How AR and VR are Transforming Creative Storytelling
With new advancements in technology, creative industries are discovering new ways to inspire audiences and get their creative juices flowing. From gaming to the arts, augmented reality and virtual reality technologies are making waves, providing innovative outlets for telling stories in the digital age. Here are some of the ways immersive technologies are being used in the creative and cultural industries to educate, inform and entertain.
Esports: Transporting Viewers into Rich Immersive Worlds
While the gaming industry was one of the first to champion VR technologies, there are still new developments happening all the time. One such innovation is being developed by ESL, one of the largest esports content producers in the world. This collaborative project aims to create a new platform to transport esports fans deep into the game world.
In case you haven’t already heard, esports are organised gaming championships where players compete for generous prizes. These matches are watched by thousands and the audience is rapidly growing!
Through VR, AI and a whole load of data supplied by the University of York, this project will allow viewers to interact with live game play, view virtual stats and experience the world of the game.
Theatrical Storytelling for the Digital Age
Theatre is another industry getting in on the VR action. In order to appeal to a younger crowd and engage audiences across the UK, the Royal Shakespeare Company is teaming up with organisations from wide ranging sectors to stream live performances to mobile phones and XR headsets. Augmented, virtual and mixed realities are all being explored in this project to make theatre more accessible to larger audiences.
Learning Through Play: VR and the Museum
This exciting collaboration between the London Natural History Museum, Science Museum and Factory 42 is working on a virtual museum experience. A hologram of David Attenborough himself will lead ‘visitors’ on a virtual tour of the museum’s most prized collections. VR headsets and controllers allow participants to interact with objects, expanding them and getting a closer look at items usually off-limits to museum visitors. Combining immersive technologies with documentary film is bringing educational institutions into the present.
How to Tell Stories to the Audience of the Future
The audience of the future expect to be spoken to via the latest technologies. Engaging audiences in todays’ fast-moving world is getting trickier and trickier. One way to connect is through innovative, immersive technology. Storytelling through immersive technology can heighten emotional connections and spark interest. One Google campaign even concluded that VR can enrich traditional video marketing methods by boosting engagement!
The projects mentioned are all part of the Audience of the Future Challenge, a government funded programme to inject life and funding into creative technology around the UK. £33 million is being invested into creative, digital projects to position the UK as a leader in the world of VR.
The challenge is set up in three parts;
- An initial programme to demonstrate the projects to wide audiences
- A research and development stage
- Establishing a centre for excellence
This centre for excellence will be run by the National Film and Television School and will be a hub for research, courses and events.
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK are responsible for the running of the Audience of the Future Challenge. Part of UK Research and Innovation, Innovate UK are committed to supporting technology
innovation in the UK through funding and advice.
To explore more projects supported by Innovate UK, why not subscribe to the Innovate UK YouTube channel?
FRESH FROM THE STUDIO BLOG / View All Posts
