Adaptive Playback Control: A Framework for Cinematic VR Creators to Embrace Viewer Interaction

Lingwei Tong,Robert W Lindeman,Holger Regenbrecht

doi:10.3389/frvir.2021.798306

Lingwei Tong, Robert W Lindeman + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2021.798306

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Abstract

Content creators have been trying to produce engaging and enjoyable Cinematic Virtual Reality (CVR) experiences using immersive media such as 360-degree videos. However, a complete and flexible framework, like the filmmaking grammar toolbox for film directors, is missing for creators working on CVR, especially those working on CVR storytelling with viewer interactions. Researchers and creators widely acknowledge that a viewer-centered story design and a viewer’s intention to interact are two intrinsic characteristics of CVR storytelling. In this paper, we stand on that common ground and propose Adaptive Playback Control (APC) as a set of guidelines to assist content creators in making design decisions about the story structure and viewer interaction implementation during production. Instead of looking at everything CVR covers, we set constraints to focus only at cultural heritage oriented content using a guided-tour style. We further choose two vital elements for interactive CVR: the narrative progression (director vs. viewer control) and visibility of viewer interaction (implicit vs. explicit) as the main topics at this stage. We conducted a user study to evaluate four variants by combining these two elements, and measured the levels of engagement, enjoyment, usability, and memory performance. One of our findings is that there were no differences in the objective results. Combining objective data with observations of the participants’ behavior we provide guidelines as a starting point for the application of the APC framework. Creators need to choose if the viewer will have control over narrative progression and the visibility of interaction based on whether the purpose of a piece is to invoke emotional resonance or promote efficient transfer of knowledge. Also, creators need to consider the viewer’s natural tendency to explore and provide extra incentives to invoke exploratory behaviors in viewers when adding interactive elements. We recommend more viewer control for projects aiming at viewer’s participation and agency, but more director control for projects focusing on education and training. Explicit (vs. implicit) control will also yield higher levels of engagement and enjoyment if the viewer’s uncertainty of interaction consequences can be relieved.

Highlights

As 360-degree videos become widely popular, content creators are trying to produce engaging narratives using this immersive medium
We report on a formal user study to evaluate four conditions combined from these key components: director control, viewer control, implicit control, and explicit control
Before starting the viewing sessions, we described the experience as “a virtual guided tour made from a series of 360-degree videos,” and we did not mention the actual mechanism behind the scene because we did not want the participants to be aware of the differences between conditions

Summary

Introduction

As 360-degree videos become widely popular, content creators are trying to produce engaging narratives using this immersive medium. When 360-degree cameras became widely available, practitioners and researchers explored and came up with guidelines for creators to capture engaging footage and effectively tell stories Those guidelines include the principles of arranging story elements in the scene, the placement of the camera and characters, and the gestures and body language for human actors to use with the purpose of direct the viewer’s attention in the immersive media without using non-diegetic objects (Pope et al, 2017; Syrett et al, 2017; Gödde et al, 2018; Bender, 2019; Tong et al, 2020). Creators started to treat it as a more serious form of media, and use it to create long and complete stories, aiming to immerse the viewer into the story scene and invoke more intensive emotional resonance with the characters and plot (Bevan et al, 2019; Hassan, 2020) At this stage, the term CVR emerged to define such experiences (Mateer, 2017). Researchers started to notice in CVR, compared to traditional flat videos, that both the viewer’s role and expectation of interaction had changed; viewers were no longer passive spectators like in cinemas, but characters inside the story scene, expecting a certain amount of agency within the virtual world (Syrett et al, 2017; Bender, 2019)

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