PND: autobiographical performance for virtual reality film

Abstract

ABSTRACT Contemporary Virtual Reality production often relies on increasing visual fidelity in order to enhance the creation of deep-space 360-degree worlds. In turn, performance is situated as one component of realist space that needs high-resolution images in order to support it. This paper considers what happens when this visual fidelity is foregone in favour of the production of a haptic, tactile visuality that draws attention to the material qualities of the 360-degree visual sphere and the performances that are a part of it. Using my autobiographical short 360-degree film PND as an example, I advocate that low-fi visual artefacts such as digital noise, over and under exposure, and glitch movement can provide a productive way to create new, embodied, relationships between performer and viewer in VR’s 360-degree space. In this way, new artistic paths for working with VR and performance are explored.