360 degree Video: Multilinear Narrative?

The premise of 360-degree video is thus: multiple cameras are arranged around a single point with different points of view. Collectively, these cameras capture every angle around their position simultaneously. These views are then stitched together with specialized software to form a single panoramic spherical video.

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This footage is then viewed in two main ways. The most common way is through a window in a social media source such as Facebook or YouTube, viewed through a mobile device or computer. Here, viewers touch or click and drag to navigate around the video sphere or utilize their mobiles’ gyroscopic sensor to the same end.

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Still not at the stage of significant adoption is the use of a Virtual Reality (VR) headset. This is either a standalone device (such as Facebooks Oculus Rift) or a smartphone attachment (in the case of Samsung’s Gear VR). The basic principle of these headsets is to make 360-degree content more immersive. Through special optics and by using an array of motion sensors, these devices seek to substitute your reality literally with the 360 video. As a wearer of such a headset moves their head, the perspective of the video changes accordingly, thus substituting the viewers vision.

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Though not strictly so, 360-degree video opens up a range of possibilities for multilinear narrative. As the technology advances, the ability to create truly interactive narratives will be introduced. Through the emerging medium of virtual reality, the audience will become more and more active within the narrative, ultimately choosing how it progresses.