ON THE FUTURE

OF STORYTELLING
ALEXANDER KUTULOS

"The cinema is an
invention without
a future."
Surprisingly enough, this quote attributed to Louis Lumire,
who was, of course, one of the most influential people to
pioneer the motion picture. Whilehis prediction was certainly
incorrect during the early 1900s, the statement seemingly
rings more and more true today.

Hello.
The tide of media has turned; audiences and creators
alike are challenging the fundamental principles of the
entertainment industry. Meanwhile, new technology is
knocking at the door with the introduction of an entirely
unprecedented medium -- virtual reality. The imminent
collision of this dynamic landscape with such a powerful
storytelling tool, requires a complete reconstruction of
visual grammar. In forging ahead with this endeavor, here
are a few personal theories to consider

The Current
Landscape

The new,
empowered viewer.

When we tell stories, we manipulate an exchange of information.

The storyteller always holds a certain dominance over the viewer:
he/she restricts an audiences knowledge of the narrative by any
number of personal bias or artistic choices. And for much of our
cultural history, the audience has accepted a complete imbalance.
But, todays audience is different.

The current
generation of viewers
is one of urgency,
self-control, and
independence.
Today's audience, as well as ones yet to come, are pushing
back: he/she decides when, where, and how to engage with
media. And ultimately due to such control, their interaction
with content occurs in a deeper manner. So instead of
ignoring what the audience has become, lets begin by
acknowledging the viewers more equal standing to the
narrator and recognize his/her voyeuristic presence is now
deeply embedded within the story, no longer isolated from it.

Too often people get

locked inside boxes.
And its not a great
place to be...
Lets think outside
the box. In fact lets
smash the box

The diversity
of all audiences &
storytellers.
Before you dismiss this paragraph as just another voice in
the ongoing discussion occurring in Hollywood, consider
this: there is no demographic makeup for VR. The industry,
just like the medium itself, is still in its infancy, and such
malleability begets possibility. With virtual reality, those
in positions of power have the opportunity to make a
conscious effort in reshaping how mainstream narrative
represents the larger society.
There is no experience more powerful than seeing yourself
represented on screen; to relate to a character is the true
power of storytelling. But that experience only comes
about when those behind the camera and the stories
they're telling reflect the diversity of the society in which
the work will be received.

Idris Elba

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New Media
Specificity

First comes setting,

then comes the rest.
Virtual reality is a spacial medium - the viewer is transported
to an environment distinct from actual reality (a poor mans
teleportation). Thus for storytelling in VR, setting is the most
important character. It is the only "character" always in view.
As the storyteller cannot absolutely control visual attention,
each and every portion of the narrative space must be
considered. Location is not merely a backdrop for story, it
tells the narrative itself. The motivation of a VR experience
is not only to understand plot, but to embody presence and
gleam the feeling of place. And to achieve a successful
design, the setting should convey a lived-in existence: a life/
history prior to the viewers entry.
Think of the dynamic between setting and plot in VR as
an accelerated evolution of shared universes (i.e. the
Marvel Cinematic Universe) and transmedia content. In
order to further engage audiences, the full completion of
a story occurs less and less within a single work. Instead
an interplay of individual plots is drawn across platforms.
Virtual reality presents the capability for these connections
to arise together, simultaneously. The storyteller is able to
craft multiple focal points of character and offer the viewer
several pathways into the story. And herein lies the bedrock
for storytelling in VR: the illusion of choice.
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With a mindset of spacial narrative design,

the story environment will trick audiences
into a journey of individual-discovery.
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Construct contrast;
a montage of space.
Todays moving image is ultrafast and self-reflexive (look at any
digital media for clear evidence). Life unfortunately isnt made
this way. It is stagnant and methodical. It has no particular pace
and certainly isnt saturated with jump cuts. Thus far, narrative
VR, by reflecting our reality, is also slow and often meandering.
A fundamental problem has yet to be solved: how to create
energy without rapid editing.

A new kind of cinematic energy:

Environmental variety creates intrigue...
intrigue energizes viewer exploration.

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Solution: adapt the montage for three-dimensional space.

Divide the story space into portions of action which will stand
as frame substitutes. And just as contrast would be created
across a filmic sequence, juxtaposition should be established
between changing lines of sight. As a basic example, when
staging dialogue: set a typical conversation left of center,
near silence to the right, and a loud argument behind front
perspective. By dividing the story space through narrative
contrast, you free the viewer to naturally determine his/her
own personal rhythm in the experience. Dont tell the audience
where to look, instead provide such varied pockets of story,
theyre encouraged to look everywhere.

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The new theory of

peaks & valleys

Virtual reality narrative is an experience rooted in viewer

discovery. Traditionally, only a singular narrative path is
available to the audience: the creator decides how the story
unfolds and the sequence through which each story-beat' is
revealed. Immersive storytelling tosses aside such a finite
construction. Instead, in this new medium rests the capability
for a meshing of several narrative trajectories. The overlaying
of different story arcs within one story space creates a plot
matrix. One portion of the environment could be rising to
climax (a peak) while another might be slowing towards
conclusion (a valley).
Its the difference between a straight, guided walkway and a
freeform maze. In VR, each viewer should be incentivized to
have an exploratory journey from beginning to end. Through a
manipulation of the plot matrix, the storyteller can consistently
surprise and reward the audience. A viewer is encouraged
to stumble upon the punchline of a gag without the buildup,
transforming what was calculated comedy into unexpected
shock & awe. The result is a dynamic, playful narrative structure
no other medium is able to match.

REALITY HAS NO
SCRIPT. IT IS MESSY,
FULL OF SURPRISES,
AND WEIRD.

