Is 'Citizen Kane' Moment Coming? - A Research on Chinese VR Documentary Practice and Storytelling

摘要

"Citizen Kane" moment is the occasion when a work achieves mastery of the form, defining a language of storytelling for future creators. [1] As a newborn genre, VR documentary is currently somewhere in that intermediate phase. 2016 is the first year of Chinese VR documentary. Over the past three years, more than 100 artworks have emerged, besides, some of them has been exhibited in famous international film festival such as Cannas. The embryonic Chinese VR content industry also serves this fresh genre with a favorable environment and support. With the advent of 5G era, will the creation of VR documentaries in China usher in a new Kane moment, or encounter more cruel challenges? Through investigating the main distribution platforms and the storytelling characteristics of existing artworks, this research aims to analyze and discuss the practice environment, creation development and potential storytelling strategies of Chinese VR documentaries.