A new narrative

Directed by Gilles Porte (director of photography for The Conquest, In the Forests of Siberia), this film, by the possibilities it leaves to the audience-decision-maker, represented a real challenge for the screenwriters, with 5 different outcomes and no less than 25 ways to achieve it.

The decision to leave a part of freedom in the unfolding of the script was not made by sacrificing the artistic requirement and it is a real cinematic experience that Tantale offers us. If the spectators decide to exercise their power of decision, they can. If they want to let themselves be carried away, that is also possible. Because, in theory, this experience can be lived individually as well as collectively in the theatre. Nevertheless, the problem of the necessary logistics (Wifi, headphones) that would have to be put in place and the absence of distributors identified for this type of work arose. It was therefore necessary, in addition to promoting the film as a whole, especially to the public, to make professionals in the profession aware of the biases that make it a different work.

The bet on binaural

Feedback from Lidwine Hô, Innovation & Development Project Manager

For another bet has been made, this time more technical and probably less obvious at first glance to the public: that of binaural sound. If the film sequences are shot in stereo (sound coming from the left and the right), the moments of decision are made with this method in order to restitute a natural listening impression in three dimensions in space.

Two methods of sound capture were used. Firstly, native binaural, which consists in reconstructing what we hear in real life in an almost perfect restitution of the sound environment. Without post-production, this method is nevertheless rather rigid since the sound thus obtained can no longer be modified or elements can no longer be isolated. This justifies the interest of the second method, that of binaural synthesis, which is an artificial reproduction of binaural sound. It allows for greater compatibility with stereo capture tools and can be modulated in post-production, as was done at Radio France and La Puce à l'oreille in the context of this project.

The spatialization of the sound required adapting from the writing phase of the work, notably by defining sound settings (doors slamming, footsteps, ice cubes tinkling against the wall of a glass...). At a time when the spectator is more than ever an actor, the feeling of immersion is all the more striking.

Interview with Jérémy Pouilloux, producer

Can you tell me about the place of the spectator in Tantalum?

As soon as the spectator is in a position that is no longer just passive, and is led to interact with the program, it is necessarily taken into account much earlier. That is to say, in the end, we have reflexes for traditional fiction, the one we watch passively on our sofa, we know them, they are writing criteria that are marked out, but here it is true that we reexamine the position of the spectator in the fiction. And we tell ourselves... what will he be led to do and how can I encourage him to immerse himself in the story. It raises questions that are a little new. Obviously, we ask them at the writing stage.

What can interactivity bring to fiction from the producer's point of view?

It's always the question of audience immersion, in other words, why are we offering the spectator the opportunity to interact? It's not just because it's fun, it's also because it actually calls for playful logics, logics that are entertaining, that rekindle interest. But it's also to give him the possibility of a stronger identification. We are no longer only in what we know about mirror neurons where we will recognize ourselves in behaviors identified on the screen, but we are also "in the place of the character", we make decisions for him. These are mechanisms that are marked out in the field of video games, but in this type of fiction, the two models coexist.

Tantale is an ambitious gamble because the action takes place in a fairly theatrical space-time, with unity of place and time. Action is in fact dialogue, it's behind the scenes. Almost auteur cinema? Interactive?

We wanted to avoid a bit the "I choose to go right, I choose to go left" side. In other words, that's not what we were interested in in terms of interaction. It's something we've been thinking about for a very long time, with Romain Bonnin, who is the author of the design experience. We were much more interested in thoughts, dialogues, reflections than specifically in actions where we should have simply taken a left or right turn. Afterwards, from the realization point of view, we worked on the muffled aspect of these decisions, everything is always very calm, we take these decisions out of sight. We are interested in the tension between the characters.

Want to know more about Tantalum?   Rendez-vous on the official website