Rhythmic interaction in VR: interplay between sound design and editing

Cinematic virtual reality is a new and relatively unexplored area in academia. While research in guiding the spectator's attention in this new medium has been conducted for some time, a focus on editing in conjunction with spectator orientation is only currently emerging. In this paper, we consider rhythm as an important element in guiding attention. Starting with the possibility of applying some concepts from rhythm-action games to virtual reality, we discuss specific film editing and rhythmic interaction design techniques that can be used in cinematic virtual reality. We provide a background in rhythm perception, and complement it with applications in traditional editing. Through the notion of multimodal listening we provide guidelines that can be used in rhythmic and sonic interaction design in VR.