INSTEAD of just sitting back and watching a murder mystery movie, wouldn’t it be more fun to actually join in the sleuthing and hunt for clues?

Dong Yuanhui, CEO of VRision Film, is providing audiences that chance in a 15-minute virtual reality film entitled “Detective.” It will be shown at an exhibition accompanying this month’s 2016 Shanghai International Film and TV Festival.

Indeed, this summer’s festival explores a new dimension to the old dream of “being in the movies.” In the digital age, film viewers are no longer just passive watchers.

Virtual reality cinema will be a highlight of the film festival, which runs from June 11-19. Movie buffs will be able to experience the sensory perceptions — even smells — of actually being in the films by wearing special headsets.

The new technology is wending its way into movies, television, music, gaming and social media, changing the way we entertain ourselves. And it’s not just entertainment; it’s big business.

Goldman Sachs estimates that revenue in the virtual reality industry will hit US$80 billion in the next decade as smartphones, glasses, games and other devices become increasingly commonplace.

This year’s film festival will include an exhibition showcasing the latest developments in virtual reality technology. This includes the festival’s first-ever virtual reality promotional video, starring Chinese mainland actress Tao Hong.

In April, at a “Warcraft” theme exhibition, virtual reality gave visitors the sensation of riding a griffin along with King Llane flying through the kingdom of Azeroth.

Movie buff Jeffrey Qiu, a Shanghai administrator in his 30s, was thrilled by what he saw at the “Warcraft” exhibition.

“For me it was an amazing experience to become part of the story and interact with all the familiar characters,” he says.

Such enthusiasm is the backbone of a blossoming industry.

“It is a technology that can achieve mass application in China,” Dong says. “A short virtual reality film isn’t as costly or time-consuming to produce as many people imagine.”

He says a 15-minute film like “Detective” would cost between 300,000 yuan (US$46,154) and 500,000 yuan. It took him and his team three months to produce. Copyrights have already been sold in Europe and North America.

“Domestic studios lag behind their foreign counterparts, not so much in technology as in content and storytelling,” Dong says. “In Europe and America, virtual reality technology is not developed just for commercial purposes.”

His studio is studying various business models, including the production of tailor-made virtual reality content for the tourism, car, and fashion industries.

At this year’s event, virtual reality animation studio Baobab will present its first animated short entitled “Invasion,” helmed by “Madagascar” director Eric Darnell. It tells the story of an alien invasion on Earth.

Maureen Fan, CEO of Baobab Studios, says virtual reality opens new vistas of imagination and helps local producers compete with animation giants like Walt Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks.

The risk in adopting the new technologies, she says, is that basic storytelling techniques will be overlooked.

“A good original story still weighs much more than technology,” she says. “Based on two-dimensional sequences, we create virtual reality environments, scenes and special effects. But it all has to start from a good script.”

Internet companies, video game makers, smartphone applications and film producers are all piling into the virtual reality realm.

International Data Corp is forecasting that shipments of virtual reality hardware will skyrocket in the next four years.

The hardware includes headsets and devices that create sensations of heat, mist, wind, and vibration during a film. In gaming, gunfights and science-fiction adventures are the most popular subjects.

Although virtual reality technology is mainly applied in the entertainment industry, analysts see huge potentials in other fields, including education, healthcare and retailing.

The technology already has been used to enable audiences to “climb” Mount Everest, experience the horror of the ebola virus, visit luxury dream houses and step into fantasy gaming worlds.

Zhang Jindong, president of Chinese retail giant Suning Group, recently announced plans to build 300 virtual reality hubs in China. Chinese mainland directors Zhang Yimou and Gao Qunshu are also well along with plans to shoot full-length feature films in virtual reality.

Fang Tong, founder of DreamUniversal 3D Technologies Inc and an expert in virtual reality technology, will attend the upcoming Shanghai International Film Festival, looking for potential new partners.

Still, Fang admits that it will be some time before virtual reality becomes commonplace in daily life.

The equipment needed to create it tends to be heavy and expensive. Sometimes virtual reality headsets make wearers dizzy.

“The appeal of virtual reality is the user’s interaction and connection with virtual scenes,” Fang explains. “I think VR will have extensive application in China and will bring fundamental changes to many industries.”

Movie buff Qiu, as a consumer, is excited by it all.

“I imagine a time when we can sit with friends watching a virtual reality film and experience together our interactions with the plot and characters,” he says.

Festival exhibition lets you see inside the new cinematography

Virtual reality enthusiasts won’t want to miss the accompanying exhibition at the Global Harbor mall during the 2016 Shanghai International Film and TV Festival.

About 30 virtual reality shorts from around the world will be screened, and classic episodes of Hollywood blockbusters and video games will be featured.

Wearing 3D headsets, audiences can experience fantasy worlds, car racing, flying, swimming, and performing on stage. In effect, they can become a character in a story.

Also on offer will be virtual reality displays of the musical “War Horse,” of house demolitions, of the lives of nomads, and promotional clips from variety shows.

Professionals will be on hand to demonstrate how virtual reality films are shot and give some visitors the chance to participate.

In his new animated short “Invasion,” director Eric Darnell allows audiences to play the role of a leading character and interact with aliens in the story.

Domestic Internet platform Youku will present the short drama “Black Fairy Tale,” a virtual reality look at the complexity of humanity.

“Raven,” co-produced by Youku and Reload Studios, surveys the devastation of environmental degradation and allows audiences to embark on a space expedition to search for a new home.

The virtual reality game “Solar Citizen,” produced by Hippo Animation, requires players to fix the escape capsule on a spacecraft within a limited time before an explosion on board.

“Burner Man,” a sci-fi short novel by Liu Cixin, has been adapted into a romantic virtual reality film about a young man’s endeavors to save the life of his lover.