Virtual Reality: Converging Film, Sports, Gaming, Music, Mobile and Live Events
CinemaNext Consulting participated in several seminars and meetings at CinemaCon 2017 to review the possibilities of Virtual Reality. The industry is very much in the embryonic stages of VR development from Film, Sports, Music, Gaming and Live Teleportation possibilities with Dolby Atmos Immersive Sound and 16k resolution. Challenge or Opportunity?
FILM & CINEMA EXHIBITION:
“The type of VR content that will work in theaters is something that you can’t do at home — whether that be with an experience that requires physical space or a type of chair”, Austin Barker, EVP of Creative Content for Universal Pictures Marketing.
Fox futurist Ted Schilowitz asserted, “We’re getting to the point when you are able to wear a theme park on your head. … We shouldn’t wait even if you don’t know the business model yet. You learn by doing.”
“It starts with story, and it starts with writing,” said Jake Zim, SVP of VR at Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. “You will start to see filmmakers and particularly writers creating content for the format.”
But he also warned that since there’s currently no business model, studios won’t have a large budget for these productions. “It’s going to be a partnership with theaters and filmmakers to get where this needs to be," he said.
National Amusements VP/CFO Kevin Cardullo said his company is testing VR and seeing a lot of strengths, but there are also issues that need to be considered. “We have to look at safety issues such as motion sickness. It just doesn’t go away in an hour or so. Also, the issue of people losing their balance. Should it be a seated environment? We also don’t want to disrupt the flow in our theater. And how can we monetize it?"
A similar message came from David Campbell, EVP, Corporate Development and Theater Operations and SVP IMAX (which presented The Mummy Experience). Imax is currently testing a VR model for theaters and other locations, and Campbell said it’s equipping those sites with gear that would be expensive to have at home. That includes high-end VR headsets, motion chairs, and haptic vests.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/virtual-reality-starts-story-starts-writing-989990
IMAX has raised $50 million to aid its development and the construction of additional VR centers. These are planned for New York, California, China and the UK. Before they're built, IMAX needs to prove that the business model works. While there's interest in VR, it's not clear how many people want to try and pay for the experience on a regular basis. It’s working with movie studio Warner Bros. to “help usher in” their forthcoming assault on the superhero movie genre with immersive experiences to tie in with new movies like the first Justice League movie and future offerings like Aquaman and at least one other unnamed franchise.
“It’s fitting that with Imax and Warner Bros.’ shared history of launching Hollywood movies in Imax theatres, today we’re entering into our first studio deal to bring VR to the multiplex,” said Imax Corp chief executive Richard L. Gelfond to The Drum.
Spielberg helmed Ready Player One, is to get multiple piece of VR content via HTC and it’s SteamVR powered Viveport platform later this year. “Ready Player One is one of the most anticipated movies in the world, and has tremendous potential to engage and entertain the worldwide market, showcasing the transformative nature of VR, and what it can and will be,” said Rikard Steiber, President of Viveport. “Vive is delivering on the promise of VR and continues to be the most advanced and immersive VR experience available to consumers, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Warner Bros. to bring these experiences to consumers, on all platforms, around the globe.”
https://www.roadtovr.com/imax-warner-bros-partner-premium-vr-content-starting-justice-league/
IMAX VR Centre is filled with dynamic and thrilling VR experiences. A new realm of entertainment and fun - https://imaxvr.imax.com/
IMAX VR Reviews:
“You enter through a lobby where they have you wait until your experience is ready to begin. They walk you to your pod, explain how things work, then put you in VR kit. Each pod is customized for its experience”.
“Great spot to try out VR. Very simple check in process and the staff are very helpful in getting your comfortable with the experience. Enjoyed the Star Wars VR and wanted it to last longer. Worth a visit”!
“Awesome, experience, definitely worth a try. Super fun date spot. Or place to go with friends”.
“If you haven't experienced VR, this is the place to try it. The lobby feels like a movie theater, but the VR space is like you're walking into a sci-fi movie. Most of the experiences are $10. 1 or 2 are $7. The sampler package is $25”.
“Great way to try out VR in a fun space that will leave you wanting more when you’re done. I recommend playing Raw Data for a really great experience”.
“Pretty fun. I wish the segments were longer and that you had more space to move around”.
“Great VR experiences, all in individual pods, where you can watch friends while they experience it”.
