Carnegie Mellon University | CMU: Opera glasses may look a little different in the future.
Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Thomas Rhodes (HNZ'11) is testing Google Glass for the opera industry.
By applying the technology to the art form, he hopes to provide audiences with a new perspective that is entertaining and educational.
The device, which resembles lens-free eyeglasses, emits a floating display. The user can ask the device to translate voice, send email, record video and take photographs.
11 comments:
Google glass is a really important and impressive step toward the next phase in human computer interaction. Some of the ideas the article has about how computers could be used to add to the opera experience are great as well. I think that these sorts of ideas are going to be key to keeping opera popular in the next decade. I don't think that Google glass is the right tool for the opera world at this time. The most important (and expensive) part of Google glass is that is is portable/wearable. Opera doesn't seem to need that portability. Because opera audience members sit in seats and don't move around a whole lot it doesn't seem like a needed complication to use something like glass. Down the road when products like glass are more common it may be smart to incorporate them in to opera, but for now the opera world should be solving their tech problems with hardware that they already have accesses to. For example it would be far cheaper to put small semi transparent screens on the back of every seat giving all the same information that they want to give using Google glass.
Interesting application of Google Glass. It's so weird to think these will probably be the norm sometime soon -- just constantly connected in an even more direct way than phones and other portable devices. Once again, there are so many pros and cons. I can see this being awesome for opera. It would help with translating, and education, etc. as the author states. But does anyone ever think about how distracted we are all the time with our technology? I know that I hardly ever see a person just doing one thing -- they are at least checking email, while watching a movie on their computer while chatting with someone else, etc. etc. Would having this direct access to your personal entertainments somehow take away from watching the show? I guess it completely depends on the person. At any rate, overall I think Google Glass has some amazing potential to make art more accessible to a number of different people. Like usual, we just have to make sure we use things wisely and don't' get so distracted by things that we forget what we're actually doing.
In my opinion, Google Glass is creepy. I was first introduced to it when my roommate from the theatre I worked at this past summer was selected to be one of a trial group of people to test out the product before it hit the main market. I am a strong believer in human computer interaction, the importance of technology, and that technology should be integrated into everyday life to make tasks simpler. However, most of the features harbored by Google glass are features we could do without. This opera idea is pretty interesting, but nobody really needs that. Just as nobody really needs to be wearing high tech glasses all the time anyway.
It is quite exhilarating to read an article such as this. As new technology develops, it is most common for new technologies such as this to roll out first to the most necessary markets, such as healthcare and education, and it isn’t until later that the arts gets to integrate such technology. It means a lot that within a year of this new technology coming to market that it is being used and experimented with in such capacities. If anything, it is a bit of working in reverse, as I see if they master the lingual translation element, perhaps Google Glass could assist in the tourism industry in countries where the tourist doesn’t speak the native language. All that aside, while language in Opera seems like a superb idea, the sky is the limit when it comes to what this technology is capable of. Media has yet another level within theatre, and that is that it creates a personalized experience for each individual viewer. The article briefly mentioned dramaturgical notes; however I do not see why media designers could not have a create-your-own kind of experience. Likewise, designers could use the platform to create explanations for their work and artistic choices, as an opt-in option, while the audience is viewing the show. It will be captivating to see how this technology develops.
I really like the idea of Google Glass as a replacement for supertitles. Once the idea of recording the performance was brought up though, its weaknesses did become apparent. It seems that you would have to have a way to block video recording during a performance. Even if the supertitle app did this, someone could just turn off the app and make it look like they weren't recording. This might be able to be avoided if the opera gave out the technology to its patrons for the duration of the performance but then questions of durability and theft come up. Many times, people don't treat 3D glasses with the upmost gentleness so would they pay much more attention to how they treat the Google Glass glasses?
This is the first time that I actually see a practical use in Google Glass. For so long now I've seen it as a pointless piece of technology that is just trying to get people even more sucked in. But to be able to have a translator located right in front of your eye no matter where you look would more than likely greatly increase the quality of any opera experience. Having to look away from the action, scenery, and performers just to understand what is happening is definitely one quality of opera that tends to put people off.
Cool idea, but realistically no. The thought of watching subtitles on a little screen while watching a show would be very distracting. When you see an opera live, you have control of when you want to watch the acting or the subtitles screen. It would also be very creepy to have an audience of 400+ people wearing clear glasses while dressed up watching typically traditional opera. The concept to me just sounds a tad stretched. The article did bring up a good point that google classes have other capabilities than just translate text. Pictures and videos would be very difficult to disable during the show and control the actions of the audience. I feel like the application would crash frequently too with so many people using the same network. Also, where is the money going to come from to support this? Do we really envision society to be wearing google glass in any near future and enough so that people feel the need to wear them to the opera? Cool idea, but first developers need to get people to wear just the glasses themselves. By the time google glass becomes popular opera in my opinion will hardly exist.
This article presents a really interesting use for Google Glass. Its use in the performing arts could mean that people are able to become more invested in the story lines as well as be able to be exposed to the huge amount of work and preparation that goes on before the curtain goes up. The idea of users being able to access director's notes or other "behind the scenes" info could be really cool. I think its use in opera could also work well, since it's true that the use of supertitles and how effective they are really does depend on where you are sitting in the theatre. It seems like this is kind of the logical next step after individual screens on the backs of seats, which is something the big opera houses are currently investing in.
Personally I love seeing and try new technology and can't wait to find out what people come up with next. To those that are skeptical, my answer is that this is exactly what was said about smartphones. Now it is what? 5-7 years later and many places, such as CMU, practically require one to operate, for better or worse, I can definitely see the world headed in this direction. Even in third world countries where people may not have adequate housing, they still have smartphones (I have seen them myself). Anyways, on the note of opera, I definitely think it would be great to have the translation projected in front of your eyes in such a way you never stop looking at the set/action happening on stage. A personalized experience sounds great, and as others said, as long as there is an opt-out option, it doesn't matter. Additionally, while the glasses are more expensive, if a patron doesn't own their own pair, then they could rent them/get a more expensive ticket and borrow a pair for the show. I would love to see these in action and hope to have an opportunity to try them out soon.
Another alternative to imposing subtitles on a screen over the stage, movie theaters will provide upon request a small "screen" that sits in the cup holder and reflects the subtitles that are played in the back of the theatre. The idea being that those with hearing needs could use it without forcing that subtitles on the rest of the audience. The google glass idea could be great for replacing both of those options but then the challenge would be making sure an entire audience has them not to mention if people wore their own the liabilities for recording or getting distracted are significant
I think that the pros outweigh the cons with adding this as an option for opera goers. However, my biggest concern, or rather question is, what additional cost will this be per patron? Will you have the option of google glasses, or will it be added into ticket costs? I do hope that it wouldn't be a huge jump in cost and that it is easily accessible.
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