Wednesday, November 18, 2015
‘The Lion King’ Releases Virtual Reality Video of ‘Circle of Life’
Variety: Broadway’s “The Lion King” will release a virtual reality video of the show’s opening number, “Circle of Life,” on a handful of digital platforms tomorrow morning, aiming to capitalize on the growing momentum of VR to turn consumer heads toward the 18-year-old production.
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16 comments:
Excuse my French, but holy SHIT. Virtual reality is so freaking cool and I don't completely understand the technology involved in how an Oculus Rift works, but damn. I want it so desperately in my life. I've never seen The Lion King on Broadway (too expensive, oy) but given the chance to, I totally would. The one thing that really floors me and gives me the chills about this show are the costumes and the mechanics/design behind the moving animals. It's Cirque Du Soleil like and I'm obsessed with it. I love the fact that you are able to visibly tell that there are humans behind the animal scaffolding-- some say it takes away but I thoroughly believe that it's part of the practical magic that sprinkles itself throughout theatre. I want to hopefully design or be in on a production where costumes so cool and prolific are on stage!
This is so awesome. The concept of virtual reality alone amazes me but I never would have thought to use it in this way. This video gets the viewers closer than that front row seat and makes them feel like a part of the performance. I think this concept works really well especially with this song because in it, performers are coming from all different entrances and the ability to look at it from all angles gives another experience to the performance. I also think its neat that the camera also shows thew backstage wings and what goes on before the performers even hit the stage. This video has broken a boundary of audience and performance and has combined the experience. I just can't get over how cool it is! I hope to see more of these in the future. I can only imagine how we can incorporate video like this into actual performances as a way to interact with the audience.
Wow. After the camera view shifted to onstage, my jaw dropped and was open for the rest of the video. I have loved "The Lion King" for a such a long time, not just as a story, but as a theatrical production and what it was able to achieve. And this video reminded me of the magic that theatre can create and just how wonderful of a show it is. The most impressive part of the entire sequence was when Pride Rock began to emerge from the floor. I've always loved that transition and seeing it like this was great. Also, I forgot how stunning it is to see Julie Taymor's costumes come down the aisle at the beginning of the show. In the video, they get their own round of applause. A lot of designs can't do that but to be able to move an audience like that is a true feat.
I think this video would have been a lot cooler if viewed through a virtual reality viewer rather than just on a Youtube video on my computer screen. Two weekends ago, the New York Times sent a pair of free cardboard virtual reality glasses, along with instructions to download their virtual reality app. I happened to be home in New York when this package arrived, and at first I was skeptical. I must say, though, I was completely blown away. The NYT proved that virtual reality is and will be changing the way we consume media in the next few years. The NYT was able to bring the stories of 3 orphaned children to households across the U.S in a way that reading an article would not have been able to convey on the same level of empathy and understanding. I think virtual reality has the potential to do the same for the arts. For people that live far away from shows like The Lion King or cannot afford to go, virtual reality can potentially make people feel as if they are right there on the stage with performers walking around in their favorite musical. If used correctly, I think virtual reality has the potential to expand and draw new audiences into theaters to experience the short videos they saw in virtual reality in real life. As this technology improves, it will be our challenge to use it strategically so as not to replace the value of experiencing art live.
I love YouTube's new 360 viewer thing. I've seen a few of these kinds of videos before; one with a production company called Rooster Teeth and one with Saturday Night Live. Seeing a theatrical performance in a 360 style is absolutely amazing and something I personally am obsessed with. Its amazing to see the actors preparing to go onstage and all the technicians doing everything they can to keep the show running smoothly. That, to me, is the full experience of a show.
Another amazing aspect about the 360 view is that it is relatively easy to create. If I am not mistaken, it consists of several GoPro cameras organized in such a way that it covers all the necessary views. Because of how easy this is, it could be, and hopefully will be, the future of visual storytelling. This aspect of filming can do a lot to bring different aspects of art and culture to a broader audiences in a way that has never been done before. I would love to see the festival of color in India, or Oktoberfest in Germany or New Years in China through this medium; it would be amazing!
I absolutely love this idea! I have seen the Lion King many time, and it is one of my favorite musicals. It was great to be able to re-experience the opening number. It gave me chills to see it from different perspectives. I agree with the article that it may not boost sales of The Lion King, but these types of VR experiences can help introduce people to different shows on broadway, which can help theatre overall. I love how they used different camera angles; each one really captured a different feel. At some points, it felt like I was onstage during the performance. I liked how the video captured some of the audiences reactions, as well as the magnitude and size of the complex puppetry. I hope they release more of these videos in the future!
I was surprised by how cool the video was. I just watched it full screen on my computer since I don’t have anything I can use for VR. At first, when there was just one person singing on stage, I looked around a bit, but realized that the original framing of each shot was what I wanted to be looking at, and I started to think doing the video in VR was just a gimmick. Then I started using it to see into the wings and look up at the lights. It wasn’t until the elephant started entering through the house that I actually felt the need to turn and look at something, and as the stage got more and more busy, I found myself turning to look around even more. VR really worked for this number because there is so much going on, and as an audience member, you’d be looking around at everything. Lion King was already very high on my musicals-to-see list, but this video has confirmed that. I’d heard about how cool Lion King is, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen anything more than photos of it. I think this video works really well as promotional materials, maybe even better than the standard musical commercial.
When shows run for a long time, it is difficult to keep the audience coming and to keep everything fresh. Lion King is a much loved production and I find it amazing that they are still trying new ways to bring this show to new audiences. On my computer the video did not work with the VR, however as just a video is was still very cool. Seeing the different perspectives of the opening number was very interesting. Watching a show from one audience perspective of the Lion King is very visually interesting already because of all the costuming and puppeteering happening, but being able to see it from a back stage point of view, and having the different characters surrounding the camera really adds another layer. I think as interesting as this is, it would not necessarily work for every show, so I hope this does not become a normal new thing to do because it would take away the magic of it should the VR become a main stream way to experience theater.