“new, clean place. friendly staff. contents most like "Demo", still awesome”.
https://www.roadtovr.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/imax-vr-centre-680x383.jpg
IMMERSIVE SEATING:
Seating will be an essential part of the cinematic experience, which were available at CinemaCon 2017 and in use at the IMAX VR. DBox seating provide, “immersive motion for cinematic art, simulation and training as well as real-time gaming, the D-BOX motion system has the power and precision to complement many virtual reality (VR) projects. It is a storytelling medium that creates unique sensory experiences and allows you to feel like you’re part of imagined places”. https://www.d-box.com/corporate-page/vr/
4K LIVE SPORTS & DOLBY ATMOS:
Jamie Hindhaugh, COO, BT Sports, which holds the exclusive pay-TV rights for European club football tournaments the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League, as well as selected English Premier League (EPL) games, wanted to give viewers an experience as close to being in the stadium as possible. He said BT Sport will be showing the Champions League final this year live in VR and on social media, using seven 360 degree cameras. It was doing so via 4K broadcasts and the use of Dolby Atmos, introduced in January 2017.
Hindhaugh advised that BT Sport was also looking at the potential for VR, noting that a limited trial had taken place in September 2016, with coverage of an EPL game between Chelsea and Arsenal being transmitted to selected retail stores owned by BT’s mobile subsidiary, EE. “Having EE as part of the group gives us the opportunity to experiment with such initiatives,” said Hindhaugh.
Hindhaugh managed the BBC’s coverage of the 2012 London Olympics and said he regarded the learnings from the event as the birth of BT Sport.
https://advanced-television.com/2017/03/30/panellists-sports-presenting-engagement-opportunities/
At the 2016 SVG Summit, Michael Davies, Fox Sports, SVP, Technical and Field Operations, shared his thoughts on how VR production is developing,” I think anybody who says that VR is great because it gives you the best seat in the house, probably hasn’t seen it. By that I mean that, right now the technology is such that you can’t… just put a camera out and let it go. There needs to be an element of storytelling and production that still engages the audience. What we feel is that you also have to give the audience something else to do. VR, in and of itself, isn’t enough yet to compel an audience to really look at it for more than a minute or two. So whether you are doing VR replay, or you are doing some VOD, or augmented-reality graphics in VR, you have to give the audience something more.”
“Everyone is trialling,” says Gilles Mas, managing director of Deltatre’s International Football Unit. “No-one is injecting a huge amount of money. The VR industry is putting money into the headsets, controllers and so on but everyone is being very cautious. The [broadcast] industry has learned from the 3D hype and collapse, and is wondering if VR is going to be any different.”
Distribution and Stabilisation
“Existing broadband networks struggle to stream flat 4K video, let alone live 4K VR which has a nine-fold pixel count increase,” Rewind founder and CEO Sol Rogers.
“VR headsets can give the user a court-side seat view or the ability to view the action from 360 degrees,” agrees Rogers. “The opportunity to place a VR rig in [an exclusive] seat, and then sell it thousands of times over has inevitably piqued promoters’ interest. Plus, VR sport is comparatively cheap to produce as you’re not creating new realities or new ways of shooting, you basically install a camera rig as appropriate.”
“The main interest is coming from sports federations, rights owners and broadcast rights holders,” agrees Mark Grinyer, head of business development, for 3D, 4K & Sports, Sony Professional Europe. “They are most interested in how to engage the consumers of tomorrow and how best to use the vast amounts of content and data they have. They want to know the most effective ways to use VR to future-proof their business in today’s competitive media industry.”
Live VR
360 Designs CEO Alex Klive says there are many people currently asking about live VR. “Clients are realising that VR and live VR represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a new medium that is able to reach every person on the planet via their phones,” he says. “When those phones have 8K or 16K screens, it will be game changing – teleportation by another name. We think people will pay for teleportation type experiences, certainly once display technology improves a generation or two. Viewers will have an immersive and vastly improved experience, blending the experience of actually ‘being there’, with commentary, analysis and all the features and replays that TV offers.”
MUSIC:
“Rock Band VR will make you feel like a rock star. But from the outside, you'll look like a crazy person with an Oculus Rift on your head and a plastic guitar in your hands, strumming along in silence. Basically, you'll look like a huge dork while playing it. But the embarrassment is worth it: Rock Band VR successfully captures the feeling of actually playing music in front of a crowd. Even though it's Harmonix's first stab at virtual reality, the end result is immersive and, most importantly, fun”.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/03/30/rock-band-vr-review/
For cinema exhibition there are challenges and opportunities, as Digital Cinema Report noted,"More than one attendee labeled Cinemacon 2017,"Digital Cinema 2.0".
"The digital cinema transition was not the end of anything; it was very much the beginning of something even bigger. That was because this year’s CinemaCon made it perfectly clear that the days of the basic 2K-projector, server and vanilla theatre management software package are numbered. To remain competitive, perhaps even simply to stay in business, exhibitors must learn to fully embrace new technology".