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360-Degree Video and Social Change: A Comparative Analysis of the Documentary Films Exiled (2019) and Behind the Fence (2016)

Year 2021, , 66 - 92, 08.03.2021
https://doi.org/10.18691/kulturveiletisim.830028

Abstract

İmge kayıt, işleme ve dağıtım teknolojisindeki gelişmeler, belgesel film yapımcılarına toplumsal amaçlar için eylemi teşvik edebilecekleri yeni olanaklar sunmaktadır. Özellikle, belgesel filmdeki sanal gerçeklik uygulamaları gibi etkileşimli temsil biçimleri, insanları harekete geçmeye teşvik ederek toplumsal değişim için bir potansiyel yarattıkları iddiası ile çok dikkat çekmiştir. Bir belgeselin, geniş bir izleyici kitlesine ulaşmadıkça ve izleyicinin dikkatini çekip, onları harekete geçmeleri için teşvik etmedikçe toplumsal bir etki yaratması beklenmez. Bu bağlamda, 360 derece videoların daha kapsamlı ve cazip etkileşimli belgesel uygulamalarına kıyasla üretim, işlenme ve izlenmesinin daha ulaşılabilir ve kolay olduğu belirtilmektedir. Dolayısıyla 360 derece videolar, belgeselin içeriği ile aktif olarak etkileşimde bulunabilecek daha fazla izleyiciye ulaşıp onları bu konuda teşvik edebilir. Bütün bu tartışmaların ışında bu makale Exiled (2019) ve Behind the Fence (2016) adlı iki belgeselin karşılaştırmalı analizine yer verecektir.

Exiled (2019) and Behind the Fence (2016) Myanmar’daki Rohingya halkının soykırımı ve Bangladeş’e toplu göçüyle ilgili belgesellerdir. Exiled geleneksel anlamda bir belgeselken, Behind the Fence 360 derece çekilmiş bir belgeseldir. Yapılan analiz sonucunda, 360 derece kamera teknolojisinin kurmaca olmayan filmlere sağladığı biricik avantajların yanı sıra hem yapım hem de izlenme süreçlerinde bazı dezavantajlarının da olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. 360 derece kameralar bazı toplumsal durumların, toplumsal hareketlerin, çatışma ve eylemlerin temsili için sınırsız görüş açısıyla kaydetme ve gösterme kabiliyetleri sebebiyle uygun seçenek olarak düşünülebilir. Ancak kurmaca olmayan filmlerde 360 derece videonun kullanılmış olması bu filmlerin güçlü bir toplumsal etkiye sahip olacağı anlamına gelmemektedir.