Virtual reality is an interesting concept to see, it is something I had never seen before so the whole idea behind it is new too me. I find it fascinating that they were able to capture this footage, and to have it be taken in4K is even better. I recently saw The Lion King in NYC and looked at it from a completely different view then when I saw it as a 1st grader. I will always get chills when I hear that opening act and to have it available on the Internet is really awesome. Even watching it just now I still look for the technical aspects and what is going on behind the site lines. I’m not very familiar with 360-degree videoing but I have passed by many Google cars and I would think they have a similar concept. I look forward to other shows that VR films so that I can see what is new in the theatre world and maybe we will begin to see this technology begin used for other real world applications.
I think this is a great idea. I know they’re using it as a publicity thing right now but it would be great to see virtual reality get used for more than that. Broadway HD has already shown that some shows are willing to open up and let people who can’t get to New York see the show. If that could go a step further and integrate virtual reality, then it would be even better. Imagine a streaming service for Broadway shows that had two levels of membership. The first level would just be normal video streaming. But the second would let you use something like google cardboard or an oculus rift to watch the show in virtual reality. It still wouldn’t be the same as going and seeing a show live but it would be much closer and let so many more people experience Broadway shows.
I’M SO EXITED! I must control myself and not watch the movie. I just have to hold out until December 27 when I go see the Chicago tour and can see it for real. I want to be surprised despite having done a whole ton of research on the show for Foundations II. Using virtual reality as publicity is really interesting and I wonder if it’s going to go a lot further than theatre and be used for travel to other countries or even just for cool little spots to visit in every city. Though now I remember how there are plenty of museums who have a virtual tour that you can do. Using it specifically for theatre is fascinating because you can get a feel of the show from all angles, but at the same time, you wouldn't be getting the real show form many angles if you were really there- you would be in your seat, not moving that much. What would happen if BroadwayHD (Netflix for theatre) used virtual reality for their shows? It would be so amazing.
The Lion King was the first Broadway tour I ever saw. I remember exactly nothing from that night but my mother swears I was there and she paid way too much for my ticket. Watching this video is really actually pretty awesome, its totally different from seeing the show live of course but it offers such a different perspective I think I could actually see myself getting something different out of a show filmed like this if the VR aspect was tackled in a less intensive manor than making me drag the screen around with my trackpad the whole time. Of course the full musical probably wont be released like this but if it was I would love to see it. I think the Lion King in particular because it is so spectacle based fits very well into this format. I would enjoy seeing other musicals like this too however if only to see how they fit the format.
I've always been skeptical about the promise of broadcasting or streaming live theater so audiences at home or far away can gain exposure or see an otherwise too expensive show for less, almost solely because of the lack of a physical connection between audience and actor. Despite that I think the use of VR 360 degree technology like it's being integrated here for a promotional affect could hold great promise in the realm of steaming theater because it creates a strong sense of physical immersion through its sophisticated technology. Having experienced a VR experience produced by the New York Times on my friend's phone I can personally attest to the kind of unique immersive experience real footage shown through virtual reality brings to the table. While I'm not sure how quickly this technology will develop into more common use, google's cardboard VR googles hold a song promise for increased home user consumption in the coming years, as the idea of steaming live performances is increasingly explored and developed. While I still think nothing beats live theater, VR has great promise to offer a great solution to solve the issues of immersion/ lack of personal connection to a streamed performance.
I think this is an interesting idea to refresh an audience’s view on a show that has been running for a long time, but I think that virtual reality is the wrong path to take on the Lion King. The whole point of this production was that the technology was stripped away for the most part and the actors accomplished all of the effects in a fairly obvious way, acknowledging things for what they were. I think that marketing this using virtual reality is trying to spruce it up by covering up what makes it so beautiful. I do think that turning scenes into virtual reality segments is worthwhile as a marketing tool, but I think they should think of the content of the show and use it on shows whose message and artist style support the use of the augmented reality.
I also agree with Jess that the medium on which the material is presented must be carefully crafted. If in the end, the user will be watching it looking funny on youtube, there was no point to the process. This should be a point of accessibility for everyone, drawing in new audiences to already existing pieces of theatre.
It is a very interesting idea to have more of an interactive promotional video for people to see more than one angle but from trying to watch the video in the article you must have great internet service to really enjoy it. The video kept loading and skipping when I used the arrows to turn the camera around to see other parts of the stage and that really bugged me. I want a video to keep running and not for me to have to wait and interrupt the song every second. I don’t know if it is just my connection right now as I am writing this but I still would like it to be more reliable. However, all that to say that I think this a really smart way to promote the show and I would think that other shows are going to start doing the same thing. People want to feel engaged and a part of the process and having a video like this where people can choose their own angle to watch is really cool. Who would have thought we would come to this in technology and I know that even more advances are in the works now.
Wow that was really cool. It almost felt like I was there on stage with them, but I also got to see different secret angles that no one else would normally get to see. I think this is a great idea to advertise because it gets people interested in seeing the show. I saw The Lion King a long time ago and I do not really remember it all. This video made me want to go see The Lion King again and be able to experience the show as an adult and really appreciate this work of art. I was pretty young when I first saw the show and I did not appreciate it as much because I did not know about theatre and I was just amazed by the show. The video brings in a whole new audience to view the opening number because now people can see it online and hopefully it will convince them to go and see the show live. Virtual Reality is a very cool an innovative new technology that is going to change how people watch things now and in the future. I am glad Broadway is using this new technology.
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