Different Narrative Perspectives
Point of View Determines The Depth of Immersion.
Like conventional films, 360° films can also be narrated from various perspectives or points of view (POVs). The viewing equipment – a head mounted display – allows for a range of potential proximities and distances, which in turn gives rise to major differences in how viewers perceive and engage with the film.
Imagine a film narrative that focuses on the inner life of a house. In a conventional film, viewers would discover the interior of the house through a window or in a series of interior shots. But with a 360° film, viewers are placed inside the house and can choose which actions or scenes they want to follow. This ability to choose, which comes close to the way we perceive things, increases the plausibility of the illusion and conveys a sense of ‘really’ being there. This is a significant advance on conventional film, but it also has major implications for how stories are narrated. Viewers will ask, ‘What am I doing here? What’s my role in this world?’ A 360° film needs to answer these questions at an early stage.
The Subjective Point of View
In this form, the author narrates from the first-person perspective. The viewer is integrated into the setting as protagonist. The surroundings react as though the viewer were in the film. Some 360° films make use of artificial bodies and special camera rigs which can be attached to actors’ heads. These can help create an even greater sense of participation in the film.
Film still from ‘First Impressions: a virtual experience of the first year of life’ | Guardian VR, 2017. In this production, the view of a newborn baby is 'simulated'.
Artificial bodies, or avatars, can be used for various purposes: to create re-enactments of events involving the protagonist; to narrate plots from various subjective POVs, as in a role-reversal story, for instance; and also for horror movies, where the shock factor can be made even greater because it is ‘experienced’ from a first-person perspective.
Subjective Narrative Perspectives without Artificial Bodies
The film Notes on Blindness uses this POV to put the viewer into the position or perspective of the blind protagonist. The action is seen through the eyes of the protagonist.
Film still from ‘Invisible Man’ | Hugo Kejizer, 2018. Example of subjective POV as a ‘victim’ in a threatening situation.
The Observer Point of View
This category includes 360° films where the viewer follows the action as a passive bystander and is recognized as such by the environment. This passive participation can be acknowledged by glances, dialogues with the camera, on-screen text or off-screen voices. These elements serve to acknowledge and integrate viewers in the virtual space. This makes them feel welcome and minimizes any sense of intrusion akin to having a tour guide show you around a museum or a city.
Examples of the observer point of view:
After Solitary. The main protagonist involves viewers by talking to them and explaining the space they’re moving around in.
Asteroids. Aliens on a spaceship visibly notice the viewer’s presence, though no body is seen.
Sensation of Sound. The main protagonist explains to viewers that she’s able to perceive music even though she’s deaf, and the POV then switches to the subjective perspective.
Further example: The Future of Music
Film Still from After Solitary | FRONTLINE, 2017. We, as the viewer, are involved by the main protagonist talking to us and explaining the details of the enclosed room he is in.
Film still from The Future of Music | Phenomena Labs, 2016. A supposed music legend ironically explains how he invented a musical genre and refers to visible details in the 360°space.
The objective POV (Non-Participating Person)
This category includes 360° films that don’t address the viewer directly – similar to the narrative perspective in conventional films.
Examples of the objective POV:
Intimate Strangers Chapter 1. The viewer is not addressed in this romantic drama.
The Pull. The viewer witnesses gravitational experiments and is only addressed via on-screen text.
Film still from Intimate Strangers | Lithic VR, 2016. An uninvolved, voyeuristic view from the wardrobe. In this relationship drama, no attention is paid to the viewer throughout the film.
Film still from The Pull | Quba Michalski, 2016. In this 360°film the viewer witnesses gravitational experiments and is only addressed via on-screen text.
Combinations
As with conventional film, 360° films can change their narrative perspectives. One example of this is «Real» (JauntVR, 2018). This film changes POVs and projection types. The present is shown in a flat, monoscope format, while the past is presented in stereoscope. The present is narrated from the objective POV, the past from the subjective POV.
From the field (research)
For the research project "Storytelling in 360°Film," various audience surveys were conducted. Diverse feedback from participants indicated that 360°films where avatars were used as representatives were often met with less acceptance by the audience. One of the reasons given was that this would simulate the possibility of interacting with the environment, which is in fact not possible in 360° films, as the viewers do not have any agency to change the course of the story. This situation seems to represent a phenomenon similar to sleep paralysis: a temporary inability to move or speak while being fully conscious that can occur upon waking or falling asleep. This may lead to a frustrating experience rather than the desired immersion intended by the filmmaker.
In contrast, positive feedback was received for 360°productions in which the viewer is perceived or treated as an 'observing person'. This is achieved by text cues, glances or dialogue from the actors towards the camera. We interpret this to mean that viewers are happy to be shown around by a guide, as they may have experienced when visiting a museum or a 360° theatre. They are aware of their role as participating visitors and adjust to it, even if interaction limitations with the guide and environment are still present.
Further information on the subject of POV