ASSIGNMENT #4 – REVIEW DOCUMENT
These are a few XR works I watched, and a couple lessons/ideas I gained from them during my pre-production & research phase.
AWAVENA – Lynette Walworth
After watching Awavena, I learnt a couple of things. There were two main reasons it was so engaging and made for such a wonderful VR experience. Firstly, it was shot in a remote village in the Amazon forest, taking the viewer on a shamanic ritual into the wild forest. This is not only a place that is remote and exciting, but a truly unique and mind-bending experience. This experience and location is what makes the film so engaging, and a perfect example of how to use VR & 360 filmmaking. The other factor is the incredible visual effects created for the film, visualising the shamanic trip that the tribeswoman goes on. VR is the perfect vehicle for these incredible graphics.
These contribute to why I struggle to totally engage with making VR myself, as my filmmaking is less focused on taking the viewer somewhere new, or showing super high-tech CGI, so I find the format a little impractical as a media maker.
ASHES TO ASHES – Ligthart Schenk, Jamille van Wijngaarden and Steye Hallema
A strange little 360-video short, Ashes to Ashes places the viewer in the centre as a choreographed ‘scene’ takes place in front (and around) them, with the set moving around the camera. It seems from viewing it that the plot & narrative of the short comes second. The main goal is the viewer’s engagement and the creation of some ‘wow’ moments using the technology. The dialogue is vague and a little confusing for viewers coming in blind, and the most memorable parts are when the setting around you starts to transform and change, or when a certain action makes for an interesting effect, such as a pillow fight resulting in feathers flying around the room. Another thing I noticed is, due to the format limiting your options for things like lighting and audio, those things are hidden in plain sight within each setting. For example there are small circle windows in the walls of the first set, which upon inspection have cinematic lights on the outside of them. A clever way to get around using lights without them being too obviously placed into the scene.
THE INVISIBLE MAN – Hugo Keijzer
The Invisible Man is a 10-minute narrative story, with one setting, and 4 characters. The entire film takes place with just these elements. Although seemingly just like any other dialogue based short, the VR format really changes the concept from filmmaking, to theatre production. The audience can look anywhere they want, and you find yourself curiously searching the environment for clues or signs to help you understand the story. This really helped change my view of 360 dramatic filmmaking as less like a film and far more like theatre (which goes to show why I find 360-filmmaking so tedious and uninteresting to me compared to traditional filmmaking). You’re not creating shots, and lighting, and settings like you are with cinema, you are creating a scene, where the actors and dialogue comes first, just like theatre.