Virilio, in his work entitled Negative Horizons, writes how speed attacks “the very density of masses, as if the objective had suddenly become the durability and thickness of the physical body as a whole” (Virilio 2005: 125–6). By this, the author means that “vision machines” (like the television) separate the sensible from the intelligible, and he sees a loss or a “reduction in the richness of density or sensible experience” (James 2007:48). The medium of VR and immersive installations aims to bring back this loss through the (false) promise that bodily presence can be achieved within VR.

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On the other hand, VR aims to offer a glimpse into less accessible life situations, much like a telescope brings distant parts of the sky and space closer to us. Interpreters of Virilio (James 2007) discuss how the earlier “tele-visual” images give the impression of proximity even to far-away images and situations, and viewers have started to take this for granted in the same way as they do appearances that immediately surround them. However the medium of linear cinematic VR (CVR), experienced via a VR HMD, aims to heighten the sense of realness by re-situating the body in the midst of the action, within media-specific conditions that sustain this effect. 

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360° videos as possible medium of “vision machines” often utilize topics that address both the sensible and the intelligible, and their creators primarily target the experiencer’s sense of presence and proximity. This can be achieved e.g., through gaze control or through theatrical situations in which the experiencer (or the audience member) is placed in the middle of intimate situations.

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In my paper, by contrasting Virilio’s concept with Dooley’s approach to proximity (based on Edward’s hall theory) (Dooley 2021), I rely on two case studies (Simple Silence (2024, dir. Quintero) and Revival Roadshow (2025, dir. Conroy & Fehres)). Through this comparison, I aim to propose a framework of dramaturgical techniques that show how direction can create a sense of proximity, regardless of whether these productions address the sensible or the intelligible.

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Ágnes Bakk is the head of the Future Care Lab at The Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, specializing in VR, interactive storytelling, the restorative effects of digital nature, and social interactions in virtual environments.​