VR Journalism. Non-fictional Storytelling in 360 Degrees
During the last years, the use of 360° videos in journalism has become more and more common. Beside the New York Times, ARTE or the Al Jazeera also non-journalistic producers offer non-fictional content for a growing audience. The new technologies (360° cameras and ambisonic microphones) and the related emerging storytelling format carry the potential to immerse their audience to a probably unprecedented extent (in journalism). A sense of presence and emotional reactions (resulting in increased empathy) characterise the experience.
In my talk, I will present the insights from a students’ project at the Swiss University of the Arts. Over the course of nine weeks, the graduating class of the degree program Cast/Audiovisual Media created and put out three non-fictional 360° videos (one video is part of the exhibition: ANGST360). I will present identified opportunities and challenges working with the new format for non-fictional storytelling and I will discuss ethical questions. Implications for future work in 360 degrees are also provided.
