Stories for I, They and You: Exploring In-situ Virtual Camera Setups for Live Streaming in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality live streaming (VR streaming) is becoming increasingly popular as an entertainment medium, but its unique aspects of virtual camera usage remain underexplored. This paper presents a two-phase study investigating how VR streamers currently use virtual cameras to create engaging content for viewers on 2D displays. We first analyzed 8 popular Twitch streamers’ videos totaling 2625 minutes to identify common virtual camera usage. Then, we interviewed 10 media experts all with about 10+ years of professional experience to derive design considerations for VR streamers and design implications for future developers. We also proposed the Immersion Triangle, a conceptual framework to analyze and explore the concept of immersion within VR streaming context. Our findings highlight VR streaming as a novel mass media format that can offer new perspectives on both VR and live streaming. This study also suggests opportunities for future research to enhance interactions between streamers and their viewers.