Virtual Reality remains an untapped power in popular entertainment media, but it’s already drawn huge investments from major companies like Disney and Facebook. And while its place in video games seems like a natural fit, the role of live-action VR in narrative-based storytelling remains to be seen.
One pair of documentary filmmakers, Eline Jongsma and Kel O’Neill (Jongsma + O’Neill), have recently gained attention for their newest project, “The Ark,” which uses VR technology to tell connected, overlapping stories simultaneously. The project could point to a natural path for storytelling in the immersive new medium.
“The Ark” centers around the world’s most endangered animal, the Northern White Rhinoceros (only four remain). It juxtaposes two conservation efforts separated by half a globe: one at the San Diego Zoo and the other at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy. The two storylines, which take drastically different approaches to keeping the rare white rhino alive, are told concurrently, allowing the viewer to alternate as they wish between the timelines.
Strategies for VR Storytelling: Juxtaposition and Immersion
“The Ark” represents one of two emerging trends in VR storytelling; both involve overwhelming the audience visually and allowing viewers to choose which details to pay attention to.
The trend exemplified by the “The Ark” brings together multiple storylines in a cohesive, overlapping format that allows for an interactive viewing experience, in that the viewer can choose when to pay attention to a particular storyline over another. For instance, Jongsma + O’Neill created a format for a previous project, “The Empire,” where the viewer watches two separate scenes stacked on top of one another. The top scene draws their focus, while the bottom scene is flipped upside down. The audio for the top screen is loud and clear, but the bottom scene can also be heard faintly in the background, making its presence constantly known. The viewer can then alternate the position of the scenes as they like.
The other type of narrative takes advantage of VR’s immersive quality, creating a 360-degree experience meant to replicate reality. Several mesmerizing projects already exist in this genre. One project, “EVEREST VR,” will use 300,000 high-res photos to recreate the experience of climbing Mt. Everest, with the added benefit of not having to risk freezing to death.
Another VR company, Alchemy, has partnered with Sir David Attenborough to create what promises to be a visually stunning wildlife documentary recreating living organisms over 500 million years ago. Here’s the first trailer for “First Life.”
A New Stage
Virtual reality’s reach may spread beyond film too. Earlier this month, Disney Theatrical Productions brought VR to the stage, hiring VR producers Total Cinema 360 to create an immersive video of the classic song “Circle of Life” from Disney’s broadway production of “The Lion King.”
The Los Angeles Times notes that theater, reliant on creating a live experience, has been reluctant to enter the recorded sphere of virtual reality, but Andrew Flatt, senior vice president of marketing for Disney Theatrical Productions, told the LA Times that the immersive capabilities of VR in conjunction with a live theater performance changed their sentiment.
“When we saw what was possible with VR, the reaction was unanimous. Anything that expands our reach we think is going to be beneficial for Broadway in the long run.”
Certainly productions like this won’t become the norm overnight, and it’s clear that this VR production was more of a marketing effort to draw audiences to the live show.
However, this production may hint at future collaboration between the stage and VR in the future. Although theater runs the risk of being exported through video, essentially fueling its own competition. Theater producers may be understandably reluctant to allow VR Broadway productions to grow too popular.
Challenges of VR Storytelling
The recipe for a successful VR narrative has yet to be pinned down. As “The Circle of Life,” “The Ark,” and “First Life” exemplify, there is a great deal of creativity flowing into the medium. However, others argue that the self-selecting viewer experience of VR narratives is inherently at odds with conventional didactic storytelling. In other words, narratives are supposed to have a message or a meaning that the audience is supposed to take away from the experience. VR narratives, because they allow viewers to focus on whatever aspect of the footage they want, can’t control exactly what the audience sees, experiences and takes away from the film.
Whether this will be true of lengthier, story-driven VR projects remains to be seen, but from watching “Circle of Life” and other captivating VR videos, it’s clear that just because we aren’t focusing on exactly what the creator predicts we will focus on, that doesn’t mean that the experience isn’t meaningful and entertaining.
As it stands, VR seems to promise unfocused yet immersive experiences, but judging by the amount of creativity, ingenuity, and, perhaps most importantly, money, going into virtual reality, it’s safe to say that we’re just at the tip of the iceberg with VR.
