VR technologies in docudrama

The essay explores the implementation of VR technologies in film production, — a development due to which audio-visual content, which is in high demand both in television and on the Internet, has taken a new direction, and which is a topical issue in contemporary film studies. VR technologies allow the viewer who sits on a swivel chair and wears a VR-helmet incorporating 360-degree rotating LCD monitors to watch different areas of action.

A characteristic feature of VR content is a multi-sensory experience including sight, hearing, smell and touch. VR creates a digital reality with maximum sensory immersion. VR is different from cinema, theatre and 3D technologies: here the deception takes place not only at eye level but also at cerebral level.

The essay argues that the use of VR technology is particularly successful in the genre of docudrama. A vivid confirmation of this argument is The Hermitage VR. An Immersion Into History (Russia,18 minutes). In this film, the dual nature of docudrama, which combines various elements of documentary and fiction cinema, allows to recreate historical eras, with the viewer becoming a witness to unique historic events. The film’s director Mikhail Antykov tells the history of the Hermitage Museum in a spectacular form, making the viewer empathize with the events they see through their VR glasses. The powerful artistic image is enhanced by the excellent acting of Konstantin Khabensky in the role of a mystical museum guide. Via facial expressions, gestures and gait, the actor conveys the emotions of a person walking through museum halls. Thoughtful re-enactment scenes representing various historical epochs, augmented by unusual camera angles, inventive lighting and music score, create a metaphor for time and give the viewer an illusion of participation in the unfolding events.

Identifying the latest trends in film production, the essay demonstrates that VR technologies continue the evolution of screen arts which possess the potential to transform into an independent and profitable industry similar to traditional cinema. The author concludes that an increased interest in a national culture, little-known facts of history and the general historical heritage of a nation is a fertile source of content for the producers of VR-docudramas.