Immersion In Film

Jojo Tenn

Immersion, n. (Oxford English Dictionary)²

The action of immerging or immersing.
Dipping or plunging into water or other liquid, and transferred into other things.

Todays Definition

Most holistic meaning of immersion within films relates to the immersive experiences a viewer can have when watching a film. Consider this; they're sitting in the movie and you feel as though you weren't in the movie. Perhaps it's an action sequence, perhaps it's the emotions you feel when watching the film; but for a second while sitting in that theater, or sitting in your living room, you feel as though you are a part of the film. That is immersion. Kristen Whissel mentions in Tales of Upward Mobility the impact of vertical and digital special effects on an emergency⁵. She says: “I would add that the “structure of feeling” invoked by verticality also causes them to resonate with contemporary audiences,” (Whissel 25)⁵. That alone is a great intro to what immersion is.

Immersion in films is presented in one of three major ways: emotional immersion, spatial immersion, and temporal immersion³. Looking below you will find an example of all three of these, note that more than one form of immersion can be present at a time, a perfect immersion would contain all three. Caution: there might be spoilers.

EMOTIONAL

Emotional immersion focuses on the power of “external focalisation” (Rawding 20)³. That means that it works with both visual and auditory stimulation to insight emotional responses from viewers while watching a film. An example of this exists with the Marvel Universe. The Viewers of the Marvel Avengers series grew attached to the character of Tony Stark during the 11 films he was in, Tony Stark’s death in Avengers Endgame elicited an emotional response from the fans because of the emotional immersion⁷.

SPATIAL

Spatial immersion is more concerned with the settings of films. A properly placed setting can create realistic and immersive viewing experiences by allowing the viewer to relate to the setting of a film. Heavily relying on both realism and stereotypes people can relate to setting and feel as though they are a part of the film. Consider an anti-spatial immersive film like Sharknado. The film features the very unrealistic image of it raining sharks. This is not plausible even in real life, and thus lacks spatial immersion. Fun fact: 3D movies tend to invoke spatial immersion also because of how 'in the movie' they make you feel in the theater.

TEMPORAL

Temporal immersion has been known to have a wide range of applications in films. Generally it relates to the viewer’s own desire to see a narrative progress until it reaches a satisfactory conclusion. Namely, it worries a lot about the suspense and final reveal of a film. The example picked for this form of immersion is the 2010 film Shutter Island. The film is known for its very surprising ending and thrilling narrative. The temporal immersion affects the viewers and makes them sit on the end of their seat waiting for the mystery to be solved⁶.

Other Examples. See if you can determine what the main form of immersion they highlight (Hint: highlight the space below the clips to see the answer).

Spatial immersion, possibly temporal

Emotional and spatial immersion

Temporal immersion mainly

Emotional and spatial immersion

Works Cited

¹Coviello, Brianna. “Immortal Drama.” Flat Hat News, 1 Nov. 2013, https://flathatnews.com/2013/11/01/the-immortal-drama-of-althea-hunt/.

²“Immersion.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford English Dictionary, https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/91885?redirectedFrom=immersion#eid.

³Rawding, Shaun K A. “Filmic Immersion: An Analysis of Technique and Perspective in Contemporary Cinema.” Filmic Immersion, Mar. 2014, https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/2718/4/14MAENG004.pdf.

⁴ Wedio. “How to Convey Emotion in Film.” Become Better Creators - Together., Become Better Creators - Together., 1 Jan. 2022, https://academy.wedio.com/how-to-convey-emotion-in-film/.

⁵Whissel, Kristen. “The New Verticality and Digital Special Effects.” Tales of Upward Mobility, 19 Mar. 2016, file:///C:/Users/jordy/Downloads/Whissel,%20Tales%20of%20Upward%20Mobility%20-%20New%20Verticality.pdf pg 25.

⁶YouTube. “Shutter Island (2010) Trailer #1.” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Apr. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8yrZSkKxTA.

⁷YouTube. “Tony Stark Death.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Oct. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn7hzza7A-g.

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