{"title":"From i-doc to VR experience: New forms of user engagement in immersive digital documentaries","authors":"Florian Mundhenke","doi":"10.1386/ncin_00003_1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Audience research proves that possibilities of interaction in i-docs are often not fulfilled by the user, who is not really part of a ‘work in progress’ (as intended by the makers). With the shift and development of new digital formats (360-degree-films, nonfictional VR\n experiences, AR apps), the question of the possible interactive potential should be addressed once again. Since VR projects are fully immersive (mostly using head-mounted displays), there is no possible distraction from outside on the one hand. On the other hand, there is a shift from the\n computer game style aesthetic of early i-docs, with their pure spatial arrangement of events, to a more inclusive digital storytelling modality with the user experiencing his own world-building. This will be discussed with taking into consideration the non-fictional VR experience as a mode\n of actively combining immersion and storytelling for a satisfactory user experience. Afterwards two very different examples of nonfictional VR production will be presented, and their modalities will be briefly touched; the utilized approach and its user response will be discussed. A look at\n the future of possible developments concludes the essay.","PeriodicalId":38663,"journal":{"name":"New Cinemas","volume":"17 1","pages":"37-48"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1386/ncin_00003_1","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"New Cinemas","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1386/ncin_00003_1","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Arts and Humanities","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Audience research proves that possibilities of interaction in i-docs are often not fulfilled by the user, who is not really part of a ‘work in progress’ (as intended by the makers). With the shift and development of new digital formats (360-degree-films, nonfictional VR
experiences, AR apps), the question of the possible interactive potential should be addressed once again. Since VR projects are fully immersive (mostly using head-mounted displays), there is no possible distraction from outside on the one hand. On the other hand, there is a shift from the
computer game style aesthetic of early i-docs, with their pure spatial arrangement of events, to a more inclusive digital storytelling modality with the user experiencing his own world-building. This will be discussed with taking into consideration the non-fictional VR experience as a mode
of actively combining immersion and storytelling for a satisfactory user experience. Afterwards two very different examples of nonfictional VR production will be presented, and their modalities will be briefly touched; the utilized approach and its user response will be discussed. A look at
the future of possible developments concludes the essay.