For the topic of engage or enslave and what “interactivity” means within the realm of advertising, we shall look into a discussion of social VR as an emerging platform. What the difference is between current social media platforms, stand-alone VR and social VR and the place that advertising may play within them?
At Cannes 2018 the Marche du Film hosted NEXT a hub for creative businesses and visionary thinking there was a presentation by ‘WITHIN’ on the state of Art in Virtual Media. WITHIN is a leader in immersive media with experiences and apps on each major platform as well as encompassing AR/VR within their dossier of accomplishments.
WITHIN spoke about what the future of VR and AR may be and building it in distribution and storytelling. The speakers featured were Aaron KOBLIN (WITHIN) - USA, Colin DECKER (WITHIN) - USA with Moderator: Joanna POPPER (HP) - USA
The discussion of social VR and the possibilities with AR as storytelling mechanisms go beyond the realm of current interactivity of just engaging in conversation. With this immersive technology, those utilizing it can create a world and inhabit them along with their friends.
Social VR
“Social VR goes from an image shared to an experience shared which is much stronger and more visceral memory” (WITHIN, 2018).
With a ‘Ready Player One’ but in real life element WITHIN is looking to expand the interactivity given to us by technology.
“The difference between mobile and home consoles and the location-based entertainment (LBE) which is close to going to the cinema is what platform do you use? And really it doesn’t get really interesting until you add other people. The first people to get in there and join other people will be gamers connecting already over the internet with multiplayer games” (WITHIN, 2018).
The Properties of VR are presence and vulnerability. Increases empathy. can we put people in the situations and increase impact for the situation. That is why it is such a good medium for story the experiencer is immersed in the story entirely and there are many ways to get the 'player' to experience first hand the elements of what it feels like to be not only viewing the story, but a part of it.
“Facebook has connected the world, but WITHIN is tired of connection. They see the value in the untapped market of creating emotions and feelings that are shared between people rather than just connecting people” (WITHIN, 2018).
“Gaming is good for interactive, but we don’t want it to be addictive. Don’t want to keep you in there forever” (WITHIN, 2018). Gaming has an addictive quality where it is always pushing one to move to the next level to keep you engaged, but VR is neither a game, and not a film, nor is it a cartoon.
“Start the conversation with a feeling. Lots of technology involved and is part of the process. Many people of very different backgrounds using very different [technological and industry] languages but the essential question is this a game? or a film? or a cartoon?
They have to come together to make one thing and make something entirely new. Can we get two people together and feel something together like profound empathy, or sadness. Can it bring out the best of each worlds” (WITHIN, 2018).
Lamb child superstar used as an example of what is possible within social VR was created by Chris Milk as well as with the band OK GO and can play with the VR and create moments of joy. Chris Milk is creating on the outer edges of interactive technology and uses virtual reality as a new platform for storytelling.
“Story transcends technology and joy transcends technology” (WITHIN, 2018).
Advertising and monetization of VR and social VR
Advertising within the immersive space of VR is very different than other platforms, as it is not quite a game and not a cartoon, yet we are following a story arc but one witch the ‘player’ is helping to create it is hard to see where more traditional forms of advertising will fit in with VR and Social VR. Pop up ads would be unbearable but most advertising has been done through content creation from brands themselves to make the entire experience create emotions which would relate back to the experience that the brand making the content would create.
Cannes Market exec director Jerome Paillard says that Social VR
“is still a mix of sponsoring, advertising revenues, brands who attach their name to content, and the beginning of distribution revenues coming from platforms or distributors who install the content in theatres or other places" (Variety, 2018).
“Location based entertainment (LBE) is a really good early way for people to experience VR but don’t expect them to have the same economics as a movie” (WITHIN, 2018).
Location-based entertainment and willing to buy tickets like the cinema are very popular in China and Dubi. Not sure how advertising fits into VR. 360 has worked well for ads but the same model doesn’t work for VR as it does even for YouTube. Perhaps subscription based will end up being the dominant monetizer though there is currently some interesting stuff on the AR side with Snapchat that will continue to be explored.
