Wear comfortable shoes. Those were the ominous parting words from numerous colleagues before I set off on my inaugural IBC experience. As I hunted for my base for the six-day event – negotiating the narrow lanes between the maze of stands across the fourteen halls of Amsterdam’s sprawling RAI – it became very apparent why this warning was delivered in such a chilling tone by those already entrenched in IBC-exhibitor tradition.
As the final crates were removed and the last of the polystyrene scraps swept up, , the biggest show in the broadcast technology calendar (this side of the Atlantic) was ready to open its doors.
Through a network of corridors and suspended walkways was the Future Zone, which included our stand for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Research & Development. From here we showed demos for , , and – each drawing in the crowds, assisted by compelling conference talks, and highly-anticipated papers written by the R&D team.
Within the Future Zone, aside from the dazzling intensity of the ultra-high definition and high dynamic range television displays, virtual reality (VR) unsurprisingly had a dominant presence. Numerous stands exhibited the latest 360-degree camera rigs, stitching capabilities and editorial experiences hoping to inspire the 50,000 attendees as they moved between halls.
After a few demonstrations, however, it becomes increasingly apparent that ‘future’ is perhaps a slightly misleading term. The major players in the VR market are set to launch their headsets on a consumer level in the coming months. Cardboard headsets (of significantly lower cost) and compatible apps that enable immersive experiences through mobile phones are already available, so there is a real sense that this is a ‘now’ moment for those ready and willing to embrace it.
Within a few metres (and minutes) I had gone from sitting in on a domestic violence scene to watching a DJ-ing robot, to soaring over rocky canyons and witnessing a bomb explosion, to being on stage at a rock concert before emerging in a refugee camp. The sensual assault highlighted (with at times a disconcerting intensity) just how ‘immersive’ these experiences can be. This was best demonstrated by the accidental and untimely (or maybe timely) slamming of a box lid from the stand beside me, that made me jolt unnervingly during a tense, 360-degree, gun-waving stand-off scene that I was experiencing on the headset.
The power and potential of VR is inescapable, yet there is a familiar cautionary tale from the emergence of this and many other new technologies. With the abundance of experiences and situations being thrown at them, the question is raised at to the editorial worth of it. Does it improve/enhance the experience? Serious thought needs to be given as to why – however impressive in principle – these concepts should be used, and attention paid so as not to just throw it into every situation for the sake of it.
At Â鶹ԼÅÄ R&D we are doing just that by exploring the language of VR and how we might use it to tell stories within Â鶹ԼÅÄ productions. We are doing several experiments looking at how it might be used within the and other genres. Through Â鶹ԼÅÄ Taster we are testing out some of our VR work with audiences. puts the viewer at the heart of this story in France in a way that they won’t have experienced before. Meanwhile, gives the audience a bird’s – or rather fish’s – eye view of life under the sea. There is a lot more work to be done to see if VR is going to become a regular part of our media diet, and as the array of experiences at IBC shows, investigations in this area are definitely high on the industry agenda.
As no doubt countless people say each year, it will be fascinating to know what will dominate the Future Zone next year, and I will certainly be keen to come along to find out… albeit with thicker, feet-protecting socks.
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