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I'm guessing we'll return to the continuously showing movie. Well, more like the starting-any-time-you-want movie. As individual VR headsets are available in

by tux1968 3y ago

I'm guessing we'll return to the continuously showing movie. Well, more like the starting-any-time-you-want movie. As individual VR headsets are available in every seat, you could start the movie synchronized with just the people in your own party. Of course, there will have to be technological and/or social advantages over doing the same thing in your own home.

codetrotter 3y ago
Idk man. On one hand it seems like a neat idea. On another hand, it’d be kind of jarring to have one group of people laughing because they are at a fun scene in the movie while me and my friends are in a suspenseful part of the movie. Or worse yet, me and my friends are watching a scary horror movie, but another group of people are watching a comedy and they are constantly laughing.
- tux1968 3y ago
  Lol, indeed. But I doubt the same form factor of a common theatre hall, would endure. More likely there'd be individual showing rooms, with concession items delivered to the seat after order, etc.
eru 3y ago
I very much doubt that will happen. Mostly, because if you want that experience, you can already have it in the comfort of your own home. Why go to a cinema for that?
- tux1968 3y ago
  As is the case today, movies can be released in stages, where early access is provided to businesses like these. Also, there may be technological innovations in AR/VR that don't make sense for every home owner to buy. And the cherry on top is the social occasion that can be cultivated, where everyone meets out of the home, for a shared event.
  - majewsky 3y ago
    > where everyone meets out of the home, for a shared event Yet almost all of the shared experience is removed. Some of the most interesting experiences I had in a movie were when the entire audience reacts to something happening on screen. Can't have that if each group is desynced inside their metaphorical fishbowls.
    - RugnirViking 3y ago
      > the entire audience reacts to something happening on screen I've always been surprised by this sort of anecdote. Is it a thing that happens a lot in america maybe? Here living across a few places in northern europe, people are just deathly quiet in the cinema. I think its seen as nobody wants to be inconsiderate to one another
      - bonoboTP 3y ago
        Yes, apparently in some places in America (I'm told not everywhere) it's acceptable to cheer or even clap during movies. In the places I know in Europe, this is seen as very rude and you're supposed to be fully quiet, or maybe whisper to your neighbor at most. It's also similar in public transportation. American tourists are often quite loud while locals speak more quietly in buses, trams etc.
        RandomLensman 3y ago
        Depends where in Europe. People do laugh in cinemas and sometimes clap in the UK or Germany, for example (less than let's say in California, though).
        eru 3y ago
        Germans also clap when their plane lands in Mallorca.
        newaccount74 3y ago
xattt 3y ago
> As individual VR headsets are available in every seat, you could start the movie synchronized with just the people in your own party. I’m very put off by the idea of feeling the moisture of the previous user’s sweaty brow or having residual eye crusts flake into mine (think pinkeye).
- tux1968 3y ago
  > I’m very put off by the idea of feeling the moisture of the previous user’s sweaty brow Already today, each movie goer gets their own pair of complimentary 3d glasses for movies that need it. They ask you to kindly return them, so they can be recycled. It wont likely be much more of a problem to have a per-viewer covering fitted over the AR glasses and earbuds.
  - xattt 3y ago
    At the very least, they put those 3D glasses through a dishwasher. That’s not possible with a VR set, and the turnaround to replace one-time liners on 100 sets would be unfeasible in an in-out setting of a movie theatre.
scelerat 3y ago
The continuously showing movie was a vestige of early 20th century nickelodeons where you might see a some newsreel and then a series of relatively short movies. It was effectively a constraint imposed by the format rather than an aesthetic choice. I think live virtual worlds, mmrpgs, etc are the closest analogue we have now to drop-in-anytime communal entertainment
- tux1968 3y ago
  Yeah, that's all I was saying, really. And that I can see community centers for such events being the movie theaters of tomorrow.
reneherse 3y ago
This could work if you base the format on something other than theaters: make it an experience similar to a karaoke room, escape room, or even Top Golf. You'd have a private or semi-private space to share with a group of friends, get food and beverage service, and view/participate in the VR experience simultaneously as a group. The price point would be higher than a typical movie, but would support the greater hardware, facility, and service costs.

