The business of live entertainment is taking a big step forward this week, starting in Cleveland with the Cleveland Immersive Experience featuring 100 years of Disney Animation's iconic cartoons: Snow White to Encanto and its creators . with them
After debuting in Toronto late last month, Disney and partner Lighthouse Immersive recently announced that the experience will expand to Cleveland and eight other cities — Las Vegas, Boston, Minneapolis, Detroit, Denver, Nashville, Columbus and San Antonio — through March. 30. will be presented. . And in the coming months, businesses will open in many other US cities.
"Like many of us, I have always had a love for Disney movies," Lighthouse Immersive founder Corey Ross said in a press release. Seeing these films come to life at the world premiere of Disney Animation: An Immersive Experience at Lighthouse ArtSpace Toronto is so nostalgic. I grew up with these characters and this world, and so did my family. Our team has created something truly special here, and we can't wait to give American audiences a chance to experience it."
The announcement of Disney Immersive is a strong endorsement of the potential of live immersive experiences, which have become popular as a viable alternative to other forms of public entertainment that have been isolated during the pandemic.
Created by Italian designer Massimiliano Siccardi and distributed in North America by the Lighthouse Immersive and Impact Museums joint venture, Van Gogh Immersive has been a huge success in the emerging sector.
"What I love about seeing Massimiliano's work is that it's a new genre," said Ross, who performed at November's Infinity Festival in Hollywood, two blocks from the Lighthouse Arts Space in Los Angeles. "It can't be that much. We have now sold 6 million tickets in 2021 and 2022.
Van Gogh's reach to a wider audience is creating even more momentum for entertainment companies, musicians, artists, fashion brands and others looking to connect with fans in new and memorable ways.
“One of the great things that has come out of this explosion of immersive spaces is that people are looking at this way of telling stories not just as a way to buy tickets, but as a way to engage and connect with their audience. medium," says Diana Raisman, co-founder of Impact Museums, which oversees its creative studio, "for both commercial and social purposes.
Investors are also paying attention to this. Last year, Goldman Sachs Asset Management led a $227 million financing round for Fever, one of the largest operators in the sector. That, in turn, prompted other investors to seek parts of the live entertainment sector, which is distinct from movie theaters, concert halls and sports stadiums.
And it happens a lot. Recent outstanding immersion experiences include:
- Netflix and Fever teamed up to make Stranger Things , which is still the highest-grossing film of January , despite its relatively distant location in Montebello, east of Los Angeles. That the show is still going strong three months after its debut suggests that many fans enjoy seeing Hawkins, Indiana and the Upside Down fiction on TV. More importantly for Netflix, the experience is an acquisition of fans and an additional source of revenue for one of its biggest franchises, important as the streaming giant looks to diversify its revenue.
- Intel
INTC Intel teamed up with Academy Award-winning composer AR Rahman ( Slumdog Millionaire) to develop Le Musk , an innovative and technological project that takes the concept of immersive media to the next level in what Intel executive producer Ravi Valal calls "sensory cinema." experience." is not exploration; it is experience." Le Musk combines a rich and beautiful virtual reality experience shot and written by Rahman, with the music and flavors of Rahman, Rahman's Oxford-educated daughter Danny Boyle. He sits in a custom chair made by his ultra-high HP PositronHPQ Premium headphones and earphones. The positron chair completes one of the challenges of navigating a story in a virtual reality space, moving the viewer from scene to scene to see how different parts of the experience unfold. "We tried a lot," Abdulrahman said of the six-year build. "I'll do what I want. It's my money." - Hardware companies are taking on the immersion business in another exciting way. Canon at CES , Director M. At CES, Canon demonstrated its experience integrating the Free Viewpoint video system to calculate 3D models that can create virtual perspectives in indoor spaces. The trial also featured an early version of the company's MREAL mixed reality technology, which allowed users to interact with objects to barricade the "cabin" to ward off intruders. A third technology, Canon's AMLOS Smart Interactive Webcam, allows CES attendees to remotely interact with a person during a movie being filmed in Philadelphia.
Creators have expressed an interest in using immersive live experiences rather than large, long public events like Van Gogh or Disney. Operated by Impact and Lighthouse, the Hollywood Lounge has hosted numerous short-term events for clients, such as Los Angeles Fashion Week, the Amazon and Netflix Hollywood Awards season shows (the Hollywood offices are just a few blocks away) and is popular for musicals. in the world Like on the weekend.
"We have an incredible resource of people who come into the four walls of our space and create very imaginative worlds and take the audience to very different places," Riesman said. "That's the magic of this immersive world building. And it really lets you tap into people's imaginations because you can create the world they're living in in a matter of hours."
Another event celebrating the 25th anniversary of Reggae great Bob Marley and James Cameron's Titanic debut. He had just arrived in the Los Angeles area.
Museum of Impact's Reisman says he expects more from this experience from many original and beloved entertainment brands and franchises, but especially from popular musicians with longtime fan bases.
"It's a different kind of art," Rissman says, "(where) you take words and poetry and music and create experiences that you know." "So it's not just putting on a live show in four walls or jumping in your face. It's really about creating a world of music for the audience to live in and walk through. There's no fourth wall that separates you from the artist. You really are. brought into the world of the song. And in this space they can make all the difference. » to the public.