VR STORYTELLING
SHOULD APPEAR
TO BE THE SAME;
BUT BEHIND THE
CURTAIN IS AN
INTRICATE DESIGN
READY TO BE
EXPLORED.

It's better to be a
"fly on the wall"
Conventional logic assumes that the majority of successful
experiences in VR and new media should be told from
a first person perspective where user interactivity is not
only allowed, it is necessary. So far most have presumed
in order to be completely immersed in a story, the viewer
must play a participatory role. Yet, such a philosophy
defies a history of storytelling tradition. Film, in particular,
is a medium based on passive voyeurism: the audience
escapes his/her reality to watch the life of another, all
unbeknownst to that character.
VR and new media bring the capability for the viewers third
person omniscience to be intensified tenfold. By removing
the technological rift between content and audience, the
voyeur is plunged inside the story.
Here lies the real magic of virtual reality: to finally become
a true fly on the wall. If you are going to ask the viewer
to leave his/her true reality, the experience offered must
be meaningful and unachievable elsewhere; to become an
invisible observer of a characters life is that impossible
dream VR provides.

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Stories are sacred.

The ultimate objective of an audience is to
observe and empathize, not participate. A
chef wouldn't allow you to alter the recipe
of a signature dish...a composer wouldn't
let you rearrange a classic symphony.
Don't allow the viewer to control
the conclusion of your narrative.

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Lets serialize the

three-act structure.
Anyone who has ever told a story knows the basic three act
structure: the rise, the fall, the resolution. The framework has
stood the test of time with rigidity and length: one complete
experience spanning hours instead of minutes. Common
sense dictates that tradition be brought over into VR, however
no new storyteller in his/her right mind is expecting to strap
a headset on a viewer for almost two hours. The audience
must grow comfortable to the experience with practice.

Today, stories are already being told

differently, in shorter increments over
a longer period of time and with added
cycles of narrative conflict.

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In order to allow for moments when the viewer can leave

the experience without disrupting narrative cohesion, VR
and immersive media must utilize an expanded trajectory
with loosely defined structural beats. The overarching plot
may progress slower, but the capability for richer character
development and setting is strengthened. The resulting
number of acts for any given narrative is dependent on the
number of locations used. Traditional hard cuts destroy
the feeling of immersion in VR, and in their absence each
act must exist as a single scene in a single location. The
transitions between scenes and locations become intuitive
stopping points of the experience. Each scene can function
independently with its own form of episodic conclusion,
freeing the viewer to watch any number of scenes in a given
sitting, determine his/her own pacing of the plot.
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You cant just drop a

360-degree camera
at an interesting spot
and expect the
audience to be
engaged. That's not
storytelling, that's
a gimmick.

In order for VR to
reach the masses
and assert itself into
the foundation of
popular culture, its
purpose must go
beyond superficial
sensation.

To construct a
collective memory.

Experimenting in new mediums is an exciting and attractive

undertaking, but an important question always remains...
Why? Why tell a story inside virtual reality? Is this experience
valuable enough for the audience to remove themselves
from real life?
Storytelling is so essential and widespread for simple reason
that it connects, it allows for a shared human experience. The
future of media creates an opportunity for a multiplicity of
perspective within one experience. VR has a responsibility
to be the medium for all, not just film festival attendees, not
just video game fans. Strive to tell stories that are inclusive,
not exclusive and be rewarded with a viewer, who contributes
his/her own personal impressions into the conversation of the
entire audience.

Case Studies

Flipframe
Theories arent worth a dime until theyre tested and
experimented. Enter Flipframe. Working with the financial
limitations of a creative-minded undergraduate, acquiring
or developing a personal virtual reality camera was near
impossible. Additionally, considering that the technology
surrounding VR and 360-degree filmmaking is still in its
infancy, using any consumer rig on the market presented
an unwanted second variable. The user would be distracted
by the poor video/audio quality, drawing all attention away
from the more important construction of story.
An iOS & web application, Flipframe, was designed as a
method to specifically test narrative theory. Constructed
around an interactive video mechanism, Flipframe creates
a pseudo-360 degree environment by offering the viewer
simple controls to move through multiple frames of
content. What the experiment sacrifices in immersion,
its interaction makes up for in simplicity and energy. The
viewer moves through multiple plots and visuals more
intuitively and naturally than a jerk of a head. It begins to
train the audience on how to process an abundant rush of
visual information coming from multiple directions. The
viewer is coaxed to chose one division of the story and
compare its characteristics to the larger whole.

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Multi-Perspective:
Same Scene, Same Space

Narrative in the mechanism, just like as in virtual reality, is

divided into differing pockets of character within a larger,
overarching plot or theme.
As VR provides the audience with unrestricted vision,
Flipframe acts as a pre-visualization tool for how differing
narratives will progress in proximity. The data found from
how the viewer interacts with the story and which frames he/
she choses to watch is then used to educate the storyteller
and better develop the experience.
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Designing a story:
Chit-Chat

An aerial mockup of how the environment was conceived,

with the corresponding filmed segments (on the right).

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Chit-Chat is a conceptual Flipframe short centered around

five separate improvisational conversations. The narrative
was made to mimic the experience of people watching and
place the viewer in a known setting (at a quintessential LA
taco truck). The environment is designed with visual and story
contrast. Each of the five conversations contain different
character types (theatre students, a couple, a slacker, etc.),
though linked through location and similar college age. As
a result, the audience was encouraged to draw individual
connections and at the same time, uncover new moments of
comedic punch.

(From left to right)

1: 'A first date'
2: 'Old friends'
3. 'The theatre kids'
4: 'Calling grandma'
5: 'Clown car'

Copyright (C) April 2016

Alexander Kutulos
kutulosa@gmail.com
www.alexanderkutulos.com
516.302.5986