The Spectator’s Seat. Movement and Body in Immersive Cinema

Abstract

The way that conventional cinema guides the spectator around the image constitutes a very different form of immersion from the interactive immersion of all-encompassing media experiences. By considering such differences when studying immersive media, we can explore the full range of its potential benefits and how they can be combined to create new narrative formulas. Beyond virtualizing scenes, every immersive medium repositions the movement and the body of the spectator in the represented space. How these elements are redefined in each production is central to the viewing experience. This article studies immersive audiovisual storytelling, particularly in 360-degree video, from the perspective of the frictions between conventional cinematography and immersive media. These tensions are expressed through the different ways in which movement is depicted and the different positions of the spectator’s body in the image.