360 Video Analysis:Great Performers: L.A. Noir
        The 360 video I watched is called ‘Great Performers: L.A. Noir’. It is a series of nine black and white films that features some of the most outstanding actors in Hollywood. The director is Gina Prince-Bythewood (with two directed by Ami Canaan Mann ). Each film is short but dramatic, ranging from 1 minute to 2 minutes. All stories take place in a bar where there are several round tables with chairs, a billiards table, a small stage with a piano. “The V.R. camera plays the role of a major character: The stars were instructed to play their scenes with the camera, speaking to it, singing to it, walking around it in circles, firing a gun at it.” (New York Times)
        I think making it in virtual reality is not about reality but more about the feeling of immersion. It is an immersive experience that puts audience at the center of the storytelling or as a witness or a participant that complete the narrative.
        When I watched the first film of the series for the first time, I did not expected myself “play” a role, and this is a refreshing perspective to enjoy the VR film.  The second film has the same setting but the audience takes a different role. After the second film I would expect what new role would be assigned to me. And it is always quite surprising. 
        Each film is short but intense. The changing lighting leaking through the windows and constant ambient sounds all adds layers of tension and dramatic feeling to the scene, thus enhance the level of immersiveness and artistic expression. The lack of context, the fast shifting of roles, and the dramatic stories engage with the audience very well because there is no too much time to think, but the lack of context prompts audience to speculate the whole story.
        Every frame is like a photograph. It is like living inside a black and white movie and all those Hollywood stars are talking to me. It is not a movie because I can control where to look, I can observe the environment the director put me through and realize what role I am playing and try to put myself in the shoes of that character. Typically in a movie, all characters are plotted out and it leave little space for imagination of what a that character looks like and how she would act. However, in a 360 movie like this, an individual audience is both the spectator and participant , putting together the last puzzle of the film. As an audience, I can even imagine myself starring a Hollywood noir film.

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