This sounds a lot like “vamping” in concert/stage performance, except you’re waiting for the user to do something instead of another performer.
Of course when a performer needs a moment that’s still something that will take a finite, somewhat controlled period of time. With a player that may not be the case… are there any strategies you can share to overcome this?
Well it depends on the scenario I guess. You can do hits trough dialog, or the character can throw something in a direction making the player look for that direction… you can maybe play a 3D sound, etc.
I’ve seen developers play with both the vibration as well as audio queues while trying to get a user to look at a specific scenario or interact with something in the scene.
I like the idea of segmenting the story and allowing the viewer to choose the pace. Imagine scenes taking place in front of the viewer, after each scene a choice is given to click ahead, go on to the next stage or allow the viewer to linger in the setting and look around. Maybe even explore some new rooms or clues to better understand the plot of the story.
That way, people that just want a straight ahead movie-type experience can get on with the story. Or, someone that wants to look around a cool setting can also do so. Sort of a customized cinema experience.
If budget and time allows, it could be nice to have options for the viewer to make a decision that influences the story. This is where it gets interesting, but also more game-like, think choose your own adventure. The advantage is an immersive experience where the user is involved in the story outcome, but it also means much more work to develop these alternative scenarios.
We had a little post-Sundance press event & panel at the SF offices a week or two ago, and co-founder of Baobab Larry Cutler mentioned that they’ve been taking cues from other art forms to help with that challenge of directing a viewer’s gaze. An example he used was that magicians have all these various techniques for directing your gaze – if you want someone to look at you, you look directly at them. And if you look directly at a thing, people will naturally follow your gaze to see what you’re looking at. I thought that was pretty interesting!
It’s cool how you can play with people’s already learned behaviors when it comes to reacting to even just audio cues. I’m sure if I heard the sound of a bicycle bell ringing behind me while in VR, my body would react by instinctually moving to the side and turning my head to look behind me. That’s something you can’t really get in a traditional game or film.
That sounds intriguing! Can you share the name of the project so we can keep an eye out for it?
Not yet. Soon hopefully 
VR films will be a successful alternative when we use "Octane rendering within the Unity timeline that can render with photorealistic quality. I wish that all other rendering software can be available in the asset store.List of rendering software: List of 3D rendering software - Wikipedia
I really find this a interesting topic, and would love to see more search around this subject. Me and some classmates did a paper on VR and storytelling a year ago. Where we did some interviews with people at Fido (Swedish VFX company) and some other more VR specific companies. asked the questions:
What are some difficulties you could be facing when producing VR movies for a feature format?
In which interactive way do filmmakers use VR for feature film?
How would you tell a story and direct the viewer’s attention when there is a 360° field of view according to the experts?
Im gonna check with my teacher if I can post the paper here, or link to it. The paper isn’t finished (a section in it wasn’t developed enough. And also English isn’t our main language, but the paper is written in English.
Also with VR you has more capacity. You can make multi films that run at the same time all together in the same scene telling different story telling (“MultiStoryTelling” or “MultiStory”) at the same time. As for example, Alien and Predator that in the last scene merge together in Alien vs Predator…
…and where they want to be without forcing them.
You are still trying to tell a story, so if you don´t “force” the viewer to make them look where you want them to look, they will miss important moments in the story that could destroy the meaning that you trying to say. With sound and movement you can make the viewer look where you want them to look, without them realizing it the first time.
I would like to know more what you mean with telling different stories, like multiStory telling, how would that work inside a 360 movie?
You are correct and I agree: They can suffer from vertigo or suffer by looking exolife alien. They can move back can hit something or fall down. VR is a strong tool must be used in a careful way. So one solution for this is to put the spectator viewer (after miss important moments) in a safe place with other spectators (in the film) where can talk and exchange, explain experiences about what is happening before moving to the next step of the story. Transforming the spectators in participants [using multiplayer]. It can be a car, a plane, a restaurant, a jail. VR can be so immersive that you need to give the option to escape or, if the feeling is to intense… ! And new solutions to this problems will pop up long the way.
You are looking 360 movie as a universe bubble (with one bubble). You can have more than one 360 bubble that separates and merge in the story line.
Wouldn’t a step like that take away the immersion for the viewer from the film, if you “take a break” to talk to other viewers. If that is what you mean with multiplayer? I do like the idea tho for being there as a participant inside a movie, but the characters then need to involve me as a viewer. Or it would feel like im a ghost talking a spot inside a car with no one talking or looking at me haha.
Oh right didn’t think of that.You could say that you have one giant bubble with smaller bubbles inside, each characters its own little bubble with their own “story”.
Here is a link to the google doc, paper we did for school.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kHfSrtEr8T-sIgVxZO4PgFoX78g4-n5hM8UkJDCg_Cw/edit?usp=sharing
Yes, exactly; Remember that each participant is not looking to a main screen but has it’s own VR. Each VR is one reality. Since GPU and CPU will render photo realistic in the future, allows you to improvise new bubble solutions for the film in real-time. Multiplayer let you be in the car with other viewers, talk to them and exchange data: Transforming the spectators in participants [using multiplayer] can talk and exchange, (what you miss before) “take a break” while superman (or main character) flies around or the robot pilot marks warnings without braking the story. In this way participants give you the feedback that you are missing since in 360 degrees there is a lot to look around. The main scene can happen mostly in front in relationship of how is seating or standing. All or parts of the film is rendered in real-time and depend if is a 360 bubble or GameObjects. Because a combination works well for including the mesh of the participants characters that are included in the film. (And will be all finish scanned 3d.) 
That’s really good way to think about it, also very exhausting for my brain haha. Imagine going to the cinema with 50 other people, during a “loading” time you sitt and share experiences in a bus, the people who forget their phones on during a movie will become the people talking shit during the break haha. Have you done any VR stuff? 
This is a really interesting topic and something I’ve been myself wondering for a while. I’ve been working in Feature Films for a long time (visual effects) and I haven’t experienced a VR movie yet that really exploits what VR really has to offers imho. All the VR shorts I’ve watched so far still use a language laid down my movies, which doesn’t necessarily work. Let me explain what I mean. When you make a traditional movie, you know that your audience will be looking at a screen, and you work within that space to tell your story. And within that frame, you carefully design your movie so you always make sure the audience is focusing at what you want them to focus on (using common tricks like composition and depth of field). VR is a totally different medium and, I think, much better because it is a one-on-one experience - so instead of creating a movie that will be seen by hundreds at the time (in the case of movie theatre), you have this intimate relationship with your viewer. You have his/her attention on a personal level.
I personally think that VR movies will be interesting when they start exploiting that aspect of the medium. Additionally, the strength of the medium is also that you can generate it in real-time. Instead of being passive your movie can suddenly become active - what about a story that adapts to your audience on a personal level?
I could talk about this topic for hours as it is something I’m passionate about. In the last game I published, I tried to explore ways to analyze the viewer’s gaze and to unfold events based on that information. It is however a game and not really a movie or short, but I’d love to see VR shorts using similar techniques.