References

  • Aitken, Ian (1990). Film and Reform: John Grierson and the Documentary Film Movement. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Aldredge, Jourdan (2019). “Infographic Breaks Down Film Genre Popularity of the Past 100 Years.” https://nofilmschool.com/Film-Genre-Popularity-Infographic Retrived 16.02.2021.
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  • Barisa, Brain (2019). “Using 360 Video to Create Immersive Documentaries.” http://newslab.org/using-360-video-to-create-immersive-documentaries/ Retrived 15.02.2020.
  • Barsam, Richard M. (1992). Nonfiction Film A Critical History Revised and Expanded. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
  • Baudry, Jean-Louis & Alan Williams (1974). “Ideological Effects of the Basic Cinematographic Apparatus.” Film Quarterly, 28 (2): 39–47.
  • Bazin, André (1971). What is Cinema? Volume 2. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Bonitzer, Pascal (2006). Kör Alan ve Dekadrajlar. Çev., İzzet Yaşar. İstanbul: Metis Yayınları.
  • Broeck, Marc Van den; Fahim Kawsar & Johannes Schöning (2017). “It’s All Around You: Exploring 360° Video Viewing Experiences on Mobile Devices.” In Proceedings of the 25th ACM International Conference on Multimedia. New York: 762–768.
  • Charara, Sophie (2018). “The VR and 360 Degree Documentaries You Need to Watch.” https://www.wareable.com/vr/best-vr-360-documentaries-to-watch- 6279 Retrived 15.02.2020.
  • Crawford-Holland, Sasha (2018). “Humanitarian VR Documentary and Its Cinematic Myths.” Synoptique, 7(1): 19-31.
  • Deleuze, Gilles (1989). Cinema 1: The Movement Image. Çev., Hugh Tomlinson & Barbara Habberjam. London & New York: The Athlone Press.
  • Dooley, Kath (2017). “Storytelling with Virtual Reality in 360-Degrees: A New Screen Grammar.” Studies in Australasian Cinema, 11(3): 161-171.
  • Fowler, A. Geoffrey (2016). “These 360-Degree Cameras Capture Everything Around You” https://www.wsj.com/articles/these-360-degree-cameras-capture- everything-around-you-1464113657 Retrived 14.02.2020.
  • Franziska, Weidle (2018). “How to Reconcile That Flinch: Towards A Critical Analysis of Documentary Situations in 360 ° and VR Environments.” Participations Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, 15(1): 412-426.
  • Hassan, Robert (2019). “Digitality, Virtual Reality and the ‘Empathy Machine’.” Digital Journalism, 8(2): 195-212.
  • Jerald, Jason (2015). The VR Book: Human-Centered Design for Virtual Reality. CA: ACM Books & Morgan & Claypool Publishers.
  • Jones, Sarah (2017). “Disrupting the Narrative: Immersive Journalism in Virtual Reality.” Journal of Media Practice, 18(2-3): 171-185.
  • Kracauer, Siegfried (2004). From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton University Press.
  • Van Damme, Kristin; Anissa All; Lieven De Marez & Sarah Van Leuven (2019). “360° Video Journalism: Experimental Study on the Effect of Immersion on News Experience and Distant Suffering.” Journalism Studies, 20(14): 2053-2076.
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  • Mateer, John (2017). “Directing for Cinematic Virtual Reality: How the Traditional Film Director’s Craft Applies to Immersive Environments and Notions of Presence.” Journal of Media Practice, 18(1): 14-25.
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  • Milk, Chris (2015). “How Virtual Reality Can Create the Ultimate Empathy Machine.” https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_milk_how_virtual_reality_can_create_the_ulti mate_empathy_machine
  • Nunes, Thatiany Andrade & Hyunseok Lee (2019). “Humanitarian Documentary: A Comparison Study between VR and Non-VR Productions.” Journal of Multimed Information System, 6 (4): 309-316.
  • O’Flynn, Siobhan (2012). “Documentary’s Metamorphic Form: Webdoc, Interactive, Transmedia, Participatory and Beyond.” Studies in Documentary Film 6 (2): 141-157.
  • Rose, Mandy (2018). “The immersive turn: hype and hope in the emergence of virtual reality as a nonfiction platform.” Studies in Documentary Film, 12(2): 132-149.
  • Rousseau, Cella L. (2016). “5 Reasons You Should Buy a 360-Degree Camera.” https://www.androidcentral.com/5-reasons-you-should-buy-360-degree- camera Retrived 15.02.2020.
  • Schutte, Nicola S. & Emma. J. Stilinović (2017). “Facilitating Empathy Through Virtual Reality.” Motivation and Emotion, 41(6): 708–712.
  • Sontag, Suzan (1973). On Photography. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
  • UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency. https://www.unhcr.org/rohingya-emergency.html Retrived 17.02.2020.
  • Uricchio, William (2016). “VR is Not Film. So What is it?” https://immerse.news/vr-is-not-film-so-what- is-it-36d58e59c030. Retrived 17.02.2020.
  • Ward, Caleb (2017). “Demystifying 360 vs. VR.” https://vimeo.com/blog/post/virtual-reality-vs-360-degree-video/ Retrived 19.02.2020.
  • WeiB, Pola (2018). “Documentary Series in 360 Degree: Chasing the World.” https://vrgeschichten.de/en/chasing-the-world-en Retrived 15.02.2020.
  • Wilson, Elmo C. (1948). “The Effectiveness of Documentary Broadcasts.” Public Opinion Quarterly, 12 (1): 19-29.
  • Winston, Brain (1995). Claiming the Real: The Documentary Film Revisited. London: BFI Publishing.
  • Zhang, Chenyan; Andrew Perkis & Sebastian Arndt (2017). “Spatial Immersion versus Emotional Immersion, Which is More Immersive?” Presented at the Ninth International Conference on Quality of Multimedia Experience. Germany.

