Social AR/VR - Theater AR Use Case

Theater AR Use Case | Social VR UX Research

Intro: Updating the live theater & opera industry

The MET opera has always appealed to the wealthy and older target audience. As this group diminishes, the MET opera experiences a decline in ticket sales. To gain more ticket sales, the MET has to adjust to the current entertainment climate without losing its original identity. A solution is to enhance the live performance through current technology applications such as augmented reality (AR).

Using AR, the live performance can include special effects and realistic scenes and characters. Performers can be seen flying around the space inside the theater and special effects can be done in safer, more cost-effective ways, since the production would no longer have to rely on physically creating effects such as pyrotechnics, suspension wires, or expensive, high end projectors. Designers and industry professionals associated with the Metropolitan Opera discussed how AR technology could directly effect the audience experience. To visualize these potential ideas, the team chose a traditional opera, Rhinegold, and explored how AR could aid in re-creating scenes that have caused theater set designers the most trouble. This included any scenes where actors needed to appear swimming or flying, or when having to recreate effects such as water or fire. Creating a sense of scale also is a challenge in live performances, as sets need to be easily taken down and moved in between scenes, so large pieces are cumbersome.

After reviewing the scenes within Rhinegold, the team decided to focus on the dragon scene. In addition to scale, flying, and fire, the main focus of this scene is a large dragon that can move around and speak. This would be the problem scene to test with AR. The concept drawings below are visuals that represent what the audience member would see if using a device to view this scene in AR. An image is overlayed onto the physical space.

The process of transforming the traditional venue of live performance into one that includes modern, cutting edge technological applications, not only appeals to younger audiences but enhances the overall experience from buying the ticket, to watching the performance itself, to entertainment during intermissions.

Researchers, designers and industry professionals discussed how technology could be used to improve the theater industry. After understanding what is involved in attending a theatrical performance, (purchasing the ticket, traveling to the theater, checking in, finding a reserved seat, intermissions), the team began to imagine where AI and AR would be involved.

AI Assistant Smart Glasses

With the popularity of wearable technologies such as smartwatches and smart glasses, everyday human/technology transactions will also change. Technology has already changed how people bank, navigate, learn and communicate. This is especially true with younger demographics who use mobile apps and smart devices more regularly. In this exploration of how the theater industry must adapt to stay relevant, it makes sense to think about how technology will change the entire theater experience. This includes everything involved before and after the performance.

User Persona: Nicole

The next step was to come up with a user persona who could represent the target demographic that we are trying to attract to the live theater industry. The persona created is a young woman named Nicole, who lives in NYC. She uses wearable technology via her smart glasses on a regular basis and loves socializing.

The implementation of AI, AR, and wearable technologies directly include the younger target audience which the current theater industry is lacking. By incorporating the use of these technologies into every facet of the theater going experience, we believe that this is the answer to modernizing the theater industry.

Once Nicole’s full persona was developed, the designers were able to understand how this user’s theater experience would be enhanced with AI,AR, and wearable technology. This exploration spans from initially seeing an add for this theater performance, checking into the theater and even interactions during the performance

In the following storyboards, we will follow a story that illustrates how the introduction of AR could influence the live theater experience.

Nicole is at work on her lunch break. She is sitting alone and scrolling through the news feed hologram within the lenses of her smart glasses. AI technology uses retina scanning technology to read Nicole’s current mood and then adjust her feed to accommodate her. The scan reveals that Nicole is feeling bored and isolated, so her AI assistant suggests social activities after work, which her other social media friends are attending.

Part 1: Introduction

This sequence shows the user Nicole, interacting with her smart glasses in a typical daily exchange. The exchange between the user and the device goes through different stages throughout the story. To illustrate this, there are icons next to each panel which indicate the source of the interactions.

While there are two main participants in this story (the user and the smart device), there is also another interaction which comes as a direct result of both participants interacting with each other. To indicate this, there is an exchange icon.

To understand how best to design a positive experience for the user, it is important to understand how the user would potentially interact with the smart device. This reveals valuable insight into the user’s needs and tendencies. Once this information is understood, the design of the smart device can be altered to accommodate this information.