We can already name trends in the immersive production world. In fact, I will name two: one espouses photo-realism fully, the other veers towards obvious fiction. The former seems to adhere to ‘transparent’ aesthetics, to use sone cinema jargon. It can hide, conceal, dissimulate every artificiality to focus on the impression of reality. Mimesis, a language that puts comfort of vision first. The latter, on the contrary, highlights the artificiality of language, of computer-generated imagery, of three-dimensionality, of immersiveness itself to take the spectator onto a level of alienation and detachment, making use of meta-languages and supporting awareness of the artificiality of the expressive means. The reasons? A more critical positioning.
In immersive art, the same duality applies. Empereur fits quite clearly in the second group, the anti-realistic and meta-linguistic one. Producers felt free to pick a hand-drawn, pencil-drawn style. The user is drawn into the experience by being asked his point of view within the story, though in stranger fashion than one might expect. Our role in the experience is the father of the protagonist, who cannot speak. His inability to speak reminds of the solipsistic disposition the user of virtual reality experiences. He is but a mute eye witness, like in a dream. Producers Marion Burger and Ilan Cohen play with the function and role of the VR user and vest it with the motifs that are proper of immersive experiences: memory, remembrance of lived experience in dreamlike key and a subjective point of view. As users, this is what we are asked and tasked with.
It is quite an interesting, fertile exercise, much like many other VR pieces, and proves to be one of the most natural instances of these new expressive forms that are slowly developing their own conscience as they build meaning-making processes within themselves.
EMPEREUR (EMPEROR)
COMPETITION
By Marion Burger & Ilan Cohen
(France, Germany, 40’)
