IMMERSIVE STORIES: How can an “independent avant-garde, experimental film-maker with a self-conscious auteur’s perspective” create effective narratives in the 360o paradigm?

Abstract

ABSTRACT

In the 360o medium paradigm, is there room for “an avant-garde, experimental film-maker, working independently, and with a more self-conscious auteur’s perspective.” (Wells, 2002) The animation auteur is well established in the animation world, recognised as such by when Well’s in his interview with Caroline Leaf (Leaf, 1946-present). And this type of film-maker differs significantly to the ‘supra-auteur’ of the Disney Studios, where industrial film production processes involving large numbers of collaborative workers work under the more recognised production umbrella; or the ‘intra- auteur’ where the collaboration of one creative auteur’s work stands out and is distinct within a more extensive work, such as Ray Harryhausen.(Harryhausen, 1920 -2013). Within the 360o production we have already seen the supra-auteur model in Google Spotlight (Stories, 2011-2019). Their enormous resources have developed short story-driven masterpieces by commissioning selected acclaimed animation directors (many from Disney) to collaborate with their technical teams. But, the work is more generally known through the Google connection and not that of the auteur. The opportunity has developed an opening to storytellers’ potential to address the format as a serious platform for telling creative artistic tales. Sadly, Google’s financial commitment was withdrawn in 2019 (Porter, 2019), suggesting they are moving on to newer technology developments. These economic constraints mean that the avant-garde auteurs’ opportunity in the 360o/VR world is still limited, but it is more accessible. These auteur animators are starting to emerge in the field. Their creative processes and problem-solving approaches explore artistic solutions using more intuitive and adaptive methods to address some of the storytelling problems that the 360o paradigm offers. This is now evident in the traditional animation festivals like Annecy (Annecy Animation Festival, 1960-present) and Animafest, Zagreb (Animafest, 1972-present), where opportunities for showing these independent works are opening. Suggesting there is an opportunity for examining the boundaries and principles that can guide contemporary creative practice motivated by technology-independence and focus their creativity on adding more extraordinary aesthetic and narrative potential to the immersive storytelling experiences.

This PhD employs a practice-led research (PLR) methodology to develop inquiry into the theoretical processes that address the problems faced by the auteur to produce comprehensible narrative products for these immersive contexts. By examining the current academic narrative structures and strategies from traditional animation and film studies, the research aims to develop a framework that can be applied or adapted within the emerging film syntax, grammar, and technology for VR/ 360o.The study will undertake textual analysis of selected animators and critical practitioners in the traditional hand-crafted creative processes, asking what has their hand-crafted aesthetics, practice, and methods brought to the storytelling environment. And asking what the auteur’s hand-crafted animation techniques could add to the storytelling, aesthetics, and qualities of the immersive 360o Paradigm. Using the methodology processes to develop a series of iterations formed and developed through idea generation, experimentation, construction, showing, feedback, reflection, and reconstruction combined with the theories to create a traditional hand-drawn 360o immersive experience explores my creative journey with elephants. The conclusion suggests converged theoretical frameworks that future practitioners and theorists can explore in the creative and visual possibilities of storytelling in the immersive 360o projection paradigm.

-