https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld6dYlQaq3U&t=1s
VR Film Review
The VR Film has now been released. It took me a while to realise that it was possible to move the camera on an 360 XY axis. Having then figured this out, I watched the duration of the tour. It was interesting to see the performance from this view and how everything fits together.
As a performer, I only ever see the performance from my own view point and I get to contribute to the performance, but I don't get to have the audience experience. With the VR film, I was able to immerse myself as the audience and see the performance from their perspective. I was able to see how each performance linked. There are moments that built tension and suspense and then more dramatic moments such as the canon, various bangs and jump scares.
Jamie works with the audience, using improvised micro actions to build tension and create unique dialogue. He creates a story that helps the performance become more immersive and also starts to open the imagination of the audience. The music is perfect and sets up the scene as does the lighting upon first entering the room. Most of the room is concealed by the arches and the small space create sense of entrapment and claustrophobia. The lighting creates shadows that seem to appear from nowhere within the archways.
When passing through the arch wall, the door is closed and it encourages the visitors to move forward. Initially, Jamie is able to distract the visitors by sharing his family portraits. Jess then wakes up and creates a jump scare. The interaction between jess and Jamie adds to the story and creates suspense. The chemistry makes the performance immersive and believable. This is where our I feel our performance is most unique, because we are also using story and acting to add depth. The performance is not about pure fear, but also opening the imagination and creating paranoia.
After Jezmeralda partakes her visions, another door opens, bringing them to the '1st official act'. Jamie brings the audience into the screen and makes them look. He tells a story as I (Frank, await the perfect moment to strike. I like to wait for him to say certain amount of the characters backstory and then I react in that moment. This is the first time I have really seem my performance from an audience perspective. Even though I do not have makeup, in the video it is not noticeable. However, in live performance I will use makeup. I feel I timed the jump to the right moment and look intimidating. I used a choking sound in this performance, but I can change it as I go along. My movement is close to what I'd like, but I will spend some more time getting the exact movements I feel are most effective.
When the visitors pass through the next door, they are again forced closer to my screen. I can use this as time to grab over the top and use aggression. When the door closes, the shouting, banging and screaming that Jamie and I create in the background. The sound generated is almost horrifying to the point where even though I am performing, I still feel creeped out.
Riley is then called into action. He comes from nowhere and is able to use his height to intimidate the visitors. His intro walk creates suspense and his actions such as banging the rails create tension. He is unpredictable and can strike at any time.
The visitors are then forced into the tunnel. From the camera perspective, this is very effective as visibility is limited and confined. The glowsticks create an enchanting light but create shadows. Anything can be hiding. There is a lot going on, with the glow sticks, ribbons, Jamie, the visitors, the netting, the walls and Connor. The space is restrictive and claustrophobic and this makes the enchanting tunnel and possibly safe tunnel into a tunnel of chaos and drama. The visitors finally escape the tunnel, only to come to a wall of bloody mirrors. In the low light and from the camera perspective, the sense of freedom suddenly changes to awkwardness. The wall acts as a distraction allowing Matt to make his Jump. His character is again different, but just as creepy and contributes further to the performance. He is able to achieve a number of scares after escaping from the cage. When Riley pops up, he could be louder, but the confetti is extremely effective. From the camera perspective, the confetti raining down sets the scene of a horror circus.
Moving into Connors cage area is restrictive and the light is limited. The sounds of a wild animal can be clearly heard. Jamie is able to create suspense and draw the visitors. Connor is then able to reach out from the cage. Due to the low light, his form is concealed and he looks extremely animalistic.
The CCTV footage at the end adds further to the experience as it makes the performance look more professional. It also masks the lack of detail and the grainy overlay adds to the dramatic effect.
Overall, even the further detail could be added and performances more dramatic, overall, the performance and scene are effective for this type of performance. It does not need to be so much attention to detail, because the visitors are moved quickly through the scene. They are also on high alert and more focused on the characters. The confined spaces create a sense of claustrophobia and this adds scare factor to the performance. This is important to consider and could be used elsewhere. I would like to make use of VR technology and it could be used more often in films in the future. It can allow a viewer to become more immersed, allowing them to pay attention to details around them and create unique perspectives. My imagination leads to me to reimagine John Carpenters 'They Live' in 360 VR.
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