Immersive Video Production / Project 2 / 360° Video Short Film

14.10.2024 - 11.11.2024 (Week 4 - Week 8)
Elysa Wee Qi En / 0355060 / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Immersive Video Production
Project 2 / 360° Video Short Film

LECTURES

Week 5 / 360 Video Storytelling [2]

Native Storytelling 360

Agency = the freedom of the participant
            = none in 360 videos, but yes in VR

Immersion = the perception created by viewers surrounded by sound, visuals and stimuli

Presence = triggered by immersion 
               = achieved when viewer perceives that they are physically in the VR world
               = the sensation of being there 

Embodiment = doesn't really happen in 360, but yes in VR 
                       = the sense of having a body 
                       = especially when playing games with an avatar 

In 360 (compared to traditional media):

• Zero embodiment
• No agency
• Don't think of the consumer as the 'viewer' in 360 and VR content 
• Imagine that you are providing a 360 world for 'active participants'. They are going on a journey with you through this world that you have created. They go on their own experience.
• Expect human sensing and reactions, how they feel or react to it
• 'Where' is as/more important as 'who' or 'why'
• 'How' is the plot that the viewer is going to experience
  
• Don't think about 'stories', think about 'experiences'
• Better to stick to linear timelines 
• No flashbacks, keep it in present tense
• Event after event
• Construct an environment, let them sample it to build an understanding of their surroundings
  
• It's an active process
• Understand the user first

360 Video Idea Development

• The content creator is the 'experience provider'
• Narrow down the target audience 
• Short drama is possible, be sure of what experience you are targeting 
• Empathy and fear, for example
• Purpose of a drama is to evoke feelings of pity, fear and catharsis

Week 6 / 360 Video Storytelling [3]

• Normal 3 Act Structure doesn't work in 360 media 
• A 360 video shot in a library, for example, is already more impactful than an Act 1
• Viewers have to adapt to the 'new world' that they have entered, so make sure they have enough time (scenes not too short) 
• Viewers are not just seeing and watching the story unfold in front of them, so you have to let them sense or feel something that you have provided them 
• Viewers are not just there to see, but to feel 
• Viewers summarize the story afterward 
• Story is not provided in the three acts, but it can/will be summarised after the participants finished viewing it
• They are the ones who tell the story, not us 
• Make sure to decide who the participants are 
• A fly on the wall? A person? An object? 
• Who's/what point of view is it?
• What is/are their role(s) in the narrative?
• The objective is to create content that makes the viewers gain an emotional connection

You are the content creator, the viewers are the storytellers.

Week 6 / 360 Video Visualisation

• Instead of storyboards, we use blocking or a sceneboard
• Use visual elements to lead the viewer's eye to the Point Of Interest (POI) 
• Visual cue
• Light changes
• Action
• Contrast
• Distance 
• Viewers are more attentive to distances between 3 - 5 metres
• Sound cues 
• Remember that 360 videos are 'frameless' so framing is not a suitable method
• Have only one POI at a time, unless the narrative is moving at a fast pace 
• Basically don't have too many at a time
• They can be distracting
• Viewers may fear missing important information because they have so many places and directions to look in 
• Let it be by design and not a mistake
• Have your POI be more spread out among the full 360 degrees
• Let them be spread out by more than 90 degrees
• This leads/ encourages the viewer to browse the surroundings
• Let them look around, it's a 360 video after all
• Give the viewers time to recognise that they're in a different location/ looking from a different POV before you give them the next POI 
• Applies when changing scenes etc.
• Avoid motion sickness
• Happens in immersive videos 
• It happens when your bain receives conflicting signals about movement in the environment around you 
• When the camera moves at a faster pace than expected etc.

INSTRUCTIONS

Fig. 1. Module Information Booklet

Project 2: 360° Video Short Film

This project is meant to be an extension of the previous one. However, my lecturer and I agreed that my idea for the first project couldn't really be expanded further into a second project. Originally, I tried to brainstorm more original ideas that involved more experimentation with a 360 camera:

Brainstorming

- Maybe make one of those 'can you spot what changes in the video' things
- A suicide? First scene a rooftop (words 'There's no turning back now.' behind the 'person' so people will turn back around). Camera looks down and then, black. Clothes ruffling sound. Then second scene a shot of the person's bedroom, dark, only a lamp on the desk on with a suicide note written. Sirens. 

