Unbounded Experience

What sets 360° film apart?

One of the most important characteristics of 360° film is that the image doesn’t have the same boundaries as standard cinema screens and monitors. This allows for immersion in virtual worlds that, under certain circumstances, the viewer can become a part of. The viewers themselves decide where they want to look and what objects or actions they want to pay attention to. 360° films offer a greater degree of freedom and autonomy than conventional cinema.

360° film facilitates immersion in worlds that is capable of producing deep experiences not too dissimilar to real-world experiences. Reflexes can be triggered and the body reacts to the virtual simulations, going beyond the responses elicited by conventional films. Events shown in a 360° film can also be experienced at much closer quarters.

360° film furnishes authors with a narrative method that doesn’t only dictate a predetermined sequence of precisely framed images. Worlds of detail can be discovered independently; information can be offered up in more open sequences. Viewers can be immersed in unfamiliar worlds. An array of individual interpretations becomes possible; the elements of a story can be supplied piece by piece.

At the design level, the unbounded space of 360° film also presents authors with serious challenges. How do you construct a plot narrative when you can’t predict what the viewers are going to do? How do you convey important plot information in this open form? How do you generate dramatic tension in these settings? What methods and parameters are available for directing users' attention within such settings?

360° film technology essentially allows you to switch from one space to another in the bat of an eyelid. But, in practice, it becomes clear that these rapid transitions from one ‘world’ to the next present major difficulties. Directors often use slow and soft transitions, passing through black. Still, past work has shown that there are several other options for transitions, some of which can be stimulating and exciting. After all, the medium is still in its infancy and there are no established rules.

An ideal viewer experience is only possible with a head-mounted display (HMD) and a good pair of headphones. But the image resolution on the monitors we use is still limited and built-in headphones on most HMDs are generally not great, which imposes limitations on the experience. Facial expressions, for example, are only partially visible in many films, and the spatial perception of topically placed sounds is limited.

It also takes the viewer more time to adjust to a 360° film than to conventional films. It takes time and space to adapt to new worlds and assimilate the freedoms of independent exploration.

Although there are new possibilities, the limits with this medium quickly become apparent. For example, in 360° film, the recipient can freely choose the direction of view, but the camera position and the image reception location is predetermined. There is no possibility to change the location or to move around in space independently, as is possible in 'real' 6 degrees of freedom VR applications, for example. Thus, the supposed free space in 360° films is limited again, despite the fact that the picture frame is not present.