Immersive cinema: the future of the big screen?
“Immersive” and “experiential” – two of the most important words to come out of the arts over the last decade. Two words which are already shaping cultural activities across the arts and will no doubt continue to do so in the near future.
Both words were buzzing around my head this weekend when I went along to Future Cinema’s latest event – a massive, multi-sensory recreation of the world of Top Gun on a disused plot of land near London’s Canary Wharf. Four-thousand members of the public turned up, the majority of them dressed as characters from the film, to mix with professional actors on replica sets and have their own personal Top Gun experience. So you could play beach volleyball for example, go to the barber’s for a buzz cut, sing You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling on karaoke or even have a backie on Maverick’s motorbike – before sitting down to watch the film itself on a huge outdoor screen.
Future Cinema also run Secret Cinema, an even more popular variation on the theme which involves the audience turning up at a secret location in themed dress but knowing nothing about the film or experience on offer. The idea of both strands of activity is to make the experience of film more communal and social, to get people talking about the film on show, why they like it and how it connects with them. And from what I’ve experienced myself, it works fantastically well.
But it’s important to point out that the multi-sensory cinematic experiences offered by Future Cinema form part of a wider trend of ‘immersive’ or ‘experiential’ cultural activities currently sweeping the arts in general. It’s happening not just with cinema but in theatre, art galleries and even specially created dining experiences too. The movement has its roots in the live action role-playing war games which became popular in the 80s as well as sing-along fancy dress screenings of films like The Sound of Music and Rocky Horror and then computer games like online virtual world Second Life. But its potential was taken to a new level artistically at the start of this century by one pioneering theatre company – Punchdrunk.
Punchdrunk was formed in 2000 and so far has enjoyed major successes in London, Manchester and, currently, New York. I can vividly remember my first Punchdrunk experience, when I went to see Masque of the Red Death at the Battersea Arts Centre in London. Across countless rooms, the company used music, dance, characterisation, physical theatre, design installation and textual interpretation to plunge the audience into an epic recreation of a Gothic horror story by Edgar Allan Poe. Like many of the audience, I was spellbound by what I experienced – particularly by the climax, when the numerous dramatic threads taking place across the vast building all somehow came together in perfect synchronicity for an energetic dance show in what had been decked out to be a huge ballroom. But much more than this, I was awestruck to be able to see unfolding before me what could only be described as conventional theatre receiving a proverbial shot in the arm.
It would be impossible to underestimate the impact of Punchdrunk on theatre and its ongoing influence not just in the UK but now around the world. At the recent Edinburgh Fringe for example, I couldn’t help noticing the number of shows that treated audiences members as characters whose presence was somehow relevant to the central drama – and whose input often necessary to drive that drama forward. And we can all come up with examples of plays mounted in previously disused spaces – whether it’s the run of shows to be staged in the tunnels underneath London’s Waterloo station or the backstage scenic studio of the National Theatre, which was recently opened up to the public for the first time to host a series of plays.
But of all the immersive cultural events I’ve experienced, it’s important to point out that what I’ve enjoyed most has been the uniquely personal moments. At Secret Cinema’s Battle for Algiers for example I was handpicked from the crowd as a suspected Algerian terrorist and interrogated by French police in a torture chamber. While at Punchdrunk’s Masque of the Red Death I was taken by the hand by one actor and swept into some kind of private room for what I can only describe as a session of stroking and petting that jerked me way out of my comfort zone. The same thing happened at Top Gun this weekend – at one point I was picked out of the crowd to be barked at by a uniformed officer for my bad posture and then cackhanded salute. And what’s brilliant is that everyone who’s been to this kind of event has their own story – and it’s always different from everyone else’s, even the friends they went along with.
It would be a shame if, as the immersive cultural experience spreads across the arts, often getting bigger and bigger, directors lost sight of just how important this sense of intimacy and uniqueness is to the whole concept. Because, whilst it’d be great for more and more people to be able to immerse themselves in theatrical experiences like Future Cinema’s Top Gun, it would be a huge shame if the spirit behind it is damaged as a result.
Follow @MatthewCainC4 on Twitter.
Related posts:
- Behind the screen: Secret Cinema revealed
- Time to jilt your cultural guilt
- ‘Inventing the cultural future’ with Doctor Dee
There are 7 comments on this post
Matthew,
Can’t wait until they try it with “Saving Private Ryan”
Imagine the Leni Riefenstahl-style propaganda possibilities. I bet you the spooks are working on it as we speak.
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What disappointed me was that we were told to arrive at 4pm and the film didn’t actually start til 8 – and there was nothing to do for 4 hours. This article mentions beach volleyball or getting a haircut – nice idea but with 4,000 people that was never a realistic option – and in any case woudn’t have filled 4 hours. Nothing to do but buy overpriced food and drink and sit on wet grass for four hours waiting for a film to start- no thanks. My boyfriend and I were so disappointed we left!
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How is £3.50 a pint overpriced?
I can’t vouch for Top Gun, but Lost Boys had plenty to do, from canoeing to ferris wheels, from ear piercing to dodgems.
Did you really expect an outdoor cinema venue to start a film before dusk..!?
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There were screens at Canary Wharf during the summer showing Wimbledon during the day – maybe I was being stupid but I hadn’t realised Top Gun would be using a projector and therefore only able to show it once it got dark. That still doesn’t explain why the email told us to arrive at 4 though – even if you went on the dodgems etc that wouldn’t fill 4 hours! It would have been better if I’d been in a big group I expect but it was just me and my boyfriend and he doesn’t drink. I’m sure some people enjoyed the Top Gun experience but I was disappointed.
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I went to the screening of “The Lost Boys” it was excellent.
Really felt like I was on the boardwalk!
The actors and everyone dressed up it was just a fantastic evening! Everyone getting on and helping each other out and chatting in the rather large bar/food/toilet queues!
Will be attending the next one!
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Me and two friends went along to the Top Gun event on the Sunday. We undertook a stressful journey from Bournemouth to get there but once we’d stepped inside the event we knew it was well worth it. Total immersion and real good fun. So many really nice people just looking to have as much fun with the concept as they could.
Here is my video from the event http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjzEYHd3QIk
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Matthew,
Talking of Leni Riefenstahl….I presume a well-informed critic like your self has seen “Triumph of the Will”?
Don’t you think your blog picture and its obvious military propaganda are as disturbing as the dupes who wore navigator sun glasses and uniforms and thought it “cool” as opposed to outright sinister?
There was too a 1930s German generation who thought uniforms and serried, obedient rows “cool.” And look what happened to THEM.
Try comparing your blog picture to some of the stills from Riefenstahl’s film. See anything coincidental?
Much more of this nonsense and I’ll begin to think there’s something really nasty afoot……
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