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Paper short abstract

This paper examines 360° video through the concept of “polarised presence.” Reflecting on Unquiet Ground, a spherical documentary on memory activism in post-conflict Peru, it argues immersive media situates viewers through politics of placement rather than transporting them elsewhere.

Paper long abstract

For more than a century, anthropology has pursued the promise of “being there” as a way of approximating the lived experiences of others. With the rise of immersive media, particularly 360-degree video and virtual reality, this promise has been reanimated through claims of heightened presence, empathy, and sensory proximity. Drawing on media and visual anthropology, this paper offers a reflexive, practice-based examination of 360° video as an ethnographic method. Framing placement as a new form of authorship in spherical filmmaking, I reflect on the making of Unquiet Ground (postproduction, 2026), a 360° film project on memory activism in post-conflict Peru. I argue that 360° video neither dissolves authorship nor transports viewers into other worlds; instead, it situates them. Immersive ethnographic practice, I suggest, is less about “being there” than about the conditions, politics, and responsibilities of getting (the audience) there.