But these focused too much on storytelling rather than providing an experience for the viewer. So instead, we returned to my original ideas for Project 1. I wanted to convey the feeling of 'freedom', so we built upon that to create my final idea:

Final Idea

- A feeling of freedom through flying
Scene 1:
Camera is attached to a balloon and a person running around with it. Then the balloon is let go accidentally, and the person begins to chase after it.

Scene 2:
Balloon continues to fly further away and person is slowly giving up on chasing after it. Camera is now detached from the balloon to show both the person and the balloon.

Scene 3:
The camera is attached to a drone and flown around. The person watches as it flies higher and further away.

In order to execute these ideas, a drone had to be purchased online. However, due to some technical issues, the shooting of this project kept being delayed. Thankfully, in the end I was able to get the footage filmed, and then moved onto editing. I also want to extend thanks to one of my friends who helped me film the drone shots. 

Fig. 2.1. Adjusting the tilt of the video (2/12/2024)

Since I was holding the camera in my hand and walking, there was some tilt that had to be adjusted in post-production. Additionally, the walking generated quite a bit of movement despite my attempts to hold the camera steady. Therefore, the footage is quite wobbly and may be dizzying when viewing the video with a HMD. 

In the future, I can consider holding onto the stabilization device instead of the camera itself for more stable footage when walking.

Fig. 2.2. Combining footage and adding SFX (2/12/2024)

I had to replace the audio in the second footage with separate sound effects. This is because the drone was quite noisy while flying, so the original audio is loud and not suited to the environment. I found some wind sound effects online and layered them instead to create a 'whoosh' type of sound.

FINAL 360 Video Short Film Submission

Fig. 3. Final 360 Video Short Film Submission (2/12/2024)

SFX used:

Wind.mp3 by insoluzioni -- https://freesound.org/s/556141/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Wind blowing in an electric post on the High Atlas mountain (Morocco). by felix.blume -- https://freesound.org/s/157193/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

FEEDBACK

Week 5
General Feedback:
- Just viewing is not enough
- Try to evoke feeling
Specific Feedback:
- Don't get too hung up on the fact that it's parkour
- Try to think of what it is you want to evoke from the parkour idea and then change it to another concept that can achieve the same goal|
- Experiment with filling a balloon with normal air, see if with the camera attached to it, it can stay in the air while running and if it will come back down afterward

Week 6 
General Feedback:
- Make sure the intent of the scene is clear 
- Be clear on what is the best POV to use and use it well 
- Utilise your scenes and locations well 
- You can build tension with different room sizes 
- Remember that sometimes less scenes are better and 'not every scene is needed'
- Wearing a HMD is the best way to figure out the problems in a 360 video
- It's not really about learning new skills (since the camera is fully automated, but it's about learning how to think differently for 360 videos and coming up with good ideas for the medium
Specific Feedback:
- Figure out a way to transition from scene 1 to 2 

REFLECTIONS

Experience
There were quite a few technical difficulties with this project, mostly due to the drone and the inexperience in using it. The project was also quite experimental, not only with the drone but because I held the camera while moving instead of having it still and set on a tripod. Since it was also outdoor footage, it was a bit tricky to arrange time with me and my friend and hope it wouldn't rain. However these challenges only provide me with more filming experience and taught me of the challenges in a real working film environment, to prepare me for the future.

Observations
Getting the perfect time for filming is difficult when you have to account for the weather, the team's availability, and even other factors outside of your control. That's why it's important to be able to improvise in a short moment's notice and make quick decisions on what to film, where and how. What's important is keeping in mind the end goal, such as the message you intend to portray or the experience you want to provide. That way you can build around that and take all the other factors into account to film the project and create a satisfying end product, even with compromises.

Findings
In Premiere Pro, there is an effect for stabilising camera footage, but that effect isn't usable on 360 footage. Therefore, I had to make do without it for this project. But now that I am aware that it isn't so easy to fit shaky 360 footage in Premiere Pro, I can take note to be more careful during filming and take more precautions to ensure that my footage is stable and won't cause dizziness or nausea when viewing.