PDN Edu - Spring 2017

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“Great Performers: L.A. Noir”
Gina Prince-Bythewood/Ami Canaan Mann

nyti.ms/2h8IeJ0

France and AudioGaming, in co-produc-
tion with Archer’s Mark, the immersive
VR project is based on John Hull’s sensory
and psychological experience as a blind
person. “A 360-degree visually focused
medium may not sound like it would be
a great fit, but the way they used VR to
create an audio-driven world—a world al-
most drawn with sound—shows how any
story can be told with VR if you know how
to use the format.”
VR technology “begs a number of dif-
ferent questions for how we should or
could tell a story,” Rohner adds. “What
does ‘framing’ a story mean when there
literally is no frame and the viewer can
see in every direction? Do we need a re-
porter as our proxy for the event when VR
is so immersive it feels like we are actually
there?”
These are the kinds of open-ended
questions that media outlets like VICE
and The New York Times are excitedly look-
ing to answer. As a result, when it comes
to assigning VR stories to photographers
and filmmakers, “it takes many more con-
versations about goals for the story” than
with traditional storytelling mediums,
says Pirog. “It takes research time, as we
ask each filmmaker to watch a number of
VR films before they even agree to the as-
signment. And it takes time to allow them
to experiment with the camera before
they go into the field. A new medium like
this requires all new training and new
techniques.” Techniques, she notes, for
which there is not yet a set of guidelines.

Despite the various unknowns of VR,

The New York Times has gathered a good
deal of knowledge about its potential and
now offers a live stream series through
the School of The New York Times that
covers the foundations of VR and the VR
production life cycle (pre-production,
production and post-production). “The
New York Times VR team has become a
premier leader in VR media,” says VP of
product development Audrey Heine-
sen, “so we came together to offer a VR
curriculum that not only shares insider
learnings, but creates a community to
discuss VR and to build together what it
can become.”
What does the future hold for VR? “The
future is wide open,” Pirog says. “We are
still waiting to see how and when and why
people will watch VR.” Or, as Rohner suc-
cinctly puts it: “I’ll let you know when I
find out.” EDU