?

That's the ambitious project called Chornobyl360, a new documentary in the works that merges VR and film to allow viewers to visit and learn about the site of the nuclear disaster, which happened 30 years ago.

Using the best available technologies from gaming, 3-D mapping, and immersive environments, Chornobyl360 will actually take the viewer into the site, and allow them to experience the stories and physical details as they choose, all while fully immersed in the world using virtual reality devices like Oculus Rift.

It's a new trend among ambitious filmmakers, and Scott Hayden, who writes for the website Road to VR, says the concept is a "game changer" in terms of the way we may come to view and make films. When viewers are immersed in their environment, they get to choose their focus points - not the director, as in traditional films.

"You have to let people have a sort of agency, or sovereignty, over their own attention," he says. Filmmakers will "really have to re-invent the wheel to latch onto peoples' attention."

Chornobyl360 is still raising funds on Kickstarter.

The success of the genre in general, Hayden says, will depend on the price of headgear VR devices like Oculus Rift coming down in price. "Then people are going to respond," he says.