360-Degree Video and Social Change: A Comparative Analysis of the Documentary Films Exiled (2019) and Behind the Fence (2016)

Year 2021, , 66 - 92, 08.03.2021
https://doi.org/10.18691/kulturveiletisim.830028

Abstract

Advances in image recording, processing and distribution technology bring in new opportunities for documentary filmmakers to encourage action for social causes. Interactive forms of representation in documentary films such as virtual reality practices have particularly drawn strong attention due to their claimed potential for social change through encouraging people to take action. It proves difficult to anticipate particular social effects unless a documentary reaches a huge number of viewers, engage and encourage them to take action. In this context, it is argued that the production, processing, and viewing of 360-degree videos are relatively more affordable and easier compared to more immersive and engaging interactive documentary practices. Thus, 360-degree videos can reach and encourage more viewers who are expected to actively interact with documentary content. In the light of all these arguments, this article analyses two documentary films, Exiled (2019) and Behind the Fence (2016), through a comparative perspective.

Exiled (2019) and Behind the Fence (2016) are documentaries both addressing the genocide of Rohingya people in Myanmar and the mass exodus of Rohingya to Bangladesh. While Exiled is a traditional one, Behind the Fence is a 360-degree documentary. By analyzing those two documentaries, this article asserts that besides the unique advantages of 360-degree camera technology for non-fiction films, it has also several disadvantages in terms of production and viewing of documentaries. 360-degree cameras might emerge as the proper option for the representation of particular social situations, social movements, conflicts, and actions due to their capacity to record and show from limitless points of view. However, a powerful social effect should not be expected merely due to the usage of 360 video in non-fiction films.

