Mobile Augmented Reality (AR) is a big part of the Open Culture Tech project. Together with Ineffekt, Vincent Hofte, Smitty and Sophie Jurrjens we have developed unique tools and practices that have proven to be both accessible and valuable. But during all these showcases, we also learned that the physical environment plays an important role in the successful application of AR. This raises the question, are live venues prepared for a future where AR is increasingly used?
To answer this question, Thunderboom Records initiated a spin-off project called Next Stage AR. Together with the Dutch venues Paradiso and Melkweg and the open-air theater Bostheater Amsterdam, we are investigating how venues can use AR to support artists and how they can expand their own services. Whereas Open Culture Tech looks at technology from the perspective of artists, Next Stage AR takes this a step further and looks at possibilities of venues to unlock the potential of AR in the context of marketing or wayfinding.
For this project, we extend on the current AR tool that we have created for the Open Culture Tech project, which is open-source and freely available. The setup of Next Stage AR is the same as Open Culture tech. We build prototypes, test them with audiences, and then make improvements. Ultimately delivering an open-source toolkit and best practices that we share with the sector. We already have started a series of live concerts in which we have tested various possibilities and workflows.
We started this project with a first test event in Paradiso, called Café Vanguard. This is an evening where upcoming artists get the opportunity to perform a short live set. This was a good starting point since there were 4 different artists and a designated VJ who was very willing to experiment with the tool.
We asked the venue, who was organizing this event, to discuss the use of AR with the performing artists. Three of them were willing to try this. We then asked a VJ to collaborate with them on creating an AR experience for one of their songs. The VJ, called VJ Bikkel, managed to exceed our expectations. He asked the artists for their ideas and made this come to live in three very engaging AR experiences. VJ Bikkel added transparent layers with galaxies to the experience which gave it a very spatial effect. The concert was a seated event, so we put cards with QR codes on the tables so that the audience knew what to do.
Two academic researchers, Femke Vandenberg and Frank Kimenai, are affiliated with the Next Stage AR project. They are conducting research into both the audience experience and the way in which these types of innovations integrate into the music sector. The involved researchers interviewed some of the visitors, artists and the VJ afterwards. This produced some valuable insights.
Some first insights:
Not all artists were aware of what they said yes to and they had difficulties understanding what the AR experience was going to be.
One artist forgot to mention that the AR was happening during the show. Because of this we learned that it is very important to announce the AR clearly to the audience.
The VJ was very enthusiastic about our tool being free and open-source. He would like some more functionalities which we have put on our development timeline.
Based on the VJ input we have also incorporated the functionality of opacity.
The Next Stage AR project will run until mid-2025 and has a lot of overlap with Open Culture Tech. This means that we will combine the insights from both projects in our best practices and functionalities of our open-source AR tooling. Keep an eye on the Thunderboom Records channels if you want to stay up to date on our live shows, presentations or demos.