PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD
PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD Have you ever loved a movie but hated its ending? Maybe that couple should have gotten back together, or that character shouldn’t have died. Now, a new technology could let you decide the twists of a movie’s plot seamlessly while you watch it.
The innovative video formatting technique, developed by researchers at Tel Aviv University, uses complex coding procedures that allow for smooth transitions between scenes, as a user chooses from possible plot directions. Using the format, a viewer watches a film on any regular or touch-screen video device. At essential moments, “action items” appear. The user can choose to alter the film’s course or not to interact at all.
Nitzan Ben Shaul, a professor at the university’s Department of Film and Television, has created the first film to utilize this technology. Ben Shaul received his Ph.D. from the Cinema Studies Department at New York University. His film, Turbulence, tells the story of three friends reuniting after a 20-year separation, caused, in part, by political unrest. The viewer gets to decide on crucial story elements, such as whether two of the characters rekindle their past love.
On the set of Turbulence, the new interactive movie from researchers at Tel Aviv University.
Without any input from the viewer, Turbulence spans more than 83 minutes. Depending on interactions, the film can last up to two hours. Viewers can even go back through the film and make different options in order to experience its many alternate versions. The filmmaker assures that, no matter what choices are made, the film’s ending provides a feeling of closure.
"The film gives people the suspense and thrill of multiple outcomes like those of the films Sliding Doors or Run Lola Run, but it also gives them the power to really choose and influence at a number of key points how the plot of the movie will proceed," Ben Shaul said in a press release.
For its ground-breaking technological techniques, Turbulence recently won a prize at the Berkeley Video and Film Festival.
"Sliding Doors and Run Lola Run inspired me. They make you think about options in life, but they don't let you experience what responsibility feels like at crucial decision points," said Ben Shaul. "In our film, you decide where the character should go, and you can decide to return to the point where the plot flipped. It's gripping."
The researchers think that their new film technology is a perfect fit for devices such as iPods and iPads, as well as personal airplane screens. They add that if a group views the interactive film, one individual could make the plot choices or the viewers could take a vote.
"It develops optional thinking and can change the way people consume media and advertisements," said Ben Shaul. He hopes to change the interactions between filmmaking and modern technologies, an issue he explores in a book he is currently writing.
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