Cinematic VR in museums: A strategy for immersive video in and for museums

Cinematic VR in museums: A strategy for immersive video in and for museums

Krijnen, D.W.A.

Nauta, C.L. (mentor)
Buijs, J.A. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Product Innovation Management

SPD

2015-03-27

Recent technological development in the field of head mounted displays (HMD) like the Oculus Rift and 360° 3D cameras present new opportunities for virtual reality. VR-Producties.nl (and videoproducties.nl) want to expand their portfolio by producing immersive 360° video content. However, several larger competitors and major broadcasting stations are currently exploring the possibilities of this new form of media. Finally, VR-Producties.nl and me decided that exploring the possibilities in this promising but new market would be a good subject for my graduation thesis: How could VR-Producties.nl become successful in the immersive video market? In the analysis phase, an internal and external analysis was performed. The market and competitors were analysed and a SWOT matrix was created. Based on the information found in this phase, it was concluded that the competition in this new market was very high and that VR-Producties.nl would need to find a new application that could add value or revenues for a client. The main challenge that was defined after the analysis phase was: to leverage from the existing client network, while making use of their network of experienced freelancers, in order to ward of the possible competitors. The application should generate extra revenues or publicity for the involved client. A list of possible application for immersive video was created. Internally, a few ideas of which we believed they were great business opportunities for VR-Producties.nl were selected for further analysis. A survey among 428 people from the United States was conducted to find out which of these selected applications was the most interesting or fun, but also to find out if people were familiar with the Oculus Rift and if they were willing to buy a head mounted display in the future. The application of a virtual guided tour through historical and cultural heritage sites was considered the most interesting and fun. Furthermore it was concluded that the market for head mounted displays (HMD) still had to grow in order to be profitable for content creators like VR-Producties.nl. Instead of selling the content to HMD owners, it was concluded that the developed content should offer a client the ability to expand their customer base. During the project I tried to involve a lot of potential clients. A lot of emails were sent to organizations that are concerned with historical or cultural heritage and publishers. They were all interested in my ideas, but none of them were willing to invest in the production of this immersive content. Finally, the Anne Frank museum was convinced of the added value the content could provide for their organization. They were interested in producing an immersive digital guided tour through the Secret Annex. They can use immersive video to: 1: Offer a guided tour to visitors with a physical impairment (at the museum) 2: Offering a guided tour to schools and organizations that would normally visit the Anne Frank museum. A mobile exhibition (at another location) 3: Offer a sneak preview to people around the world that own a HMD and want to see what the museum has to offer (from any location) Since immersive video is something new, there were no clear methods or guidelines available for developing the content. Based on information that was found online, a method for recording, producing and offering the immersive video was suggested. This method reduces the costs for filming immersive video while it improves the comfort for the user or viewer. The Anne Frank museum indicated that they were thinking of offering the content to visitors with a physical impairment inside the café of the museum. They also stated that in 2015, the museum would be reconstructed. A concept was developed for visitors with a physical impairment (Scenario 1) The concept improves the safety of the viewer and other visitors. Instead of driving and turning around blindly while wearing a HMD, the concept ensures that the user will remain safely in the same spot of the exhibition. This chapter includes an evaluation of the service designed for schools and recommendations on how this service could be offered in the near future. Based on the information that was gathered during focus group interviews with teachers, a roadmap was created. VR-Producties.nl and other museums or organizations concerned with cultural or historical heritage sites can use this roadmap to offer the additional services (scenario 2 and 3 in the business models) and develop suitable content. The report concludes with my own overall evaluation of this graduation project and closing remarks.?

immersive video
oculus rift
museum
digital guided tour

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:2b453e3c-a655-4afe-b179-5f25bb81e373

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2015 Krijnen, D.W.A.