We’re heading towards a fully immersive & interactive multimedia experience
by Julian Gratton
So what TV show you watched last night did you discuss at work today? CSI? The Wire? Lost? It’s fair to say at some point during your working day you will have discussed a TV show you have seen with someone. Or perhaps it was a movie you saw at the weekend.
Imagine, though, having a conversation with someone about what you have both seen… yet what you watched and how the episode or film ended was totally different for you both! Not only that, but while you were watching you took part in a car chase that meant you test drove the new BMW Roadster and during the episode the character put some music on when they got home… but the music they put on, you chose!
Welcome to a fully immersive multimedia experience in your home or at the cinema.
All that may sound like the stuff of science fiction; but the age of what’s being called the ‘mega-platform’ is already being tested out on us… and we’re lapping it up.
For over three decades the film and television industry has used a variety of means to make more money from their core product – Movies and TV Shows. These days, having a movie with a video game, fast food, toy and music tie-in is almost expected. Yet there has always been something very disjointed about it all.
Sure you can watch a TV Show like ‘Spooks’ and play some challenges on-line, or even see if you’re as clever as Gil Grissom with the CSI Game, but… more often than not, the games are rubbish and the outcomes of what you have played never affect anything that happens in the movie or TV show.
The age of collaboration and immersive entertainment.
There was a time when we were happy to sit back after a hard day at work, relax and be entertained either at home or in a theatre. As time has gone by, not only have the TV shows and Movies become more complex, with sub plots, side plots, sequels, spin-offs and multi-layered complex characterisation, but our demand to be involved in some way has increased too.
The same has happened with the Internet. We were happy to just read what those Internet geeks put up in cyberspace for us. But now we have taken over and want more control and involvement, hence the rise in social networking and sharing sites.
The Movie and TV industry has recognised this, hence why they are now set to evolve the way we consume their product to such an extent that it will become a true multimedia experience that is no longer disjointed. The first step in this lies with making us feel immersed.
3D cinema and home cinema… the immersive visual experience.
At first it’s easy to think that the rise in popularity of 3D Cinema is just the film industry trying in some way to beat the Pirates who cheat moviemakers out of billions every year. And if you haven’t seen how 3D Cinema has evolved since the days of Jaws 3D and wearing stupid glasses… later this year you’ll have the chance to see what is being touted as the next step in movie-making with James Cameron’s big budget sci-fi effort ‘Avatar’. And it doesn’t stop there… as big budget movies in 3D, such as Tron Legacy, are set to hit us for years to come.
It’s not just in the cinema that 3D technology is growing. Companies such as Headway are already developing 3D Home Cinema systems for a more immersive home viewing and gaming experience. But 3D technology and tricking the eyes is only one part of a bigger picture. Because once it feels a little more real, how do we make it interactive?
The geeks in the gaming industry.
Anyone who is into gaming is already familiar with open-ended game play and modular gaming experiences. And game developers in the past have tried and failed to create a game that involves film… such as the mid-90s game Daedulus Encounter starring Tia Carrera as well as the Wing Commander series.
There is a revolution, though, happening in the gaming industry that is similar in spirit to the independent American film makers of the late 70s… you know, those film makers who changed the face of cinema with such small movies as Jaws and Star Wars!
One of these people is Will Wright, the creator of The Sims, who is regarded as the great polymath of interactive design, weaving theories of architecture, astrophysics and urban planning into his videogames… so he’s a bit clever! He has started a company, with help from his old employer EA Games, called Stupid Fun Club… where he intends to create something new that will play out across multiple media from games to TV!
What’s predicted to happen from such companies is the merger of film/TV and gaming to create something that is the true definition of interactive entertainment. No longer will a film or TV show begin and end when it wants to… it will begin and end when you want it to… in fact you will decide what decisions are made… it will just be up to the makers to work out the decisions and film the scenarios that spin-off from your choices.
The revolution has already begun.
Working out Late Fragment
Late Fragment may not be a film title you are familiar with. Yet it is significant in the fact that it is the first truly interactive motion picture. In the film, three strangers lives are fractured by thoughts and acts of seething violence and viewers can unravel their interlocked stories with a simple click.
The making of the film is documented here on this site, where the filmmakers divulge that: ‘making a film that lets viewers interrupt the story at any time, and switch to another scene while still following a three-act narrative structure, meant that a whole new way of thinking about cinema and story had to be invented’.
The big question, though, is how will interactivity play out in the Cinema, when you have a theatre full of people all wanting to make different choices? Certainly it’s easy to see how it can work at home. And with the rise in on-demand television, where TV shows and movies are downloaded rather than scheduled, the practicalities of a programme that is tailored to you because of the choices you have made are possible.
And for those of us who wish to consume these shows in the traditional manner, simply opting out of being interactive with them will give you the viewing experience you are used to.
So why should Advertisers be excited!
A more immersive viewing experience means that viewers can experience the product you are trying to sell. As I mentioned earlier, a virtual test drive could be part of a car chase, a characters home could be furnished by IKEA’s new range, or someone could be wearing the latest pair of Levi Jeans… all of which will be shown to you in stunning 3D vision.
The interactivity could even be extended to helping a character dial a number or view a photograph or text message on their new Nokia phone. This new form of product placement will probably be called something nifty like immersive advertising, and I can imagine Brands will be falling over themselves to have their product used as an integral part to a story where someone has to operate it to progress to the next part!
An exciting prospect.
Many of the things I have mentioned here may be a way off being fitted out in your living room or coming to a cinema near you. But rest assured, something like this is coming and some of the smartest minds in the entertainment industry are behind making it a reality… question is, will you opt-in to the interactivity or stick to just being a passive viewer?
If you’d like to know more about interactive media… why not give Red C a call on 0161 872 1361 or click here
Tags: Award Winning Advertising, B2B Marketing Agency, B2C Marketing Agency, Design & Marketing, Direct Digital Marketing, Direct Marketing Agency, Full Service Marketing Agency, Immersive Media, Interactive Agency, Interactive Entertainment, Late Fragment, Marketing Innovations, Mega-Platform, Multimedia Advertising & Design, Multimedia Experience
