Stepping Back When Moving Forward: What 360 Directors Can Learn From Theater
There has been much discourse over the course of film production. Especially since the introduction of 360 film. But, there is no need to scour through strings and strings of tangled tantrums.
Just stop what you’re doing and read this: Here are some of the positives and/or challenges of being a 360 film director.
When constructing narratives, directors are experienced in the realm of reconstructing past eras or inventing new ones. However, this spatial manipulation is rather constrained in traditional filmmaking. For instance, let us imagine a cliché director in a cliché setting. Pretend Martin Scorsese (who is so cliché that Microsoft Word had spell check support him) dropped his mafia flicks and picked up an interest in western films. Scorsese would invest time, energy, and cogitation into making a single shot from a single snippet of his film authentically western. Scorsese’s’ prop master would devour the internet in search of: Horses, Tumbleweeds, and vintage alcohol containers to bring to life what died so long ago. His camera would zoom into one particular corner of one particular room in one particular setting. This corner would have to be 100% authentic. It would look and feel real to both the director and to the viewer. Traditional Hollywood cinema would allow this. It would make this so. The biased and limited camera would only film what was deemed worthy of being filmed. That one shot. That one shot adorned to the brim with elements essential to convincing the consumer that this film occurred when it takes place. The main difference between traditional film directing and 360 film comes in the form of situational execution. By this I mean that the situation created is no longer narrowed down to one shot.
A prop master must amplify their efforts (and budget) to really create a historical space. As we now know, a 360 camera captures all that is everything that is the space the characters inhabit. So immersiveness is bidirectional. In order to immerse a viewer, one must immerse an actor. And to immerse an actor one must create an immersive space. The only logical parallel between this futuristic medium can be found in our historical history.
Turn back into the pages of history and find a page etched in long ago. On stone tablets are the theatrical inscriptions scripted into the evolution of our narrative mediums. In theater, one is forced to dress the location in the robes that reflect an actor’s roles. In order to convince a crowd, thought must trickle into every element of every inch of that stage. Ironically, the directions that direct the potential of theater must be brought into 360 film. The same applies to actors. Since 360 films lack the innovations brought forth by traditional film (like the close up) the right actors must be used to bring the viewer into the story. Small actions 3–4 feet away from the camera will not work. They will not be read in the way they are supposed to. Loud actions are needed. Theater actors are necessary to facilitating the transition between plain viewership and narrative immersion. These types of performers are essential to producing the effects essential to crafting a tale’s consumption. They also work in another way. And instead of wondering what that way is just read this sentence and the next one.
Theatrical performers (or Richo Thetarical performers) are also better at acting for longer periods of time. Recently, we’ve witnessed film shots evolve into longer lengths of time. These takes are perceived as artistic and directively complicated. This is true but it is more true in 360 film. The luxurious amenities that come with a traditional film camera no longer exist. Long takes are all that the 360 film director has to work with. When filming in 360, one cannot just cut to a close up in the middle of a complex scene. Instead, a director must ensure that the story’s flow stays intact during the long take that is every 360 film shot. Storyboards, in 360 film, are reduced to complex interactions that do not hold the produced prerogatives of Hollywood filmmaking. Scenes must last as long as the moments they supposedly represent. So, the organic factor that is usually used to make films immersive becomes hyper-accentuated. Scenes last longer, therefore forcing actors and writers to create spaces and places that seem more realistic. Filmic time becomes real time. The walls that separate viewers from and executed script are literally (figuratively) gone. This is why stage performers are essential to building the necessary 360 filmic environment. In fact, the tools traditional actors are equipped with are perfect for building an engaging scene. Enticing and enthusiastic actions act as magnets. They help direct the viewer’s eyes where a 360 director would want them to move in.
Here’s the thing (and remember this): Controlling a viewer’s gaze is no problem when you have an engaging story. There is no difference between keeping a TV viewer glued to the screen and a VR viewer looking where they are supposed to look. Our evolutionary roots have waxed away our distractions to ensure that we look whenever there is sound or motion. We turn our heads when a sound warrants it. We turn our heads when motion moves us. 360 directors only need to position storylines into a zigzag of irresistible images. A good story guides gaze. A bad story will force a viewer into looking around and around the frame in search of a distraction. A bad story will force a viewer into searching for something around a TV. A bad tale will subliminally tell a traditional viewer to think of their day. Real stories are immersive. The medium is not the message. The content is. The content has the power to keep a consumer content. Without a good nutritious product there is nothing for you to sacrifice your time for. Without this the film is without you. And the symbiotic creativity necessary to creating an immersive story will not work. These are a few of the insights into the sight that comes with looking into the future of narrative immersion. Look there. And help viewers view this. Don’t let these distractive debates distract you.
By: Chris Vinan
Originally published at immersivefilm.wordpress.com on October 20, 2016.
