In this interactive short film, viewers can choose between nine different cameras offering nine different perspectives, and switch between them at any time using the arrow keys.

Perspective invites the viewer to engage with the story in their own unique way - the viewer is cast as the detective.

Everyone who watches PERSPECTIVE will have a completely different viewing experience - they will see or hear different clues in different orders.

What are the benefits of this kind of storytelling?

•It encourages rewatches. Viewers engage with the narrative on a deep level as they rewatch to find clues they missed.

•It creates rich group discussions. Everyone has their own unique version of how the narrative unfolded, leading to a sharing of experiences and different talking points

•Many people now consume television while on their phone, or multitasking. PERSPECTIVE’s mechanic of flicking between different cameras encourages that urge to ‘flick away’ while giving all of their attention to the piece.

Below is an example of how the storytelling works. It contains spoilers for PERSPECTIVE.
Show spoiler:

How PERSPECTIVE was created

Where did this idea come from?

I watched the film ‘The Lives of Others’ and was fascinated by the idea of watching people through a screen. So much of internet culture revolves around watching people we don’t know, and I wanted to create a narrative that invites the viewer to reflect on that topic.

I also wanted to create a form of interactive television that was easy to understand and engage with. I designed PERSPECTIVE around the idea of a remote control. The main interaction is changing ‘channels’. Even people who may be hesistant about using new technology know how to use a remote control, so it’s an interaction that’s very intuitive.

Finally, I wanted to create a murder mystery that the viewer can solve for themselves. After a couple of watches, the viewer will experience an ‘aha!’ moment when all the pieces fall into place. That ‘aha!’ moment in PERSPECTIVE is far more powerful than having the answer explained to you.

How did you create a script for Perspective?

One of the biggest challenges of this project was working out how to script something this complex. Each character actually has their own script, and all the scripts’ timings match up with each other.

How did you create the technology behind Perspective?

PERSPECTIVE is built with HTML, CSS and Javascript. Nine audio files are loaded and synced to a YouTube video. When you press the arrow keys, you can change which camera you see the action through, and the correct audio plays. If you would like to know more about how this technology works, please contact me.

What have you learnt about interactive media through this making this film?

Lots! If you’re interested in the academic and/or practical side of creating interactive narratives with immersive technologies, I’d love to chat through my findings with you. Contact me.

Cast

Alex
Lucy Hird

Cheryl
Beccy Durham

Jamie
Ashley Pekri

Jet
Ranya Dool

Laura
Chloé Booyens

Mark
Ian Ray-White

Nicole
Leah Baskaran

Ryan
Carl Blakeley

Sandra
Dawn Bush

And Ethan Lang as Michael

Contact

Interested in what Perspective and this style of interactive film can do for you? Contact me at rebeccaemilysaw@gmail.com.

Have any thoughts on Perspective and want to let me know? If so, thank you! I'd love to hear from you.
Please fill in your feedback using this Google Form.

You can follow me on Twitter at @RebeccaSees or send me an email at rebeccaemilysaw@gmail.com.