One of TV’s new dimensions is coming from the incorporation of augmented reality/mixed reality features which, as Michael Mascioni explains, promise to bring a higher level of interactivity and immersiveness to TV-related content.
The application of augmented reality and mixed reality to such TV-related content is still fairly limited, but some embryonic efforts in this area give a sense of the potential impact of these technologies on TV programming, and illustrate the growing convergence of TV with an array of immersive technologies. Of course, one of the key questions with these efforts is whether augmented reality and mixed reality offer more than novelty effects, and truly add greater dynamics and long term value to TV content.
A number of recent efforts to integrate augmented reality with TV shows and promotions give a sense of the diverse approaches to blending augmented reality with TV content. ProSieben Sat 1 reportedly has had success with the application of augmented reality to its science TV show Galileo, which airs daily. “About 10,000-12,000 users are interacting with the augmented reality app on the show per quiz,” claims Stefan Vaupel, editorial director of the show.
The augmented reality element connected with the show incorporates a quiz with which viewers can interact via phone. The quiz poses multiple choice questions, and, in order to participate, viewers need to hold their phones up to their TV sets, and point them at the answer of their choice. Image recognition used with the show detects the response and submits it to the show. After registering their responses, viewers receive feedback regarding the veracity of their responses. The producers then display statistics of the top scoring quiz participants.
At the end of October, ProSieben ran an “extended form of augmented reality” on Galileo, reports Vaupel. That version of the show allowed viewers to also “collect gold coins to raise their social level with a virtual medieval society”, he notes. According to Vaupel, the show opted to use augmented reality because augmented reality offers “greater interactivity” than TV usually offers, and because the show is “always keen on using and offering new technology to our viewers”. He believes that augmented reality is particularly well suited to the quiz show format, as augmented reality allows viewers “to view how well they’re performing in comparison to other players.” According to Vaupel, ProSieben is mulling over other possible applications of augmented reality on its shows.
Showtime Networks also recently inaugurated the use of augmented reality in its promotions. The channel alluded to an augmented reality ad for its Homeland program on the cover of the September issue of Wired magazine, and ran a teaser ad in that issue linked directly with an app called ‘Watch Careful.ly’ which instructed viewers how to participate in the augmented reality promotion, reports George De Bolt, Senior VP, Media, Promotions, and Partnership Marketing for Showtime. The channel also ran an actual augmented reality ad in the October issue of Wired.
To activate these promotions, viewers with smartphones were advised to point their phones at their screen with the ‘Watch Careful.ly’ app or at the augmented reality ad inside Wired, enabling them to access an animation, game, and videos promoting the upcoming series of Homeland and a preview of the new season for Dexter.
According to De Bolt, the company’s principal rationale for employing augmented reality in the promotion was to “break through the entertainment clutter” at the start of the fall TV season and “stand out” in a way that would attract the attention of the TV industry as well as viewers. It also opted to use augmented reality because the technology “builds in metrics” and “enables you to elicit viewer feedback, if it’s done properly”, he elaborates.
Although De Bolt wouldn’t cite specific figures, he claims the campaign was a major success, and the AR promotion “has been very well received by the trade”. He says that Showtime will certainly “consider the use of AR again” in suitable promotions, “depending on the marketing goals” of those promotions.
Perhaps one of the more dynamic applications of mixed reality on TV is the Bamzooki mixed reality TV game show on the BBC. The show allows “kids in a studio to interact in real time via a networked PC with virtual reality creatures” called ‘Zooks’ explains Rupert Harris, Innovation Executive at the BBC and formerly series producer of Bamzooki. Participants on the show control the Zooks by calling out instructions during battles, and are equipped with Zook Toolkits comprising a simulation and MotionPlayer that enable users to view their Zooks in action.
The show utilizes the BBC’s virtual studio technology, which combines live action footage and computer images in real time. The show was first introduced on CBBC in 2005, and was redeveloped in 2008, Harris reports. Repeats of the show appear regularly on the BBC. The show has been “very successful”, according to Harris. He claims the 30-minute show was the “highest rated show” in its time period in 2009, and was one of the “top 10 most downloaded shows on the iPlayer” in its time period in 2010. Since its inception, the show has generated “hundreds of thousands of software downloads and hundreds of thousands of uploads of virtual creatures” connected with the show, reports Harris.
One of the key aims of Bamzooki was “reclaiming young audiences that have migrated to games,” and entering “a space which kids are already inhabiting.” Harris notes that “games in a traditional sense” won’t work on TV, and that simply “watching video games on TV isn’t fun.” The main focus of Bamzooki was enabling kids to play a game and participate “in a social and expressive experience” that truly exploits the convergence of TV, mixed reality, and social media. He believes TV viewers are seeking greater “engagement” but not necessarily higher “interactivity”.
Harris acknowledges that the cost of developing mixed reality/augmented reality components to TV shows isn’t cheap, reflecting the “long software development time” involved with creating such features. At the same time, he emphasizes the importance of “delivering high quality games” connected with TV shows. Harris is planning to develop other shows in the “children’s TV, young adult, and family TV space” incorporating mixed reality, though he can’t make specific announcements on such shows yet.
www.bbc.co.uk
www.prosiebensat1.com
www.sho.com/site/homeland
