Against the Rule - Filming in 360

Since Youtube and Facebook have made it possible to watch 360-degree videos, a real boom has broken out. Let's take a look at the short film "Against the Rule" from the ZHDK. The title of the film could not be more apt. Everything we know about filmmaking is being revised. Filming in 360 degrees is against the rules of filmmaking.

360° videos are completely changing storytelling. With the freedom of the viewer, we face many new challenges. How do you direct the gaze? What are the means to follow the action in space? How do I write a story in 360? There are a lot of questions to be answered. The students of the Cast/Audiovisual Media specialisation at the Zurich University of the Arts have intensively studied the topic of 360° film in order to be able to realise such a film themselves.

"In the three-week writing phase, we started thinking about the 360° space very early on. In VR, the image design begins with the start of the writing process. The story itself influences the realisability."

Since the viewer can look around freely in the scene, the setting must also be designed down to the last detail. Every object in the scene must be illuminated. But you can't have a spotlight standing around because it would be visible. So you have to use existing light sources. These can be floor lamps, candles, LED panels or other light sources. That's a big challenge, because the scene shouldn't look artificial. Not every location is suitable for filming. Another challenge is the sound. Microphones can't just stand around, they have to be hidden. Since the actors move around the room, not only one microphone is enough, but there have to be several. These different sound tracks then flow together and are mixed. The most difficult part, however, is the direction. In a conventional film, the viewer's full concentration is always on one section of the image. With 360° films, this is not the case and the viewer could miss something. So the director has to bring the attention to one point within the space. Most of the time, the action only takes place at one point and the rest is passive, so the viewer is automatically directed to one point. In many cases, 360° sound is also used. This is also an effective means.

The ZHDK has described the whole production process very well on her blog. It gives a very good idea of the possibilities and challenges. Here you can also find a making-of video. The whole film topic will still develop extremely. The cameras in particular still have to make a qualitative leap. But that won't take much longer. So and now take a look at the successful short film "Against the Rule". Of course, you can also watch it without VR glasses. Have fun!

Source: ZHDK