Immersive Video Production / Project 3 / Original 360° Video Proposal

4.11.2024 - 25.11.2024 (Week 7 - Week 10)
Elysa Wee Qi En / 0355060 / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Immersive Video Production
Project 3 / Original 360° Video Proposal

LECTURES

Week 7 / 360 Video Storytelling [4]

Steps to plan out a 260 video:

1. First, decide what emotion or feeling you want the viewer to experience (the objective) 
• Joy, anticipation, trust, fear, anger, disgust, sadness, surprise etc.
• Emotions can be even more specific than that too 
2. Character references 
3. Story outline 
4. Scene breakdown 
• Not the shots, but the scenes
• Remember, not too many scenes 
5. Sceneboard
• Like a 3D storyboard 
• With a floorplan and blocking 
• In the form of a cube's wireframe
• Think of a stage play?

Narrative Design in 360 Video 

Theme - How the viewer perceives the theme from the experience
Decor/ Spectacle - What is on set and mise on scene before/during filming 
Character/ Diction - How do viewers connect/build relationships with characters by observing?
Plot - A device that glues all elements cohesively

Content creator provides on instruction, but suggestions. Use the Points Of Interest to strongly suggest viewers on where to look, when etc.

Fig. 1.1. 4-Act Structure in 360 Video

In 360 videos, we don't have the traditional 3-Act Structure. Instead, we have 4 Acts. However, these do not really outline the narrative, but the progress of immersion for the viewer.

Act 1 - Viewers adapt to the environment and understand their role
Act 2 - Viewers slowly immerse themselves in the world
Act 3 - Viewers are fully immersed and experience psychological effects
Act 4 - Viewers reflect on their experience and conclude the story 

Writing the Proposal 

1. Objective = what the viewer experiences/ feels
2. Theme = the concept/ message delivered to the viewer
3. Location = chosen location and why (how it helps with immersion)
   
4. Characters = how the character design helps the viewer gain/ feel empathy
5. Story outline = describe the events in a paragraph
   
6. Story breakdown = decide shots based on the plot, with reasoning and editing
• Remember that more shots is less immersion
  
7. Storyboard & Floor Plan = sketches of a full 360 view, with Floor Plan and POI
• ALSO sketch into an equirectangular format
  

Fig. 1.2. Equirectangular format

Fig. 1.3. Example of floor plan layout

• A 360 video can only carry the core ideas of a 2D video
• A tricky part is deciding what to keep or let go of

Week 9 / Study on Traditional Media for Virtual Reality Cinema

Bazin's Realism theory:

• Long takes/ shots and continuity 
• Let's the viewers explore the scenes at their own pace 
• Fosters immersion
• Enhances empathy and emotional engagement in VR

Eisenstein's Montage theory:

• Rapid, contrasting shots 
• Needs to be adapted for VR to prevent disorientation 
• Spatial montage distributes the narrative elements across/ around the VR sapce
• Enables active viewer engagement 
• Doesn't break immersion

Hybrid adaption/ approach: 

• Long-take realism with montage sequences managed to maintain immersion and guide viewer's attention to key moments 
• Instead of rapid cuts, spatial montage is used
• Allows different visual elements in the 360-degree space to be explored 
• Preserves immersion 
• Offers multiple perspectives 
• No disorientation 

More/ further findings:

• Use fades and dissolves instead of abrupt cuts

INSTRUCTIONS

Fig. 2. Module Information Booklet

Project 3: Original 360° Video Proposal

This project was to practice creating proposals for 360 videos. We were given a 2D video to watch (one with plot) and we had to imagine adapting it into a 360 video and create a proposal around it.

There's a lot that had to be cut out, since a 360 video cannot execute some of the shots (as a 360 video is frameless). But what was important was retaining the intended emotions, even if the 'experience' (story/ plot) changed.

We were given a template to fill out, and my teammate and I discussed most of the details during class. We also added things like the visual references and character references, and discussed the details of the floor plan and sceneboards together. Then she drew the floor plan, and I drew the sceneboards. The working title was actually proposed by our lecturer, and it fit really well so we adopted it.

Fig. 3. Drawing the sceneboards (14/11/2024)

FINAL Original 360° Video Proposal Submission

Fig. 4. Final Proposal Submission (18/11/2024)

FEEDBACK

Week 7
Specific Feedback:
- Doesn't have to follow the plot of the video exactly
- Remember not everything can be interpreted into 360 video 
- Remember what emotion you're trying to evoke and go from there 
- Can imagine he asks her for 20 cents and she goes to get it (adds to the feeling) 

REFLECTIONS

Experience
This was an easy assignment that didn't take much time and was completed quite quickly. The challenging part was mostly coming up with the idea for the video, since it took us overcoming our habits with 2D film to plan a 360 video. Drawing sceneboards was also a new experience for me. Though it isn't particularly difficult as it is essentially a storyboard, it is still in a new format. Overall this assignment helped me further learn the differences between 2D and 360 video production, and how to use the 360 format to my advantage.

Observations
When creating a 360 video, the main focus should be the message or emotions you intend to provide to the viewer to experience. First choose that, and then you can brainstorm around these intended feelings to come up with a concept that can evoke them. I briefly experienced this in my second project, but I am reminded again with this project. By focusing on these intended feelings, you will have a clearer image of what you have to do.

Findings
Creating a proposal for a 360 video is actually quite easy. There are a lot of parts to it, like finding references for places and characters, and creating a floor plan and sceneboards, but is is almost the same work you would do when creating a proposal for a 2D video. In fact, you don't have to worry about camera angles, just about where to place the camera for the audience to best see what you want them to see.