How Disney is using 3D, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality to Reshape the Entertainment Industry
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are powerful technologies that either overlay digital information onto the real world or create completely immersive environments. These technologies are fundamentally altering how we engage with the real and digital worlds.
What’s the difference between AR and VR?
VR involves the creation of an entire fantasy experience unconstrained by the real world. While with AR, a user’s experience is based on the actual physical world, but can access enhanced features that, for example, can be projected through a phone’s camera or video viewer.
Disney and Apple Vision Pro
Walt Disney Company has provided entertaining animated movies for kids and grownups. Disney is now pursuing a strategy to take advantage of AR/VR technology to enhance its movie experience on Apple Vision Pro and several other projects. Disney continues to focus on the future with its launch last Friday of Disney Plus on Apple’s revolutionary Apple Vision Pro. Users can turn their space into one of four 3D Disney+ scenes, like Star Wars or Marvel.
“[Apple Vision Pro]… enables the most incredibly immersive experience of any in home device available.” — Alisa Bowen, President of Disney+
“Disney stands out in the media industry because we’re a company that sits at the intersection of groundbreaking technology with unparalleled creativity… Now, with Apple Vision Pro, we’re able to bring the experience with our stories into a whole new dimension of immersion.” — Aaron LaBerge, President & CTO, Disney Entertainment & ESPN
Disney and Epic Games
Disney and Fortnite maker Epic Games recently announced that they are teaming up to build an “expansive and open games and entertainment universe,” with Disney investing $1.5 billion in an equity stake in Epic. Disney is planning on releasing world-class 3D games experience that interoperate with Fortnite, as well as a new persistent 3D universe which will offer a consumers opportunities to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more.
The Disney Metaverse
With their recent interest in harnessing the massive potential of augmented reality, virtual reality, and the Metaverse, Disney has begun animating different characters in alternate realities.
These fascinating new advancements open up a whole new world of possibilities, as AR and VR give life to 2D figures who were previously limited to being seen on screens. Users’ favorite characters can now interact with them in the Metaverse, their physical surroundings, rather than only on 2D screens. In addition to interacting with 3D Disney characters, fans can anticipate visiting Disneyland virtually. Fans can purchase tickets for virtual rides. Fans may use their phones to access virtual theme parks, ride the most popular rides, and do a lot more by wearing VR headsets.
The Disney Magic Bench
Disney Research is trying to develop the Magic Bench with AR technology. It’s not the kind of mixed reality or augmented reality where you wear a head-mounted display or use a handheld gadget. Rather than focusing on the individual, the environment is instrumented, enabling a group of individuals to share a 3D experience.
“Our mantra for this project was: hear a character coming, see them enter the space, and feel them sit next to you” — Moshe Mahler, Principal Digital Artist at Disney Research
A big screen in front of those sitting on the Magic Bench allows them to see a mirrored picture of themselves, giving them a third-person perspective. Instead of superimposing one video stream onto another, the participants can genuinely occupy the same 3D space as a computer-generated character or object thanks to the reconstruction of the scene using a depth sensor.
What other companies are doing?
Besides Disney, other companies are investing in 3D, AR, and VR experiences. Netflix created a “Stranger Things” VR game in collaboration with developer studio Tender Claws. The VR experience of Stranger Things was released in 2017, and the streaming service also maintains a VR app that allows for users to watch Netflix on a virtual screen.
Warner Bros used AR to promote the movie The Flash. To access their 3D content, users can download Perfect Corp.’s AR-try-on application. Users can see the mask of the scarlet speedster appear on their face, along with lightning effects and the movie’s logo spinning around their head through the Flash AR lens.
It seems that 3D, augmented reality and virtual reality have endless possibilities for the entertainment industry as we see industry leaders begin to adopt these technologies to promote their services and to entertain their fans.
These technologies are beginning to provide a distinct competitive edge for companies and are gradually shaping the world around us. At echo3D, we greatly simplify the 3D asset management process and allow companies to store, secure, and share 3D content in real-time across their organization and beyond. echo3D’s 3D DAM allows you to securely store and share 3D assets across your organization while allowing teams to collaborate, have efficient workflows, discover content, and minimize duplicates. It also allows you to manage your 3D asset library across your organization and deliver 3D content that can be updated in real-time through the cloud.
“People are trying to build new experiences all the time. This is the time to build”. — Alon Grinshpoon, CEO at echo3D
By Kianna Guo
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