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360˙ Storyboarding

360˚ cinema contains visual possibilities that can not be replicated in flat screen styles or stage environments. How do we create a language for blocking concepts so that we can utilize the full range and potential of this medium? 

360˚ cinema has mostly been in 2nd point-of-view (POV). A position that the media lends itself to well. However, there are a world of camera perspectives yet to explore! For example, how might one create an authentic 1st person perspective field? One way is to move the camera an “inch or two”∆ away from a “protagonist” (”audience character”)’s face then pinch in or otherwise abstract the face. The a-center character-body will additionally be distorted. I prefer this “front the forehead” method to the “behind” the shoulder (a more classic variation seen in gaming) because it leaves room for the elements in the 181-360 range to be still expressive, while allowing for natural limitations/void space that translates into the story.

∆ - “inch or two

1, character’s head aprox. twice the size of audience head;

2, take up anywhere from 5-40% of storyboard sphere depending on interpretation&preference

Translating Non-Human Perception with Abstract Blocking

360 lends itself to additional abstract perspective that are otherwise clunky or impossible in flat plains and theaterFor example, Now it is now possible to replicate the perspective of a horse (at lest more) authentically. to do this would require more abstraction and shifts of perspective adjusting to the humans forward facing gaze, but with practice, I hypothesis could feel natural or at least familiar enough to proceed. This then could be replicated with any number of visual ranges. We could even accustom people to perceive a near-full 360 range as their stander view by savvily collaging ranges and adding complementary blind spots to various scopes. One possible way to introduce parallel blindspots is to checkerboard what is “in-front” of the viewer with what is “in back of the viewer

Split/One-Mirror Shot

360˙ lends itself to a mirror concept, replicating a 180˚ “front” and “back” (or replicating 90˚ four-ways). This shot is useful for putting the audience at ease with the dilemma of constantly twisting and turning (a currently prominent but diminishing problem) without dismissing the potential for directing the audience with expressive cues. Additionally, it creates an obvious focal(s). While it does limit the scope, bare in mind that it is only one of many types of “shots.” With every shot-form there are pro’s and cons, they are tools not meant to be perfection in there totality.

Using VR tools to Compose 360˚ 

There are many ways to interpret and translate a 360 composition, but personally, I am drawn to understanding your “canvas” as the inside of a sphere. This is especially useful when “2-D” elements are involved. Tilt Brush is a great tool for storyboarding VR. When designing a composition where the camera is stationary, I found it helpful to make an opaque sphere. Copy that sphere so that you have several. Once you have your templets, shrink or enlarge yourself, so that your are within the first sphere and your eye-level is where you want the camera/viewer to be. From there you can literally draw on the walls of the sphere. [Unfortunately, I do not have access to any of my Tilt Brush experiments to give a visual example as I was using a friends equipment and the files have since been lost.]

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Where is the camera when the camera is purely a lens and not a person. 360 often has qualms expressing the lends away from a personhood. Traditional cinema is well-accustom to these sorts of angles. How can we translate this to 360˙ medium? How can we expand beyond what was possible in flat-cinema?

”Iris Method”

Iris Method is a visual contextualization tool. It’s a way of considering viewers range of vision verses where they are least likely to see in relation to a focal point. Note the top and bottom require the most motion or leading for the viewer to direct their attention. The “iris” circle denotes the front of vision. The rest of the almond roughly shapes the audience’s peripheral. This tool can be used to block various potential focal points as you can overlay this shape if there are multiple potential focal points in a shot.

That’s a lot of negative space to explore, isn’t it? The beauty of negative space is it doesn’t have to follow the same rules as the “positive space.”

The Seam

If your shooting with a standard 360˚ camera chances are there is a seam where the camera knits the footage to compensate for the lenses blindspot. There are ways to “fix” the seam. The most effective way I’ve witnessed involves using two cameras. However, all of these methods are at present tedious; and if done wrong, the correction looks just as poor as if it had the seam. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth the trouble. An alternative option I prefer:  blending seams into the composition even if that means the seam is apparent to the viewer. Sometimes putting it at “the nose” or directly on a focal point can mimic a natural blind spot. Hide it “behind” the viewer, but only if you must! Seams are a problem that will be solved fairly soon, becoming a relic of the preliminaries. This vexation of the present might become nostalgic once we solve this puzzle. I wouldn’t bemoan a seam too much. 

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