But what happens if you break out of the restrictions of that rectangle and become an unframed storyteller?
Due to the technological development and the progress made in the field of VR, we have the opportunity to redefine our viewing habits and create new ways of how to tell a story. Filmmaker Gary Hustwit – who you may know from his design documentary »Helvetica«, that by the way celebrated its 10th anniversary in March this year – shared his most recent experience with the state-of-the-art media this morning. Considering himself not really as a designer per se, but more as a creator of a long-form piece of communication, the New York based filmmaker founded a new studio called Scenic that focuses on non-fiction virtual reality content. While most of the VR stuff, especially computer generated animations are aiming to create alternate realities, Hustwit and his collective of filmmakers want to use the potential to document our own.
Ain’t no frame no more
For quite a few decades we have stared at a rectangle-shaped picture that moves. From photography to videography, the term frame directly referred to the dimensions we would look at, allowing filmmakers to create scenes with a distinguished point of view. The audience would only see a limited portrayal – an idealised display.
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By Paul Troppmair
Gary Hustwit is an independent filmmaker and photographer based in New York. He is the CEO and Creative Director of Scenic, a virtual reality content studio focusing on non-fiction VR. Gary has produced 13 feature documentaries, including the design trilogy of Helvetica, Objectified, and Urbanized. His films have been broadcast on HBO, PBS, BBC, and television outlets in 20 countries, and have been screened in over 300 cities worldwide.