“According to a February Research and Markets study, the virtual reality arena is valued at $7.9 billion this year and expected to reach $34.08 billion by 2023, with increasing use of VR in gaming and entertainment cited as the major revenue driver. And the $554 million global box office for Steven Spielberg’s VR-themed “Ready Player One” is only fuelling interest. But exactly where VR will be in five years — how it will evolve from such home systems as Facebook’s Oculus Rift (where the first “Spheres” episode will debut later this year) and be integrated into narrative filmmaking and theatrical exhibition — remains an open question” (Variety, 2018).
Personal experiences with VR
-Xandra Grayson
As a filmmaker and storyteller myself I was interested to see how my own experience with VR would take me in. How does the interactivity and the story align? With my own experience I found the Cirque du Soleil experience was able to direct my gaze with the story arc with eye contact from the performers as well as the surround sound taking my attention to whip my head to the action is happening. As Cirque is used to working on the democracy of the stage where the viewer can choose where they would like to look it is obvious that they are well healed in a large environment and using the expansiveness of space to tell the story and direct the gaze is a perfect way to help usher VR toward more content and interactive experiences.
Other experiences with the Sun Ladies VR where you were able to sit at the dinner table with the characters and see their world as one of them was the empathy creation which WITHIN has been talking about. In Sun Ladies VR the story behind the struggle of fighting ISIS as woman could be lived and held for a moment in the experience of sharing small intimate moments with the women as they washed their clothes in a bucket on the roof next to their machine guns, or brushed each other’s hair while sitting behind a wall of sandbags as the sunset over the desert. The juxtaposition of each of these images became a story unto itself as the narration overlaid the immersive experience of becoming one of these women before marching off to war.
The future of interactivity
Will we be heading toward a Ready Player One world of interactivity as the marketplace for VR and Social VR begins to open up and be distributed in a big way?
“Imax has launched seven VR centres, some in partnership with AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas, in New York City; L.A.; Toronto; Manchester, England; Bangkok, and Shanghai. It has developed a $50 million fund for VR content and partnered with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment to co-finance and produce VR projects (including an exclusive “Justice League” presentation out now). AMC (joining 21st Century Fox, MGM, Warner Bros. and others) has reportedly invested more than $40 million in the tech startup Dreamscape Immersive to open up to six “virtual reality multiplexes” by next year. Cinemark will open its first “virtual reality experience” in its flagship West Plano, Texas, theatre this summer. And in April, Regal Entertainment Group introduced Moviebill, a magazine featuring an interactive augmented reality (AR) platform with exclusive content, interviews, and games that “come to life” when consumers scan it with an app” (Variety, 2018).
“The tethered stuff isn’t going away, but we are more interested in making it more mainstreamed. How do I get people like my mom interested but there isn’t enough content” (WITHIN, 2018).
Arnaud Colinart, co-founder of VR producer Atlas V said: “In a few years, you will see more VR pods or stations in the multiplex, where you can see a big studio movie and then experience a VR scene outside the theatre that was made for the film, or as a tie-in or a film by itself,” predicts Cannes Market head of industry programs Julie Bergeron. “The tricky part is the distribution because it’s still expensive technology that’s not available to a big audience” (Variety, 2018).
WITHIN is sure that by the end of next year there will be the mobile-driven headsets and they will be more ubiquitous. Not quite a game and not quite a film. something in-between. how will advertising fit within this growing platform and how can we use technology to make the immersion deeper or more shallow and how can we use it to tell the stories that brands would like to get across to their audiences. This is only the beginning as we move deeper into the all-encompassing world of not just viewing an ad, but having the opportunity to become an ad.
*** Industry update shows us that WITHIN was able to move to help create the Oculus 'Supernatural app' a subscription based workout themed application bought by Meta and developed by WITHIN. Though their headsets prediction came with a worldwide pandemic and their vision has focused on one storytelling mode the vision of WITHIN continues to shape the storytelling VR landscape.
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