VR Diaries: ‘Fight for Falluja’ Takes Viewers To New Places in Many Ways
The strongest part of the virtual reality story “Fight for Falluja” by the New York Times was how realistic the images of tanks, bombs and guns were. I lived in Hong Kong, where wars or conflicts that involve guns and bombs are basically non-existent. I could feel the threat in a closer sense and intense atmosphere as I was immersed into the environment of Fallujah.
The comparatively weaker part of the piece was when the car was driving through the streets in Falluja. I thought it was okay when there was narration that gave a sense of direction. Maybe I was expecting more intense imagery. I think that part of the piece didn’t fully utilize the characteristics of virtual reality.
The part that I remembered most was when the men went out to the field with their gear and I heard bombs and gunshots. As a viewer, listening to the gunshots sound, but not being able to get a closer look of what was actually happening made me anxious and helpless. I imagined what some of those fighters felt. I thought about what it would be like if I were one of them living in a war zone, standing behind the last line of defense and hearing bombs and gunshots every day not knowing what will happen. The uncertainty frustrated me.
I am not sure whether it was my eyesight or the device, but the image was slightly blurry. The headset was pretty heavy too, so I had to use my hand to keep it steady. I like the storytelling technique the reporters used. I think the piece had a good mix of intense feeling and easement. The bombing, gunshots and tanks were the most intense part. There was a part when the soldiers and reporters heard bomb going off and the reporters were scared and were laughed at by the soldiers. I think this part of the story served two purposes: It illustrated bombing has become an everyday thing for the Falluja soldiers; Adding a little humor into the piece eased the tension brought by the intense footage.
I think VR is a good format to be used when the environment is an unfamiliar one for the audience, or at least not easily accessible by the general public. I would watch more VR videos like this one. A war zone area is a new place I have never been and don’t have access to. I would be less interested in watching a video that shows me a crime scene of a burglary near my neighborhood. Virtual Reality stories require some sort of ‘traveling,’ from one space to another, or else the environment the viewer immerses in will be static. Such ‘travelling’ can be as simple as going out of the classroom and walking into a playground or basketball court, so the viewers can experience the change of environment.
I would avoid places with a lot of visual distractions because VR viewers can look around and be overwhelmed. While journalists edit VR video, they should put the focal point directly in front of the viewer’s eyesight, without needing the viewer to turn left or right. Because of the very nature of VR and the way viewers can control where to look, they may get distracted by other things going on away from the focal point.
A limitation of VR video is that it is harder to achieve zoom and pan movements. For example, during the shot of the soldiers and the reports driving along the street in Falluja, I had to turn my head around left and right to see the soldiers and reporters in the car. If I used a normal video camera, I will probably do a pan from the soldiers and reporters in the car to the wide shot of the street.
Overall, I enjoyed using the Samsung headset to watch VR videos. It allows a more immersive experience than Google cardboard. After watching “Fight for Falluja,” I am more sympathetic toward the people in the war zone area and want to learn more about the area and what is happening there.