References

  • Aitken, Ian (1990). Film and Reform: John Grierson and the Documentary Film Movement. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Aldredge, Jourdan (2019). “Infographic Breaks Down Film Genre Popularity of the Past 100 Years.” https://nofilmschool.com/Film-Genre-Popularity-Infographic Retrived 16.02.2021.
  • Archer, Dan & Katharine Finger (2018) “Walking in Another’s Virtual Shoes: Do 360- Degree Video News Stories Generate Empath in Viewers?” https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D8669W5C Retrived 18.02.2020.
  • Arnheim, Rudolf (1957). Film as Art. Berkeley: University of California Press. Aston, Judith & Sandra Gaudenzi (2012). “Interactive Documentary: Setting the Field.” Studies in Documentary Film, 6 (2): 125-139.
  • Barisa, Brain (2019). “Using 360 Video to Create Immersive Documentaries.” http://newslab.org/using-360-video-to-create-immersive-documentaries/ Retrived 15.02.2020.
  • Barsam, Richard M. (1992). Nonfiction Film A Critical History Revised and Expanded. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
  • Baudry, Jean-Louis & Alan Williams (1974). “Ideological Effects of the Basic Cinematographic Apparatus.” Film Quarterly, 28 (2): 39–47.
  • Bazin, André (1971). What is Cinema? Volume 2. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Bonitzer, Pascal (2006). Kör Alan ve Dekadrajlar. Çev., İzzet Yaşar. İstanbul: Metis Yayınları.
  • Broeck, Marc Van den; Fahim Kawsar & Johannes Schöning (2017). “It’s All Around You: Exploring 360° Video Viewing Experiences on Mobile Devices.” In Proceedings of the 25th ACM International Conference on Multimedia. New York: 762–768.
  • Charara, Sophie (2018). “The VR and 360 Degree Documentaries You Need to Watch.” https://www.wareable.com/vr/best-vr-360-documentaries-to-watch- 6279 Retrived 15.02.2020.
  • Crawford-Holland, Sasha (2018). “Humanitarian VR Documentary and Its Cinematic Myths.” Synoptique, 7(1): 19-31.
  • Deleuze, Gilles (1989). Cinema 1: The Movement Image. Çev., Hugh Tomlinson & Barbara Habberjam. London & New York: The Athlone Press.
  • Dooley, Kath (2017). “Storytelling with Virtual Reality in 360-Degrees: A New Screen Grammar.” Studies in Australasian Cinema, 11(3): 161-171.
  • Fowler, A. Geoffrey (2016). “These 360-Degree Cameras Capture Everything Around You” https://www.wsj.com/articles/these-360-degree-cameras-capture- everything-around-you-1464113657 Retrived 14.02.2020.
  • Franziska, Weidle (2018). “How to Reconcile That Flinch: Towards A Critical Analysis of Documentary Situations in 360 ° and VR Environments.” Participations Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, 15(1): 412-426.
  • Hassan, Robert (2019). “Digitality, Virtual Reality and the ‘Empathy Machine’.” Digital Journalism, 8(2): 195-212.
  • Jerald, Jason (2015). The VR Book: Human-Centered Design for Virtual Reality. CA: ACM Books & Morgan & Claypool Publishers.
  • Jones, Sarah (2017). “Disrupting the Narrative: Immersive Journalism in Virtual Reality.” Journal of Media Practice, 18(2-3): 171-185.
  • Kracauer, Siegfried (2004). From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton University Press.
  • Van Damme, Kristin; Anissa All; Lieven De Marez & Sarah Van Leuven (2019). “360° Video Journalism: Experimental Study on the Effect of Immersion on News Experience and Distant Suffering.” Journalism Studies, 20(14): 2053-2076.
  • Manovich, Lev (2014).” From DV Realism to a Universal Recording Machine.” http://manovich.net/content/04-projects/031-reality-media/28_article_2001.pdf Retrived 17.03.2019.
  • Mateer, John (2017). “Directing for Cinematic Virtual Reality: How the Traditional Film Director’s Craft Applies to Immersive Environments and Notions of Presence.” Journal of Media Practice, 18(1): 14-25.
  • Metry, Mark (2017). “5 Benefits of 360-Degree Photos & Videos (Personal & Business).” https://veer.tv/blog/5-benefits-vr-360-degree-photos-videos- personal-business/ Retrived 15.02.2020.
  • Milk, Chris (2015). “How Virtual Reality Can Create the Ultimate Empathy Machine.” https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_milk_how_virtual_reality_can_create_the_ulti mate_empathy_machine
  • Nunes, Thatiany Andrade & Hyunseok Lee (2019). “Humanitarian Documentary: A Comparison Study between VR and Non-VR Productions.” Journal of Multimed Information System, 6 (4): 309-316.
  • O’Flynn, Siobhan (2012). “Documentary’s Metamorphic Form: Webdoc, Interactive, Transmedia, Participatory and Beyond.” Studies in Documentary Film 6 (2): 141-157.
  • Rose, Mandy (2018). “The immersive turn: hype and hope in the emergence of virtual reality as a nonfiction platform.” Studies in Documentary Film, 12(2): 132-149.
  • Rousseau, Cella L. (2016). “5 Reasons You Should Buy a 360-Degree Camera.” https://www.androidcentral.com/5-reasons-you-should-buy-360-degree- camera Retrived 15.02.2020.
  • Schutte, Nicola S. & Emma. J. Stilinović (2017). “Facilitating Empathy Through Virtual Reality.” Motivation and Emotion, 41(6): 708–712.
  • Sontag, Suzan (1973). On Photography. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
  • UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency. https://www.unhcr.org/rohingya-emergency.html Retrived 17.02.2020.
  • Uricchio, William (2016). “VR is Not Film. So What is it?” https://immerse.news/vr-is-not-film-so-what- is-it-36d58e59c030. Retrived 17.02.2020.
  • Ward, Caleb (2017). “Demystifying 360 vs. VR.” https://vimeo.com/blog/post/virtual-reality-vs-360-degree-video/ Retrived 19.02.2020.
  • WeiB, Pola (2018). “Documentary Series in 360 Degree: Chasing the World.” https://vrgeschichten.de/en/chasing-the-world-en Retrived 15.02.2020.
  • Wilson, Elmo C. (1948). “The Effectiveness of Documentary Broadcasts.” Public Opinion Quarterly, 12 (1): 19-29.
  • Winston, Brain (1995). Claiming the Real: The Documentary Film Revisited. London: BFI Publishing.
  • Zhang, Chenyan; Andrew Perkis & Sebastian Arndt (2017). “Spatial Immersion versus Emotional Immersion, Which is More Immersive?” Presented at the Ninth International Conference on Quality of Multimedia Experience. Germany.
There are 38 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Communication and Media Studies
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Önder M. Özdem 0000-0001-6758-5486

Publication Date March 8, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021

Cite

APA Özdem, Ö. M. (2021). 360-Degree Video and Social Change: A Comparative Analysis of the Documentary Films Exiled (2019) and Behind the Fence (2016). Kültür Ve İletişim, 24 (1)(47), 66-92. https://doi.org/10.18691/kulturveiletisim.830028