Concerts
New Musical Dimension: VR Concerts Coming Soon to a Theater Near You
Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) concerts will soon become a reality! AmazeVR, a platform that uses content generation tools to provide users with new ways to view concerts, recently secured $15 million in funding in only three weeks. Founded in 2015, AmazeVR is growing rapidly, looking to raise a Series B in early 2022. The company has also tripled its employee count, and according to Ernest R. Lee, Co-CEO of AmazeV, “This puts us in an ideal position to take full advantage of VR and the metaverse’s growing popularity.” The goal of this new immersive platform is to remove the barrier of the screen and allow people to experience concerts face-to-face. The adoption of this technology has been accelerated by the pandemic since there has been an increased need to replicate the experience of cancelled live events. But with the use of avatars, users will also be able to make connections with other fans by attending these virtual concerts together. AmazeVR is looking to rollout the first ever commercial virtual concert in the U.S. across select AMC theaters with Grammy winner Meg Thee Stallion, and hopes to scale operations to create weekly concerts by 2024.
Sports
Apparently, You’re Ready for Some Football: NFL Ratings on the Rise
After several down years, the National Football League is recovering the audiences it lost during the pandemic. According to the Wall Street Journal, NFL ratings jumped 10% from last season, the highest ratings the network has seen since 2015. The league has struggled the past few years and was hit especially hard by pandemic limitations last year, but after restructuring network advertisement deals, the NFL is seeing a nice turnaround. Additional suggested causes of 2020’s lower rate of viewership include presidential election airtime and the arrival of new streaming services. This year also holds new promises, as fans are replacing cardboard cutouts and returning to arenas for live games. Teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Los Angeles Rams have also built stronger followings, which has increased the interest in live viewing. Overall, Fox’s Sunday afternoon games saw a 2% increase in viewership, ESPN’s Monday Night Football saw its viewership up 16%, and Thursday Night Football on Fox and the NFL Network (and streamed by Amazon) also jumped 16%.
Festivals
Ich Bin Ein Berliner! Berlin Festival Will Continue In-Person Event
The Berlin Festival is pushing forward, but not without new restrictions and limitations in place. Even with rising coronavirus cases in Germany, State Minister for Culture and Media, Claudia Roth, said that “The pandemic situation is dynamic, and the Berlin Film Festival is adapting to the resulting challenges.” New guidelines state that only people who have been fully vaccinated or have recently recovered from an infection can enter festival grounds. Theater attendance has been slashed by 50%, and masks will be required at all times. Lastly, daily rapid tests will be required, while all additional festival events, like parties and receptions, have been cancelled. The festival will open on February 10 and begin giving out awards as soon as February 16. Last year, the festival underwent organizational restructuring with the creation of two separate festivals, one for the industry and one for screened movies. The jury will be led by American filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and French actress Isabelle Huppert.
Television
NFTs: A New Way to Watch Television
The very first live action NFT series, GenZeroes, is currently in development, and due to be released in early March. To watch this new series, individuals need to purchase a non-fungible token on the House of Kibaa website where multiple levels of benefits will be offered, including fractional ownership of the show itself. While more details of benefits and distribution are currently being negotiated, producers said that “Token holders will enjoy benefits like live streamed ‘behind the scenes’ access, early and special releases of series content, and also residuals and benefits from deals with other platforms as determined by the smart contracts and NFT utilities.” Fitting this technology-forward distribution model, the series is set 200 years in the future. The post-alien-invasion sci-fi will be augmented by motion graphic comic books and is set to contain up to 10 episodes. An animated NFT series is already being released, and both shows are helping to create a new way for people to consume television episodes—one token at a time.
Technology
Ways to Engage: Academy Museum Creates Interactive Digital Platforms
The Los Angeles Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is partnering with Bloomberg Philanthropies to enhance their visitor experience through new digital platform offerings. With their website, online archives, and a mobile app, users will be able to learn more about the museum and its exhibits in a whole new way. The new online experience will offer more insights into current exhibitions, like the Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur input device used for Jurassic Park (1993), and have museum audio tours, narrated by Whoopi Goldberg. The multitude of tours on the Academy Museum app, which is available to download on the Apple Store and on Google Play, is accessible in six different languages. Additionally, the new app supports Augmented Reality (AR) technology, which will bring the exhibits to life while also providing clearer details and interactive maps of the museum. Bill Kramer, Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, expressed that these platforms “will both enhance the visit for museum-goers and reach a wide audience beyond the museum campus.”
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