Stage designers must always monitor sightlines. Unlike a designer's sketch, a virtual setting enables me to occupy any seat in the house, checking the sightlines. Moreover, I easily move from a seat on the right side of the orchestra to another in the left side mezzanine. Even a traditional scale model does not depict sightlines as accurately or as easily as a virtual model. It is often just too difficult to get one's eyes into the proper position.
Virtual settings produce an accurate impression of size and proportion.
This is very important in the theatre where objects are not always rendered realistically. In a traditional sketch or model it is difficult to convey the preciousness of undersized furniture or the monumental quality of towering scenery. Immersive interfaces like a HMD, however, appropriately allow virtual scenery to loom over an observer or set pieces to charm with their daintiness. To heighten this effect, it is important that the designer place a human figure within each virtual setting to serve as a measurement standard. Lighting is a another production element greatly enhanced through the use of virtual settings.