The Language of Movies in a 360° World

The 360°immersive space is not simply an extension of the movie screen, but rather necessitates a rethinking of the traditional system of the cinematic gaze. In classical film, the director and the cinematographer control the viewer’s attention through framing, optics, camera movement, focus, editing, and composition to control the viewer’s attention. In an immersive space, however, the exclusive viewpoint ceases to exist: the viewer is free to turn around, explore, fall behind, or even completely ignore what the artist intends to be dramaturgically significant.

The discussion can therefore examine what creative control remains in the director’s hands when the viewer’s gaze becomes, in part, autonomous. What new directorial and cinematographic tools can be used to direct attention withoutforcing the viewer back into the traditional cinematic viewpoint? How do the concepts of shot, composition, editing, dramatic timing, or even suspense transform in a space where the viewer’s gaze is not guaranteed?

For film scholars, this may involve examining whether an independent immersive film language already exists, or whether we are currently working mostly with spatial adaptations of classical motion-picture thinking. The media art and technology aspect, meanwhile, raises the question of whether the viewer’s freedom actually signifies a loss of the artist’s control, or whether it actually creates a new kind of dramaturgical possibility: where the story does not unfold in the same way for every viewer, but comes together through individual paths and discoveries.

Location: CODE Studio Hall, 2 Dózsa György út, Veszprém