Happy Friday! Welcome to Issue 28 of Rerun, your weekly digest of digital storytelling, interactive media and the future of TV curated by Axonista.
In our Top Pick this week we have the long awaited update to the Apple TV, and we take a look at which of our predictions came true. We also look at how ad-blocking may be a good thing, how NowThis are innovating news storytelling, the world's most boring TV (and why it's so addictive), VR postcards, the story of the Oculus Rift, MediaCon, and much much more!
Let's get straight to it!
Top Pick
Apple TV speculation - Post-event update - Rerun Original
We nailed it (pretty much)
Update: As a follow up from Wednesday’s event, we’ve updated this post to comment on each prediction. The TL;DR is that, with this update, Apple has reasserted itself at the top of the TV streaming device food chain. And it’s now in the game console market. Without wanting to sound too gushy, it was pretty much everything we’d hoped for :-)
Features
Pop culture overload: Too much is never enough
For the past while we've been living in a golden age of quality TV. Some of the best directors, producers, writers and actors have all been lured to the small screen, and it seems like there's an unending queue of great shows to watch.
However, as highlighted by Cortney Harding in this post, some critics see this as a bad thing! They think that the sheer quantity of content right now makes it too hard for the quality to stand out. It's the same shortsighted argument that photographers had during the rise of camera phones and Instagram.
Fact is, we're entering another golden age of TV, this one driven by content discovery. There are more people than ever telling their unique stories, from all over the world, and this is a great thing. And you'll find them more and more through apps, and less and less through linear TV.
Cortney, we’re with you on this one.
Ad blocking may save digital marketing from itself
In truth, we are witnessing a predictable Age of Interactivity in which consumers, newly empowered with numerous ordering devices, are rebelling against all intrusions. - Ben Kunz, Digiday
This week at MediaCon, Dermot McCormack, President of AOL Video and Studios, said that people are generally happy to give up some personal data; as long as you're up front about what you're taking and what you're offering in return.
The current state of online advertising (image banners, popups, tracking cookies) takes too much and gives little in return. With video however, there is the potential to give something in return, as no other mainstream format can offer the same level of storytelling and entertainment. At Rerun we definitely see this as one of many drivers in the rise of video ads.
Future of TV
How NowThis tailors its content to specific platforms
We don’t create one video and then cut that video down to 15 seconds so that it can run on Instagram and cut it down to six seconds so it can run on Vine. We will actually tell the story in a different way that is visually conducive to the platform.
NowThis is a pretty unique news broadcaster, in that they proudly fly without a 'homepage' or even a website. They use video and photography to tell the news, in formats unique to each social platform. This article gives great insight into their approach and the future of news storytelling.
Storytelling
The world's most boring television ... and why it's hilariously addictive
I am 76 years old and have just watched the best television program ever. I watched all the way until the train stopped. Just before the end station, I rose from my seat to get my luggage, I hit the curtain rod and realised I was in my own living room. NRK viewer via Twitter
In a very funny TED talk, NRK TV producer Thomas Hellum explains how Norway's slow TV movement gripped a nation and won in the ratings war.
Virtual Reality
The Story of Oculus Rift | Vanity Fair
Max Chafkin looks at the story of the Oculus Rift from its conception in a tool shed, to the moment when Zuckerberg said “Wow, that was pretty awesome" and handed over $2 billion to Palmer Luckey, to what lies ahead in its future.
Eventually I think we’re going to have technology where we can communicate our full sensory experience and emotions to someone through thought - Mark Zuckerberg
Both Zuckerberg and Luckey's vision of the future mirrors the movie Inception. They believe that one day we will all plug-in to replace real world interactions. The team behind Oculus are looking to grasp the realism of interacting with other people in other places by creating the sensation of what VR enthusiasts call “presence”.
The goal is to have two people [in different locales] feel—really feel—like they’re in the same place together - Palmer Luckey
What virtual reality postcards can tell us about the future of travel | The Verge
The ultimate vision of VR isn't headsets, it's full "presence." In an ideal future, you could be someone during their vacation, not just watch them. Being able to feel the wind in the Andes or taste dumplings in Beijing.
The Marriott hotel chain have made VRoom Service a thing, with the launch of their VR Postcards, which allows their guests to order VR experiences to their room. The name promises a fully immersive experience for their guests to visit far away places, and join their friends on their holiday adventures, but according to The Verge, the reality is that the experience in its current state seems more like an ad than the magical offering we hope for.
At Rerun, this is one of the VR experiences that we have been hoping for and we wait in eager anticipation for the VR postman.
Briefs
- 10 takeaways from #MediaCon 2015
- Periscope secretly building an Apple TV app; introduces landscape mode
- Instagram advertising goes global with new TV-style formats
- Skip the lines and ride a new roller coaster in glorious VR
- Nintendo’s first smartphone game is augmented reality Pokémon
- Developers behind iOS series "Infinity Blade" release $3m worth of game assets; right in time for Apple TV games
Behind CeeLo's Google-spoofing interactive video
Simple and ingenious, CeeLo's latest music video is reflective of our collective consciousness. Using technology from Interlude to power the interactive video, lyrics appear onscreen in a Google Search bar in the order CeeLo sings them. The viewer can hop across multiple tabs to view different sets of results, creating their own unique journey through the video. Well played CeeLo!