This interview was for SexTech Magazine and was a follow-up to an earlier interview. It asked the question; What happened to Virtual Reality in the adult industry. VR seemed to have a very brief moment of popularity and then just disappeared. It's an interesting read

1) You released Empowering Ava 360 porn in 2016, why did you decide to make it in the first place?

I was drawn to VR as a new and different storytelling medium, one that allows for experimentation and discovery. I was inspired to explore VR in part by experiencing a VR film called “The Bombing of London” at the Kaleidoscope VR Showcase at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas that same year. It got me thinking about immersive storytelling and the many ways you can enhance storytelling in a 360 environment. It also got me thinking about the challenges of creating VR content, how differently you need to treat things like sound. For instance, let’s assume that someone is running past the viewer, the sound needs to reflect that. Those footsteps need to grow louder as they approach and then become quieter. It’s a whole different world than traditional filmmaking in some ways.

The thing that doesn’t change when I’m making a VR film as opposed to a traditional one is the centrality of the story, plot, and characters. I’m not going to make a VR film just for the sake of it; the story and what I’m trying to communicate must lend themselves to VR – and vice versa – for it to make sense to do.

2) Have you made any more VR content since then? why, or why not?

Not yet, primarily because I haven’t made a film since then that seemed like a good fit with VR. As mentioned above, I don’t want to do a VR film just to check off a box or come up with a story that fits the VR context just to do it. When it happens organically, the next time I have an “Ah-hah!” moment and realize something I’m developing would benefit from being rendered as VR film, then I’ll do another.

3) What benefits do you see adult VR having on women?

Well, that depends on who is making the film. Most of the adult VR content I see out there seems to be made with male viewers in mind (as is most porn, generally), so for it to benefit women, or be particularly appealing to women, I think the filmmaker has to have that intent from the start. I also think it’s a little tricky to think of things that way; women’s tastes in erotica vary just as much as men’s do, and it can be a bit of a trap to think “I’m going to make something women will enjoy,” as though there’s some simple, universal thing that women like.