Although there is no final conclusion on whether image collision "interactive" can be considered a film, designers can't stop mining the radical innovative features, modes, and structures of interactive virtual reality media.
It is necessary to explore the essential innovation of digital media creation brought by virtual reality since it was accepted by virtual reality technology.
The author believes that three new directions, such as nonlinear narrative based on interactive image loop narrative structure, new mode of sensory guidance in VR interactive images, new interactive image operation and selection behavior optimization of VR interactive images, can guide designers to develop VR interactive digital artworks more efficiently.
introduce
With the development of digital media technology and new interactive technology, image transmission has made revolutionary progress in production efficiency, image performance, transmission and preservation. Image resolution is getting clearer, digital colors are getting brighter and wider, and shooting technology is becoming more and more convenient.
However, the creation of image art and the way the public views still follow the traditional laws and rules of images, and have not changed much due to the emergence of new image technologies. In addition, the emergence of new technologies has not changed the traditional narrative mode at the core of traditional filmmaking.
Video art has been developed for more than 100 years, the narrative structure and techniques have basically formed a fixed pattern, it is difficult to innovate in form, and the emergence of virtual reality technology has made a new evolution of digital video art possible.
The advent of the era of virtual reality images will be a major subversion of image production, and image production will no longer stay in the traditional image expression and unshakable viewing methods. The technological revolution of VR images will break the theatrical concept of the "fourth wall" of French Enlightenment thinker Dennis Diderot.
At the heart of this major change is not only the replacement of traditional flat 360-degree immersive imaging, but also the mixing of interactive features with sophisticated digital media expression.
At present, the form of virtual reality interactive images is still in its infancy, and the technology is the technology of "new media", but in terms of artistic output or works of art, they are still the art of "traditional media".
This is precisely the bottleneck problem faced by digital image creators in the application and creation of new technical artworks. What is needed for virtual reality image creation is a revolution in form and a change in production methods.
And this change can not only stop at the subversion or upgrade of the "audio-visual" aspect of VR images, the "interactive" function should have a new narrative form on such a new platform.
Therefore, in the creation of virtual reality interactive images, designers and creators need to deeply understand and break through the three key points in film creation, as well as the creation form of scripts, video narrative guidance and the exploration of image interaction modes.
Non-linear game for interactive image narrative with circular narrative structure
The script creation of traditional video dramas is basically based on a single timeline, the structure is relatively closed, and great importance is attached to the design of the basic structure of the unified ending, emphasizing the causal logical relationship. With the rapid development of commercial films, this kind of script creation is more obvious.
If we go back to Aristotle's "three unity" in Poetics, such a narrative rule has been used for almost 2 years. A complete set of theatrical aesthetic system has been formed, which countless film creators have tried many times, and the audience is also ecstatic.
In the process of video development, video media creators continue to challenge the traditional narrative logic, propose and try many breakthroughs in non-linear narrative, require breaking the linear image mode, emphasizing the transformation of video narrative from multiple perspectives, and using spatial synchronicity to cut off the continuity of drama time.
However, this "non-linearity" is more manifested in the director's personal subjective narrative techniques, rather than the breakthrough of narrative at the drama level, such as the use of narrative reversal and flashbacks in fragmentary form, changing perspectives, etc.
Those artistic forms of cinematic expression usually appear only partially and occasionally, rather than macroscopically in the structure of the film script. Overall, the narrative of most video works is still linear.
The nonlinear narrative proposed in this paper refers to a linear narrative that is different from the traditional narrative law and the classical drama law in the entire dramatic structure, which does not follow the general space-time sequence or logic, but appears in a fragmented and discrete form.
The specific performance characteristics can be summarized as multi-perspective, non-timed, accidental, fragmented multi-branch interactive circular narrative structure. As shown in the figure, in traditional nonlinear script authoring, the choices provided by each plot node can be multiple branches such as AB, ABC, ABCD, etc.
But at the same time, it should be noted that each additional plot point in this structure will multiply the workload of the creator, making it grow at a geometric progression rate.
Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary to control the number of plot nodes, and on the other hand, it is necessary to integrate or interrupt many branching clues in time (interrupting represents the end of the story of this clue), so that the clues in the binary tree structure are controlled within a reasonable range.
This interactive narrative structure has been widely used in the British interactive film "Late Shift", the film has 40 plot points to choose from, and the audience has a better experience of controlling the narrative direction of the film through interactive means.
However, due to the number of branches, the total complete length of this interactive film has reached more than 240 minutes, which is much longer than the length achieved by a single narrative thread.
When we understand what a non-linear narrative of traditional images is, we ask the question of whether there is a chance to end the end of each linear plot when the viewer feels that the storyline they have chosen is not perfect, or whether it is possible to restart the movie playback cycle.
