LED-VP is now mainstream in high-end studios, yet the capital cost of real-time volume stages renders training with this technology prohibitively expensive. Most film institutions simply cannot afford to build one LED-VP set for their students. This paper explores an alternative solution to the training of LED-VP by developing a virtual counterpart. However, significant challenges arise in simulating a virtual environment where students can operate in an LED-VP. Our study proposes the virtual environment of LED-VP, a virtual reality Collaborative Learning (VRCL) system. We developed an interface featuring visual symbols, namely MetaCineMoji , for film operation to facilitate smooth communication and learning processes in LED-VP workflows. MetaCineMoji demonstrates the feasibility of multi-person collaborative learning in a virtual filming studio, translating film set communication to visual symbols for lighting design, scene construction, and collaborative work with key stakeholders, e.g., directors, cinematographers, and gaffers. We explore the impact of the film-operation interfaces containing visual symbols on social interaction factors within the virtual studio. We conducted evaluations with 24 participants. Our findings show that our system equipped with the film-operation interface, enabled by visual symbols, significantly enhances social interaction among learners and results in significantly higher learning outcomes than systems without the interface. • MetaCineMoji VR system enables collaborative LED production training, significantly enhancing team communication and learning outcomes. • Visual symbols in MetaCineMoji streamline film set operations, facilitating efficient role-based interactions among directors, cinematographers, and gaffers. • Participants using MetaCineMoji reported improved workflow understanding, and strengthened team presence compared to non-symbolic systems.

Support for story character construction is as essential as characters are for stories. Building upon past research on early character construction stages, we explore how conversation with chatbot avatars embodying characters powered by more recent technologies could support the entire character construction process for creative writing. Through a user study (N=14) with creative writers, we examine thinking and usage patterns of CharacterMeet, a prototype system allowing writers to progressively manifest characters through conversation while customizing context, character appearance, voice, and background image. We discover that CharacterMeet facilitates iterative character construction. Specifically, participants, including those with more linear usual approaches, alternated between writing and personalized exploration through visualization of ideas on CharacterMeet while visuals and audio enhanced immersion. Our findings support research on iterative creative processes and the growing potential of personalizable generative AI creativity support tools. We present design implications for leveraging chatbot avatars in the creative writing process.

Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive medium that offers users a unique opportunity to experience a digital environment realistically. As the demand for VR content continues to grow, the importance of effective VR editing techniques becomes increasingly apparent. This paper is a pioneering work investigating the effects of jump cuts on the viewer’s sense of presence, viewing experience, and edit quality in cinematic VR. Specifically, this work focuses on using the 30-degree and 180-degree rules in VR editing to minimize the adverse effects of jump cuts. We conducted a user study with thirteen participants, who watched nine different VR edits and completed a survey for each edited video. Our results indicate that employing the 30-degree and 180-degree rules in VR editing can significantly improve the sense of presence, viewing experience, and edit quality while mitigating the negative effects of jump cuts. We provide valuable insights for VR content creators and editors to achieve more effective and immersive VR experiences.

On-body menus present a novel interaction paradigm within Virtual Reality (VR) environments by embedding virtual interfaces directly onto the user’s body. Unlike traditional screen-based interfaces, on-body menus enable users to interact with virtual options or icons visually attached to their physical form. In this paper, We investigated the impact of the creation process on the effectiveness of on-body menus, comparing first-person, third-person, and mirror perspectives. Our first study ( N = 12) revealed that the mirror perspective led to faster creation times and more accurate recall compared to the other two perspectives. To further explore user preferences, we conducted a second study ( N = 18) utilizing a VR system with integrated body tracking. By combining distributions of icons from both studies ( N = 30), we confirmed significant preferences in on-body menu placement based on icon category ( e.g. , Social Media icons were consistently placed on forearms). We also discovered associations between categories, such as Leisure and Social Media icons frequently co-occurring. Our findings highlight the importance of the creation process, uncover user preferences for on-body menu organization, and provide insights to guide the development of intuitive and effective on-body interactions within virtual environments.

Virtual reality (VR) technology has been used for educational purposes in different learning contents during teaching and training. VR could improve users’ learning efficiency and motivation to study abstract concepts. This work designed a VR environment for chemistry education to support computer-mediated hands-on exercises, including Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) and Electrode sheet fabrication (ESF). In our evaluation with 39 participants who wore heart beat measurement wearables, we compared the students’ performances in hands-on chemistry tasks, either with or without score-keeping and time-sensitive conditions. Accordingly, we designed questionnaires reflecting sixteen qualitative aspects (e.g., content, perspicuity, and interaction) and perceived user workloads. The experimental results indicate participants’ preferences and attitudes in terms of efficiency and sense of safety. 94.87% of participants reported that the learning simulator could improve learning efficiency, and 92.31% of the participants indicated that it can improve their sense of safety. The results of the data analysis show that the different learning scenarios we simulated have positive significance. Our findings shed light on the quality and learning performance of operational skills for chemistry education.