A new form of cinema with virtual reality technology: VR film

Abstract

Cinema has continued its quest to construct its own aesthetic and narrative forms since the first film screening in Paris in the late 19th century. At the center of this quest are the possibilities offered by the technological developments of the period. Cinema's tendency to explore and experience technological innovations has led to formal and narrative transformations over time, resulting in its evolution into different genres and subcategories. Although some film theorists have argued that this technological orientation threatens the essence of cinema as a young art form, today it is seen that the relationship between cinema and technology has reached a point of no return. Since the first film screenings, the cinematic experience has been based on the viewer witnessing images created by sequential movements in a rectangular frame on a two-dimensional plane from a fixed position. However, since the beginning of the 21st century, rapidly developing information technologies, digitalization processes and especially interactive systems specific to the gaming industry have led to radical transformations in the production, distribution and screening practices of visual arts; thus, bringing out a new form to the cinema narrative: VR Film. Positioned at the intersection of cinema and contemporary technologies, VR film goes beyond traditional viewing practices and involves the viewer in a real-time spatial experience in a three-dimensional virtual space through wearable technologies. To consider VR cinema only as a technical innovation or instrumental development would be to ignore the epistemological and aesthetic possibilities offered by this narrative form. In this framework, following the technological evolutionary line from the dark box to the invention of the cinematograph, from sound and color technologies to digital cinema, conceptualizing the interactional relationship between cinema and technology is of decisive importance in order to develop a theoretical perspective on the future of VR cinema.

Keywords

• VR film
• virtual reality cinema
• experiential film
• immersive video
• VR narrative

Sanal gerçeklik teknolojisi ile yeni bir sinema formu: VR film

Abstract

Sinema, 19. yüzyılın sonlarında Paris’te gerçekleştirilen ilk film gösteriminden itibaren, kendine özgü estetik ve anlatı biçimlerini inşa etme yönündeki arayışını sürdürmektedir. Bu arayışın merkezinde ise, dönemin teknolojik gelişmelerinin sunduğu imkânlar yer almaktadır. Sinemanın teknolojik yenilikleri keşfetme ve deneyimleme yönündeki eğilimi, zaman içerisinde biçimsel ve anlatısal dönüşümlere yol açarak, sinemanın farklı tür ve alt kategorilere evrilmesine neden olmuştur. Her ne kadar bazı sinema kuramcıları bu teknolojik yönelimin, genç bir sanat dalı olarak sinemanın özünü tehdit ettiğini iddia etmişlerse de, günümüzde sinema ile teknoloji arasındaki ilişkinin artık geri dönüşü olmayan bir noktaya ulaştığı görülmektedir. İlk film gösterimlerinden bu yana, sinema deneyimi izleyicinin iki boyutlu bir düzlemde, dikdörtgen bir çerçeve içinde sıralı devinimlerle oluşturulan görüntülere sabit bir konumda tanıklık etmesine dayanmaktadır. Ancak 21. yüzyılın başından itibaren hızla gelişen bilişim teknolojileri, dijitalleşme süreçleri ve özellikle oyun endüstrisine özgü etkileşimli sistemler, görsel sanatların üretim, dağıtım ve gösterim pratiklerinde köklü dönüşümlere yol açmış; bu durum sinema anlatısına da yeni bir form kazandırmıştır: VR Film. Sinema ile çağdaş teknolojilerin kesişim noktasında konumlanan VR film, geleneksel izleme pratiklerinin ötesine geçerek, izleyiciyi giyilebilir teknolojiler aracılığıyla üç boyutlu sanal bir mekânda, gerçek zamanlı ve mekânsal bir deneyime dâhil etmektedir. VR sinemayı yalnızca teknik bir yenilik veya araçsal bir gelişim olarak ele almak, bu anlatı formunun sunduğu epistemolojik ve estetik olanakları göz ardı etmek anlamına gelecektir. Bu çerçevede, sinemanın tarihsel gelişim süreci içerisinde karanlık kutudan sinematografın icadına, ses ve renk teknolojilerinden dijital sinemaya kadar uzanan teknolojik evrimsel çizgiyi takip etmek; sinema ile teknoloji arasındaki etkileşimsel ilişkiyi kavramsallaştırmak, VR sinemanın geleceğine yönelik kuramsal bir perspektif geliştirebilmek açısından belirleyici önemdedir.

Keywords

• VR film
• sanal gerçeklik sineması
• deneyimsel film
• sürükleyici video
• VR anlatı

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