The BBC is launching Visual Perceptive Media (VPM), presenting different versions of the same film, which changes to suit the viewer’s unique preferences.
From podcasts to music streaming, the way we enjoy entertainment is becoming ever more tailored to our personal preferences. The BBC is now testing a system that shapes films to suit each viewer’s unique preferences.
VPM is a short film produced with many separate elements, all of which will flow contiguously. First, an app will scan users’ musical listening histories and ask them a series of questions to do with their personality, age and gender. This data is then used to shape aspects of the film, including the narrative, characters and music, and the film will change to please the viewer’s own unique interests. For example, the software will determine which character the viewer will feel more strongly towards and will then bias the number of scenes in which that character appears. This brings an entertainment experience that ultimately maximizes viewer empathy. Broadcasting over IP enables VPM to create all kinds of new content experiences that would not be possible or scalable on ‘traditional’ TV or radio.
The project draws data from its companion app. In the future, it could use data from a number of services, include factors such as time of day, location and the viewer’s mood, and shape the entertainment in real time.
The BBC wants to create personalized media that feels natural to the audience and exciting for the storyteller as it scales for millions of individual audience members.
Initial research conducted with a small number of people has assessed whether they perceive the film as a coherent whole or whether they notice that it is made up of media objects being delivered on the fly. The aim is to build a public prototype to test these ideas with a wider audience. The project will also test the client-side video capabilities of the browser as a platform.
Ian Forrester, who is in charge of the project, says, ‘Visual Perceptive Media is made to deliberately nudge the user one way or another using cinematic techniques rather than sweeping changes like those seen in branching narratives. Each change is subtle but they are used in filmmaking every day, which raises the question of how do you even start to demo something that has over 50,000 variations?’ The incredible complexity and potential of this model may be its downfall when trying to translate it from a test audience to widespread use. It may be some time before we see VPM used in the mainstream.
The system also raises the question of the ethics of personal data. How much do we really want media companies to know about us, and at what point does personalized entertainment become, or rely on, a significant invasion of privacy? In the age of big data, with governments knowing ever more about us, it may seem like a more frivolous concern, but it is valuable to constantly keep a check on who is tracking, selling, sharing and applying our personal data, whether it be governments or TV channels.
Another example of personalized entertainment is the development of a pair of headphones that play songs based on users’ brainwaves. The Mico headphones, developed in Japan, monitor the user’s brain activity and select songs that match their mood.
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Website: www.bbc.co.uk/visual-perceptive-media
Contact: ian.forrester@bbc.co.uk
Innovation name: Visual Perceptive Media
Country: United Kingdom
Industries: Entertainment & culture / Film & theatre