Filmmakers and Ethics

How filmmakers are using 360

Filmmakers are not using 360 videos as a way to revolutionise movies, hence why there aren’t any cinema theatres that are circular and have screens around the outside. I believe that this is because a story-driven medium, like a film, would be hindered by allowing the audience to look around in 360 degrees. The reason for this is because parts of the plot could be missed entirely if the audience is looking the wrong way. This would mean that steps would have to be taken to ensure that the audience is looking the correct way at the correct time in which case, why not just shoot the film with traditional cameras? Some ways could work, such as educational films about nature or stars and space, because that would allow the audience to feel like they are exploring what they are learning. This is already used in museums for things such as planetariums.

Ethical concerns

The ethical concerns related to 360 filming are no different to that of normal filming and photography. These consist of people being aware that they are in the film or photo and if they are okay with it, providing that they are not in a public place. If they are in a public place, they are not legally allowed to do anything about it, unless the filming is actually singling a person out and they are being followed. The ethics behind drone filming vs normal filming is different as the drone can reach places where the normal film cannot. This does not apply to 360 vs normal as the camera will be either handheld or on a rig, just like a traditional camera. The only issue that 360 cameras can bring up is that, because it faces 2 ways, the public does not know if they are being filmed or not. However, due to smartphones having both a front and a rear camera, this potential issue is not unique.