Hacking the physical in 360 video: Mask-driven storytelling workshop

VR headsets are horrible. As tools to tell stories through, they are clearly problematic. It is clear that these functional commercial objects are not designed by the storytellers - who are left grappling with the task of delivering emotionally compelling content through the undignified things.

This session asks: What possibilities will emerge if storytellers tap into the power of the mask itself, and take ownership of its design and construction - as part of the process of the story they seek to tell?

Because masks, we should remember, are powerful. All over the world, masks have a huge role in human cultures. Their ability to impact both those inside them and those outside them is used in countless ways - from the sacred to the profane.

This quick-n-dirty workshop will have three parts:

1) A brainstorming session for rapid prototyping of a project. One can work alone or in teams. 2) Creating a fully functional 360 headset-mask using cardboard templates, by hacking a Google Cardboard. 3) Shooting a quick one-shot 360 video to go especially with that mask. I will show how to get a 360 video up on Youtube within minutes of its shooting, using the Samsung gear cameras and their handy software.

Once this session is done, we will have a little exhibition of head-mounted projects.