codetrotter 3y ago

Idk man. On one hand it seems like a neat idea. On another hand, it’d be kind of jarring to have one group of people laughing because they are at a fun scene in the movie while me and my friends are in a suspenseful part of the movie. Or worse yet, me and my friends are watching a scary horror movie, but another group of people are watching a comedy and they are constantly laughing.

tux1968 3y ago
Lol, indeed. But I doubt the same form factor of a common theatre hall, would endure. More likely there'd be individual showing rooms, with concession items delivered to the seat after order, etc.

eru 3y ago

I very much doubt that will happen. Mostly, because if you want that experience, you can already have it in the comfort of your own home. Why go to a cinema for that?

tux1968 3y ago
As is the case today, movies can be released in stages, where early access is provided to businesses like these. Also, there may be technological innovations in AR/VR that don't make sense for every home owner to buy. And the cherry on top is the social occasion that can be cultivated, where everyone meets out of the home, for a shared event.
- majewsky 3y ago
  > where everyone meets out of the home, for a shared event Yet almost all of the shared experience is removed. Some of the most interesting experiences I had in a movie were when the entire audience reacts to something happening on screen. Can't have that if each group is desynced inside their metaphorical fishbowls.
  - RugnirViking 3y ago
    > the entire audience reacts to something happening on screen I've always been surprised by this sort of anecdote. Is it a thing that happens a lot in america maybe? Here living across a few places in northern europe, people are just deathly quiet in the cinema. I think its seen as nobody wants to be inconsiderate to one another
    - bonoboTP 3y ago
      Yes, apparently in some places in America (I'm told not everywhere) it's acceptable to cheer or even clap during movies. In the places I know in Europe, this is seen as very rude and you're supposed to be fully quiet, or maybe whisper to your neighbor at most. It's also similar in public transportation. American tourists are often quite loud while locals speak more quietly in buses, trams etc.
      - RandomLensman 3y ago
        Depends where in Europe. People do laugh in cinemas and sometimes clap in the UK or Germany, for example (less than let's say in California, though).
        eru 3y ago
        Germans also clap when their plane lands in Mallorca.
        newaccount74 3y ago

xattt 3y ago

> As individual VR headsets are available in every seat, you could start the movie synchronized with just the people in your own party. I’m very put off by the idea of feeling the moisture of the previous user’s sweaty brow or having residual eye crusts flake into mine (think pinkeye).

tux1968 3y ago
> I’m very put off by the idea of feeling the moisture of the previous user’s sweaty brow Already today, each movie goer gets their own pair of complimentary 3d glasses for movies that need it. They ask you to kindly return them, so they can be recycled. It wont likely be much more of a problem to have a per-viewer covering fitted over the AR glasses and earbuds.
- xattt 3y ago
  At the very least, they put those 3D glasses through a dishwasher. That’s not possible with a VR set, and the turnaround to replace one-time liners on 100 sets would be unfeasible in an in-out setting of a movie theatre.

scelerat 3y ago

The continuously showing movie was a vestige of early 20th century nickelodeons where you might see a some newsreel and then a series of relatively short movies. It was effectively a constraint imposed by the format rather than an aesthetic choice. I think live virtual worlds, mmrpgs, etc are the closest analogue we have now to drop-in-anytime communal entertainment

tux1968 3y ago
Yeah, that's all I was saying, really. And that I can see community centers for such events being the movie theaters of tomorrow.

reneherse 3y ago

This could work if you base the format on something other than theaters: make it an experience similar to a karaoke room, escape room, or even Top Golf. You'd have a private or semi-private space to share with a group of friends, get food and beverage service, and view/participate in the VR experience simultaneously as a group. The price point would be higher than a typical movie, but would support the greater hardware, facility, and service costs.