Immersive

Through computer software, video games and television, users have come to expect more interactivity from their entertainment; so far, however, efforts to bring interactivity and film together have met with limited success. The Chosen, a thesis film by IMD MFA student Yuechuan Ke, is a pioneering effort to bring new types of viewer interactivity to the narrative film medium.

The Chosen is a narrative film that blends action, horror and romance in an original story about a woman who finds a frightening connection to an ancient, cursed doll. For this prototype, a selection of scenes from the larger script have been filmed; these scenes showcase the suspense created by the film, the wide cast of characters, and, just as importantly, the professional fight choreography that Yuechuan commissioned for the film. Despite these familiar film elements, however, the Chosen is not a typical movie. In every scene, viewers will be able to dynamically choose what they observe.

Instead of a traditional movie format, The Chosen is a viewer-controlled MultiCam narrative. It incorporates a special control board designed by Yuechuan for this project... this control board is a field of buttons, representing the nine different camera shots in each scene. By pressing different buttons, the viewer can literally control what they see on screen... they can switch between different angles, focus on details, or even see different events that are happening at the same time. This interactive element allows viewers to control their experience while remaining immersed in the story at hand.

By combining high production values with a novel concept of interactivity, MultiCam narrative could pave the way for a new type of film, giving audiences unprecendented levels of directorial control over their live-action movies. To read more about Yuechuan Ke's experimental design, you can read or download his paper here.