Carne y Arena: The Future of Documentary Filmmaking?

Virtual Reality has brought about new possibilities for documentary and film makers. Almost a decade ago Nonny de la Pena pioneered the use of VR for documentaries creating experiences about Hunger in LA, explosions in Syria and demonstrations at Planned Parenthood. As videogrammetry and VR toolkits have developed rapidly in the last few years mainstream film makers are now starting to use these technologies to take their filmmaking skills and connect with audiences on a whole new level.

Alejandro Inarritu’s Carne y Arena is based on true accounts of immigrants and refugees. Using VR within a multi sensory experience it blurs the lines of spectator and subject. Individuals are equipped with a backpack and a headset to walk through the space and experience immigrants journeys first hand. We won’t ruin it by giving details, this is one to experience yourself.

For directors and producers progressing from simple sight and sound to multisensory VR is an exciting proposition. Inarritu says:

“My intention was to experiment with VR technology to explore the human condition in an attempt to break the dictatorship of the frame, within which things are just observed, and claim the space to allow the visitor to go through a direct experience walking in the immigrants’ feet, under their skin, and into their hearts.”

Currently this is seen as immersive art and is being shown at LACMA in Los Angeles. The only real problem right now is that only one person can experience it at a time. We hope you get your chance.

We’re starting to see VR being more widely adopted in filmmaking such as Alien In Utero in VR (scary), and journalism such as New York Times 360 (eye opening). Recognising this, the British Filmmakers Association, BAFTA, has launched a VR Advisory Group.

We expect to see more immersive documentaries, with an increase in location based experience such as Alien Zoo (which is more scalable having 6 in each group). And boy are we excited about it.