In interactive video creation, it is difficult for viewers to accept the interruption of plot development and "dead ends". Therefore, on the basis of non-linear narrative, it is necessary to design a plot route back to the main plot at the end of the selection of each sub-plot, so that the development of each side plot can return to the main plot.
Each branch node is a choice node for the audience to participate in interaction, and only one branch node is the end point of the main story. In the design of the reasonable cycle of the side plot, a complete non-linear interactive narrative drama structure and interactive loop narrative drama structure are formed.
In the movie "Black Cage", the plot in this suspense movie is very much in line with the story structure of the non-linear loop narrative, and the audience can make choices that affect the plot in a VR interactive environment.
If this choice does not lead to the direction of the main plot development arranged by the director, the audience will experience the plot again and again to the interactive selection point, especially in the suspense plot, such a circular plot development will not cause the audience to be bored, but will strengthen the suspense and dramatic participation of the plot.
Another classic film example with a cyclic plot structure is the movie Accro, which also has the characteristics of a circular narrative in the play. The plot setting and story characteristics are similar to "Black Cage".
The characters in the story are trapped in an area of a time cycle, and only by making the right movements can they get out of this cycle, thus reaching the end of the main plot arranged by the director.
Based on this interactive loop narrative drama structure, in the creation of virtual reality interactive images, the side plots can be different directions of the development of traditional narratives, or they can be events experienced by different characters in different spaces in the same time period.
As a result, the audience can choose memory, dream, parallel time and space, travel through space, etc. on the node, forming a multi-perspective narrative structure in a single interactive film. Viewers can choose to enter the story from a certain angle, with interactive options to jump between multiple perspectives.
Its abstract narrative model structure. This interactive narrative is somewhat similar to a parallel montage, where the viewer's choice to jump between different perspectives is a fragment.
Therefore, the benefit of VR interactive movies is that they give the audience editing rights, rather than the director controlling everything in traditional films. The advantage of this is that the audience dominates the right to observe the viewing experience.
This kind of control that belongs to the director to switch to the audience in traditional movies can enhance the audience's sense of immersion and experience, which is the future direction of the development of VR virtual reality images.
Sensory guidance and picture optimization of VR virtual reality interactive image narrative
Compared with traditional images that require the design of 16:9 flat picture content, the visual input of VR images is a 360-degree spherical camera. Therefore, virtual reality interactive images are different from traditional images, and due to the visual breadth, it requires designing a 360-degree spherical screen around the image.
In addition, the area of the picture is more than 6 times that of the conventional image. In addition to designing 360-degree full-motion video in virtual reality interactive images, you also need to design gyroscopes for lens control. and interactive triggers and trigger patterns in the interactive engine.
All of this contributes to immersive visuals, freely controllable camera experiences, and interactive scenes. VR images can simulate the visual experience of the human eye while emphasizing the depth of the scene.
Therefore, virtual reality interactive images can create specific visual experiences and show unique visual displays. However, it is precisely because of this fully immersive free-lens function and special shooting technology that the controllability of the camera becomes weak.
The excessive release of the audience's lens control makes it easy for the picture to deviate from the focus of the plot development, or ignore the script and the important film content emphasized by the director.
Points of interest have always been a very important design element. In traditional image design, film artists can control the audience's points of interest according to composition, character costumes, scene scheduling, etc.
However, in 360-degree images, there are many "hidden frames" that affect visual focus in a virtual reality environment. In addition, the scene and environment outside the audience's field of view or main line of sight in VR digital cinema are more critical to control visual guidance and set the position of points of interest when VR movies.
In order to guide the viewer's visual center to focus on the "point of interest" or core picture content of the design, the designer needs to design the narrative guidance of the image around the human vision, hearing, touch and three sensory systems.
Therefore, VR designers can realize the sensory narrative guidance of virtual reality interactive images through the in-depth design of the core guidance point of the visual picture, the directional guidance point of auditory music and sound effects, and the tactile auxiliary guidance point.
conclusion
As a mainstream art form, when reviewing its development, video can be said to be inseparable from the support of technical media. It can also be concluded that every major image change is closely related to technological progress and integration.
So far, VR virtual reality technology has been recognized by the market and has also attracted the attention of art creators in many fields.
Therefore, as a digital image creator, it is necessary to explore the essential innovation points brought by the new VR virtual reality technology, how to quantify creativity in technology and sort out the production logic.
Can image collision "interaction" be considered a movie? There is no final conclusion yet, but at least its creative exploration of image art on new media platforms has not stopped.
Perhaps it is a form between traditional movies and games, inheriting the audiovisual language, narrative techniques and performance techniques of the film, and joining the interactive experience of the audience.
Give the viewer some control over the progress and direction of the narrative. The author believes that future video creators will explore the radical innovative models and standards of image creation in the new era.