“In this story involving two viewers, I wanted for them to become part of the story with different senses of identity.” – Minhyuk Che (GIRL, LAMP, RADIO)

Discovered at the last BIFAN (Beyond Reality) festival, GIRL, LAMP, RADIO is an experience exploring online harassment through the eyes of a K-pop star. Somewhere between an intimate portrait and a true social work, Minhyuk Che (Volumetric Capture producer at Jump Studio, and previously director of NINE VR and SPACE X GIRL) has created an immersive experience at the heart of Korean society and the K-pop phenomenon.

GIRL, LAMP, RADIO – A Fourth project in VR

Minhyuk Che – I discovered the possibilities of virtual reality while visiting Sundance New Frontier 2015. There were already a dozen VR works and films. It was a revelation for me in terms of new narratives to explore, and GIRL, LAMP, RADIO is my fourth VR project. I made a 360 project, SPACE X GIRL, which was selected at SXSW 2018. While initially intrigued by the spatial aspects of VR, my interest shifted to the sense of identity within VR audiences. Within VR environments, audiences have a feeling of being someone else. I aimed to explore the experiences of the audience embodying roles and identities as part of the story, particularly exploring the possibilities that emerge through the connection between two individuals.

M. C. – GIRL, LAMP, RADIO is a second project in this vein, based on two-user interactions – I had previously produced NINE VR on the same device.In this work, I designed the audience to exist with the identity of objects that exist in the main character’s room. Because she is suffering from other people’s eyes and words. It needs a unique position, not a voyeuristic ghost or her point of view, to truly experience her pain. I wanted to make the audience experience her emotions as a point of view of things – Lamp and Radio that are emotionally close to her.

Being an object in a VR experience

M. C. – We usually use our eyes and bodies to represent ourselves. These are the elements of our social identity, triggering reactions and interactions, but they can evolve and change. It’s all relatively unstable. In GIRL, LAMP, RADIO, I didn’t want to integrate this – I wanted each spectator to be an object, fixed in the story. Like invisible witnesses, who can observe the environment without slowing down the story. And the lamp changes color to reflect the main character’s emotional state, and the radio sometimes listens to her words in noise. In reality, I’ve tried to play on the objects represented to offer the viewer a range of interactions. But it’s up to the viewer to discover them, without revealing too much…

M. C. – It’s also a question of eye and point of view. The two users share the same story but participate with a different sense of identity. And they have asymmetric roles. At some point, the main character approaches the lamp and speaks her heart, and the radio just looks at it. In another scene, the radio has to have a decisive interaction to help her from hate comments. Their respective involvement depends on the process of the story. The main character calls you differently. It’s not about over-emphasizing the interaction, it’s about telling each user to be part of the story. It’s a delicate treatment as if the audience had become an actor. At the climax, the two audiences have to work together at the same time to help her. I wanted to make the two audiences go through a unique process of moving deeper into her emotions, from witness to helper.

An experience in the Korean society

M. C. – There’s a sociological component to the story of GIRL, LAMP, RADIO, which is partly inspired by a true story. This guided the narrative and interaction design. Although K-pop idol receives overwhelming attention and love in the connected online world, it is very difficult to protect one’s mind from irresponsible verbal abuse and voyeuristic gaze. That mind is the space where a person’s identity is shaken the most, and this VR experience was intended to invite the audience to that space. The impact of social networks, and the personal management of online hate campaigns, are now – and unfortunately – universal topics. We worked to ensure that each environment represented different emotions linked to these contexts. The décor, unique (and very representative of a Korean apartment), evolves in line with this.

M. C. – GIRL, LAMP, RADIO is still fiction, inspired by real events and social problems linked to online hate. We worked on a conclusion using volumetric capture. It’s a way of placing the heroine, Gina, at the centre of the story. After this animated odyssey, the public can really discover her. It’s always a challenge to switch to real images, because optimization remains complex, and we had to fulfil the promise of showing her in real life.

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