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Comparison Between Virtual Reality Through 360 Photography and Physical Embodiment

Updated: Jun 6, 2018

Using the samsung 360 camera from the toystore i was able to create my own Virtual Spaces where you could through a screen, rotate around the space I was in at the time. This gave me means to make comparisons from the lived experience and one of second hand experience.


Setting 1: Hallway of the Tea Gardens North, Massey University, Block 10


Physical Embodiment Diary Entry:

I was very excited by the outcome of the 360 photographs in this setting so for future reference i will document the scenario before taking the photograph.


The light quality is warm and bright with the yellowish tint reminding me of comfort. My body is up right, there is a sense that i am out of the way or displaced by the way that i am stationary in a hallway where there are usually only pedestrians. I am aware that i am on display and those around me can experience me existing in the space. The feeling of wood beneath my feet makes me conscious of the mass which makes up my body. The high ceilings give a sense of open space and fresh air which is combined with the flow of air conditioning in the air.


Experience Viewing Virtually:

When experiencing the photograph that i had taken earlier, the light quality of the space i was looking at was similar to the space i had experience earlier, but the connection to the experience i was having was varsity different. It felt very similar to the feeling that i got from looking at a 2D photograph, with the benefit of the ability to see what was also behind the camera. I didn't have any intention of walking forwards or backwards because i knew that i was bound to the spot that the photograph was taken. I rotated around, to see the ceiling, floor, direction of light and inhabitants of the frame, yet my body didn't have any connection to the feeling of inhabiting the space. Almost none of the senses that i had experienced in the actual space were present. I was standing on a carpeted floor in socks, which contrasted with the image i was seeing and I could also see myself in the image which was particularly unconvincing of a real experience.



Setting 2: Fort Dorest, Seatoun





Physical Embodiment Diary Entry:

The first noticeable thing about the environment is the wind, it is extremely captivating, full of force as it comes across the ocean. The grass is damp and cold and the light is soft. Being just past the time where the sun sets behind the hill on my left, the light is directed only from the area where it hides behind scorching bay. The smell is salty and damp and the sound is muffled by the wind hitting my ears. The space is familiar as i come up here every month or so. I guess because of this the shock and awe of it's beauty is dulled.


The ground is soft, similar to a carpeted floor, but the motion of the waves, grass and bush makes the space alive. There is an unautomated rhythm to the wind, unpredictable and organic. Animals enter the scene and leave again, the only constant being the mass of rock that sits underneath me. When i think about what is beneath the grass i feel a connection to the material. It feels very real and grounding that gravity is holding me down to the form which is so high above sea level.


Years ago I might have felt fear of getting too close to the edge. Like it was restricted by invisible walls. This feeling may have formulated from my knowledge of danger. The thought doesn't pass my mind so much now.


Experience Viewing Virtually:


When viewing the virtual space on my phone it was hard to not get distracted by the fact that the headset was on my face, although the device gave me the ability to view the space in a more realistic way than looking a 2d screen, I could tell that the environment had qualities that my experience was lacking such as wind and day light. The environment felt vast and open but the experience I was having didn't seem to capture that feeling. Because I had to hold my phone I suppose the connection was too obviously remediated and unlikely to be a lived experience. The spatial narrative however was quite clear, I saw the site clearly and could explore moments of movement and story. The experience felt like it was teaching me what it might be like to experience the site. It did not teach me what the experience was.



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